Guide for First Time Game Masters Part 3, Understanding The Characters

This is the third entry in a series detailing how to run your first game as a Game Master. If you have not read the other parts of the series yet, read those first for additional context.

The Player Characters ae one of the defining aspects of Roleplaying Games, and they are what seperates Roleplaying Games from most other games. In most games, you, the player, are the one taking actions and affecting the outcomes of events. However, in Roleplaying Games these actions are taken within the narrative by a character screated by the player. Therefore, characters are very personal to theri players and are the one aspect of the game over which they have complete creative freedom. It is important to understand your players’ characters, as respecting their creativity and incorperating their creations into the game makes the expreince more immersive and enjoyable for everyone involved.

Ideally, your players have created characters before the first session of play. The complexity of this process varies depending on the system, from being a 5-minute process of writing notes on a sticky note to a more involved process where plates have to roll for their stats, choose skills to invest into, and buy equipment. Dungeons and Dragons has a fairly complex character creation process, so make sure to sit down with your players and walk them through it if they have not done it before.

Aligning Characters with Themes

As the game master, your job is to make sure the characters players will create are able to thrive in and enrich the world where the adventure takes place. Because a character is a creative expression, players can have strong ideas for their characters that they are passionate about. However, if a character and a setting misalign, it often leads to conflict. As a Game Master, your goal is to respect and support your players’ visions while keeping the characters aligned with the tone and established setting.

Ethan sees that he can create a Bard character, one who is an entertainer and musician. As a fan of musical theatre, he chooses to create Banglebritches the Bard, a wacky character who sings everything he does as if he is living in a musical. Jeff, realizing how this could derail the intended effect and immersion of the game, works with Ethan to redefine some of the key features of Banglebritches. He suggests that perhaps Banglebritches is trying to keep up the facade of being wacky, but in reality is trying to use his music and energy to bring joy to a joyless land. In this way, Ethan comes to the table with a character that captures his original idea of a joyous and chaotic performer, but better aligns the capabilities and tone of the character with the setting.

Intertwining Characters with the Narrative

Players are usually emotionally invested in their characters. The backstory of a character can serve as a great tie-in that encourages that character to go on the adventure in the first place. Little is more satisfying to a player than seeing their character integrated into the world of the adventure. Encourage your players to think of the characters’ backstories and share them with you. When your players explain their characters’ backstories, take note of things you can build off of.

Melinda creates a barbarian character that finds herself fueled by anger due to the loss of her sister. Jeff now has a motivation to create his central story around. He also sees that if the sister is kidnapped, not dead, this gives Diego a mystery to solve. Gathering information about the sister also gives Ethan NPCs to interact with.

Diego creates a druid character who seeks to revive the land by allowing greenery to coat it once more. Jeff makes a note of this, making sure to include moments for Diego’s character to take steps to achieve this.

Session 0

The easiest way to gather all the information required before you start your game is to host a Session 0. This is an informal meeting of your players before the campaign starts.

During this meeting, you can talk to your players about their tastes and comfort zones, and help them build their characters collaboratively. This is also a great time to teach newer players the rules of the system and clarify any questions they might have.