Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 jadebrain Nov 14, 2011 11:37:22	Hi all. I'm currently playing a WoD game (Modern-day Earth with secret supernatural entities), and my character, who is basically a Lawful-Good version of Bubs from www.homestarrunner.com, currently needs a reason to be associated with the party. I've got most of the details of his character done; the problem is that the only reason in-game he's going along with anything the other PC's do is "he's a nice guy and wants to help," which just seems lazy and inadequate. In case it helps, here's a summary of the character: -Name: Bubs -Caucasean Male, mid 40's -Owns a store that sells just about everything legal to sell -Lives and does business in a bad neighborhood -Often works with police to catch criminals, especially criminals who steal from or vandalize his store -On extremely good terms with local law enforcement -Was once a successful boxer -Can fix just about anything -Member of "The Union," a group of average joes turned defenders of humanity (Bubs doesn't know their real purpose; all he knows is that they're a national "neighborhood watch" group) -Enjoys his job as a shopkeeper, and only takes long vacations when personal business comes up (or when the plot demands) -Never married due to not having found the right woman and being too focused on his goals -Has a sister who he only really ever sees on holidays and such
#2 Cohen95 Nov 14, 2011 11:44:17	H:tV? ... Well ideally the character has a purpose. Perhaps as much as he enjoys being a shopkeeper, he's troubled by the idea that other shops in the area keep having to close up because they're losing too much money from all the vandalism and theft, so he's turning vigilante. He's not the Punisher, but he wants to help make things safer for others, and is willing to sacrifice a bit to do that. He dreams of cleaning up the streets so that he can retire back to running a store. Maybe he sold majority share in his business, so that he still has a steady stream of income, but isn't responsible for running it any more (naturally the sale included a guranteed option to buy the company back at a later date). Work with your ST. Your ST's job is to provide story hooks for your character to bite at. Your job is to make a character that has things he'll bite at.
#3 jadebrain Nov 14, 2011 11:57:59	H:tV? What does H:tV mean? Well ideally the character has a purpose. Perhaps as much as he enjoys being a shopkeeper, he's troubled by the idea that other shops in the area keep having to close up because they're losing too much money from all the vandalism and theft, so he's turning vigilante. He's not the Punisher, but he wants to help make things safer for others, and is willing to sacrifice a bit to do that. He dreams of cleaning up the streets so that he can retire back to running a store. Maybe he sold majority share in his business, so that he still has a steady stream of income, but isn't responsible for running it any more (naturally the sale included a guranteed option to buy the company back at a later date). That gives him a reason to take action, but not so much a reason to be affiliated with the other PC's. Sorry for not including the other PC's descriptions in the original post; one is a nearly broke cowboy-ish type who lost almost everything in a divorce, and dreams of rebuilding his life on a farm, and the other PC is a girl who has a magic twin (she was just introduced into the story as a replacement for one of the characters we just lost, and I don't really know much about her). The current story arc involves trying to find the cowboy's son, who was kidnapped by supernatural forces, but it's nearing its end, so we'll be starting a new campaign arc shortly. Work with your ST. Your ST's job is to provide story hooks for your character to bite at. Your job is to make a character that has things he'll bite at. Well, I've been trying to work with him, but neither of us really have any ideas.
#4 warrl Nov 14, 2011 12:12:27	A few ideas...
#5 Cohen95 Nov 14, 2011 14:45:26	H:tV? What does H:tV mean? Hunter: the Vigil. It sounded like that was the WoD venue you were playing. What game are you playing? As in, what type of creature are the PCs?
#6 jadebrain Nov 14, 2011 15:45:08	A few ideas...
#7 dropsonexistance Nov 15, 2011 23:57:21	Ah, yes. It is a hunter game, and the PC's are Human, though I think the new character, the girl with the twin, has some Changeling rules (I'm not entirely familiar with the Changeling book, so I'm not quite sure what that character's deal is, but I heard that her twin, taken with five dots in Retainer, is a Changeling, and that neither is really sure who the real girl is). It's not WoD if the background merits aren't coming back to bite you by the end. My last H:tV game ended with me as a dead werewolf (wolf-blooded).  Easiest way to figure out why your character is fighting is to identify his or her first supernatural experience. Ash Connolly had good instincts. And they were ringing a chorus this rainy Vancouver night, as she peered into a dark alley on the Eastside, searching for the flash of movement that might have been her perp. She had no proof except the swagger with which he walked from the direction of that club- which also was the direction she had just found the body.  Of course with all the Twilight crap going around, there'd be copycats. But it was unsettling to see it on her beat, and not the usual "how can these people live like this?" kind of unsettling. If she had hackles, they'd be all the way up. It definitely felt like she did. Then she sensed the movement behind her, on a fire escape.  A fast turn, drawing her gun- and the body came crashing down on her head, still kicking, blood squirting from its neck into her eyes, the reeking, unwashed weight bearing her down to the ground. She never did find the partier. But sometimes, after she got assigned to K-9, Ash took Dresden down those alleys again to sniff around. She wasn't the only one looking down there, either.