Something which I found particularly interesting at char-gen, is the option to have one or more (but just a few) traits associated with the character.
It's true that in the spirit of the OSR, it is perfectly fine to start with a "blank" character, and see it emerge in play. This process of discovery of your own character is a part of the "exploration" contained in the classic OSR spirit.
You don't just discover what's in the dungeon and explore the surrounding wilderness; you don't just hexcrawl through the kingdom... in the process, you also discover "who" your character is (if they survive, of course). Depending on how your character will face certain situations or dangers, how it will react in front of failure or success, and depending on what will inspire you when role-playing, you may find yourself with a character who has proven to be smart or brave, cautious or avid, careless or clumsy, cold or ambitious or whatever.
On the other hand, I've seen too often characters who are "blank" at the start which simply develop in a cliché, in something (someone) too familiar, too simple, too flat. Having one or more character traits at the start, right from char-gen, can change that.
When your character has perhaps a positive and a negative trait from the start, you get something to role-play with. You don't get a blank sheet, but some constraints, and as we all know, constraints foster creativity. It is often easier and more satisfying to role-play a character with a couple or a few traits (not too many, so they don't become a burden)... you still get to decide what to do, of course, but you try to play with the cards that fate dealt you.
So try this, build a list of negative and positive traits, and assign a couple to every new character at the start of the game. See how it goes, see how they get to be played in the game - and why not? how they change adventure after adventure.
As for how to assign traits, I am of course a firm believer in random tables.
For example, these are snapshots taken from
the Crying Blades.
If you look for some source of inspiration outside the usual OSR links, here are some for you:
-
638 Primary Personality Traits (lots of traits, divided in Positive, Neutral and Negative)
-
1,000 NPC Traits by Chad Samuels
-
100 NPC Personality Types by
SHAM AKA DAVE
-
d100 NPC Character Traits
-
A list of mannerisms for writers
The last link is especially interesting because it offers examples of how a character behaves in certain situations. The article focuses on a temporary conditions, such as:
Anger, frustration, apprehension: Hands clasped behind back
Boredom: Prolonged tilted head
These are not useful on their own, as traits, but may very well serve as inspiration for a typical character behavior.
Think of a newly generated fighter with average stats and regular gear. You start with an empty sheet and you will perhaps see the fighter's personality emerge over time.
Take the same fighter and give it (totally random): careful, broken nose, and the habit of walking around with the hands clasped behind his back.
I guess I could play with this; I could make something of this right away, in the first scenes of the first adventure. I guess even if the fighter died soon enough, perhaps a few months later we would still, sometimes, talk about that fighter I lost in the third room of the dungeon - yes, the one with the serious attitude and a broken nose, walking with the hands behind his back, muttering to himself half of the time...
Note also that if you search'll for random tables for traits, you'll most likely find more complete tables if searching for NPCs' traits rather than characters' traits. The only thing you need to do is to parse those tables, copy-paste what seems interesting to you, and build your own tables.
A classic is one positive and one negative trait, although (as you've seen above for the
Crying Blades) I like to leave a bit of margin for players to pick up what they like better. Still, I don't present players with lists of tens or hundreds of traits asking them to pick one or two. Too many choices would lead to a long decision time, and I like better the idea of a random roll (perhaps mitigated by the option of selecting instead the entry right after or right before the number you rolled).
Something to remember is that those traits should inspire role-play, but have no mechanical rules associated with them. There are
no bonuses or penalties (not to rolls in game, not to XP rewards).
The idea is that those traits simply describe a little of your character's personality and give you some guidelines on how to portray this new character.
Moreover, traits should not become something that burdens the player and forces them to role-play something they are not happy with... If a fighter comes up with a "coward" trait, the player could still want to role-play a brave and fierce character. Either change the trait from the start, or perhaps consider the option to role-play how your character, from coward becomes brave (if they survive long enough).
If you want to add a mechanical weight to those traits, though, consider for example the article below, with traits which come with some mechanical modifiers or abilities.
In fact, they are named as traits in the title of the post, but I consider them more like innate abilities or backgrounds. Yet, they're presented here as an example of adding something mechanical from the start to a character, to give it somehow more depth.
I guess it's clear already that I prefer narrative traits - and backgrounds - and I would leave such mechanical bonuses to abilities or similar... but this does not take away anything from the value of the post below (which I will reasonably re-link again when presenting innate abilities or skills or backgrounds).
Exceptional Traits for B/X (oh crap...)
by
JB
[...] Disclaimer: Please be aware that I do not think any of this is necessary to enjoy B/X play. I believe the creative minded person can come up with their own interesting/unusual character within the confines of the seven fine character types and the Big Six ability scores. [...]
For each character roll once on the proper table at 1st level to determine the character’s exceptional trait. Dwarves and Halflings should roll on the Fighter Table; Elves may roll on either the Fighter or Magic-User Table (not both). DMs may allow characters to gain additional traits as a character advances in level [...]
Cleric (Roll D10)
1. Animal Friend
2. Apostate*
[...]
1. Animal Friend: Normal animals (not giant, prehistoric, or magical) are naturally disposed to the cleric (+2 all reaction rolls).
2. Apostate*: The cleric was originally a member of an opposite order and retains much forbidden knowledge; the cleric may freely cast normal or reversed spells regardless of alignment. [...]
Fighter (Roll D10)
1. Berserk
2. Dopplehander
[...]
1. Berserk: In melee combat the fighter may enter a frenzied state gaining a +1 to hit and damage rolls and immunity to fear effects. The fighter may not flee or evade combat once entering a berserk and is always fatigued afterwards.
2. Dopplehander: The fighter is adept at using two-handed melee weapons, gaining a +1 on damage rolls and +1 bonus to Armor Class. The fighter still attacks last and may not use a shield. [...]
Magic-User (Roll D10)
1. Conjurer
2. Elvish Blood*
[...]
1. Conjurer: The magic-user may perform simple illusions and sleight of hand tricks and may pick pockets as a thief of the same level.
2. Elvish Blood*: The magic-user has elvish blood in his or her ancestry and enjoys both the infravision and immunity to paralysis abilities of the elf class. The magic-user will generally be long-lived as well. [...]
Thief (Roll D10)
1. Acrobat
2. Cat Burglar
[...]
1. Acrobat: The thief is capable of many feats of agility and has a 50% chance of being able to somersault or back-flip behind an opponent in melee allowing a “backstab” attempt.
2. Cat Burglar: The thief has no fear of heights and may balance on thin ledges or tight ropes with the same chance as climbing sheer surfaces. If the thief falls while climbing, the player may make a second roll at half the normal chance in order to catch himself, preventing any damage. [...]
http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2010/08/exceptional-traits-for-bx-oh-crap.html
More to the point of narrative traits - yes, this is the last link - you can browse the post below on the enworld forum. I think in the end they play very similarly to those provided in the previous lists, but they are listed as Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws.
The presentation is a little more verbose; perhaps a bit harder to fit in a multiple-columns table but probably nice if your players need a bit more to work with, when they have to role-play. In fact these sentences give some specific direction at the expanse of brevity, but I find them even easier to role-play.
List of All Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds & Flaws
by Leugren
[...] Personality Traits
I idolize a particular hero of my faith and constantly refer to that person's deeds and example.
I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace.
I see omens in every event and action. The gods try to speak to us, we just need to listen.
Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude. [...]
Ideals
Faith. I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful)
Tradition. The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be preserved and upheld. (Lawful)
Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good)
Change. We must help bring about the changes the gods are constantly working in the world. (Chaotic) [...]
Bonds
I would die to recover an ancient artifact of my faith that was lost long ago.
I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic.
I owe me life to the priest who took me in when my parents died.
Everything I do is for the common people. [...]
Flaws
I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.
I put too much trust in those who wield power within my temple's hierarchy.
My piety sometimes leads me to blindly trust those that profess faith in my god.
I am inflexible in my thinking. [...]
So, some design notes for traits:
- Randomly assigned
- One or more tables (of course by setting/spirit of the game, but also by type of trait... at minimum positive/negative)
- Expand with mannerisms, for example
- From all the lists, take only what is clearly interesting... Don't use stuff which is too hard to role-play or may have only a very marginal appearance in play
- I would stay away from traits with mechanical effects, and leave mechanics to abilities/skills/talents
- Consider using also something a little more verbose, if your players need a bit of help in role-playing
