Two of the players in the new group have never played RPGs. That in and of itself is fine, but maybe I'm just an actor-type player; newer players tend to make two-dimensional characters. One of the new players is literally playing a version of He-Man. The character's backstory is that he is from the planet Eternia and he's a prince etc. He seems to be garnering most of his inspiration from the Dolph Lundgren version, which is actually better than the alternatives (the He-man cartoon from my youth does NOT hold up well). Still, the character is a meathead and a goon, a caricature and a one-note joke. I guess we'll see how long the charm lasts.
The other new player didn't even create their own character, and so wasn't involved in the process at all (the DM put everything together for them). This new player, through no fault of their own, only understands the rude mechanical core of the game. Their character, at the end of the day, is a list of powers and abilities. Perhaps eventually they will work to create a deeper personality. They didn't have a character name until the DM gave them one two sessions in.
Conversely, myself and at least one other player tend to create characters with depth. Deep characters engage with the story more, as they have complex motivations and a rich backstory can give the DM opportunities for engagement. If my character explicitly has a sister which he worries about, then the DM has a ready-made source of adventure engagement and conflict. On the other hand, the DM gave new player 2 above a sister and used them as a plot device to get them working with the rest of the party. However, the sister wasn't much motivation, and the new player balked at the idea of rescuing for a second (which is sad really).
Normally I create characters based on motivations and (at least in real-world RPGs like Vampire) accents which can let me slip in and out of character to the group through aural cues. It's difficult to try and work with accents in D & D, though not impossible. This time I eschewed that practice and made a character based on the needs of the group (4th Edition D & D is a team effort). Then I sort of built them up around that concept.
My own character is in fact uncomfortably close to a facet of myself, the happy-go-lucky night owl socialite. It has gotten me thinking about D & D as either a source or a solution for identity crisis. Many are familiar with the supposed dangers of the game and it's ability to change or warp a person's mindset.
But what about D & D as therapy? What about exploring a facet of one's own personality, not in order to change the self wholesale, but to gain a greater self-understanding? I'm not sure if what I'm doing in this game is at that level of soul-searching, but I will admit that I sometimes miss my hard-partying late nights from a decade ago. Perhaps this character can allow me to relive those days in a more responsible fashion.
The other player in the new group who creates deep characters (player 3?) is still trying to solidify who their character is. I like this approach as well as the deep backstory one. As long as the player is working to create a character rather than a caricature then the story will feel more alive. It was still amusing watching them question their character's motivations during the first session (why would I do this? Why now? Etc).
This whole experience actually makes me long a bit for my other RPG group, who haven't met in nearly a year now. Those guys all created rich characters; some of them explored them while playing, and some of them spent time before games working out backstory. It was great roleplaying in the end, the characters were vivid and three-dimensional, and at times I felt that the scenes created were poignant.
I guess as long as everyone's having fun playing the game then it's all good, but for me character depth is more rewarding than anything else. It's better than +5 baldrics of efficacious stabinating or slaying ancient mauve dragons.
-Merlin out
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone y'allz
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Roleplay as Therapy is a fairly old idea. It is commonly said that many people express the aspects of their personality they either struggle with or they deliberately hide (e.g. Evil Parties).
ReplyDeleteI know as a DM I expressed my more evil-genius side often in games. A few players said "How does a nice guy like you think up that kind of evil stuff?"
But I love being the bad guy to a table full of people who want to be the good guy. I LOVE the Heroic Epic. The conquering of self and environment to succeed despite near failure. The struggle of the 'average joe' to become the 'extraordinary guy'. It's what I love about D&D, the chance to turn "Mr Jim Bob the Goat Herd" into "Jim Bob The Gallant Hero of Whassisname, who Defeated EvilAsshole and now has a statue of him outside our blessed town"... Those are the stories I like to encourage my players to tell (and I try to help organise). I tend to find that people who play heroes become more heroic in their real life.
Right on. I tend to play heroic types myself, though they are often "reluctant heroes" as the archetype goes. I quite honestly don't like starting as a super-average joe. I prefer my character to start with at least some extra-ordinary characteristic or power to set them apart. That being said, I never saw myself in a leader-type role, but I've been in several roleplaying groups where my character becomes party leader by default. That leadership "experience" has helped me in my professional lives.
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