* Bob the character builder.

After some years of roleplaying you notice you start to build your characters more promptly. Not only in games you're more experienced in (in my case, AD&D 2nd Ed., SWRPG d6, old World of Darkness, Shadowrun), but in general, as you are gain more experience in the hobby. In my case, particularly, one thing that helps me build a character is having a definite concept for it, and writing a background. That sends my "faster character building time" skyrocketing; if you take into account the time a one to four (and sometimes more) pages long background.

When I'm building a character for an involved campaign (and not just some throw away or one-shot game), I usually think about the character for days, maturing the concept. I need to know how he or she will think, what they do for a living, what they've been through before I get my hands on the rulebook (when I need one) and dice (if the game uses dice for character generation). I really can't stand playing a character that doesn't have at least a paragraph or two of background. Many times I write a background before even thinking about the specific skills the character will have; the skills are born from the background. "Oh, so he's a doctor, and worked as a paramedic while he studied? Then he was in touch with cops and crime scenes, and picked up a thing or two about that. Yeah, he has the "streetwise" skill". Stuff like that.

* Loose threads.

So yeah, now I might take even more time building a good character, but in the end it helps me play it better. I really can't fathom how people play characters without a background, without any past beyond the previous sessions. To quote a friend, "elven when players give me characters with detailed backgrounds, with the appropriate "loose threads" to pull from.

You know when a sweater has a loose thread, and you pull it and you start o unravel it? Well, this is more or less the same. In a background, loose threads can be enemies, lost loves, debts, unresolved situations from the character's past. When I gamemaster, I derive great satisfaction from pulling these threads, getting the characters involved in the campaign on a personal level. As a player, it's much more enjoyable when the game stops being that adventure the gamemaster downloaded, bought, or designed himself for generic characters.

There's nothing like seeing an adventure seeping with stuff from my character's background, when I discover in mid campaign that the "big bad boss" we're dealing with is not just some random schmuck. It's the guy who killed my brother... or even my long lost brother himself...

* It's not just about loose threads.

There's another important aspect to backgrounds, and that's the fact that they not only make your character's relationships and skills, but their actual personalities. Why do I, as a real person, tend to speak in a loud voice? Because I'm the youngest sibling in six; and when we're all in the same room, you've got to raise your voice. It's this kind of little thing that make you who you are, that build the way you move, talk, and react to the world.

These little details can go a very long way towards build a memorable, individual character. For example, I have a character who feels responsible for his little brother's death, even though it was an accident. I decided that because of this, my character rarely, if ever, laughs. He'll smile, he'll be very happy at times and have one of those smiles that light up a room... but he doesn't laugh, even at the funniest joke.

It's what Vampire: The Masquerade, and the oWOD books in general call "the spark of life". You're not playing a collection of stats, you're not playing "the thief" or "the Brujah"; you're playing "the guy who doesn't laugh", or "the guy who tells inappropriate jokes".

This little spark of life, that life story from where skill sets and other details stem from; in my opinion, are what makes roleplaying enjoyable. Because if you don't have a personality, a backstory... how will you decide how your character reacts to a certain situation? No, you can't decide beforehand how he'll react, but you can have a good framework to play the character upon. Without a personality, without a background... you might as well play a wargame, or a tabletop FPS.

* But Uncle MaGnUs, I suck at writing!

Well, I never claimed to be Frank Herbert, my children. True, I am a writer, and I've always loved telling stories, so I have a bit of a headstart. But don't worry, there's a few ways of getting a background even if you can't write your way out of a paper bag. Like Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

The first method might be the... cheapest. Copy. Steal. What's wrong with this technique? Well, nothing, really. You're not writing a book you're going to publish, or enter a "world's most original character" contest. You like Wolverine? Well, base your character's backstory and personality on him. I have a character I subconsciously based on Logan; dour, native American (once upon a time there were hints Logan might be a Blackfoot indian), plaid flannel shirt-wearing, with a teenage girl protégée. When I realized what I'd done, I laughed; but kept the character. He's one of my favorites, even though he's retired.

In time, after copying stuff from here and there, you'll learn to build backgrounds taking bits and pieces from different sources, and they'll be less of a copy, more of a collage. And with more practice, you'll even start to write your own stuff.

The second method is using guidelines. Many roleplaying sourcebooks bring "twenty questions" to help you flesh out a character. What's his favorite kind of music? Where did he go to school? Would he like to protect a friend? That kind of thing. An IRC Star Wars game I played in many years ago used a "background sheet" with questions like that; and sections like "Relatives", "Hobbies", "Enemies"; I've kept that sheet and used it for Star War games, Star Trek, Marvel or DC superheroes and others. It's "fill in the blanks", some people think better with a framework to provide structure.

Another technique for those who do like to write, but only have talent for certain kind of writing is looking for alternate formats. Can't write a traditional background? Well, write your character's background in the form of an interview; where your character is interviewed by a journalist, or a potential employer. Write it as a confession to a priest, a criminal record, or even retellings of an urban legend.

The last method I can think of stems from maieutics. Maieutics is a procedure of pedagogy, the science of teaching. Stemming from the fact that his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife, Socrates fancied himself an idea midwife. It is based on the idea that the truth is latent in the mind of every human being due to his innate reason but has to be "given birth"

The idea is that the truth (in this case your character's story) is inside of each person already, but another person's help is needed to give birth to it in the form of intelligently asked questions. Even the most unimaginative player has a basic idea for his character... such as "elven archer". A player with more writing flair (I love doing this) can sit down with him and help him flesh out that two-word concept. Why an elf? Okay, what kind of elf? Why an archer, and not a twin shortsword wielding ranger, or a mage? Alright, so his father was an archer... How about that, and the fact that his uncle was an evil mage, made him decide against magic and in favor of archery?

I've helped a few friends flesh out their characters this way, and I'm grateful they let me do so. When I play my character side by side with their characters, I feel like I know the guy next to him, and he's not just an "elven archer". Have fun, kids, and game on.