Beyond the Numbers

by Nancy Schultz



Freeform games aside, most RPG characters have a character sheet that is really just a list of numbers representing how strong or weak your character is with certain traits. While we all know that a good character is so much more than that, it can sometimes be difficult to make all of that "more" come out in a simple character background in a way that can be fully realized by the GM. Sometimes the numbers are all you have, and the rest of the character won't come, leaving that 3 points you paid for contacts just sitting there, taunting you as wasted points.

What's needed is a way to take the character beyond those numbers and to show your GM (and maybe even yourself) what a wonderful character you have to play. Several of them exist, and I'm going to touch on just a handful of them, why I think they work, and when they may not.

20 Questions

What it is: The GM (or frequently the sourcebook itself) provides the players with a list of questions (not necessarily 20) that they should answer in character. These questions range from the purely biographical (How old are you? Do you have any siblings? Are both your parents alive? What do they do?) To the deeply philosophical (How do you view death? What is your greatest fear? Do you believe in a higher power? Which one? Why?).
Why it works: 20 Questions is a method that really makes the player think about their characters, and answers more than just the basics about them. The philosophical questions sometimes have the player put the character through some real soul searching, which often results in a deep, vibrant character.
Why it doesn't: Sometimes the philosophical questions are a bit too deep to answer until a character has seen some serious game play. Also, someone has to come up with the list of questions. Some games, such as World of Darkness and 7th Sea, come with the lists of questions already in the chapter on character creation; however, sometimes those questions aren't as applicable as the GM would like, so the GM has to modify the list. Other games, the GM will have to come up with the list all on her own, and with everything that she has to do, coming up with questions, and ones that the players may not see as relevant, can be a bit of a pain.
Who should use this: This method is great for people who intimately know their characters, but aren't so sure as to how to put all of this in a background. It's also good for people who like to mix their role-play with deep philosophy and questions about the weight of the world. Like the Favorites List (see below), this method really should be used in conjunction with a "regular" background.

3x3x3

What is it: Floyd C. Wesel developed this method, which involves coming up with three friends, three contacts and three foes of the character. Each of these NPCs is fleshed out with a name, a nationality (if relevant, some games it won't be), a profession or specialty, why the PC and NPC have the relationship they do, the last time the PC saw them, and some sort of character quirk. These characters shouldn't be over-the-top types, and certainly not game-breakers. Just people who are part of the PC's life beyond any family mentioned in the background only.
Why it works: It provides nine NPCs per character that the GM doesn't have to, and can provide nine (or more) plot hooks for the PCs, which can be invaluable to your GM. It fleshes out the PC's social circles and backgrounds, providing some specific people who have been in the character's life before. In the realm of plot hooks, it provides nine characters that the GM can introduce without having to break the flow of the game to establish what is the backstory between a given PC and NPC.
Why it doesn't: Some people have enough trouble coming up with a few personality notes for one character, let alone ten. Also though it may seem like it, it's not necessarily a quick bit of work that someone can do while everyone is sitting around making characters for the next game. Some people may be able to pull it off that fast, but most won't. It can be easy for people to make up NPCs that will never be used because the campaign is set in Chicago, and some joker made all their NPCs from New York. Finally, some campaigns can suffer from a surplus of NPCs, and this method adds nine per PC to that number, which can get unwieldy with large groups.
Who should use this: People with too many characters running around in their heads. GMs who want to have more personal investment in the game for their player's characters should encourage this method, offering XP incentives to help persuade those who are generally too lazy to do any serious background work. This method also makes a nice substitute for a "conventional" background.

Diary

What it is: As the name implies, it's an in-character diary or journal, detailing out the character's views on the early part of their life before (and even during) the campaign.
Why it works: The Diary method can really help someone find a character's voice, as they write the events from their point of view. Depending on how detailed the diary is, extensive character background can be developed this way, and with it the character's personality through how they write. The more artistic players can even express the character further by varying the font, page color and even border of the paper used when writing the diary. Also, with the abundance of Blogs out there, these character journals can be kept electronically through Blogs for modern and futuristic characters (it often doesn't feel quite right to use a Blog for a character set in a time before computers were common). This method may be extended into the character's time in play, providing an easy way for the player to keep track of the events of the campaign through her character's voice.
Why it doesn't: Like the 3x3x3 method, it's time intensive. A detailed diary is beyond what most people can crack out while waiting for everyone else to finish up their character. It's also a lot of work, significantly more than the 3x3x3, depending on how extensive the player decides to get. It also leaves out a lot more of the "truth" of what happened, meaning that either the GM has to make it up, or else the player needs to provide a second background to clarify what the player intends the background events to really be.
Who should use this: Writers and storytellers are the best at this background method, and GMs who have players like this who choose the diary method shouldn't be surprised by an artistic storyteller turning in an actual physical diary as the character's background (for female characters, it may even be written in pink or purple ink).

Favorites List

What is it: A simple list of categories where the player picks out the character's favorite and least favorite item in that category. A lot of reality show websites use this method to provide a snapshot of their contestants. Like 20 Questions, a Favorite's List works best when used in conjunction with a standard background.
Why it works: While it seems shallow and light, a character's favorite and least favorite food, drink, car, color, etc. can often provide a lot of insight into what the character is like. It's also something that if the categories are prepared, a player can usually do for her character at a character creation session along with or immediately after working out the character's numbers (or sometimes even before if the player knows what sort of character she plans to play and needs to wait her turn with the book).
Why it doesn't: The list of categories needs to be prepared ahead of time (though it can be swiped from the website of just about any reality show out there). Also some players may see such a list as being frivolous and pointless, and perhaps even insulting to their role-playing skills if a GM requires a list. A Favorite's List is just a snapshot of the character and doesn't provide any real answers as to why they prefer green to blue, so it doesn't get as deep as some GMs might like.
Who should use this: This is a good kick-start for a background, or perhaps one of the other, "deeper" background methods. Players who want to provide a quick snapshot of their character that's a bit larger than the numbers, but not as deep as the other methods (or when there isn't enough time for one of the other methods) would probably get the most out of this. It's also something that can be requested of the players that never seem to have time to provide a proper background.


These are but a few of the many methods out there for developing a character, and there's also the tried and true method of simply writing a background for them. Nothing is wrong with a character being just a list of numbers (if that's the sort of character you want to play). However, a good character is more than numbers, and using these, or indeed any method that goes beyond simple background can take a good character and make it great.


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