Length of Background/Origin

[Maccabe]

I was just curious, when you write up a character how long do you usually make his background/origin? 1 paragraph? 1 page?

[TheRavenIs]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I will say it all depends on a few things, 1. the player, 2. the complexity of the C, 3. just how the Player wants to have the C seen.

 

1. I have one player that I don't worry about a background, the player will always give me the info I need when I ask, then they write that down.

 

2. If the C is suppost to have a complex powerset, or the C itself is to have a complex set of disad's I'll ask for a longer one.

 

3. If the player has a view of how they want to C to be seen or interacted with I will ask for a longer one.

 

Now what do I like......as much info I can have so as to make the C alive in my mind and then......use that both for and agaist the C.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I usually go about a half page to a full page. IMO an origin should be long enough to impart the details that are important to how the character became a hero / villain / character of importance and to illustrate their personality, and no longer.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

As long as it needs to be. Long, detailed histories are cool and all, but I personally get bored reading some of the really long ones I come across sometimes. Sometimes short and sweet is best.

 

It might be a stylistic thing, though. Maybe some of the boring ones just didn't draw me in early enough to hold me, and done differently, might have me clamoring for more. :shrug:

[wylodmayer]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I have to go with the "as long as it needs to be" answer, although the player has to be accounted for, here, as well. I have - oops, had, forgot I moved (wah!) - one player who would usually give me a sentence and no more. He rarely started out with a firm grasp of the character in his own head, much less able to give me one, but always developed a unique and compelling personality as the game progressed - just his style.

 

The opposite end of that is the guy who gives me ten to twenty page full on fiction pieces (well, written, too), that don't TELL me his background so much as SHOW it to me, complete with supporting cast members that I can use in game. Very nifty.

 

My other players tend(ed) to give me about a page, give or take half a page in either direction.

[pendelfield]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

it usually depends on how i feel at the moment i write it, but at least a paragraph.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

it usually depends on how i feel at the moment i write it' date=' but at least a paragraph.[/quote']

 

And if I like he's background or anyone in my games I give them bonus exp.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

Page, page and a half. I try for a few paragraphs in history, personality and powers/tactics sections, with at least one paragraph in the rest.

[freakboy6117]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

as long as it needs to be or more normally as long as i can be bothered to type.

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

When I finally got back into a Champions campaign after about ten years, I

took my time with my character's background/origin, and eventually wound up

with about 4-5 pages of text (out of a total of 12 pages).

 

On the other hand, if you're giving your GM ideas for bad guys (like I'm doing

for our GM right now), you can go into a little more detail, especially if you're

describing the villain's powers, but not actually writing them up. In this case,

having about 8-10 pages of background/origin isn't too much to have.

 

 

Major Tom

[Lemurion]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

Enough to get the feel for the character.

 

Generally about 3-500 words minimum.

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

My current character (Icon) has a background of 20+ pages; however, the 'traditional' background writeup is only a couple of pages long. The rest of that is me outlining the first year (24 issues) of her crime-fighting career. Each issue is described as a paragraph outlining the plot, the subplot, and any important events that occured.

 

The reason I went this route is that the GM (Ben) wanted us to have been superheroes for up to a year, in order to establish ourselves as a team before the game started; we're in a PbeM, and he didn't want to deal with the inevitable "everyone introduces themselves" part of the game. So, I took it upon myself to write up all of our background continuity.

[Patriot]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I've seen from one paragraph to 2-70ct spiral note books(glad I wasnt the gm for that hero)

[assault]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

By preference, a few paragraphs, max. Unfortunately, it seems that the current trend is for much longer writeups. This is a real pain.

 

One of these days I am going to draw my character's origin using Microheroes. (http://www.geocities.com/wicket_harley/ ). One or two pages should do... I can't see any GM complaining.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I'm in the As Long As It Needs To Be camp.

 

I try and write at least some of the brackground as a story which always takes up more space than a simply descriptive background by itself.

 

The story part allows me to convey personality more clearly as well. and I like to write. a lot.

[Black Omega]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

For the Runaways game I'm currently in the GM started by asking for a background for the kids parents. That went 5 pages. The actual background of the PC was only a page and a half. But how much can you have happen in the life of a 15 year old.

[Weldun]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

I find myself in the as long as it needs to be camp, but recently I've had 2-3 page backgrounds, simply because in most cases the characters are relatively complex or, as was one case, they are rather old (170 years for the Specter). That being said, usually I'm the only one who sees it. I mostly write them up as a way of cementing the character firmly in my mind.

[Great Beyond]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

It depends on how much I need to work on the character to make it real. Often I'll run it through this questionare: http://www.the-chaos-crew.com/swrpg/gm/resource/20questions.htm - 55 questions designed to flesh out a background and help you come up with cool ideas for that character. The one at the end of the link is Star Wars specific, with mentions of the Force and all, but easily adapted to views on religion and a "higher power" or how your characters super power.

 

One of the other things I do is flesh out each of the disadvantages. Sure "Hunted by: Dr Destructo (-11, more powerful) = 10 points" is all that's required, but it's nice to get behind the disads and flesh them out a bit. So each disad gets a paragraph where possible detailing the how and why.

 

So all in all - perhaps 3 pages, and mostly for my own benifit and not meant for public consumption.

[Cancer]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

Multiple pages (more than two, not as many as ten) for me. However, in approximately all our campaigns, the GMs dish out extra character construction points to those who fill out starting questionnaires before the opening session, and the response to those usually occupies a full page at least.

[CBikle]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

For a beginning character:

 

1 page: good (or very good if it's concise).

 

2-4 pages: the player is motivated.

 

10+ pages: the player is insane and thinks his character is a real person.

[Lemurion]

Re: Length of Background/Origin

 

For a beginning character:

 

1 page: good (or very good if it's concise).

 

2-4 pages: the player is motivated.

 

10+ pages: the player is insane and thinks his character is a real person.

 

I once wrote 113,000 words (300 plus pages) on an FH character. (I was writing a novel and part way in I decided to write the character up in HERO as a good way of defining his personality).