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The Role of Character 5 Alignment

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May 072015

Alignment is one of those weird game mechanics that can be viewed as both a hindrance and an aid. Because of this it is often the victim of a love hate type of relationship among players that can cause some heated disagreements. If they could apply their thoughts to its use they would not have so many words in lost to indifference.

When I speak of alignment in this article I’m not referring to any one system or style. I’m instead writing about the concept of what it can be in the development of character. If you apply such a system to developing the personality of your individual I believe it can be invaluable. Many of us walk through our lives with no “moral” code, at least not the way an alignment is is presented in game terms. That’s because games have a difficult time presenting alignment in an effective way. Since many alignments are presented as a code that creates a struggle of some sort, usually good and evil, they have to be broad so players can use them effectively with their creations. Not to mention many characters are created with to be adults ready to start their adventuring career. In reality this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In the real world we develop our “alignment” over years of character growth. For us our alignment is directly linked to what we believe, or to be more accurate, what we have come to believe. That is our faith directs our choices. This could mean you are guided by religion, science, or philosophy. It doesn’t matter what guides your thoughts what matters is that when you apply this to your character she has already lost years of development.

Matt Speaks RPG 8 The Role of Character 7 The BIG 3

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Jan 292015

In this session on creating character Matt talks about the BIG 3, or if you prefer the influences that help your character make decisions.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this and I hope you have been too.

The Role of Character Part 2

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Dec 122014

The Role of Character Part 2

Last week we introduced that concepts of ability scores and races. This week we’re going to take them a step farther. With ability scores we’re going to look at explaining the choices we make, by putting them into our background. Then we’ll take a look at stereotyping the basic races and how it can effect our characters. Plus, we’ll touch on the delicate etiquette of playing a race in a mixed party.

When it comes to stating out our characters most of us don’t give our attributes a second thought. But what if we did? Could it lead to some future line of thinking that might effect futue decision making? If we use Pathfinder and D&D as a base we Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, and Charisma. If you look at your rolls and then attempt to define them is there a story that helps define your character?

If we go back to the modified rolls in part one (Str 15, Int 13, Wis 11, Dex 18, Con 15, Cha 9) and use them lets see what we can create. Let’s not forget that this character is the female orc. She is by no means a weakling but she certainly isn’t a rower lifter. I haven’t totally figured out the what made her go the route of fighter but I’m going to say she was a late bloomer. Maybe her village was raided and she forced into a warriors role. This could be an excellent explanation for why she might not be as strong as other fighters.

Her intelligence and wisdom are fairly average so I wouldn’t go into too much detail on them, but I might come back to them later if I come up with a good idea.

Her constitution is above average but not super high. It isn’t something that you need to define, but I have an idea I’d like to put into her background. Her grandmother was a sorcerer or an alchemist and as a child she fed our character an elixir that supposedly helps the ward of illness. When playing this character she might offer up the elixir to members of the party. She would definitely speak of grandmother in a particular way. I lean towards a certain amount of reverence.

Her dexterity is extremely high and I did that on purpose. As a child she had several cats that she always had to chase down and rescue. The result of following cats and kittens into trees, along ledges and onto rooftops has helped develop her sense of balance. He love for cats can be so fun in game. The GM might through some cats into the game to purposely create a red herring for her. There are so many fun things this can cause.

HackMaster Players Handbook From Kenzer and Company

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Jul 282012

HackMaster Players Handbook

$ 59.99

The HackMaster Players Handbook is here! This book contains everything a player needs to play HackMaster. Included are 400 pages of player races, numerous classes, quirks and flaws, rules for honor, equipment, spells, combat rules, and so much more! With this one book you can enjoy endless hours of game play. The Players Handbook is fully compatible with the HackMaster Basic rules and all supplements and products released with the HackMaster Basic product line.