Pertaining to Carrd Making

[adoxography]

I hope this is the right place for this question, but I had some questions about best practice and was hoping I could get some advice! 

 

I'm currently working away at my character's backstory and I've noticed a lot of people set up carrds. I've been starting to set up my own and I was wondering how much of my backstory I should share? There is stuff that obviously someone who has just met this character would not know, but I also want to give people more insight into the kinds of stories I'd like to dive into. There are also things some characters might know and others might not. I would like to figure out how to strike a balance between proper advertisement (or warning if there are topics/themes some people might be uncomfortable with), and leaving enough room for certain information to come up organically in RP. Ideally I'd just put it all down and hope people would assume what is common knowledge/what their character might know vs what is just there to pique interest but I've had bad experiences in the past with people just metagaming all over the place. 

 

How do you guys deal with this? Do you have a particular way you might suggest setting up my info pages for clearer communication? 

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[Lone Adventurer]

I had this same problem when I first started with carrd, and with making my own characters' backstories as a matter of fact. What helps me is that I like to have a general summary of my character's story: their past, and what they may be up to now. You don't have to go into major detail about it, just strike the key points in your story that you feel are important for the reader to know. All the details in between you could leave up to interpretation to come up potentially in any RP you do. As for what kind of RP you're into and the topics you don't like, or the ones you feel others might not be comfortable doing, I would put that information into a separate tab, one that could describe your RP preferences, do's and don'ts, etc.

I hope this helps you!  

[adoxography]

9 hours ago, Lone Adventurer said:

I had this same problem when I first started with carrd, and with making my own characters' backstories as a matter of fact. What helps me is that I like to have a general summary of my character's story: their past, and what they may be up to now. You don't have to go into major detail about it, just strike the key points in your story that you feel are important for the reader to know. All the details in between you could leave up to interpretation to come up potentially in any RP you do. As for what kind of RP you're into and the topics you don't like, or the ones you feel others might not be comfortable doing, I would put that information into a separate tab, one that could describe your RP preferences, do's and don'ts, etc.

I hope this helps you!  

That actually DOES really help, thank you so much. I'm chugging away and hopefully will have something to post by tonight. Thank you again! 

[Sen'ra]

It seems like it's completely up to personal preference. I've seen super in-depth backstories, basic dossiers and things that tread between the two. 

 

Maybe focus on things you really want to showcase about the character? Do you want to give a little insight to the character and the way they act  with a small scene of something they went through? (And showcase your writing?) Do you want to keep it static and open for mystery or growth? 

 

Including hooks and an ooc section outlining some things you're looking for or don't want to even touch definitely can be good things to include, too.

[adoxography]

38 minutes ago, Sen'ra said:

It seems like it's completely up to personal preference. I've seen super in-depth backstories, basic dossiers and things that tread between the two. 

 

Maybe focus on things you really want to showcase about the character? Do you want to give a little insight to the character and the way they act  with a small scene of something they went through? (And showcase your writing?) Do you want to keep it static and open for mystery or growth? 

 

Including hooks and an ooc section outlining some things you're looking for or don't want to even touch definitely can be good things to include, too.

Yeah I think you're right, I'll try dividing stuff up a bit more and figure out how exactly I want to get across my ideas. I appreciate the tips

[Teadrinker]

I've always been of the mind that if you've developed a concept that you're particularly happy with or you have a twist you don't see too often it's best played close to the chest. In my opinion RP is rather boring when everyone's backstory is laid out for everyone to see already. Most people these days include an OOC section of preferences and that should suffice for telegraphing what kind of RP you are/are not looking for.

[Ninette]

I most often end up using hooks as mini-backstory hints, things that someone might notice about the character through casual observation.

Can they be spotted in one city more often than another? Would they be someone you come across in prayer at a temple or drinking in a tavern? Do they seem nervous or uncomfortable in one setting or another; or around one group of people or another? Do they carry a recognizable weapon, or bit of armour that tells you of some past link?
 

All could be little things that give a hint to what the character's backstory is, and what they are like. That way, you can give others a taste of the character without fully disclosing their whole backstory.

[Faye]

It's entirely up to you. I'm the type to just dump everything on my carrd. There is some worry over people metagaming, but I suppose the way I see it is that just tips me off early who I don't want to RP with. That being said, I'm just kinda long-winded in general and don't many people do more than just skim my carrd if even that haha.  So brevity is definitely not bad, either. If it helps, I oftentimes see sections with RP hooks set up like "If your character is (x), they might know (y)." It's a good way to get those hooks out there while establishing your limitations on the sort of characters you think might actually know that information.

[adoxography]

These are all really excellent tips. I've been treating the carrd as a wip that I'll update as I figure more stuff out but if anyone had any critiques here's what I've got so far https://santienne.carrd.co/

[Kyalia Sahari]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:18 AM, adoxography said:

These are all really excellent tips. I've been treating the carrd as a wip that I'll update as I figure more stuff out but if anyone had any critiques here's what I've got so far https://santienne.carrd.co/

Hey, I really love your character! Just checked out the carrd and he looks like a great character!