Mythruna

I'm putting this here so it doesn't fly away and I'm not sure I want to sticky it in "General"... I may move it later.

For the "role players" in the crowd, I'm curious what kind of characters you will play.  I'm toying with the idea of allowing players to create a rudimentary back story for their characters during character creation.  Where they grew up, if they were an orphan, occupations of their parents, etc..  I may use this information for "stuff" and so if I add it to the character creator it will be a sort of decision tree of options, some with some customization.

I have old notes from one of these I started building too long ago to mention... and about a half-dozen different pen-and-paper RPG game systems to draw ideas from... but still... it would be nice to know if I'm hitting the things people will actually use.

So, if you could, maybe describe a potential character's background in some relatively general terms.  I can't promise to use all of it (or any of it for that matter) but it still might be a fun exercise.

Please limit discussions to actual character bios as much as possible.  If things get too far off from what I'm looking for then I may post a few of my own.  I don't think I ever played a computer RPG character without imagining at least a minimal back story for them.

Thanks!

I would think a bios for characters would be a cool feature, but I think you should not have it go into much detail, or have a section for the other info input, and maybe have it be optional.

Oh! And if the player doesn't have a bios you could probably get the engine to auto-generate one :)

...and... the first response is off topic. :-/

Did i not read it right? Or did you not understand? LOL
by 'bios' I meant 'character back-story' :)
Sorry for the confusion.

Got this answer from:

and I say I will mainly play as a Human or a Reptilian from this:

I think he wanted this thread to be just "actual character bios", shzylo. I'll give it a go:

Eldarin wasn't always an outcast. He also wasn't always as good at being a ranger as he is now. He was born to normal elf parents, many years ago, in a forest town named Sweetwater. He learned the ways of Sunlight and magic through his community for much of his childhood, and was well liked by everyone. Though, for some reason, one day Eldarin left his hometown. No one knows exactly why he left. Some say the elves were too inactive in the worlds affairs for him. Others say he saw a human maiden in a passing caravan and fell in love. Others still say he was just a restless spirit that needed adventure. Whatever the case, he left Sweetwater, and started taking jobs suited to that of a ranger. He earned a reputation for always getting the job done, and so not many people turn away this kind wanderer's aid. This is the story of Eldarin.

... I made this up pretty quickly  ;D sorry if its a bit much.

Well, I said right in the original post: "Please limit discussions to actual character bios as much as possible."

See... I even used the word "bios"... but I don't think you read it. :-/

Aww yeah. I have quite a few characters, I'll list their names here, but I'll start a bio for one of them.

Names:
Minaki Taiyō
Kassy Jenica Taiyō
Maosu Kikoeru Taiyō
Josia Shiryoku Taiyō
Naoto Tsuyo-sa Taiyō

Just to name a few. Their all related (What a shocker!) and have very specific names. Minaki and Kassy were both some of my first characters, so their middle name is either lacking, or unoriginal (Respectively).

Maosu is the sister of twelve other siblings, all of which have amazing powers and feats. Maosu's siblings were all born at the same time, only minutes apart, being the rarest case ever known to any race. Everyone in Maosu's family are of different racial backgrounds, her own is that of a Human. She is twenty three years old, has light blue eyes and blond hair. She is Average size, at exactly 6 ft 1⁄2 in. She wears simple clothing and dresses, made normally of plain colors, like white, and rough materials... she doesn't like to be weighed down.

Maosu is also an Illusionist, she loves to play pranks on people who walk by, or who seem very depressed, as an attempt to bring their mood up as well as her own. She loves to hang our with her brother Naoto and sister Josia. She see's Kassy, a granddaughter, regularly, and teaches her some magic tricks. Maosu tends to be very hyper at times, and very rarely serious. She loves to hang around big cities, running around on rooftops and looking inside random people's windows... maybe taking a loaf of bread once in awhile.

Maosu's 'older' sister, Josia, tends to be her 'caretaker' by paying for things she breaks, or 'borrows'. Josia is quite the opposite of Maosu, as she is very serious at times and is very kept and tidy. Naoto acts as an older brother, though Maosu is still older by about a minute. Naoto gets very angry, but works as a guard to the city and his sister. Maosu loves to hang out with both siblings, as well as race with Josia and prank Naoto's co-workers.

I never eve thought about the differences between a few minutes off or not, so this is the first time I've said Maosu is older than Naoto. Though I kind of hinted as Josia being an older sister. :3...

oh lol xD
My turn;

Zaos, of the Reptilian species, born in the midst of war. His life is war, fighting until the death. Zaos' mother's name is Munith, died at the birth of Zaos. His father, Darth, was the one who trained him. Zaos' specialty is Taekwondo. He is fair and kind until he enters war. At that point of time, he is full of blood lust and he will fight 'til the death. The reptilian tribe is normally peaceful, trying to not cause wars, but they have always had a fierce disagreement with the Avians. The reptilians were able to invade the avians' tribal town, stealing their technological knowledge they built some ships, and Zaos volunteered to be one of the travelers to test the ship travel. While in the middle of his trip, an avian shot down one of the main engines, sending the ship going down. With a crash it landed, leaving Zaos with no memory and all of the other passengers dead.. Zaos now has to find materials on his own

MYTHRUNA - What Will Your Story Be?

I think he was looking for more vague bios than these.

Example:

race: half breed orc/reptile
birth: Slave
God: none
home: fortress in marshlands where nonhumans are captured and sold as slaves
political alignment: nonhuman resistance army
unique traits: decreased effects of hunger, advanced crafting knowledge.

it's important to keep in mind that he has to somehow figure out how to code this into the game, so a paragraph describing someone's life isn't going to help.

You are both right and wrong, actually. :)  You are right that what you gave is closer to what I need.  However, it's also helpful to see the other things that people have written.  I don't mind if people choose a more verbose path.

Many touch on the same things just in narrative form and I can see what players find significant to define their characters... and maybe I see something that I wouldn't have put in a form.

I may formalize it into a more structured question later and we can reshuffle.

so if you get a significant amount of feedback, will the bios people give influence other parts of the game such as locations, factions, races etc.

Probably not.  I mean, you never know but I'm more looking at how to tie a player-character into the world that will exist and potentially set them up with starting skills, initial maps, etc..  I also have to consider how modders will hook into this to add their own customizations and so on.

The world itself is random and the races are already decided... so there is only so much that can be moved around.

wait arent the players extra demension beings how can they have bios?

Because you make them up as part of creating your character.

I was imagining Paul's way of an in-game backstory is like how Mount&Blade has it. "Your dad was a *selection here*" "You worked your early life as a *selection here*"

OMG! TY! I was trying to remember FOREVER (2 days) what that game was called! But yeah, that would be neat to give NPCs an understanding about your character. If you just type it all in, there's no way they can detect everything you've typed and say "Oh hey, they're a goddess or a god, we should bow down." type-a-thing. But yeah, having BOTH bios would be good! And also for *selection here* there should be an 'other' option, in case it doesn't match your 'other bio' that the NPCs can't 'read'.

i think character bios should relate to bootstrap (starter) skills
ex: father black smith skill sword crafting

How about have a choice to be a person from the 21st Century?  You could have a multitude of different characters who could genuinely equate to the players.
I would love to have this character though:

Benjamin Johanne: a 12 year old boy from a large American city, born to middle class Americans.  Loves to build and invent things as well as exploring.  The way he found himself in Mythruna was because he was exploring in the basement of his 19th century apartment building to find the portal, which could be a ring or a wardrobe or a storybook. 

I will definitely come up with some other characters, but people from the real world somehow being teleported to the land of Mythruna would be excellent. 

That would be more appropriate as a mod rather than the actual game. Unless the story you described was the player written bio, that would be interesting. :)

Haha, finding the dead bodies of ancients/people from the future. Edit: Now we need more backgrounds instead of talking about Character backgrounds.

My character would be a outcast dwarf, famous for his crafting abilities and a nose for rare materials. He was wrongly accused of murdering his family and pleaded with his gods for justice. Getting no response he renounced his peoples ways. He is now trying to find a place to make his own heaven on Mythruna. He doesn't typically look for a fight but if he is defending himself he is legendary with the double axe. He is also an explorer despite having such tiny legs. To make exploring easier he is a expert vehicle craftsmen and has build things never thought of in his world. With time he could be a great statesman guiding his community to unseen greatness.

if characters have back stories could a player conceivable have an avian character whose background has him as art of an avian tribe?

Not an existing one.  They'd probably notice if you somehow popped right into the tribe one day.

but isn't the player possessing a body made for them?

Im not completly sure how to do this so ill mix it up and do a bit of both.

race: Avian
birth: Uper class male
God: none
home: palace in a paradise long lost through war
political alignment: his own thinker, peace and trying to rebuild what once was
unique traits: Can remember designs and buildings just from a glimpse

So time for his story, He wasnt one of the warriors which is why he survived the war of his homeland when the fighting began he was told to pack his bag take his crafting tools and find a new place to set up. leaving his family there was hard but he knew it was what he had to do. he flew as far away from home as he could to find a place which felt right, a place where he could be free of any restrained and a place of peace. In the forests of Forsyth he found himself the perfect place for a home, it had a small creek near by, lush green forest and animals in vast amounts. The locals didnt like him much because he was very difernt to the normal, not many avians where seen in these parts and as time went on they began to love how he would build. it started out when he made friends with a local and they went back to his house hidden away in the forest. when he saw the while marvel he was shocked and couldnt believe his eyes. not many humans had ever seen the type of architecture done by the avians. after that he became a celebrity and only the richest would have buildings created by him. it was very profitable and he loved his work.

and i dont really know where to go. hope it wasnt to boring :p

Edit:
Face structure: ridged and harsh
Eye colour: blue
Skin: fair chalky colour
Hair: short and messy
Hair colour: Brown with small golden streaks
Build: Tall and strong
Wing colour: White and Golden flecks mixed

Yeah, the player's bio was

Yes, its going to be a player bio.  And there would be multiple player bios as a choice for the player, all hailing from the real world.  Maybe even from different time periods throughout the world, somehow vanishing from the annals of history, similar to that of Henry Hudson.  That would explain the variety of cultures in Mythruna.  From airships to pirate ships to castles to futuristic buildings.  The non-human species, however, would be natives to Mythruna.  I'll come up with some more bios over the next few weeks.

For mods that's one thing.

But the actual game that I'm developing, the players assume roles in the generated world.  That's the bios that I'm interested in here.  Just like hair color, physique, etc... your basic bio may be something you can customize about your character.

The Mythruna cultures developed the way they did because there is easy access to elemental energies that make certain things easier.  If since the beginning of time we had elements that could negate gravity or crystals that could transform one type of energy into another then I'm sure our technology would have developed very differently.

Well, I always love it when the 'peaceful' crafting bios actually work properly, which most online games ruin but Mythruna should be able to do that perfectly.

Also, make sure you have some good dreadlocks, and long hair in general.
Best thing would be a lot of different options for hairstyles and faces, so you can get a lot of different looking characters.