Dec 1, 2011

Posted by in Blue Milk & Cereal | 20 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Will You Create A Back Story For Your Character?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

From the very beginning, BioWare has stated that one goal for TOR is to re-create the table-top roleplaying experience in digital form. For example, group conversations were added to mimic the exchanges that players have out of character when sitting around a roleplaying table. Every player has an opinion on what should be said to a non-player character, but only one person can actually speak to them. For those who have had the good fortune to play Dungeons & Dragons or even the (now defunct) Star Wars table-top RPG know how incredibly fun these exchanges can be.

I don’t know if there is truly anything better than becoming completely invested in your fictitious character’s personality and actions. Playing with friends who are just as invested as you are in their characters can lead to some truly great experiences. It’s just fun to lose yourself in another person and imagine that you are part of a great rebellion against an oppressive regime or that your sister has been captured by marauding bandits and you have to track them down to rescue her.

Ah…nostalgia. Anyway, one of the best ways to really get into your character is to create a back story or at least decide on some personality traits for your character. BioWare has kindly given us a good starting point for our back story in the form of the legendary opening crawl, but that may not be enough for some people.

Personally, I am determined to develop a really good back story so that I can get invested in my Sith Warrior. My question to all of you this morning is are you going to do the same? Let us know if you plan to work on a back story for your character before launch!

Will you create a back-story for your character?

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  1. Yep I will. But I will not play on a RP server, just doing it for the fun and mostly for myself.

  2. I might not go full-on pen-and-paper character backstory on this, but I’ll certainly develop some basic personality traits and preferences. I find it much more compelling to make something like “Snarky, confident mad scientist inquisitor, with a soft spot for kittens” guide my dialogue response, rather than just going for the DS points every time, or choosing completely at random.

    • This was my thought too, just creating an idea in my head of what kind of character I’m playing to guide what I choose in dialogue.

      For my sniper I was thinking something along the lines of although not fully agreeing with the Empire’s ways I’m doing my part to protect all of the people that live under the Empire’s control.

  3. I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but my back story will probably involve both my parents getting killed by either the Empire or the Republic (maybe both) and how I overcame the obstacles of being an orphan in a galaxy far, far away.

  4. I am hoping to avoid making out with my sister in my back story

    • Lady Republic says:

      HA!

      I hate to admit it, but speaking as a guild leader for an RP/raiding guild that requires backgrounds in applications….If we had an applicant who submitted Luke’s backstory – or even worse, Anakin’s (My mother was a slave who was murdered by sandpeople and I avenged her by killing them all single-handedly, I was chosen by the very Force itself to be special, rose to become one of the most powerful Jedi ever and was trained by Obi Wan Kenobi himself, then turned to the dark side and ruled the galaxy as the most powerful Sith warrior ever) – we’d reject that in a heartbeat for drama potential.

      More on topic – yes, I always create backgrounds for my characters. In fact, we were discussing in our guild yesterday how many of us will disable the LS/DS mouseover option so that we’re truly picking dialogue choices off our character, rather than metagaming the points outcome.

  5. Phoenix8387 says:

    I normally don’t do anything concerning RP. But since ToR has main story RP that my character can actually contribute to, I will be creating a basic personality for each of my toons. If I enjoy creating the personalities enough I may create an RP server toon and try it out for a bit.

  6. Might try it. But since Bioware basically wrote out your characters story for you, Im going to find it hard to write up an alternate story that is much better. lol

    • Hence the “back” part of backstory. Biowares story is what you’ll play in the game. The backstory, if you are inclined to make one, is what happened before it begins to bring you in the position you are at level 1, and why you are the type of person who would make the choice and give the responses you do.

  7. I’m already working on my Sith Warrior! Here is the YouTube of him! http://youtu.be/2oI7f00ug1Y

  8. I’m really shocked by the results to be honest. I know there’s many out there that are not fans of roleplaying in MMORPGs, but really?

    In a way, isn’t Bioware making that a subtle requirement by giving you Light/Dark side choices in the game? Essentially you are deciding beforehand whether your character is good or evil, albeit that’s a backstory in the most simplest of forms. Still wouldn’t that qualify as a backstory in some form or other?

    Sure you may not actually role play that character with other players, but you WILL be making those light/dark choices in NPC conversations. To me that’s a base example of roleplaying.

  9. I am only going to have a back story for 1 of my characters. My Imperial Agent is going to be a spy for the Chiss Ascendency and I have joined the Imperial Intelligence to ensure that Chiss interests are looked after.

  10. I’ll definitely create something of a back story, and personality for my characters. The funnest part of this is creating something that is more complex than simply picking the “funny” or “a-hole” choice every time. My Vanguard, for example, may be a bit cheeky, but he understands that there is a time to put that away and show some compassion. Just like anyone (well maybe not a Jedi) he gets angry sometimes. He likes action, but will always uphold the ideals of the true republic. Even if that means disobeying command.

  11. I’ve been thinking of a backstory in the context of my legacy name. That way I can connect all of my characters by a unifying theme.

  12. Ed Morris says:

    Personally, I’ve never really been a fan of RPing. That said, I’m thinking about making a very very basic back-story for my characters. More like personality traits, as some have said.

    For example, one Dev said the Sith Inquisitor could act either cold and calculating, or just totally bat-shit insane. I’m kinda leaning towards bat-shit insane personally. :D

  13. I am going to be going a Human Bounty Hunter. I will going through my story as a Mandalorian who cares for himself and his people. My character also will not show to much allegiance to the Empire, it is just a good way to earn some extra credits.

  14. Wish there was an option for “Usually, but not this time”

  15. Ive never been a big RPer but tbh this game makes me want to at least try it. Im making a BH to start so I was thinking no matter what ill never go back on a bounty no matter the extra credits involved. You know have some bounty hunter ethics other than that ill have to go with the flow be a laid back kind of guy and decide on things as they come im not too evil but def not good :D

  16. I plan to. And written consistently (I feel) on the topic in my own blog. I don’t necessarily feel the need to play “in-character,” but most of my toons in games have some sort of back-story. Some are more developed than others.

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