Tag: backstory

More Inspirational Reading

If you copy from one book, that’s plagiarism; if you copy from many books, that’s research.

(Professor Wallace Notestein, 1929. Much re-quoted)

I’m often asked about sources of inspiration, and while my previous article mentioned some forms that I use, it still leaves out a lot of the details.

When I am hoping for a particular theme, I will research other literature and media from that theme. For example my previous Fates Worse Than Death game had a dark, gothic feel to it, and so I included characters named Patricia and Dr Avalanche.

Other names come from mangling themes. In this game, we had a Gang named the “Tea Drinkers” (after their predilection for Soma tea, that supposedly improved their Psychic Powers). Major Players included Cam(from chamomile), Tets (from Tetley), and Ty (from Typhoo).

In Mathematics, an “abelian group” is defined as “a group for which the elements commute“. So  my group of Math Addicts, who lived outside of Gang Turf, took the name “The Abelians”. A subtle in-joke that only I got, but I used nonetheless 🙂

Foreign Languages:

The first port of call here is Latin. I was recently asked about a name for a character that was a Butterfly. I instantly brought up a page of Biological Latin Names to choose from, and/or alter to suit.

In D&D, there are creatures called Illithids (or Mind Flayers) that have tentacled faces, making them look like an octopus or squid (similar to the Ood from Dr Who). My natural tendency when I got to play one of these monstrosities was to call him “Ceph“.

Lists of foreign names are plentiful across t’interwebs, so browsing for one with a particular meaning is quite fruitful. My “Spanish” ex-noble in a fantasy-based New World game was called Sancho (“sainted. holy”), to clash with his obviously-tainted appearance (albino).

Others:

Some of my favourite names have included:

  • Brian’s Little Brother. (We never knew who Brian was)
  • Billy-O (he was run out of town)
  • Santiago (From Alpha Centauri)
  • Hexametric Ice (a group of Math Addicts. Considered to be “special snowflakes” by their peers)
Place Names

Several of my games are set in Urban areas, with large housing blocks. Often, I name these after politicians. A previous Cyberpunk game centred around Tebbit Block, with Lawson Towers, Lamont Park, Hurd Housing and Howe Block all playing their parts.

Pub names are usually randomly generated, but occasionally I manage to mangle something well enough for my needs. The latest is “The Happy Greeter”, where a gang of Bikers hang out. A mix of “Happy Eater” motorway services chain, and “The Salutation” (a biker bar in Nottingham, UK).

Summary

Overall, I take inspiration for any and every place I can get it! Mix it up, mangle it, twist it until it fits!

Take a favourite TV show, poem, song, and change it just enough that it is not instantly recognisable, but still traceable. Draw on your own hometown, or places you have visited (when I re-ran B2 – Keep on the Borderlands, I cribbed all the names from a local street-map!).

Do not be afraid of your players finding out where you got the ideas! It can be good to watch them look out for other references!

Where do you get your names from? What have you been pleased with?

I Am a Bad Player.

And GM.

Aliens!
Aliens!

I’m sat here listening to Aliens (again), and am reminded of just how much unstated backstory the Characters have.

Obviously Ripley was seen in the previous movie, so we know her story. But it is also made clear that this is not the Marines’ first rodeo.

There are many references to previous missions, that leaves us with unanswered questions:

  • Why is there a new Lieutenant? Why is he so inexperienced? What happened to the last one?
  • What exactly happened on Arcturus, and why doesn’t it matter?
  • What happened when the dispersal wasn’t nice and clean?
  • What is it with Drake and Vasquez?
  • and many, many more …

Am I the only one who doesn’t actually want these questions answered?

They make for a very characterful movie. The Marines are Individuals, with History. But that does not mean I want a whole series of prequels and prologues, just to explain why those snippets were included!

And I often feel the same way in RPGs.

Plot!
PLOT This Way!

As a GM I have learned the hard way that making any random, off-the-cuff comment about an NPC will be taken as an invitation to investigate to the utmost (and probably expect a reward for “solving” the situation). (On the other hand, subtly hinting at Quests the NPC may be offering is ignored. I now use these signs, highlighted in neon: )

As a player, I often take these things too far the other way. I will brush off obvious Plot-lines as “flavour” and ignore the GM’s finely-crafted introduction of new adventures based upon my back-story as “colour”.

I hope we all recognise these behaviours. Players who listen to your (GM) monologue, seemingly intent on jumping on anything they see as a CLUE and jumping in:

“He’s wearing RED shoes? Like the incidental guy we met 6 sessions ago? AND he has a hat on?!? C’MON guys! We have to follow this up!”

And also:

He has the same name as my estranged father. I’m sure several people do. I need to buy some reloads, can we move on? He also has an accent and dialect that can only be from our small provincial town? Interesting, but I really need those reloads!

In one way, this does cause me to lament the move from Pen’n’Paper to Digital. As a player, when asking the name of an NPC, does the GM roll their eyes, and say “Oh, … erm … let’s say ‘Brian'” or do they reach for their copious stack of notes: “One moment, It’s here somewhere!”. Clicking on a hidden screen could just as easily be locating the correct Evernote page, or a random-name-app. While this obviously has its advantages, it also removes some of the subtle clues that we used to take for granted.

Do you prefer a wide-open sandbox, free to explore any direction, as the whim takes you? Or do you present your players with a few limited options, and say the rest is Side-Action? How do you feel about players taking 2-3 sessions to dig into the reason that the Blacksmith can afford THREE apprentices? New, interesting development, or tedious sidetracking?

Me? I am quite split on the matter. As GM, I like to be able to make interesting NPCs, with quirks and foibles. This does not mean I want players delving deeply into their situations, when there is ADVENTURE to be had! As a player (especially in our last Exalted game), I like to get involved in the plight of the “little people”: the blacksmiths, the shoe-shine boys, the servants and lackeys.

Does this make me a bad person? Probably not. Does it make me a bad Player/GM? maybe …