Bio, bitches. <3

[boog]

Put in a bio. Be cool. I'm doing three.

[Malifaxis]

I will do you one further.

I am going to try to catch up my PC's history entirely.

[Pale Horse]

It's been a while since I last wrote a new bio update for my character.  I've been thinking I should get on that, but having Procrastinator (Master) on my RL skill sheet makes it a little difficult to fail and get on it.

After I get done taking my mother to her doctor's appointment, I may do this...maybe.

[Lizzie]

It's been a while since I last wrote a new bio update for my character.  I've been thinking I should get on that, but having Procrastinator (Master) on my RL skill sheet makes it a little difficult to fail and get on it.

After I get done taking my mother to her doctor's appointment, I may do this...maybe.

Same - but also I rarely ever bio, for the same reason I rarely send reports on characters when it's not required due to [sponsored role/specific activity/etc]. I like playing the game IN the game, not outside it.

[Miradus]

I could write bios all day but my characters really don't usually live long enough to justify a second or a third bio.

What's going to be in that second bio? Killed some tregil. A shik. Almost killed a gortok. Picked some flowers.

[Barsook]

Same - but also I rarely ever bio, for the same reason I rarely send reports on characters when it's not required due to [sponsored role/specific activity/etc]. I like playing the game IN the game, not outside it.

[nauta]

Same - but also I rarely ever bio, for the same reason I rarely send reports on characters when it's not required due to [sponsored role/specific activity/etc]. I like playing the game IN the game, not outside it.

I agree with this sentiment.  However, BIOs do help keep me on narrative track, so to speak: they help me remember the motivations and formulate new motivations so my story isn't just one random thing then another random thing then another random thing.  

I tend to do a lot of 'fill-me-in-later' BIOs...

Code Select Expand


bio add Something Great Just Happened, Click Here To Find Out
~

Then after a month or so, on a day when I can't log in (or when I'm idling waiting for PCs in my sphere) I'll go back in and fill them out.

More often than not, the bulk of my BIOs get filled in after my PC died.  (Another tip: You can still go into your dead PCs on the website and fill in their BIOs.)

[roughneck]

I like them.

I start every one with, "Dear diary..."

[boog]

That's just it! I use them to let staff know what I'm doing without having to report in. If I don't feel like playing the game that day, or if I'm, "over-gamed," I take a day off, then come back and write a bio and see where things stand. Also, everything nauta said.

I like thinking of what my characters are doing vNPCly, too.

I don't get all the sudden bio hate. But if you guys don't want to, you don't need to post in my thread.

Also, Blaze, I will do three! And raise a fourth for more specific history information. *raises toast of Kah*

[Miradus]

I'm not hating on them, I just didn't know they had any purpose beyond character approval.

I'm an indie. A dedicated indie. What does staff care about the exploits of an unaffiliated grebber?

[Malken]

I'm not hating on them, I just didn't know they had any purpose beyond character approval.

I'm an indie. A dedicated indie. What does staff care about the exploits of an unaffiliated grebber?

There's three Staff in charge of unaffiliated peeps. If you want your unaffiliated grebber to get noticed, then you gotta give them something to work with!

[Miradus]

I'm not entirely sure I want to be noticed.

[Malifaxis]

I'm not entirely sure I want to be noticed.

I encourage you to.  I get that you are a dedicated Indie player, but I think that if you start communicating more with staff and sending in regular reports along with doing bio entries that you will find the game is far more fascinating and a lot more fun. The more they know about what drives your character, the more they can put little tiny things into the game that will really hold your interest.  Tiny animations, single echoes for vast impact.

[Miradus]

Hrm. I'll consider it. In general though, I feel like this is MY story, not anyone else's. It's the epic, rags to riches tale of Joe the Grebber or Juan the Ranger and his life in the rugged wilderness.

I don't know that a lot of echoes or animations are going to change the storytelling that's going on in my head, and I'm not sure I want them to. Maybe. I guess it depends how it goes and whether it's force fed down my throat (like a railroad quest) or I remain in control.

[Malifaxis]

Hrm. I'll consider it. In general though, I feel like this is MY story, not anyone else's. It's the epic, rags to riches tale of Joe the Grebber or Juan the Ranger and his life in the rugged wilderness.

I don't know that a lot of echoes or animations are going to change the storytelling that's going on in my head, and I'm not sure I want them to. Maybe. I guess it depends how it goes and whether it's force fed down my throat (like a railroad quest) or I remain in control.

I get it.  But I want you to think about something... what would they gain by controlling your character?  Staff has no interest in doing that.  They have no desire to say "Nope, actually, your character is doing this."  If you're out on some dune, and they echo that you can hear raptors crying somewhere nearby in a pack, they aren't forcing you to move... they're making the world realistic.  You can move... and if you move, you may avoid them, or you may attract their attention by movement.  It's all just flavor and realism, man. 

And while I absolutely agree with you that it is YOUR story.  This is time from YOUR life you are spending on the game, I would ask that you step back and take a breath and look at the fact that this is all OUR own story.  We all have our own characters, and those stories are uniquely ours, however because of the communal nature of the game, YOUR story is also ours.  By impacting the lives of our characters with your Joe The Grebber Gettin Rich Or Dyin Tryin, you only further everyone else's enjoyment.  And there's always the fact that Joe T.G. might look at a House and go... "you know what, I'm sick of getting my dick bitten by a scrab.  I'm going to try a year with a House and see how that goes."

I think you might find the House life surprisingly immersive.  There are benefits to all playstyles on Arm, there truly are, and that's the beautiful thing... but don't write something off in game because you think you might not like it.

Before I played my 4th one... I was -dead- certain I would never like desert elf culture.

That opinion changed.

[Malifaxis]

This has tangented greatly, and I'm a cause for that.

Sorry!

Lets get back to talking about bios, bitches!

[boog]

No, no. We must assimilate them into composing bios. *steeples fingers* I approve of this tangent.

[nauta]

Lets get back to talking about bios, bitches!

Did you say biowizard halflings?

[Malifaxis]

You may be joking about that.  The halfling bio-wizard things.

As Ninja Ninja from AfroSamurai said -

"We have seen some sights today!"

Lets just say they aren't solely reserved to DS Canon.

[Miradus]

I was part of a house for a brief time. I really enjoyed it except for the unfortunate circumstance of nobody ever being around during my playtime. But it was a lot of fun when people were around.

My characters, particularly dwarves, usually have some extreme objective that would pretty much impact the world but I don't have any real means of carrying it out. And since my characters don't usually live that long I have never expected some storyteller to jump in and help me with that.

Who are bios available to? I'd love to share them but I've never known what the boundary line between IC and OOC was supposed to be. Especially with that little sermon posted earlier, I have just always played my cards close to the vest.

[whitt]

Thank you for the reminder.  I frequently get in a catch 22 with my characters.  I don't want to bio until I'm into the character,   but  the more I bio, the more I get into my character... this got me over the first hump.

[Malifaxis]

Miradus:  Bios are commonly only available to staff.  There are certain ways that some PCs, both mundane and not, could get access to that information but it is a rare thing.  Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, darlin'

DO NOT share your bios with other players.  That is a massive step over the IC/OOC info line. 

Think of bios as a direct way for you to keep a running record of your character's very important life events (getting hired by a house, getting a mate, having to kill your best friend because he was fucking your mate, then getting fired by the house... either you could consolidate it, or do 4 entries) as well as keep a running tally for Staff to reference if needed.

An example of how this could be useful is if you do a favor for NPC Lord Templar FistHammer one day because some shit happened.  You slap that in a bio.  But the next time NPC Lord Templar FistHammer finds you, you're in massive trouble... you could potentially call in that debt by reminding the NPC (who may and most likely is being played by a different staffer) about that one time.  If needed, give them a nudge to your bio.

There's also a lot of ways bios can come back to bite you in the ass... but that's all part of the fun and wonder of armageddon.  Don't play to win.  The game is best when you realize you're going to lose, and you fucking take that loss head on.

[Miradus]

It certainly would be more interesting to have my character die in some interesting, story-related way rather than to random mob #379 + lag.

[amyandthepup]

How do you add in a bio entry? I remember during character creation writing in a little background, but I have no clue how or where to write anything else in.

Sometimes, I can't help but feel lost when it comes to these things. I tend to write things in after major events have occurred in my char's life, not before. It's hard to know what to write. Plus, this is my first char, which only adds to my uncertainty. I don't do political intrigue, personally, but I do other things. What happens if you're not a very goal-oriented person? Is this like planning things you want to do, or something else?

[whitt]

How do you add in a bio entry? I remember during character creation writing in a little background, but I have no clue how or where to write anything else in.

I tend to do a lot of 'fill-me-in-later' BIOs...

Code Select Expand


bio add Something Great Just Happened, Click Here To Find Out
~

Then after a month or so, on a day when I can't log in (or when I'm idling waiting for PCs in my sphere) I'll go back in and fill them out.

More often than not, the bulk of my BIOs get filled in after my PC died.  (Another tip: You can still go into your dead PCs on the website and fill in their BIOs.)

You can also add them from the main Armageddon.org site by logging in and clicking the My Account > Biographies menu option.  You'll get a list of your characters and then you can edit or add new bio entries there.  Your first bio will be the background you submitted.

Sometimes, I can't help but feel lost when it comes to these things. I tend to write things in after major events have occurred in my char's life, not before. It's hard to know what to write. Plus, this is my first char, which only adds to my uncertainty. I don't do political intrigue, personally, but I do other things. What happens if you're not a very goal-oriented person? Is this like planning things you want to do, or something else?

This is why the: Bio Add command is neat.  You can tag an event as it happens in game and then come back and note it more fully (or not).  I enjoy doing IC-annual "Dramatis Personae" entries of who's been important to my character at the end of each IC year as another suggestion.

[nauta]

How do you add in a bio entry? I remember during character creation writing in a little background, but I have no clue how or where to write anything else in.

I tend to do a lot of 'fill-me-in-later' BIOs...

Code Select Expand


bio add Something Great Just Happened, Click Here To Find Out
~

Then after a month or so, on a day when I can't log in (or when I'm idling waiting for PCs in my sphere) I'll go back in and fill them out.

More often than not, the bulk of my BIOs get filled in after my PC died.  (Another tip: You can still go into your dead PCs on the website and fill in their BIOs.)

You can also add them from the main Armageddon.org site by logging in and clicking the My Account > Biographies menu option.  You'll get a list of your characters and then you can edit or add new bio entries there.  Your first bio will be the background you submitted.

Sometimes, I can't help but feel lost when it comes to these things. I tend to write things in after major events have occurred in my char's life, not before. It's hard to know what to write. Plus, this is my first char, which only adds to my uncertainty. I don't do political intrigue, personally, but I do other things. What happens if you're not a very goal-oriented person? Is this like planning things you want to do, or something else?

This is why the: Bio Add command is neat.  You can tag an event as it happens in game and then come back and note it more fully (or not).  I enjoy doing IC-annual "Dramatis Personae" entries of who's been important to my character at the end of each IC year as another suggestion.

There's also 'help biography', posted in full below:

Biography                                                        (Characters)

   As the name of this command suggests, this command allows a player to
access/annotate a historical account of their character's life.  Its
intention is to provide a means to update a character's story beyond his
or her initial background as significant events unfold.  Entries made into
a character's biography must conform to the same standards and style of a
background.


Syntax:
   biography
biography <#>
biography add <title>
biography delete <#>
biography edit <#>

Example:
   biography
biography 1
biography add Another year gone
biography delete 6
biography edit 6

Notes:
   It is strongly suggested that you not use this command in rooms with
message boards, to avoid inadvertently writing personal information to
the boards rather than one's biography.

Be advised that this is not to be used as a personal diary, blog or
notepad.  This is not an electronic sticky pad to jot down ideas, thoughts,
or things to remember.  A good rule of thumb is to write entries where your
intended audience is expecting to read and be enlightened by the story of
your character's life.

You may not delete your initial background.  The delete functionality is
provided mainly as a courtesy in the event there are problems during adding
an entry.

You do not have to save after editing/adding an entry, it automatically
saves when you finish editing.

You can view and manage all your biography entries for all characters on
your account through the 'My Account' link on the main Armageddon webpage.

See also:
   editor, webpage

NB: The in-game editor is, uh, while awesome, kind of clunky.  The website editor is so much better.

[Morrolan]

I am a great believer in bios as a character development tool.

It also helps me remember when things happened. I recommend quick entries on the fly. As someone else said, they cal always be edited later from the www.armageddon.org website.

"Dear diary: Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy. Today we were kidnapped by halflings, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."

"Byn Runner. Week twenty-one. Today we got a new recruit. His name is Spike Fitzwall. I beat him into the floor. He swore to get me. He never will. Ooh look! Candy!"

[boog]

BUMPING.

Bitches.

[Barsook]

Bios are awesome, I find that if I play a non-leader, I would rather create a bio instead of a report.

[Culinary Critic]

(stuff)

It also helps me remember when things happened. I recommend quick entries on the fly. As someone else said, they cal always be edited later from the www.armageddon.org website.

(stuff)

I have done some bios.  Not a lot per character, but some.  AND I NEVER NOTICED THIS!!!!!  Editing is huge.  I will now go write new bios and edit old ones.  Thank you.  You rock like Judas Priest back in the good old days.  With lots of black leather.

[Zenith]

Bios written last night when I should have just gone to bed. Check!

Bios rewritten this morning so they actually make sense.... Working on it.

[boog]

I'm gonna write one right now. I can tell my RP has gotten a bit off track when I don't keep in line with the bios.

If you're not bioing, you're not living! Or something.