(03-13-2017, 04:59 PM)Aya Wrote:(03-13-2017, 04:50 PM)Kiri Rokuyari Wrote: I am going to be blunt and just say I am fully in disagreement with you that a back story means nothing. Think of it like a tree trunk. The backstory grows and branches out to help discover if your character will have strengths and weaknesses, fears, past trauma, and more. You can always just mess around in a character creator and find something you like and build from there but then you will wonder the personality and how they got to be like that.First of all, disagreeing with "back story means nothing" does not only not put you at "full disagreement" with me, it does not put you at any sort of disagreement with me at all! I completely agree with you. [The negation in here is really confusing... I'm agreeing that back story is meaningful, fun, and useful in its own way, I have never, ever, stated otherwise - and given the time and effort I have gone into to write stories about my character's lives, it would be a very silly thing for me to say
Everyone is free to of course RP what they want but please don't say a back story has no real importance. I mean,if you are constantly changing the background of your own character to fit the theme of this months fashion then yeah,a back story will probably just be a hassle. If not? Thinking on one can really help but a character.it doesn't even need to be elaborate and can always be branched out as time goes on ideas come. You can even trim old ideas for new ones.]
As you describe, it can lend very fruitful depth to a character. I would also not advise revision of backstory, especially not frequently. This is very different from refinement over time.
Lets just take the current suggested case: the character in question could begin being roleplayed as an Au Ra Princess of an Eastern Kingdom recently arrived in Eorzea and looking to start a new life. This is sufficient for role-playing purposes, and additional depth and detail (while not harmful) are unlikely to actually create more immediate role-playing opportunities.
If next week she then becomes an Au Ra raised in the Shroud on Conjurer's Stories and the Good Intentions of a wizened Miqo'te, but is otherwise the same character, we're really not doing anyone any good at all.
But if she, instead, adds definition to the kingdom that she is from, or her family, or her retainers who have traveled with her and so on, this is refinement that does not detract from the original telling.
All I am saying is that if you're looking to roleplay then a basic background is sufficient enough. Just get in there and RP for a while, and you'll get to know your own character a little better as you do, and you can continue to refine the story as you go.Â
Spending more and more time on the story, trying to make it more complex and detailed, may be pleasant enough in itself, but it is not going to contribute to those initial forays into RP, and may in fact detract from it if it becomes over-thought.
The way you worded it
Quote:character backstory is one of the least important aspects of roleplaying.
Aspect of Roleplaying. This means that it is part of the overall sense of Roleplay. Not just your interaction with other characters but the time and practice used to create a character you want to Roleplay with. Just be careful with the terms you use. They can be confusing to people who are trying to follow along with the thread.
And Revisions happen quite often. RP partners disappear without a word, lore confirms something unknown which breaks a story, etc (Hai Dragoon :3 ) So it isn't something that can be avoided and is at full digression of the player.
