Character Development: Flashbacks

(This is a repost.  This article was originally posted on August 9, 2008.)

We’re all familiar with the use of the flashback in literature, film, and television:  The “current” narration fades out, showing us a sequence that establishes some event or events that took place in the past of the story.  This device is used to provide important backstory (and, sometimes, to retcon, changing “what really happened” in the past).

I’ve seen relatively few people use the device in roleplaying games, but it can be an excellent method of character development.  It makes a good break between the wrap-up of one major quest or story arc and the initiation of the next.  It also makes a great filler on a night when one or two members of your group can’t make the game, but the rest want to play something.

At the beginning of the typical campaign, the player characters either already know each other, or they’re being brought together for the first time by a plot thread or through sheer coincidence.  Hopefully each player already has in mind at least a basic backstory for his character, and sharing parts of these backstories may be a major aspect of the first few sessions, especially if the characters are just getting to know each other.  Meanwhile, the game master has at least a rough idea of the recent past history of the various locations from which the characters originally hail.

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How a Sorceress Becomes a Planet

Today my first article for Nevermet Press went live:  the planet Nyraeve.  This is my science-fiction adaptation of Wyatt Salazar’s villain, Neirave, the Sleepless Drift, who is currently “starring” in Nevermet’s cycle.  To encapsulate the concept, Neirave is a fantasy-genre sorceress with an affinity for cold who managed to live on after her physical body’s death, and who is now slowly bringing an eternal winter to her region — and eventually, if she’s not stopped, to the world.  Many of the articles in Nevermet’s cycle develop the concept further, providing information about locations within Neirave’s forest, for instance, or encounters that can be adapted to any fantasy game.  (Nevermet Press presents systemless content.)

I’m pretty pleased with how my article came out.  Getting there was half the fun.

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Gencon in Review

I was treated to a short adventure of my own on my way home from Gencon: my return flight was evidently booked for September 16, instead of August 16.  Of course, with a hundred thousand gamers leaving Indianapolis on Sunday, all of the flights out were fully booked.  Fortunately, a ticketing agent for Continental went beyond the call of duty and managed to get me on a flight out on standby.  I regret to say that I didn’t get his name.  I can only say that I was a bit stressed at the time.  Still, I’m very grateful and will definitely keep Continental in mind for next year.  I’ll also keep a certain ticket-brokering website in mind, in a less favorable light.

Enough about me, though.  I’ve got a couple of impressions about the convention to report about.  Some of them might merit further discussion later on, but best to get the bullet points down now, while it’s fresh.

This post is part of August’s RPG Blog Carnival, hosted by Chgowiz.

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Off to Gencon

As of this afternoon, I’m on my way to Indianapolis for Gencon.  I’m traveling light again this year and won’t have a computer along, so there most likely won’t be any posts until I return next week.  (Build up a post buffer?  That’s crazy talk!)

If you’re going too, you can recognize me by the red Looney Labs flower on my black backpack.  Speaking of Looney Labs, let me give them my usual plug:  If they’re at the convention, drop by and ask for a demo or two.  They make some great games, like Fluxx and Zendo.  (There’s often a late-night game of Are You a Werewolf? going on in the convention hallway, too.)  They’ve had a room at the con in the past, although last year they didn’t make it, and I’m not sure about this year.  Worth taking a look, though!

And if you want a preview, you can play some of their games, including Fluxx, online.

One other thing of possible interest:  It seems that Wizards of the Coast is offering a special on the 4e Player’s Handbook at Gencon.  Buy another book, and you get the PHB for $5.  This is a loss-leader, sure, but it’s a pretty good deal if you haven’t got a book yet and you’re at all interested in trying 4e.  Hell, I’m thinking about maybe picking up a spare, if the deal’s good with Star Wars Saga Edition.

Anyway, see you next week.

Cryptic Offering Lifetime Subscription to Champions MMO

Cryptic Studios, formerly of City of Heroes, has been working on the Champions MMORPG set for release September 1.

They’re taking a page from Turbine and offering a lifetime subscription for $200.  They’re throwing in extra costumes, an in-game widget, eight extra character slots for alt-aholics like me, and access to the Star Trek Online closed beta later this year, along with the lifetime access.  The only catch:  the offer’s only good until the game launches.

In case you’re wondering, at $15/month, the lifetime subscription pays off in 13 months.  So if you think you’ll like the game enough to be playing it for years, it’s a pretty good deal, even without all the extra goodies.

On the other hand, it’s a lot to fork over for a game sight-unseen.  I played City of Heroes for over two years, and it was pretty fun, and I generally trust Cryptic’s game-development instincts (although I would hope Champions has a stronger endgame than CoH did).  But that’s a lot of trust.

They’re also offering pre-orderers a 6-month subscription for $60, which saves you $30, and also gets you Star Trek beta access and one of the bonus costume sets.  So if you like the idea but you aren’t sure the game’s going to hold your interest, that’s a pretty nice way to go.  Or if you’re interested in both Champions and Star Trek, I guess.

I’m going to need to think this one over.  I like the Champions universe, so it’s a very tempting offer for me, even though I’m mildly disappointed that the game won’t be using the HERO system.  Of course, it couldn’t use HERO fully, but I think HERO’s system of points, advantages, and disadvantages is practically made for an MMO setup, where you gain experience to become more powerful to gain more experience, and so forth.  A streamlined version of HERO might’ve been fun to see.

Even so, cheers to Cryptic for making a superhero MMO.  It’s a genre that’s sadly underrepresented at the moment.