Character Creation: Nature vs. Nurture?


Gamer Life General Discussion


Kirth Gersen wrote:

...and Jess, whose previous negative experiences show like a spotlight -- almost completely genderless characters, and zero tolerance for pushing the envelope -- it kind of makes me want to beat up the people who forced that attitude on her. I like having Jess in the game, more than enough to keep "on table" things PG-13 (with hints that, off-screen, the game world itself is NC-17). Jess has yet to walk out, so hopefully I'm keeping it within the tolerance range.

I originally posted this in the "Adult aspects of gaming" thread, but decided to move it as not to derail that thread too much.

Has anyone else here thought about their gaming style, and the possibility that it's a result of outside influence? Not just your imagination showing through, but that the kinds of characters you create are somehow influenced by the kinds of gaming groups you've been part of, even long after you've left that particular group?

I ask because I recently rolled up a new character for a game I play in. For the majority of games I've played in, we've had a LOT of players (7+) besides the DM, so there's always been lots of room to play around and try oddball concepts. I've rarely ever been one of those "staple" characters(the Thief, The Healer, The Tank, etc.) because those bases were always covered, so I was always the guy who came in with the Wizard/Ranger/Duskblade, or the Warlock/Favored Soul, and filled in that unpredictable element. Well, for the current game I am in, there are fewer players, and I'm finding myself still making the oddball tropes and getting completely thrashed in the dungeons. When I try to create a basic, generic "Healer" or "Thief" the party needs, they still come out with some weirdness. I'm starting to question where my concepts are coming from; are they genuine? Or the result of habitual class experimentation? Just something to ponder.

Dark Archive

I'm definitely a 'nurture' gamer. I started out gaming in the way back time of 1989 with a seriously MEGA Monty Haul GM. Now part of this was the era, with the transition from AD&D 1e to 2e taking a toll. But even when we played GURPS or Car Wars, it was much the same. And so I became a Monty Haul player, always wanting more shiny things and pouting when I kicked down a door and found nothing.

Then came the dry spell from when I left that GM until I met another VERY different GM in NorCal. She was more of a Storyteller than a GM, per se, and she ran AWESOME games. But I was still a Monty Hauler, and played mostly antagonistic PC's. When I didn't, I started becoming a more RP based player.

Then I met my wife, we moved in together, and eventually picked up D&D 3x. And the transition from hack-and-slash-monty-hauler is coming to a close. I love RP for the sake of RP, and combat for its own purpose. And I absolutely love my wife's games. She's incredible.

So my vote's for nurture.

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