New Backstories?

Started by SleepyFox, October 26, 2013, 11:20:27 PM

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SleepyFox

So in the Guidelines post:

Quote from: Tynan on October 26, 2013, 01:33:08 AM

The wiki has a list of backstories that are in the game right now. I wrote all of them; they were just starting content to get the system going. They're good examples of the kinds of things that work well.

This has me wonder if we're able to submit new ideas for backstories using those as an example? Or if it comes down to making Mercenary/Pirate Royalty characters, we use our own suggestions for stat adjustments that make them more personal?

In regards to my idea, I was going to suggest (in tandem with my post on that thread about 'decorative additions') a backstory called

Designer Child (Childhood)
'[Character] was genetically engineered for a variety of reasons instead of naturally conceived. Though such children often excel at more cerebral tasks, they falter when it comes to physical labor and their 'artificial' nature can be a social stigma to many.'

Construction: -2
Growing: -2
Research: +2
Mining: -2
Shooting: N/A
Hand To Hand: N/A
Social: -3
Cooking: +2
Medicine: +1
Artistic: +2
Crafting: +1

Spaceborn (Childhood) (Inspired by Void Born from Dark Heresy)
'[Character] was born on a longflight deep space vessel on a trip to a distant world. Every pair of hands was valuable so [character] was taught how to maintain ship components and help out where they could from an early age. They are somewhat more frail physically, however.

Construction: +1
Growing: -3
Research: N/A
Mining: -3
Shooting: N/A
Hand To Hand: N/A
Social: N/A
Cooking: +1
Medicine: +1
Artistic: N/A
Crafting: +2
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AspenShadow

Quote from: SleepyFox on October 26, 2013, 11:20:27 PM
This has me wonder if we're able to submit new ideas for backstories using those as an example? Or if it comes down to making Mercenary/Pirate Royalty characters, we use our own suggestions for stat adjustments that make them more personal?

Mercenaries choosing their own stats involves a creating a unique backstory to them, the same goes with PKs. However I don't believe pirate tier has this luxury.

SleepyFox

Tynan said (in IRC) that backstory ideas are welcome to suggest, though they may not be added to the game pending review and approval. This is probably a good thread for folks to submit their own ideas for public backstory additions! I'll add another one (to the top post) to help get the ball rolling. There's a lot of creative people out there!
Streaming Games 24/7 @ InsomniacGamers.net

DeltaV

What about:

Refugee
'[Character]'s home was destroyed by a great catastrophe when they were young. They have spent large portions of their lives on a the move, and as such are very independent, but lack proper social skills.

Construction: +1
Growing: 0 (No change)
Research: -1
Mining: +1
Shooting: 0 (No change)
Hand To Hand: +1
Social: -3
Cooking: +2
Medicine: +1
Artistic: -1
Crafting: +3

Urbworld Worker
'[Character] worked in a crowded, sweaty factory on a highly populated urbworld. They became skilled at manufacturing and construction on the assembly line, but years of mind-numbing work have not been kind to their finer abilities.'

Construction: +3
Growing: +0
Research: -3
Mining: +1
Shooting: 0
Hand To Hand: 0
Social: -2
Cooking: Disabled
Medicine: -3
Artistic: Disabled
Crafting: +4

Midworld Worker
'[Character] worked a plain office job on a safe, if boring, midworld. The plain tasks they were assigned left some room for mental and social growth, but [character] is averse to physical labor.'

Construction: Disabled
Growing: -3
Research: +2
Mining: Disabled
Shooting: -2
Hand To Hand: -2
Social: +4
Cooking: +2
Medicine: +2
Artistic: +3
Crafting: 0

Military Grunt
'[Character] was one of the many soldiers that performed basic tasks in the military. They repaired ships, did adequately in training and occasionally saw a bit of combat.'

Construction: +1
Growing: 0
Research: 0
Mining: +1
Shooting: +4
Hand To Hand: +2
Social: +1
Cooking: -3
Medicine: +1
Artistic: Disabled
Crafting: 0
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Tynan

Cool! One recommendation - try to modify fewer skills if possible. Having a ton of +1s and -1s clutters the list; players can absorb the character easier when its focused on just a few key skills. Even better, a focused skill shift differentiates characters more strongly.

Also, the word disables and the skills aren't on the same list. You can disable work like "caring" which doesn't map to any one skill.
Tynan Sylvester - @TynanSylvester - Tynan's Blog