WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

1. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #1

   I have been thinking that it would be really interesting to roll up some PCs, with the players input, but have them be distinctly like themselves in the real world at leas on several critical areas.
   
   Like... what if you lived in another time w/ magic, and what if youar father was a warrior, and such and such.
   
   Say for instance myself... my dad was a military officer from from the most prestigious military in the country (West Point), and now he works on High energy lasers w/ Physicists, I am finishing up my Physics Degree, but also have a strong military-esquae background, played college football etc. So it is reasonable to assume I might well have been a military officer, or maybe even a mage in this fantasy world.
   Likewise I could evinsion several of my friends being archers, rogues, priests etc.
   
   Most people play thier characters as a shadow of themselves to some degree or another, as most peope are not completely comfortable playing someone of a completely different subset in physique, race, culture, or ethos, but the idea here would really to be playing an alternate of themselves. or at least what the "OTHER" players and th GM think of them (to be unbiased).
   
   I think it might be neat, what do you guys think?

2. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #2

   I like the idea. I'd probebly be a mage in a fantasy world as I read a lot.

3. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #3

   In my seven years of gaming, I have noticed a certain trend in the creation of characters that relates to the player. Each character is an echo of the player, or is a foil, or opposite, to the player. The echo phenomenom is easy to explain, we play what we know.
   
   If Joe has a belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys Bruce Lee movies, it is pretty likely that his characters are going to be warrior monks, barefisted brawlers and other strongly physical characters. This doesnt mean he doesnt like the other character classes, but playing a monk or other combat oriented character lets him play what he knows without many of the restrictions he has to contend with in real life. (Job, time contraints, money, not hurting other people)
   
   On the other hand, Jack is sometimes clumsy, is prone to breaking things, and generally comes up on the short end of a trade. Jack likes to put together a sly rogue who ends up getting the big piece of the pie, making the moves he sees in the James Bond movie, and getting the bling bling. As a rogue he is able to play out something he cannot do in real life, for whatever reason.
   
   As I said before, I have been playing for some time now, and I am not a small man at six foot two, and 235 pounds. One of my most memorable characters was a lithe, five foot tall female cyborg who had a carnivorus apetite for steak, Mountain Dew, and pop rocks.
   
   Playing the echo character is not a difficult thing, but after a while all of the characters start to run together. After so many years of always playing the largest member of the party, and always being a warrior things started to get old. It was time to explor other avenues.
   
   Something to think about for the next time you sit down to play a game, instead of picking your good old standby race (humans for me) instead either pick a race you dislike, or have never played. The same goes for the PCs class. You might discover why you dislike the race/class, and might bring a new light to it.
   
   My characters played in the Strolen forums thus far
   
   Cary Ripton - a miner/driver/pilot. Human drone escaping the gears of the corporate machine
   
   Watcher - a wood-kin, or what most folk would call an ent
   
   Lord Aelfwine - typical elven lord, but a hard nosed republican
   
   Beleg - Aelfwines rather naive son
   
   Duke Alexi Dragomir - an arrogant SOB
   
   Fox - a fox born werefox still unaccustomed to being a shapechanger
   
   Lt. Kim Marney and Capt Stern - navy types, more NPCs than PCs

4. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #4

   Heh, echo players...
   
   One of my players has actually embarked on a crusade to rid all the other players of their echo-playing. So far he hasn't succeeded (he has actually become rather unpopular).
   
   I have persuaded my players to play uncharacteristic classes and races in the past. The most interesting result was when the "always a thief" player played a templar/paladin/goody-good-guy. He gave a stellar performance, and has to this date not been surpassed in that achievement.

5. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #5

   one of the more peculiar games I ran was a game of Vampire: the Masquerade. For those unfamiliar with the game, vampires are divided into clans determined by blood lineage back to one of 13 vampiric sires. These clans are as bound by cliche as the D&D character classes. To break out of the cliches I ran a game with a single stipulation, that all of the players had to be from the same clan.
   
   The responce ran from simple acceptance to borderline shock. It took the group an hour of negotiations to accept a single clan.
   
   For those who are familiar with the game, my players consistently played a Tremere uber-thaumaturge, a Toreador harpy, and a Gangrel wanderer. Eventually they settled on the Followers of Set as a clan, with one being a Setite thaumaturge, a setite Harpy, and a Setite loner. Since most of the time Followers of Set characters are invariable drug dealers, whores, and gangbangers, the experiment was a so-so success

6. WWMWBI - The PCs were personifications of the players

   #6

   Thats why I was sort of suggesting that the "other" players decide on the character for a particular person.
   
   As far as my characters hmmnnn... I have to say there are a few who are like me, and a few that are absolutely not me. Most of the time I try to specifically create a character form the ground up with motivations, morals, and backgrounds different than myself. I find it is a pretty rewarding experience.
   Many of the characters in the group i play with are definitely distinct personalities in their own rights, whetehr it is My Character, Saemond, Pawyn, Dru-Ethlan, Ayanna etc... More important than the physical differences the characters have is thier persoanlities and how they approach problems.
   
   And i think that is one of the main things to take into account, is that my characters wont make gunpowder, build electrical batteries from scratch, or do any of the things I can easily do in real life. Likewise none of my characters approach problems or character interations the same way. Players need to focus on the dedication to the role, not the outcome of the mission, or treasure, or gettign a critical hit.
   In my campaigns I try to get (ussually in vein) to gt the players to have a decnet background, disposition etc. Not only does this provide innumerable adventure ideas, but it makes roleplaying a hell of a lot funner for the PC and the other characters. In a sense they can't cheat because the character's life is right there (at least to a larger degree than otherwise)
   
   If your campaign isn't going this way, try awarding players more for playing in character , exp etc. Id even give a bonus if they write a half page or answer a questionaire about thier character. (:
   
   As a side note on interesting characters as a departure form the familiar... one of the best campaigns we ever played was a campaign where everone was a goblin, and all the problems were goblin orientated, and it was a delightful experience, seeign the world from that angle !

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