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View Full Version : DM Help Asking Better Character Creation Questions (PEACH)



Zap Dynamic
2014-07-02, 05:51 PM
Hi everyone! First time posting in this part of the forums. I gave this the "DM Help" prefix, but it's absolutely appropriate for players too.

I was thinking about character/party dynamic earlier today, and wondered how it could be best served at character creation. Lately I've been relying on the GOTE technique used by some actors:

Goal: What do you want?
Obstacle: What is keeping you from it?
Tactics: What will you do to overcome your obstacles?
Expectation: What will you do once you get what you want (this is often a new Goal)?

I'll ask this during recruitment for PbP games, and try to work these questions into the earliest parts of a live game (my players prefer to build characterization during play rather than create it all before we start). It's great for providing concise, potent direction in play, but it doesn't really feel like an RPG to me.

I had the idea to marry this with the mechanics of character creation. Here's what I came up with (admittedly, it doesn't look much alike):


You have recently received a sum of [starting wealth], [an example of the money's relative value, e.g. "a year's wages for a commoner"]. It will finally allow you to journey out into [the setting].
What do you want out of [the setting]? (Goal)
Why do you want it? (Expectation)
Is this a large sum of money for you?
How did you come by this money? (Obstacle)
What will you buy with this money?
How will you use this new gear? (Tactics)
Why travel with your party members?



#2, the Goal, is more of a Supergoal (which is useful, but the GM will need to provide relevant short-term goals to supplement it). #5, the Obstacle, asks players what was standing in their way in the sense that it asks them how it was overcome by the money. #7, the Tactics, becomes a handy tool for the GM to know what kinds of encounters to provide for the players. Finally, the Expectation is exemplified in #3 because I think "Goal-Expectation/Obstacle-Tactics" is a more evocative order. The Goal question asks players why their characters are going on this adventure in the first place, and the Expectation question defines the character's motivation for that goal. The final question is one I always ask to try and prevent party meltdowns... it's good to get everyone thinking about teamwork from the very beginning.

What does everyone think of these questions? Would you incorporate them into your own games?

Thrudd
2014-07-02, 06:45 PM
Hi everyone! First time posting in this part of the forums. I gave this the "DM Help" prefix, but it's absolutely appropriate for players too.

I was thinking about character/party dynamic earlier today, and wondered how it could be best served at character creation. Lately I've been relying on the GOTE technique used by some actors:

Goal: What do you want?
Obstacle: What is keeping you from it?
Tactics: What will you do to overcome your obstacles?
Expectation: What will you do once you get what you want (this is often a new Goal)?

I'll ask this during recruitment for PbP games, and try to work these questions into the earliest parts of a live game (my players prefer to build characterization during play rather than create it all before we start). It's great for providing concise, potent direction in play, but it doesn't really feel like an RPG to me.

I had the idea to marry this with the mechanics of character creation. Here's what I came up with (admittedly, it doesn't look much alike):


You have recently received a sum of [starting wealth], [an example of the money's relative value, e.g. "a year's wages for a commoner"]. It will finally allow you to journey out into [the setting].
What do you want out of [the setting]? (Goal)
Why do you want it? (Expectation)
Is this a large sum of money for you?
How did you come by this money? (Obstacle)
What will you buy with this money?
How will you use this new gear? (Tactics)
Why travel with your party members?



#2, the Goal, is more of a Supergoal (which is useful, but the GM will need to provide relevant short-term goals to supplement it). #5, the Obstacle, asks players what was standing in their way in the sense that it asks them how it was overcome by the money. #7, the Tactics, becomes a handy tool for the GM to know what kinds of encounters to provide for the players. Finally, the Expectation is exemplified in #3 because I think "Goal-Expectation/Obstacle-Tactics" is a more evocative order. The Goal question asks players why their characters are going on this adventure in the first place, and the Expectation question defines the character's motivation for that goal. The final question is one I always ask to try and prevent party meltdowns... it's good to get everyone thinking about teamwork from the very beginning.

What does everyone think of these questions? Would you incorporate them into your own games?

I feel like this focuses too much on the starting money. I know you're trying to tie it to the process of making the character, and the only thing you really get to choose at character creation after your race and class is the equipment. But the starting money is so small and ultimately irrelevant that I don't see the point of focusing on it.
It is assumed that the starting money each character has represents whatever remains of their life-savings/earnings up to that point in their lives. It is also assumed that they have chosen to embark on a life of adventure, and will spend every last penny on the equipment and supplies necessary to begin their first expedition.

I feel the pertinent questions for a standard D&D setting would be:
Why do you want to be an adventurer?
What do you hope to gain or what are your goals?
And for the players to answer as a group: Why are you traveling together/how did you meet?

The first two questions are tied fairly closely with each other and the player's choice of race and class, which are really the only major decisions of character creation. The campaign setting will vary it somewhat, but some classes come ready made with certain goals.

Also depending on the campaign setting, there are only so many reasons a person would want to be an adventurer. The main reward for adventuring is gaining vast amounts of wealth and collecting magic items and spells. So the real question is not "why be an adventurer?" but "why do you want all that wealth and magic?" and "why would you willingly go into dangerous places full of monsters, if not for wealth and magic?"
Some characters might not actually care about the wealth, but adventure in order to defeat monsters and protect civilization. Paladins, clerics, rangers, and druids are most likely to have this sort of goal.


Your questions might be more applicable to a game where there are no classes, and starting equipment defines the character more.