"THE TEN MEMORIES"
"THE TEN MEMORIES" are just that. . . "TEN MEMORIES". The name can't be more specific because it's unspecific by design. Basically, each player, during character creation, must think of any combination of at least ten total personal names (NPCs), locations (on the campaign map), items (they carry or know about) and/or dates (on the calendar) that the character willingly or unwillingly finds important to remember. Detail is optional (though highly encouraged), except for exactly one: The player must designate which of "THE TEN MEMORIES" are secret. In any case, the possibilities are endless, while the simplicity is elegant. For example, a memory could be the name of a former lover (blah blah blah), or simply a trinket the character always carries for no particular reason. It could be the name of a legendary sword (artifacts are not off limits -- again, it's something to work with, not necessarily a possession or even former possession). Or a memory could be a name the character knows, yet doesn't remember why.
If you're a DM, you've probably seen PCs with blank sheets for backgrounds (where the character either conveniently suffers from amnesia or the background is just a shrug), and those with seven-volume biographies. The problem for DMs is that while PC backgrounds can make great sources for adventure hooks, the former offer nothing to work with and the latter are too unprioritized to meaningfully sift through (chances are the PC's father's brother's cousin's girlfriend's former roommate won't offer much to the campaign). But if each player provides you with a list of "TEN MEMORIES", you wind up with a nice, long yet simple list of potential adventure hooks. In fact, you get ten per character (if not more). With that many,
A) It's unlikely any player can memorize everyone else's memories,
B) You can drop any memory into the game at any point, and
C) Running out of memories to use is not a weighty concern.
Furthermore, even the laziest player doesn't have an excuse to not rattle off ten memories. You could jot them down before the beginning of the first session. This is designed to be a non-invasive way of tying the characters more closely to the campaign. Now, when the players visit a town, one might just say, "Hey, I've BEEN here before."
"THE TEN MEMORIES" can also be used to quickly flesh out NPCs. If you need to come up with an NPC on the fly, there's often no time to develop a back story. Even worse, if the campaign takes a strange turn and you suddenly find your off-the-cuff NPC sticking around, you risk diluting your campaign with a cardboard cutout if the NPC isn't adequately fleshed out. In this case, "THE TEN MEMORIES" can be used to provide detail now, and seeds from which to grow a personality later.
If you've tried everything else, why not give this a try?
Thanks for the thought!
- Locksley, honorary member of the Aurum and Historical Scholar.
I discussed with a fellow DM some implications of this idea. His main concern was a player, Mike. Mike is hardly a problem-causing munchkin (in fact, he's a very gentle chap), but he's not much for taking the initiative in positive ways, either. He prefers to sit at the table and quietly soak in the experience. His characters might as well be cardboard cutouts. See the problem? The issue here is that Mike doesn't want any adventure hooks in his background. Of course, even proactive players may not enjoy a DM meddling with their characters' pasts; they might feel such role-playing obligations hinder their ambitions.
My response: Again, the idea is not meant to be invasive. The Ten Memories can be used as adventure hooks, but they mainly serve to tie characters more closely to the campaign as-is. There should be no pressure to use a certain percentage of memories, or to distribute usage evenly among players.
If a player enjoys being a tragic hero, the DM may make extensive use of his/her character's memories as adventure hooks. On the other hand, take a player like Mike. As described above, if his character was born in Town X and the party happens to ventures there, ideally, Mike will instinctively react, "Hey, this was where I was born." If all goes well, this might trigger an in-game discussion among the characters about what Mike's PC finds nostalgic about the town. It'd be a small detail insignificant to the plot, but that small discussion would make the world feel more "lived in" by the players.
. . . In a campaign where mood is everything, that might make all the difference.
AJ
AJ
It can be great fun to roll lots of dice on a massive damage roll. However, what makes a game memorable is the characterization behind the PCs. I think that even players who would gripe about having to do this would end up with a more memorable and enjoyable gaming experience because of it.
Good work!
I have always hated all of the 'hundred questions to flesh out your pc' things. This is K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)! Excellent idea!There is one very very wrong thing here, though: the roll/roleplaying stuff is a false dichotomy. Let go of it, or tell what you mean by it.
Personally, I doubt it's a false dichotomy. Stereotypes exist for a reason; in my gaming experience I have seen "roll-playing" taken to ridiculous extremes. That is anecdotal evidence, of course, but many frustrations vented in the DMG forum also speak on my behalf.
That said, I do owe you a clarification. Often times, I simply exaggerate to clarify a point. That's it. It's merely a tame variation of reductio ad absurdum. If the indictment is that I deliberately used dichotomy, I'm guilty as charged. However, that's the part of my article I expedited most. For better or worse, I doubt I spent as much thought on it as you did.
Again, I don't believe it's a false dichotomy, but I won't cling to it, either. I hope "The Ten Memories" finds use in gaming groups with no "roll-playing" issues, as well.
Posted by Dragonchild
"The issue here is that Mike doesn't want any adventure hooks in his background...
...take a player like Mike. As described above, if his character was born in Town X and the party happens to ventures there, ideally, Mike will instinctively react, "Hey, this was where I was born." If all goes well, this might trigger an in-game discussion among the characters about what Mike's PC finds nostalgic about the town. It'd be a small detail insignificant to the plot, but that small discussion would make the world feel more "lived in" by the players
."
I agree. As an encouragement to people who don't want to do even 10 memories for their characters:
When everyone in the group puts some efforts into "who" their characters are, the atmosphere and feel of the game is really increased. The characters feel alive, and it helps you 'get into character' more easily.
Though 'Mike' isn't interested in adding depth to his character, he should at least do it as a courtesy for the other gamers. He is, after all, enjoying the presence of their well developed characters; so he should try to do the same for them
The DM decides what is true, and can drop these clues in when PCs are aimlessly gathering information or adventure hooks. There might be a mad druid, but no portal to candyland, or you might find it a nice distraction to actually teleport the group to a candyland board. That's something you wouldn't have thought of on your own. (No posts saying you did this required).
Mike the player who doesn't want his PC being the focus, might have the option to do this instead of personal memories.
All of them have played D&D in the past, but only a bit, and not really a full campaign, so that certainly helps. I also have taken the advice of others on this board to allow [new] players a few sessions to develop their character background, so they have a better concept of their character when they write their character background.
I had a DM that used something similar. Every so often (every five levels I think), the Players would all make five rumors. They can be anything the player wants: the ruler of the nearest region is a 5 year old girl, there is a dragon in the mountains to the west, there is a portal to candyland in the center of a mad druid's grove just a few miles north of here.
The DM decides what is true, and can drop these clues in when PCs are aimlessly gathering information or adventure hooks. There might be a mad druid, but no portal to candyland, or you might find it a nice distraction to actually teleport the group to a candyland board. That's something you wouldn't have thought of on your own. (No posts saying you did this required).
I think I’ll do something similar to that. As opposed to saying "any rumors" I’ll tell my players to make 5 rumors that they would think would be interesting to follow up on. I'll also ask them not to share their rumors with other players to keep it fresh and original to them as opposed to moaning about "oh, we're doing HIS quest? I can't believe you used that!"
All good ideas here
In the "Waves InThe Black" fan forums and files site, FCWesel posted a character creation add on called 3x3x3.
3x3x3 is basically a method where each Player creates 3 Allied NPCs, 3 Neutral NPCs, and 3 Enemy NPCs for their character when they create the character, for the DM to use.
The link to the 3x3x3 "how-to" and sample sheet are here:
http://home.comcast.net/~wavesintheblack/WRESerenity-3x3x3.zip
I just thought I would throw this into the mix for everyone to use to help players. Enjoy.