So I've been playing around with an idea for an amnesiac character, and I realized it might not be such a good idea. Its not that I don't like my own character, its that I've seen it go wrong so many times.
Characters with little background can be hard to build off of, or can come off as flat. You can tailor to the idea that they have a background beyond that, but how that works is almost up to GM's whim, and it feels weird for your own character not to know it but for you too. I know when I GM for characters with blank backgrounds it tends to be difficult to shape any of the game around them, because I feel like I'm either invading on who they are, I'm risking violating their character idea, or I just can't figure out what to do because there isn't much to work with.
I'm just curious about other peoples advice or how its worked with them. In particular when it works and when it doesn't and what to do to prevent problems.
I've always thought of it as a suspension of disbelief gig. Magic really can fix anything, so its hard to belief there are any afflictions in a larger city or even threats sometimes. You can also just hand wave getting it cured by those effects for the sake of story.
That said, break enchantment only works on magical afflictons, and Heal says nothing about amnesia or anything related. Miracle and Wish are so high level your not likely to ever find them. It also requires you to actively seek your cure, which not every character does. Another thing is I'm not a big fan of the rules for madness. Its weird how people can just get over it over time, without story.
That might be a good point, Lincoln Hills, if he played out that issue until mid level. Even if such spells are available, they might be prohibitively expensive and/or rare for most people. The original problem was that he couldn't think of interesting character arcs for the concept. Hopefully that would mean that the issue would not be dragged on for enough sessions that this would become an issue.
RPing amnesia seems like it would revolve around reconstructing one's identity. This would need plenty of clues (passports, special trinkets, vague acquaintances that only knew you for a month or two before you lost everything.)I would hope for an amnesia story that doesn't revolve around "Cruello" turning over a new leaf though. Over done really. It works better with a mystery. Maybe a ransom note for a kidnapped lover you can't remember? That leave opportunity for false identities and intrigue. Who took her? Why would they bother? Is this woman we found her, or is she a spy sent by the kidnappers? Unfortunately, such a game would unduly focus on the amnesiac. Maybe good for a 1 on 1.
It would be rather awkward to reach 11th level as Bunnyhug the Druid, only to use heal to rid yourself of some wounds and abruptly remember that you're actually Cruello de Gorewader, Harrower of the Helpless; the alignment implications alone are troubling.
Is that really an issue though? An amnesiac discovering that he wasn't exactly the best person in his former life might shake him up, but that's just great fodder for story and role-playing.
As for building the character: If you start the character at the moment that he 'wakes up' and realizes he doesn't know who he is, then it could be potentially tough. If, however, you make the amnesia part of his back story, and then build the character off the (limited) experiences he's had since he lost his memory, you can usually come up with something fairly solid.
An aside: I'm actually thinking that the wolf Ranger that I posted over in the "Natural classes for awakened animals" thread was actually once a humanoid who died and was brought back by his Druid partner - but the Reincarnate spell went badly wrong for some reason, resulting him reincarnating as a wolf and without any memory of his former life.
This can be fun. In a 4th ED game I have a revenant. All he initially remembered was a quest for vengeance from the Goddess of Death- not even his name, folks call him “The Reverend”.
As the adventure progresses, he wants to know more. When conversing with some natives, they point out Rev is speaking to them in their native language, but with an archaic dialect. Hmm.
Later, Rev remembers how a certain style of Tomb complex was built. Hmm.
The DM & I are having great fun with this.
And of course, it can’t be “cured”, it’s a side effect of being (mostly) dead.
As for building the character: If you start the character at the moment that he 'wakes up' and realizes he doesn't know who he is, then it could be potentially tough. If, however, you make the amnesia part of his back story, and then build the character off the (limited) experiences he's had since he lost his memory, you can usually come up with something fairly solid.
That's what I thought would be the best way to handle it. Putting the bulk of his backstory into after the fact to create an individual. It also takes a large focus off the amnesia, but it makes it a part of who he is. It can also make an interesting back story about what happens to a character when he's a blank slate and where he went from there, which is loads of fun I think. At worst you remove family from the equation, but even that's really up to you.
@Lincoln Yes, that's definitely my worst worry next to a flat character. A DM trying to make things "interesting" and adding in something I'm completely against. Its okay if your DM is one of those "talk with you" types so you have a heads up and you can give an okay.(though one time the DM did it anyway and I left the group). Sometimes a GM is cool about it, other times you end up with a family composed of evil villains who you have to kill just because evil twin brother is a cliché that had to be done in the GMs head.
If you have a GM that trusts you, you always have the option of writing the character's back-story yourself (at least in general). Just avoid metagaming with any information that you included about your past prior to the event that caused you to lose your memory.
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One of my players asked specifically for this kind of character.
We agreed that I would keep his true character sheet and give him a blank one that he can fill up little by little as he learns about his abilities.
I asked him many questions about what he expects his character to be like and be good at, both in combat and out of it.
Based on this, and some ideas I got on the boards, I built his character up till 6-th level. Which is when he will find his memory back (best timing in the campaign).
Every level, I will unlock abilities and skill levels that he wasn't using before because he did not even know he could do that.
When he recovers his memory, he will be given a choice of getting back on his previous path (before the amnesia) or leaving it behind. Both choices will have consequences. And I will likely make use of the retraining rules in UCamp.
I am not worried about overfocussing on this PC, because I have at least 2 other PCs which are just as interesting in their own ways (ie, inspire me to a lot of creativity).
Of course, I will enmesh his pre-amnesia background with the campaign's plots and protagonists. Heck, even his being an amnesiac will have some significance.
Another issue is that you're essentially giving the GM carte blanche for your character's background. For some players and GMs, that wouldn't be an issue, but I've played under jerks who would immediately decide that not only is your amnesiac the long-lost identical twin brother of the High Heretic of the Squid God, and not only is his ex-wife a succubus (and expecting his half-fiend offspring any day now), and not only is he being hunted by the Druidic Order for paving over Bracken Moor and building a mini-mall, but he also doesn't know he has an incurable disease, a cursed ring, and an upcoming audit.
So - be sure your GM can be trusted not to go overboard.
When I first saw this I thought it was the GM using this as background for all the PCs, which I think is definitely a bad idea.
For a player to choose though? I don't see why not. Especially if you're having trouble coming up with a backstory on your own. I had a player do this once with a druid in a game that I was making up as I went along, and long story short he started to remember being an Earth-worshipping ascetic at this temple the player's were defending, and when he died finding the final boss we had this nice epilogue about his spirit finding it's way to Nirvana at last.
If you've got a good GM, fo for it. Just don't complain if he comes up with something not quite to your liking, because it was you that gave him the choice.
I play a character with amnesia in PFS.
PFS is a very different setting. The focus will never be on you having amnesia. Your character's past won't come up unless you force it on the table. Many of the people you meet will never know you lost your memory. They will however know your really good at being a clerk and killing people, which has its own merits.
Though I've come down hard on the potential pitfalls of the idea, I approve of the concept itself. As has been pointed out, leaving your past in the GM's hands can add an extra, fun level of mystery to the campaign.
There are a crazy number of ways it can play out. Your character may not have any interest in his amnesia or his past. You could also give your GM a quick list of things you'd like, or you could ask them to do whatever, or you could just tell them you don't even want it to come up and you just want it to be a device used to create the character.
Don't suppose there's any further advice on actually creating the character to mitigate issues and the like? Seems most of the suggestions so far are about GM - Player relationships.
Here's where I'd be as a GM, and as a player.
Create your character's backstory just like normal. Now roleplay that your character doesn't remember it.
Easy. No problem with the player being to lazy to write a backstory, no problem with the GM inventing things that the player doesn't like.
Also, while it's possible for a particular player to want to give their GM a blank slate and while it's possible for a particular GM to want to be given a blank slate, I suspect that's the minority. As a GM I want a backstory as a framework for me to build upon. As a player I want the character I want, not someone else.
So even if nobody's trying to game the system, I'd say it's not a great idea most of the time.
If you want a similar background without some of the problems your character could be a reincarnation of another person. I am not talking about the druid spell reincarnate, but someone who died with unfinished business and was brought back. This would work best with an Oracle, but a Sorcerer may also work. Since you are in a new body there is nothing to heal so magical cures are not going to be a problem. This could even be the basis for your Oracle curse. Take the haunted curse with the extra spells being what you remember from your previous life. You could also create a new curse based on amnesia.