Your character can jump over mountains, bend reality like a pretzel, track a fish through water and put mithril underwear on a Balrog — to give’em an atomic wedgie next round! She’s a half-orc rogue named Lewty McBurlybabe, but who is she? Does it matter?

The Great Gygax once said that killing characters makes their players better at playing, which has set a destructive GM vs. Player dynamic in the role-playing tradition. Virtual-PTSD in gamers is a rampant side effect resulting from mimic toilets, poison slathered coins, “random” encounters with inexplicably horrific creatures (a gorilla in a castle dining hall!?!) and other fun hallmarks of the pastime.

A feeling of Us-against-the-World is a good source of camaraderie, but this practice has set the precedent of good player = tactical gamer. To this end, many (not all Mr. Stormwind) neglect characterization in favor of mechanical capability and miss out on the power it yields.

Power you ask? Yes.The Game master wants to tell a story, which as all creative works requires constant inspiration. The hacky route of stealing from other sources is possible but can get tired. You, the players, control (hopefully) a prime source of inspiration, the protagonists themselves. Having a character back story that creates a unique individual with certain goals to actively pursue saves a GM a lot of work — if they‘re open to your input.

I’ve done my part to encourage this willingness to share authorship, now it’s on you.

Where does she come from? What was her child hood like? These answers can highlight the setting a GM has put work into. How did she get into … proactive resource redistribution? What’s her M.O.? Career or family? Where does she want to be in d4, d10, d20 years? These form a clear picture of her behavior and priorities for a game master to plan for.

Adopting a unique speaking voice and mannerisms is icing that’ll established a true presence for her, only adding to the entertainment at the table. Some GMs may feel threatened by this but if you’re clearly trying to contribute to the fun it’ll be accepted. If not, FUCK’EM – no, not literally, find a new one.

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