Help with background

[Tamago]

Hello everyone, this is my first post

i need a bit (read as plenty) of help with my character's background, i'm a complete newbie, new to Armageddon, MUDs and RP, so i've been having a hard time coming up with a background.. so to start i guess i just need something that would make my learning easier.

not sure what else to say, all help is welcomed, and while waiting i'll be reading about the game

[manipura]

Welcome!

Not sure how much of the vast documentation you've had a chance to pore over yet but this page has some good info about creating your character, the last section is specifically about writing your background.

A good place to start if you're completely stuck for a background is this page with sample backgrounds.

[Zoltan]

My advice to you is to read what you can about the different races and how they relate to each other according to the help files on the website, learn the difference between Allanak and Tuluk from the help files, and then play the game as a clueless commoner.

It's seriously the fastest way to learn the game, and it's okay to have as your background, too. Playing an ignorant city-dweller who grew up in the commons has served me well many a time. Especially with your first character, it will probably be best to not aim for too high of a concept. Once you're actually in the game world, you'll pick up on the details of culture and history and whatnot much quicker than just reading the docs.

Of course, you should definitely read the docs so you don't make a bearded dwarf or a yokel fascinated with wizards and magick.  

[Morrolan]

Malik is big and strong, though some might call him naive and he often looks to be led. He's from a farming village outside Allanak, and spent much of his youth doing simple manual labor. Loyal to the city, he's spent years collecting the things he thinks he'll need to become a mercenary. He was sent away from home when he was big enough because, krath-damnit, he eats too much. His father gave him a sword and said, "son, they feed you in the Byn. Go make yourself some coin and have some fun while you're young."

Welcome to Armageddon!

P.S. Yes, I've avoided most all of the cliches. No dead family, not the last of his people, and not the chosen one. Just a simple young man looking to learn about the world, with some coins and some half-baked notions of how the world works.

Race: Human (It's a good place to start.)
Age: 17-19 (It'll affect some of your stats downward and others upward, maybe, but you'll have a reason to not know things.)
City: Allanak
Guild: Warrior/Mercenary or Warrior/Scavenger (From the Help Files: "go into caves, windows, and holes in the wall which require a short climb")

[Tamago]

Thanks a lot, i've read the intro about creating a character and it got me through all other aspects i'm just missing the background part

i am planning on playing a clueless person as to have an excuse for my lack of knowledge about the history and the place, how do i make this believable in terms of guild and subguild too? i would like to play a ranger.. but i really don't know what subguild to pick..

EDIT (or not really cause i havent posted yet but i got a reply in the mids of writing this ): is it ok to write out the background i came up with here so i can get some advice on it or maybe so corrections?

[Tamago]

EDIT2 (on another post cause i fail and can't actually figure out how to edit my post): by the way? should i add tattoos and whatnot in my description as a commoner in allanak?

[Barzalene]

If you can visualize a tattoo that you think is important to your concept, then add it in your desc. But if you just think you'd like tattooed, they can be bought in game. There are a few tattooists and they offer a selection.

With regards to the background, I often concentrate far more on who characters are and why than events.

So, things that are open ended will work wonderfully for you. Work with what you do know about the world instead of incorporating the stuff you're not sure about.

ie: It's a harsh desert planet and most people are poor:  That can be enough for a background if you talk about how your character feels or is affected by that. And the goals that spring from it.

[Barzalene]

The modify option is at the top of your posts next to the quote button, I believe.

[Morrolan]

is it ok to write out the background i came up with here so i can get some advice on it or maybe so corrections?

It's not. However, if you would like that kind of help, you might consider getting in touch with a helper on HelperChat.

You can find HelperChat on the Armageddon.org homepage. The button says "GET LIVE HELP".

[Myhrrn]

is it ok to write out the background i came up with here so i can get some advice on it or maybe so corrections?

It's not. However, if you would like that kind of help, you might consider getting in touch with a helper on HelperChat.

You can find HelperChat on the Armageddon.org homepage. The button says "GET LIVE HELP".

I highly recommend this if you are having trouble. One of us is usually on 99.99999% of the time.

[a french mans shirt]

Work with what you do know about the world instead of incorporating the stuff you're not sure about.

This, a thousand and one times. One time, I hadn't played in a particular area, for maybe six months to a year, not really sure of the time frame but it was closer to the longer end. I got a special app approved, and began playing there. An important event in that pc's past flopped like a bomb because something had changed in that area to make that part of their past literally something a person had to work over in their minds and reimagine---- not immersion breaking, but definitely causing some work-around logic, like, "Yeah, it happened, but in a weird way that is believable and let's stop thinking about it now."

If you're the type that finds themselves dying quite a bit, maybe make simple, short backgrounds, until you find yourself dying less.

If you come out of chargen and start calling yourself an expert on anything that would be considered a valuable skill like fighting or making the finest of jewelry or clothing, some people will call you out on it, knowing the truth and this being the internet. Certainly, you could have five to twenty years of experience making and selling jewelry independently, or being an independent sellsword. But that jewelry is nothing to Kadius's and your skills as a mercenary wouldn't have fetched more money than or inspired confidence in your customers like the Byn.

I've tried to app people who'd had merchant house experience in their past and I'm pretty certain one needs to clear that with the House in question. Not completely sure. The Byn's different, there's no bottom line required for the quality of your swordsmanship.

[Tamago]

App submitted, thanks everyone for the help and i will see you in game (or not) soon.

[Barsook]

Welcome, dibs on his boots!

[Barzalene]

Welcome to Armageddon.

[slvrmoontiger]

Welcome to Armageddon, hope you have fun.

[WarriorPoet]

Welcome to the game mate!

I've been playing 12 years or so and I still rarely break five lines with my backgrounds. I just lay a brief framework of who the character is and why he is that way. I prefer to build his -real- background through roleplay and, if he lives long enough, additional bg entries.

[janeshephard]

It's OK to have a short paragraph as a bio and keep it relatively simple. Especially as your first character.

I'd recommend picking one of the city states and learning the culture. The north is my current favorite.

[slvrmoontiger]

My Bio's are usually simple background and a short "reason" to get the character going. This could be as simple as I want to help people. Or I want to be the greatest warrior ever. Keep it basic and simple. Then you can branch from there.

[Maso]

Yeah, I'd recommend starting in the North and learning about Tuluk and shit. Cause once you go 'Nak, you never go back...

[solera]

This is one of my favourite memories .

At your table, the  man says in sirihish:

    "I am strong. I am a ranger. At home in the deserts, and I can hunt."



At your table, the other man says in sirihish, rolling his eyes:

    "Yer a feck'n farm boy from some lil' village with no name and someday ya hope ta be able ta survive in the desert..Smiley"

The farmboy became a leader , rich and a bit famous.

[Tamago]

thanks for all the advices, they really helped