Character Background

[DusterBoy]

I'm posting this here because I'm working on a Champions character right now. I know his stats and powers, etc, are (roughly) but I'm having a right old time figuring out his background except in the vaguest terms, mainly because I have very little experience of any city except Oxford, and I really can't see it as a City of Heroes, as it were.

 

So what I want to know is, how do you lot come up with the backgrounds for your characters? It is background first, or do you figure it out afterwards?

 

Any advice, information, etc, you can give me would ge greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Character Background

 

Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Either way, they generally inform each other.

 

Supers are particularly easy however, because every city in comics is archetypal. Also, you don't have to get terribly specific and can lean on the genre conventions really heavily.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Character Background

 

I usually think out the character first as what the vague sort of power is (ice powers, The ability to control machinery etc). Then I think of something to make him unique, like a police officer who can control machinery, or a woman who can only cover herself with ice can't manipulate it. Usually I do the two at the same time. Here is an example of how I came up with my idea the Silver Knight for an upcoming game:

 

The Gm told me he was doing a low powered super game, 250 points in total. I thought to myself, "Now what is low powered? I got it a weapon master!" I had Ultimate Martial Artist and Fantasy Hero, so I decided why not a medieval knight? But I didn't want a time traveller (Too cliche) or someone who used modern technology to replicate it (I feared it would make him too powerful).

 

So after reading Mystic World, I came up with the idea he was an imaginary friend! This meant I didn't need intense knowledge of the middle ages, since the character's world was fictional. I made the child who thought him up a young girl (Not every girl dreams of glittering vampires). I then thought, Now how do I make this interresting?

 

I decided the girl herself was 16, so she doesn't like having this imaginary friend. For the character himself, I thought since he was an imaginary friend, he should also have imaginary friends powers, invisibility and desolidified.

 

Once I got all these ideas, I put it down on hero designer, and voila! One perfectly acceptable character!

 

Then me and the GM worked out any missing blanks and plot hooks that could be fitted in.

 

If this doesn't work for you, you can always just meet up with your GM and discuss it with him. Or post the idea here and we can help you.

[bubba smith]

Re: Character Background

 

i'd take a character and give him a background i couldn't have, athlete for example and build from there

[ghost-angel]

Re: Character Background

 

I usually start with some personality elements, fill in a few details, work up some of the character, go back to fill in some more background details - sometimes these are simple things like experiences the character has with their powers, or interactions with others in their lives.

 

Every little bit kind of builds into a whole as I move back and forth from build to background.

 

My last character though, got kind of messed up as for some reason I built a series of Disadvantages, then a background, adjust the disadvantages, then finally actually built the character mechanically - and somewhere in there I had started to change this and that and the points and Disads got all kinds of messed up. Don't Characterize Tired!

[Shadow Hawk]

Re: Character Background

 

I work backwords: first a build the character, then I try to justify it. Often, I will have to alter things to match.

Thought process kind of like...

 

Mutant Telekinetic. Lots of connections with the rich and powerful. No, he's not rich himself... err... he works with rich people... but they don't treat him like a servant... no, not a doctor... oh, a CHEF! No one wants to offend a good chef. Oh, shoot, he'll need chef skills, and knowledges... what knowledges are appropriate? Hmmm, need points... if I drop the TK Multipower by 5 points, then I can drop the slot cost by a point each, that frees up 12 points...

[Split Decision]

Re: Character Background

 

Yes, make up the playing piece first, and then assign the background. Sometimes, from a very general background, and the spent character points on a sheet of paper, the connection between them is obvious.

[Utech]

Re: Character Background

 

It is often helpful from a roleplaying perspective to base your character on someone you know -- or on a mixture of several different people you know. Keep in mind that that the people do not have to be real. Feel free to base your character's background on fictitious people.

 

After picking one or more interesting people to use as a base, consider how this person might attain super powers. What's interesting to you. Would it be fun if this person was approached by aliens? Visited by a deity? Found a magic item? Used super science? Was part of a government program? Was a mutant? Was bitten by a radioactive poodle?

 

After picking the origin of your character's powers, consider what happened next. Did your character revel in the power? Try to run from it? Accidentally do something bad with the power? Turn to a life of crime before choosing the path of heroism? Exact revenge? Immediately go public and swear to protect poodles everywhere?

 

What were the consequences of your character's decision? Was a loved one endangered or killed? Did he gain fame and glory? Was he despised? Did he earn an enemy for life?

 

After that, you should be pretty much set. You'll be able to talk about where your character lives. His hopes and dreams. His loved ones. Long and short term goals as a person and as a superhero. His relationship with other superfolk, the media, the public, the mutant poodles from Planet X...

[Split Decision]

Re: Character Background

 

Yes- origin is something to think about even before youd ecide what you want your playing piece to do. A general, and then more specific, examination of your character's origin is vital to determining not only who they are now, but who they were before, and how that might have changed.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: Character Background

 

TheQuestionMan's Top 5 Character Background Questions.

 

1. Ask the GM a few questions about the Campaign Setting. Try to fit your Character into the game.

 

2. Work in your Powers Origins and Motivations.

 

3. How did your Hunted, Watched, etc... come about?

 

4. How does your Hero crimefight?

 

5. Give an example of him in action

 

 

Cougar II

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66326

 

Cougar I

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56153

 

Guardian II

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1275329&postcount=2

 

Riot II

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59053

 

 

QM

[Split Decision]

Re: Character Background

 

I enjoy writing backgrounds in a slightly different format than what is common here on these boards. I write a history of the character as a comic book character in the form of a popular article presented to a reader of today, in order to document what was going on in the character's book, his universe, in the real world, and in the bullpen of creators who worked on his book.

 

From that I can distill and embellish to a more traditional character background. But sometimes I will just let the phony historical perspective piece stand on its own.

 

It's a little meta, but that's how it comes out of me.

[Karma]

Re: Character Background

 

Usually:

 

Name (super alias) then Powers (not point wise, just what sort). These can be swapped around, but it's usually that way (I love words and turning words into characters is a hobby (see my thread "What's in a name" from 2 years ago)

Personality

Background (it's good to know how a character thinks before you work out why (Villains usually have very different backgrounds from heroes)

 

Stat out.

[Mendou]

Re: Character Background

 

I normally start from a simple character concept, a few-word description of the character's abilities. From there, I figure out the character's name (both heroic alias and secret identity) and personality, and start working up the background. After that, I fill in background details according to the world the character will be played in and get an idea of the character's costume. Only after the character is created do I bother statting the character out.

[pinecone]

Re: Character Background

 

I'm posting this here because I'm working on a Champions character right now. I know his stats and powers, etc, are (roughly) but I'm having a right old time figuring out his background except in the vaguest terms, mainly because I have very little experience of any city except Oxford, and I really can't see it as a City of Heroes, as it were.

 

So what I want to know is, how do you lot come up with the backgrounds for your characters? It is background first, or do you figure it out afterwards?

 

Any advice, information, etc, you can give me would ge greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Hey take Amnesia, and two or three mystery Hunteds...

[薔薇語]

Re: Character Background

 

When it comes to character generation I usually start with a special effect / power. The character I am currently tweaking came to be because of watching "The Mask" with Jim Carrey. I took it to a different angle but all the same I started with a power. Then in the processes of thinking about the power, I work up a character that makes that power interesting. IE, what goes with an ancient mystic mask that holds various incarnations? An Archaeologist, Perfect! Next is tweak the concept to fit the specific game, be it City of Heroes, Teen Champs, or Galactic Saviors. Then develop the character write up and background at the same time. I like this skill, why does she have it? She did X, so she would have Y skill, and so forth.

 

I rarely think of a concept prior to placing a power to go with it. IE I don't think, "Ah, Archaeologist, therefore Multiform mask OIF!"

 

La Rose

[AlexShinjo]

Re: Character Background

 

When I am building a character the first thing I do is consider the setting.

 

I consider what kind of character the group might need. If its a new game then I consider the world.

 

Write up the character then write the background based on the character I have writen.

 

But I also know a guy who will find out about the game first then buy a miniature and build a character based on the miniature he purchased.