Pre Generated Hatred

So, I've been in and around Gaming since I was a child, I'm just short of hitting 41, and you know what?

My age has nothing to do with what I say about gaming in the slightest.

I still feel in my mid 20's (except on those really rough mornings when I feel maybe in my 30's...).

Would it be fair to say that being older makes me a better player or ref?
No, not really.

BUT...

It does give me a lot more experience, both good and bad, to draw anecdotes and comparison from.

That's why I write these random blogs.

That and I'm bored and want to be able to speak about what's on my mind.

Which I don't do nearly enough, instead I let it fester and build up and I become stage by stage that bit more bitter and disillusioned with gaming as a whole.

So, here I am, about to talk about my experience with Characters in a game.

More specifically, Pre-Generated Characters.

See, as I type this I can already imagine people rolling their eyes.

“Oh, geesh Pre-Gens wtf dude, no one uses them, it's so goat to force that on people..”

Now, imagine, you've found out about a game, one that you want to get involved with, but it's just a few days away and you don't have time to source some amazing kit because all you're stuff is scattered between a dozen mates houses, in the loft, or the shed BUT you really want to go.

BUT you know you wont be ablew to play the awesome character you want to play due to lack of kit.

What do you do?

Either source kit really quickly or give up and say “screw it, i'll go next time”.

I mean, sure going next time means you'll be able to get your kit together and have a better read of the rule book or wiki.

Heck, you could even go in half cobbled together kit, not looking your best but at least you're there right?

Well, what about option 3?

Talk to the people that run the event. Explain to them what the situation is. Many event coordinators go out of their way to help new players, espescially ones who don't already have mates in the system because they know that “bums on seats is good, and this person might bring more, which is better”.

Ok, that's a bit of a cynical approach, it's not always about the Bums On Seats, some event organisers are genuinely nice folks and are happy to welcome new people to their game for totally non altruistic reasons.

I'm an event organiser, you should know this by now if you're ready some of my older blog posts.

I don't run a big game, 20-30 players is all.

But if some one joins us with just a few days to go before the event both myself and my A-Ref will bend over backwards to come up with what we call a Beanie character.

Beanies in our system are named after Sean Bean, or at least that's the running joke, they're generally a loose concept made within the basic rules of the game. The concept is basic, as is the background for the character, and yes there is a difference between Concept and Background not that many people get that these days..

A Beanie is designed to last, one or two games. Just long enough to get you into the system. They're designed to help you learn the rules at a slow pace because they're not stacked up with tons of special abilities, sure you have some powers but not the high end stuff, because you need to learn the system before you can get to grips with the evolution of your abilities.

No one starts a DnD game at level 30 knowing none of the rules is a pretty nifty example that works well here

We've had people turn up to the game in the past, no character made, select a Beanie from our wiki (we have a selection of Beanies per faction type for instant playability), and dive right in.

And you know what? People enjoyed the beanies a lot, because the hard work was already done for them, they had all the info at hand, they knew why the character was coming to the social gathering that our games generally are. And the Beanies? They don't stop getting played after one or two games, the continued being played, and we've still got Beanies in system that are a few years old now.

But, isn't this article about what's better, Pre Gens or Not Pre Genned?

Well, not really no.

It's more about people getting their heads out of their arses and supporting people, be they new to larp, finding out about an event last minute but still wanting to take part, those totally nervous and not knowing how much is enough with concept and background and stressing over it all.

It's about event organisers helping people out, providing a guiding (not rail roading) hand, providing a good reason for a character to be present, providing a character with reason to stick around and return, letting players know that as an event organiser you're there first and foremost to help.

I'd rather make a thousand Beanies than have players pass up coming to the game because they can't think of a good character concept that fits the style and setting of the game.

You think having a Pre Generated character is bad? Why?

Because they fit within the rules of the system, it helps a new player find their feet in the setting, it introduces new people to the game?

Or is it because you're worried that they'll be more powerful than you for some obscure reason (your badly spent XP for example, when you didn't know the system so well yourself once and made some bad choices and its totally unfair that a new player has the sort of advantage over you due to the event organisers learning from old mistakes and approaching things with an eye to help people enjoy the game from the beginning) or that they'll have access to lore and game secrets that you dont (because you actually joined the game before that sort of stuff existed and didn't really bother learning it in character and instead meta game whilst hating on those that spend xp on the lore and background info so they can actually legitimately act on what they personally know about the system), or maybe it's because they'll come in to the game with an agenda, a clear cut series of goals they want to achieve quickly (Whilst you just dally around in the background coasting from one thing to another whilst not actually achieving anything that pushes plot so you secretly resent the new players because they're actively trying to do Plot that you've spent so long ignoring now or sneering at because it's not Your plot so screw it..).

Reasons why A Pre Made character is a great thing!

It means you've got something that is already made within the rules of the game!

You have a concept that's permitted!

You have a background that's full enough to make you realistic (within the setting) yet empty enough for you to fill out some blanks a few games later down the line and totally make it all your own character!

You've been given a character that's easy to learn with no really complicated abilities!

A Pre Made character is a kind of archetypal character, so they're really easy to play or relate to!

You're able to jump right in because everything you need is at hand right away!

Pre-Made characters tend to be very kit light, meaning you won't have to scrounge round from mates or fellow players!

Reasons why A Pre Made character is a bad thing!

Some people feel like they might be “rail roaded” and forced to act in ways they wouldn't with the same sort of character.

You might feel like the character is out of your Comfort Zone.

Yeah, those are the only legitimate bad reasons I can think of and even then I can turn that around on its head!

Feel like you might be rail roaded? In larp it's all about what you want to do, how you go about doing it is up to you! SO, you've come to a game, been given a Thug character concept.

Now, will you play them as a brutally violent thug, the sort of thug that just uses scare tactics, the sort of thug who gets others to do their dirty work for them, are you just a patsy to some one else higher on the food chain, are you the person thats higher up on the food chain?

See, that one concept has a whole lot of different ways it can be played, and I bet you a slice of Battenburg that how you play the character and how it evolves over time won't be what the event organisers had planned for it.

The only real bad thing about Pre Generated characters is the attitude from within the community itself from those who dislike such a concept.

And that needs to stop.

I mean, aren't we all gaming for fun after all?