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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2016 12:15:14 GMT -8
About to start another Savage Worlds game (RIFTS!), I was trying to think of some ways to generate PC relationships. The old, "You meet in a tavern" doesn't always work out...especially with very different character types.
In the past I used a method found on the Pinnacle forums (http://www.pegforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=42467) that mirrors the interlude mechanic with card draws. As Rifts has all manner of character type possibilities I was wondering if anyone had other methods of generating background relationships between PCs?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2016 12:16:26 GMT -8
For those who don't feel like going to a three year old forum post:
Character Relationships: How Do You Know Each Other?
Draw a card. The suit will help you determine a detail about your PC’s relationship with the character of the player sitting to your left.
Clubs-Tragedy: The other PC helped you deal with a personal tragedy or misfortune. One related to one of your Hindrances, if possible. What was the Hindrance? How did you get into trouble and how did the PC help get you out of it?
Spades-Victory: You and the other PC fought and defeated the same foe together. Who or what did you fight and why?
Hearts-Love: You know the other PC through a beloved friend, family member or someone else close to you. Who do you both know and what relationship do you each have with that person?
Diamonds-Desire: You and the other PC met because you were both pursuing a common goal, quest or interest. What were you doing and how did the PC help you?
Joker-Weird: You and the other PC met by a strange coincidence or circumstance, perhaps through the intervention of someone or something powerful, supernatural or alien in nature. What brought you together and how did you both deal with it?
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Post by ayslyn on Sept 20, 2016 13:50:06 GMT -8
That could work. The Background Cards that Gina mentioned would as well.
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Post by ilina on Sept 20, 2016 20:42:11 GMT -8
i would simply allow the players to work together and decide how they came up with their own relationships instead of using the deck thing. though the examples from the deck could work as a baseline.
you don't need a fancy mechanic to decide how player characters know each other. that is more something for FATAL or Rolemaster. Except FATAL would go into more EXPLICIT Detail.
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Post by ayslyn on Sept 20, 2016 22:25:13 GMT -8
You don't need it no... But, it can act as a great springboard for those that are a little weaker at spontaneously coming up with story answers.
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Post by ilina on Sept 20, 2016 23:38:31 GMT -8
You don't need it no... But, it can act as a great springboard for those that are a little weaker at spontaneously coming up with story answers. truesies. most people making a character generally know what they want for the character.
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Sept 21, 2016 7:16:36 GMT -8
If you think about it the characters have been in the Rifts world for a while, hence succumbing to cyber upgrades and regearing up to meet the challenges they would face. So having them make up how they know each other could work IF they know the setting. If not then you may need to hold their hand through it.
A suggestion I made in another post was simply saying "Look to your left. What is something that person has done for you that gained your trust. Great, now look to the right, what's something that person did recently that you didn't approve of."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2016 8:45:46 GMT -8
You don't need it no... But, it can act as a great springboard for those that are a little weaker at spontaneously coming up with story answers. Exactly. While most of the players have been playing for awhile there are some who are coming off of a long hiatus. It being RIFTS, the setting almost has too much fluff to choose from. I figured the cards would help direct the creative juices for the players beyond "I fell through a RIFT and started travelling with this guy". That works for one shots or things that are not story driven (e.g. murder hobos are all orphan with a dark past) but i would like to possibly expand this game past just blowing up everything. I figure that fleshed out backgrounds, character connections (not unlike those found in Traveller character creation), and giving the characters a common goal or affiliation help get a party up and moving quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2016 8:49:04 GMT -8
Plus I have felt the brunt of poor planning and a lack of character connections before. I know cadave has talked about a Necessary Evil campaign where he played a leprechaun before. I was in that game and since the GM didn't think to set up proper connections (or even allow players to make up their own) it set us up for some PvP before we even really got going. It served no purpose beyond setting up the players for failure and could have been avoided.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2016 8:53:28 GMT -8
You don't need it no... But, it can act as a great springboard for those that are a little weaker at spontaneously coming up with story answers. truesies. most people making a character generally know what they want for the character. Sometimes. I have found that some folk may have a concept of what kind of character they want to play but may not know how that character will interact with the other player characters. While that comes out in game play, connection backgrounds give the PCs a starting point and perhaps a reason to trust each other. This is not as important in a one shot but very important if you want to have an ongoing campaign. hoseirrob can tell you (I am pretty sure he has somewhere in the backlog) that if your group in a game of Star Wars has a bounty hunter, it would be nice to now that that bounty hunter is not going to toss a thermal detonator at the group at the end of the session just because.
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Post by hoseirrob on Sept 21, 2016 9:10:47 GMT -8
I was a rogue. The Bounty Hunter (PC) was coming to take me for my past crimes. I ain't going back in! Never.
Giving the reason for the characters to have a mutual stake in things is the way to go. The Bounty Hunter may still have wanted to take me in, but he couldn't do it because he needed me to help get his kid back or something.
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Post by ilina on Sept 21, 2016 15:38:22 GMT -8
i remember playing a Ranger who hunted for sport and didn't care where her meat came from in a d20 fantasy game. the paladin kept wanting to turn me into the city guards for crimes i didn't commit, because i was a "Savage Monster". he kept getting sidetracked in his quest to kill the evil lich king to free the oppressed people, and despite being the chaotic evil huntress who was worse than the Greek Goddess Artemis, i was more focused on defeating the lich king than the guy who wanted to do right, even if i wanted to do the right thing for wrong reasons. i wanted that Phylactery as a trophy to display on my mantle. i even put my life at more risk than the paladin did, by quickly dispatching and drawing the attention of the mooks so the paladin could focus on the boss. my animal companion was a heavy warhorse i stole from a dead owner.
i remember the paladin kept PVPing me because he thought he was the law, and i remember the city guards bailing me away from him, to safety where i had to explain, "that paladin was merely so drunk that he forgot his position in the world of men. angel blooded or not. he still must follow the laws of his peers."
"but you poach wild animals vile elf woman? your cloak is made from the hide of a jaguar!"
"hunting wild animals is a tradition of my people. at least we respect our kills by using everything we can from their bodies."
"so you disrespect the dead?"
"by that logic? is the consumption of meat also disrespectful to the dead? i beleive the dead would rather sleep peacefully knowing their bodies are being used to assist the living."
"why do you want to kill the lich king then?"
"same reason as any other large prey, i want his phylactery upon my mantle as a trophy."
"what happens when you get your trophy?"
"i return to my tribe a heroine and forgiven of my sins, then i seek atonement in the way of the Jaguar."
"so you atone for poaching with more poaching?"
"not poaching! hunting!"
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dandersonjr32
Initiate Douchebag
Playing Savage Worlds, DnD 5e and Fantasy AGE in Tampa, Florida.
Posts: 19
Preferred Game Systems: I'll try just about anything but I prefer Savage Worlds.
Currently Playing: DnD 5e
Currently Running: Savage Worlds, Fantasy AGE
Favorite Species of Monkey: Orangutan
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Post by dandersonjr32 on Sept 28, 2016 5:34:02 GMT -8
I like Clockverk's mechanic to get things started, and I'm full on stealing that idea for my next con games. It's an excellent way to start a game and get people talking at a table. Sometimes, a con table can start kind of stale because they don't know each other and gamers can be sometimes be socially awkward.
This is an outstanding idea.
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