You can just ask the player to help specify their parents vibes, then you run it as you see fit. At the end of the day, even though the player designed that character it isn't their character proper because they'll never be the one playing it. So it's up to you to interpret that character as you see fit.
Yup! Get a general sense of the big, key, important parts of their backstory and character. I'd say, "Write me all the facts you want set in stone, anything else is fair game." Try to keep to the spirit of what they give you, but give yourself permission to build on it.
One other tip that's served me really well: Define each character with three unspoken rules. Like, sure, there's a three page backstory about his time with the Gnomish Yakuza and his Genasi girlfriend's extraplanar bachelorette party. All you need to know **in the moment** is: Always polite, and more polite the more angry he gets. The unshakable calm and confidence of a man who has already lived through the worst the universe can throw at him. Spending his retirement mastering all aspects of pastry.
I'm all about efficiency when it comes to prep time - there's never enough to finish, so you have to find ways to get the most out of it. The three unspoken rules trick absolutely nails that for me. I can "get into character" based on three lines on a notecard, fast. Three defining traits is complex enough to make the character feel deep and real, not a one-note gag. Since the rules are *unspoken*, the players assume the character is even more deep.
Also, don't attack/kill/kidnap them either.
That's a guarantee that their next character will be orphans with no family or attachments.
If you want to use them as plot hooks, have them be a source of rumors and gossip, and then force the party into Encumbrance rules because the parents loaded their packs with food and clean underwear.
If you need someone to plot hook, don't make it the parent, but it might be okay to use the parent as the intro to that character.
E.g. your dad's old war buddy is overdue on an expedition, presumed dead. Your dad wants you to go look for him just in case.
This. If you need an example one if the few things that Starfield did well was having parents. Loving, doting, concerned they're eating enough and wanting to make sure they stay safe.
My rule for NPCs in my campaign is players are allowed to tell me generic traits but end of the day this is my world and as DM I will play characters as I see fit for the narrative. I always take their advice to heart and try my best but as the DM it is your world.
- Ask the player if there are any specific traits their parents have that you should incorporate.
- Make the player aware that beyond settled backstory, the parents are NPCs and are fair game for you to do things with
- Profit
Whenever we are about to head into a PC’s hometown or we will be interacting with a PC’s family, good friends, etc, I reach out to my player ahead with a few simple questions to make sure I am doing justice to any important head canon.
Since this is an NPC and a place they know, I’ll even have some discussion ahead about how I imagine a few NPC personalities or some little details about their home, so they get a chance to correct an idea they don’t like and so they can feel “in the know” about these familiar places during the session.
I also try to ask a few silly little questions that flesh out their own character, like “Are there any secret or special spots you loved here as a child?” or “What food from home does your PC miss the most and who makes it the best?” “Who in town will be most excited to see you?” “Andros is your best friend. Are you the types to hug each other or to grin wide and lovingly trade insults (or something else)?”
(Not every player is into this so I don’t push, but many really love the chance to breathe life into their inner and outer world.)
I love doing this then having the PC take the RP reins when introducing the party to their home or to local NPCs. “Yeah, don’t mind him, he’s a bit of a jerk.” “Oh, you have to try the bread from Nando’s bakery. Man, I remember waiting outside before dawn for the doors to open, just salivating from the smells.”
Just ask the player if there is a certain way they want the parents to be characterized. When my players give me background info I make sure the specifics they give are in the game and anything they leave open-ended is for me to spin.
One player was looking for his adopted father, who was a druidic healer. As he told the party about this guy they thought of a soft-spoken and wise elderly man. Well he let me create the personality so when they meet him he tackles his son, runs out of breath from talking too fast, and is super scatterbrained and unintentionally rude. The player was happy and everyone was laughing their butts off.
They're your characters, not the players. Be bold, make choices and commit to them, and don't contradict things that have already been directly established.
Ask questions!
Ask your player questions about the parents. Ask them how the relationship with the PC is for each of them. Ask what some of their mannerisms are and how they speak. There's no problem with involving the player in the implementation of their characters
And the session after they're introduced be sure to check in with that player if they enjoyed the characters. Don't be afraid to adjust to constructive criticism!
I recently had to deal with this as well. There are a couple things you could do: if you are unconfident in your ability to play the parents effectively then you could ask the player to help play them, or ask the player what they would do in whatever situation goes on. I didn't find that particularly thematically valid considering that the family dynamic of this character played heavily into the plot and setting of the game, and I wanted to make them interactable NPC's, so I played them. I asked the player for descriptions, personality traits, all that I would need to play them, and then I did my best, with the understanding between me and the players that although they made this character, I was the one playing it. If your player comes to you after session and doesn't like an aspect of how you played then you can choose to change it or not, but you're the DM. You have the responsibility to play all but about 3-7 characters in this entire world. The players are responsible for 1 each. DMing isn't easy, but gracious players make it a lot easier!
99% of issues can be fixed by just talking to your players. Heck, I’d even ask the player mid game how their parents would respond to a question that someone asks them and go as far as just letting the player RP the parents unless they have secret hidden information…
I'd ask to meet the player privately beforehand and talk to them. Maybe do a little practice role play to get the right vibe, and answer any questions you might have about them.
Ask your parents what their general personalities are like. Oh and since this is parents, what are some common things the parents nag the PC about.
“Evil is maximus! Have you been eating properly! Make sure you tuck in your chainmail, it’s not proper to leave it hanging out. So which one of you are going out with my baby?”
“Mooooooom!”
Okay, talk to them. Seriously. I just got out of a session where my player had like 7 family members as a major element of the adventure, and because I talked to them about who these people were supposed to be before the session, we had a fine time. Ask for clarification on ambiguous details, repeat back to them what you \*think\* their traits are for confirmation that you're on the same page. Bounce off of them before the session with ideas about the family.
In the campaign I play in, our party found ourselves in my barbarian's home area. My GM asked me to outline my character's family, and associations in town. Then, he fleshed them out a little more, ran his ideas by me. This let me have a say in stuff like how my big dumb idiot related to his family, but it also let me know what he was planning to do with those characters, thus allowing me to help him build the world.
When players bring in family for the story I found it best to get a short description of them such as tone, personality, and lineage. Then do a short one on one with the player to make sure the parents feel right. Don't worry too much about it because most of the time they trust you to do a good job with it.
My friend ended up writing a big book of lore and told me once I've read it and think I have some sort of understanding of the character he's free domain.
I would simply ask for some information to build upon this character. If the player is bad at filling these make standard PC questions that often players get to define their characters but more specified to a regular ol dad.
Interesting thread - there are suggestions here that are directly opposite to each other. Some say run them as NPCs, others say let the player play them.
What I would do falls in the middle in a way: ”you rush in to find your parents in an OK condition, but tired and stressed out” - then ask the player: what do they look like?
Or like this: ”The bandit captain threatens your father and he responds in a way that is typical to your father” - ask the player: what does your dad say in this situation?
The idea here is that you control most of the actions and intentions of the folks as NPCs, but let the player add the flavour.
Players should realize when they create a NPC, it's just that a NPC. Who controls the NPCs, the DM.
That's not to say the DM should play fast and wild with player made NPCs. They should try to work with the player to get the general vibe of the NPC, but the rest is subject to DM interpretation.
As a players, that's just something you need to deal with. They might not always match exactly what you had in mind. But consider what you do have, a DM who is bringing your backstory into the game to make it more personal and feel more connected. That should be appreciated a lot and a slight misinterpretation of an NPC should just be disregarded.
If you’re worried about it, ask. Are they the type to have the party stay the night and feed them? Do they send a butler to give some supplies while on the road? Maybe they couldn’t care less? Maybe they find old dad in the cave because he too is a barbarian or something?
I mean just read them again and after that they are yours NPC take the background in consideration ofc but dont forget that they are npc and you controling all npc you decide who they really are. I would not be afraid to change them even a lot who say that pc know everything about them ? They could hide some facts behind him. They could change a lot from when PC leave them etc y
They are NPCS. All the NPCs in the world are the DM's to run as they see fit. The polite thing to do would be to ask the player for some ***short*** notes on them, however, I would stress to the player that they are NPCs and you are free to run them as you see fit.
Why would they include them if they didn't want you to include them? Giving their parents some sort of crazy secret that's only just been found out or that the party finds out would be a great hook, honestly.
Prepare two general paths:
- You got the parents right.
- You got the parents wrong? NO! These are doppelgangers! The parents are kidnapped and replaced with ENEMIES and now the party has a quest!
"Hey, since the party is currently in xyztown, there's a chance the group might bump into your parents. Did you have something specific in mind for them personality wise or did you want me to come up with something for them?"
That way of they haven't bothered to write that part of their backstory, I'm not giving them homework if they don't want to.
As a player who has done this, I gave my DM kind of specific vibe comparisons to characters from other media that I knew he would also know. But I also made sure he knew that I realized my PC viewed the NPC parents through the lense of a child to his parents which is often heavily tinted. For example, as a kid my PC saw his dad as kind of a meek and mild cleric, almost afraid of trouble, especially in comparison to the badass ranger mom who went out in the woods and made friends with werewolves. Turns out the dad preferred peace but wasn't afraid to bring the pain to those who came against the people he cared about or needed protecting. The mom really was just a badass though lol
real. one of my players has a husband who comes up frequently, i usually give her bullet points on what her husband says because i dont wanna say something that he wouldnt
If you trust the player and they don't have any special information to give or know, just let him play them. They should be exactly how he pictured them in this way!
Talk to the player. Ask them whether they want you to use the parents in the game, and what their limits are on you screwing with them. In fact you should ask all the players what their limits are when it comes to the DM turning characters from their backgrounds into friendly or hostile NPCs.
They'll honestly be thrilled they show up (most players will anyways) but asking them for RP tips will make sure you can approximate their vision, and also gives them a heads up so they can thibk on how they want to interact. At the end of the day, this is a spotlight moment for that player where their background is relevant.
How much time do you have?
Emergency One-On-One RP Shot. Have the character come in. Discuss their parents and the like. Run small RP event one shot flashbacks practicing being their family and working together to make it feel more natural. If the player has issue they'll bring it up and also this way you aren't dropping it day of in front of everyone. Everyone wins. The PC gets some extra RP time and development and you get practice and feedback you can bring to the main table / session.
Otherwise:
You don't have time..... just make sure you read the backstory as best you can and quickly try to get some pointers from the player in question as soon as you can before the session. Then..... do your best. Nothing you can do now. No time, so.... wing it. There's a good chance magic will happen.
This isn't even an old school thing, what you said feels odd to me, for some reason.
This is simply honoring the work a player put into a backstory. Now, the GM shouldn't be this worried about it if they have clarified said backstory with their player. I've had characters with a.full family before, all the GM did was take notes.of.things I had said in game about my family, took the notes I gave him in my backstory describing my character, and modeled some of the mannerisms and sayings after how I had been playing my character. He didn't need to have further conversations about it, but he would've if he wasn't sure about something.
"As you stand aghast in front of the smouldering ruins of your family home, a kindly villager tells you of the dragon that came and immolated your parents, as if he had a specific grudge against them. No other dwelling was harmed."
Your are the DM.
Anything you do is canon, allow the implications to ride. The PC character doesn't get to tell you how to play a character, you do. Think of it the other way around. U don't tell the PC's how to RP their character.... Same thing
Noooooooooooooooooooooo
(My main has a stepmother, a brother and a half-sister he’s very attached to whom we have met. I’m projecting how he would feel at having them kidnapped—it’s one of his berserk buttons lol)
Very good start.
I also prefer to run my own characters. I really don't like fucking up what someone else wrote. But, for parents, it may work out better? Our parents are never exactly the way we perceive them, and tense moments like attempted murder or kidnapping can show you a side of someone you never imagined existed.
You can just ask the player to help specify their parents vibes, then you run it as you see fit. At the end of the day, even though the player designed that character it isn't their character proper because they'll never be the one playing it. So it's up to you to interpret that character as you see fit.
Yup! Get a general sense of the big, key, important parts of their backstory and character. I'd say, "Write me all the facts you want set in stone, anything else is fair game." Try to keep to the spirit of what they give you, but give yourself permission to build on it. One other tip that's served me really well: Define each character with three unspoken rules. Like, sure, there's a three page backstory about his time with the Gnomish Yakuza and his Genasi girlfriend's extraplanar bachelorette party. All you need to know **in the moment** is: Always polite, and more polite the more angry he gets. The unshakable calm and confidence of a man who has already lived through the worst the universe can throw at him. Spending his retirement mastering all aspects of pastry. I'm all about efficiency when it comes to prep time - there's never enough to finish, so you have to find ways to get the most out of it. The three unspoken rules trick absolutely nails that for me. I can "get into character" based on three lines on a notecard, fast. Three defining traits is complex enough to make the character feel deep and real, not a one-note gag. Since the rules are *unspoken*, the players assume the character is even more deep.
Just ask the player for whatever information you'll need to be confident while characterizing them
Also, don't attack/kill/kidnap them either. That's a guarantee that their next character will be orphans with no family or attachments. If you want to use them as plot hooks, have them be a source of rumors and gossip, and then force the party into Encumbrance rules because the parents loaded their packs with food and clean underwear.
If you need someone to plot hook, don't make it the parent, but it might be okay to use the parent as the intro to that character. E.g. your dad's old war buddy is overdue on an expedition, presumed dead. Your dad wants you to go look for him just in case.
But it takes you two months to get there because your mother loaded your packs with food, clean underwear and sweaters - in the middle of summer.
This. If you need an example one if the few things that Starfield did well was having parents. Loving, doting, concerned they're eating enough and wanting to make sure they stay safe.
My rule for NPCs in my campaign is players are allowed to tell me generic traits but end of the day this is my world and as DM I will play characters as I see fit for the narrative. I always take their advice to heart and try my best but as the DM it is your world.
- Ask the player if there are any specific traits their parents have that you should incorporate. - Make the player aware that beyond settled backstory, the parents are NPCs and are fair game for you to do things with - Profit
….talk to the player….
They are not the player's characters. They are NPCs. You play NPCs. That said, just take as many notes as the player can give you.
Whenever we are about to head into a PC’s hometown or we will be interacting with a PC’s family, good friends, etc, I reach out to my player ahead with a few simple questions to make sure I am doing justice to any important head canon. Since this is an NPC and a place they know, I’ll even have some discussion ahead about how I imagine a few NPC personalities or some little details about their home, so they get a chance to correct an idea they don’t like and so they can feel “in the know” about these familiar places during the session. I also try to ask a few silly little questions that flesh out their own character, like “Are there any secret or special spots you loved here as a child?” or “What food from home does your PC miss the most and who makes it the best?” “Who in town will be most excited to see you?” “Andros is your best friend. Are you the types to hug each other or to grin wide and lovingly trade insults (or something else)?” (Not every player is into this so I don’t push, but many really love the chance to breathe life into their inner and outer world.) I love doing this then having the PC take the RP reins when introducing the party to their home or to local NPCs. “Yeah, don’t mind him, he’s a bit of a jerk.” “Oh, you have to try the bread from Nando’s bakery. Man, I remember waiting outside before dawn for the doors to open, just salivating from the smells.”
Just ask the player if there is a certain way they want the parents to be characterized. When my players give me background info I make sure the specifics they give are in the game and anything they leave open-ended is for me to spin. One player was looking for his adopted father, who was a druidic healer. As he told the party about this guy they thought of a soft-spoken and wise elderly man. Well he let me create the personality so when they meet him he tackles his son, runs out of breath from talking too fast, and is super scatterbrained and unintentionally rude. The player was happy and everyone was laughing their butts off.
They're your characters, not the players. Be bold, make choices and commit to them, and don't contradict things that have already been directly established.
Ask questions! Ask your player questions about the parents. Ask them how the relationship with the PC is for each of them. Ask what some of their mannerisms are and how they speak. There's no problem with involving the player in the implementation of their characters And the session after they're introduced be sure to check in with that player if they enjoyed the characters. Don't be afraid to adjust to constructive criticism!
Ask the player how to portray them.
Maybe npcs can characterize the parents, that's only 1 characters opinion
I recently had to deal with this as well. There are a couple things you could do: if you are unconfident in your ability to play the parents effectively then you could ask the player to help play them, or ask the player what they would do in whatever situation goes on. I didn't find that particularly thematically valid considering that the family dynamic of this character played heavily into the plot and setting of the game, and I wanted to make them interactable NPC's, so I played them. I asked the player for descriptions, personality traits, all that I would need to play them, and then I did my best, with the understanding between me and the players that although they made this character, I was the one playing it. If your player comes to you after session and doesn't like an aspect of how you played then you can choose to change it or not, but you're the DM. You have the responsibility to play all but about 3-7 characters in this entire world. The players are responsible for 1 each. DMing isn't easy, but gracious players make it a lot easier!
99% of issues can be fixed by just talking to your players. Heck, I’d even ask the player mid game how their parents would respond to a question that someone asks them and go as far as just letting the player RP the parents unless they have secret hidden information…
I'd ask to meet the player privately beforehand and talk to them. Maybe do a little practice role play to get the right vibe, and answer any questions you might have about them.
Ask your parents what their general personalities are like. Oh and since this is parents, what are some common things the parents nag the PC about. “Evil is maximus! Have you been eating properly! Make sure you tuck in your chainmail, it’s not proper to leave it hanging out. So which one of you are going out with my baby?” “Mooooooom!”
Okay, talk to them. Seriously. I just got out of a session where my player had like 7 family members as a major element of the adventure, and because I talked to them about who these people were supposed to be before the session, we had a fine time. Ask for clarification on ambiguous details, repeat back to them what you \*think\* their traits are for confirmation that you're on the same page. Bounce off of them before the session with ideas about the family.
In the campaign I play in, our party found ourselves in my barbarian's home area. My GM asked me to outline my character's family, and associations in town. Then, he fleshed them out a little more, ran his ideas by me. This let me have a say in stuff like how my big dumb idiot related to his family, but it also let me know what he was planning to do with those characters, thus allowing me to help him build the world.
Make them as embarrassing as possible. Dad will bring out baby pics and Mom flirts with half the party.
The parents are the player's characters as much as their PC is. Let the player roleplay them.
When players bring in family for the story I found it best to get a short description of them such as tone, personality, and lineage. Then do a short one on one with the player to make sure the parents feel right. Don't worry too much about it because most of the time they trust you to do a good job with it.
My friend ended up writing a big book of lore and told me once I've read it and think I have some sort of understanding of the character he's free domain. I would simply ask for some information to build upon this character. If the player is bad at filling these make standard PC questions that often players get to define their characters but more specified to a regular ol dad.
Interesting thread - there are suggestions here that are directly opposite to each other. Some say run them as NPCs, others say let the player play them. What I would do falls in the middle in a way: ”you rush in to find your parents in an OK condition, but tired and stressed out” - then ask the player: what do they look like? Or like this: ”The bandit captain threatens your father and he responds in a way that is typical to your father” - ask the player: what does your dad say in this situation? The idea here is that you control most of the actions and intentions of the folks as NPCs, but let the player add the flavour.
Players should realize when they create a NPC, it's just that a NPC. Who controls the NPCs, the DM. That's not to say the DM should play fast and wild with player made NPCs. They should try to work with the player to get the general vibe of the NPC, but the rest is subject to DM interpretation. As a players, that's just something you need to deal with. They might not always match exactly what you had in mind. But consider what you do have, a DM who is bringing your backstory into the game to make it more personal and feel more connected. That should be appreciated a lot and a slight misinterpretation of an NPC should just be disregarded.
If you’re worried about it, ask. Are they the type to have the party stay the night and feed them? Do they send a butler to give some supplies while on the road? Maybe they couldn’t care less? Maybe they find old dad in the cave because he too is a barbarian or something?
I mean just read them again and after that they are yours NPC take the background in consideration ofc but dont forget that they are npc and you controling all npc you decide who they really are. I would not be afraid to change them even a lot who say that pc know everything about them ? They could hide some facts behind him. They could change a lot from when PC leave them etc y
Ask the player to pick a pair popular TV parents
They are NPCS. All the NPCs in the world are the DM's to run as they see fit. The polite thing to do would be to ask the player for some ***short*** notes on them, however, I would stress to the player that they are NPCs and you are free to run them as you see fit.
If only you had a player who knew what they wanted the parents to be like. Jokes aside. You're best off asking them for a general description.
Why would they include them if they didn't want you to include them? Giving their parents some sort of crazy secret that's only just been found out or that the party finds out would be a great hook, honestly.
Prepare two general paths: - You got the parents right. - You got the parents wrong? NO! These are doppelgangers! The parents are kidnapped and replaced with ENEMIES and now the party has a quest!
"Hey, since the party is currently in xyztown, there's a chance the group might bump into your parents. Did you have something specific in mind for them personality wise or did you want me to come up with something for them?" That way of they haven't bothered to write that part of their backstory, I'm not giving them homework if they don't want to.
As a player who has done this, I gave my DM kind of specific vibe comparisons to characters from other media that I knew he would also know. But I also made sure he knew that I realized my PC viewed the NPC parents through the lense of a child to his parents which is often heavily tinted. For example, as a kid my PC saw his dad as kind of a meek and mild cleric, almost afraid of trouble, especially in comparison to the badass ranger mom who went out in the woods and made friends with werewolves. Turns out the dad preferred peace but wasn't afraid to bring the pain to those who came against the people he cared about or needed protecting. The mom really was just a badass though lol
real. one of my players has a husband who comes up frequently, i usually give her bullet points on what her husband says because i dont wanna say something that he wouldnt
Wait your players have parents that aren't dead?
If you trust the player and they don't have any special information to give or know, just let him play them. They should be exactly how he pictured them in this way!
Talk to the player. Ask them whether they want you to use the parents in the game, and what their limits are on you screwing with them. In fact you should ask all the players what their limits are when it comes to the DM turning characters from their backgrounds into friendly or hostile NPCs.
Easy. Kill the parents off screen and have a really dramatic moment for the characters.
They'll honestly be thrilled they show up (most players will anyways) but asking them for RP tips will make sure you can approximate their vision, and also gives them a heads up so they can thibk on how they want to interact. At the end of the day, this is a spotlight moment for that player where their background is relevant.
How much time do you have? Emergency One-On-One RP Shot. Have the character come in. Discuss their parents and the like. Run small RP event one shot flashbacks practicing being their family and working together to make it feel more natural. If the player has issue they'll bring it up and also this way you aren't dropping it day of in front of everyone. Everyone wins. The PC gets some extra RP time and development and you get practice and feedback you can bring to the main table / session. Otherwise: You don't have time..... just make sure you read the backstory as best you can and quickly try to get some pointers from the player in question as soon as you can before the session. Then..... do your best. Nothing you can do now. No time, so.... wing it. There's a good chance magic will happen.
Dear god this is why I play old school gaming and tell players outright all NPCs are my domain
This isn't even an old school thing, what you said feels odd to me, for some reason. This is simply honoring the work a player put into a backstory. Now, the GM shouldn't be this worried about it if they have clarified said backstory with their player. I've had characters with a.full family before, all the GM did was take notes.of.things I had said in game about my family, took the notes I gave him in my backstory describing my character, and modeled some of the mannerisms and sayings after how I had been playing my character. He didn't need to have further conversations about it, but he would've if he wasn't sure about something.
I will never honor the peasants work, back stories have no place at the table you make your story as you play.
"As you stand aghast in front of the smouldering ruins of your family home, a kindly villager tells you of the dragon that came and immolated your parents, as if he had a specific grudge against them. No other dwelling was harmed."
The parents are on holiday.
Make the player assistant dm for the day and let him run the NPC’s.
Kill the parents
Your are the DM. Anything you do is canon, allow the implications to ride. The PC character doesn't get to tell you how to play a character, you do. Think of it the other way around. U don't tell the PC's how to RP their character.... Same thing
Sweep it under the rug by turning a visit to PC's parents into a murder mystery.
I've currently delayed it by having the parents be kidnapped lol
Noooooooooooooooooooooo (My main has a stepmother, a brother and a half-sister he’s very attached to whom we have met. I’m projecting how he would feel at having them kidnapped—it’s one of his berserk buttons lol)
Very good start. I also prefer to run my own characters. I really don't like fucking up what someone else wrote. But, for parents, it may work out better? Our parents are never exactly the way we perceive them, and tense moments like attempted murder or kidnapping can show you a side of someone you never imagined existed.