The Homework Never Ends Marking off my legacy of worldly deeds

How to Start an RPG Campaign Step 6 – Players and Their Characters

(Note: This is one of several posts that can be read in any order, depending on how you like to build your campaigns. Don't worry; there'll be a summary post once they're posted.)

At this point in your planning, you hopefully have an idea of who will be playing with you. If not, you should start making a list of friends or looking online for volunteers.

How many players will you need? Technically, you can run a game one-on-one, with just you and one player. However, a two-player game allows them to interact and roleplay; adding more players increases the interaction but also the work required on your part. I like to have either three or four players, which is a good balance between fun and ease.

So now you hopefully have a few possible players and have pitched the story to them. Discuss things with them and find out what sort of characters they would like to play.

Now you face a choice: Will you create characters for your players or let them do it themselves? There are several factors:

• Are your players familiar with this system? Those who are might be allowed to write their own characters.
• Can your players be counted on to create characters in time for the session, with ample time for you to review them?
• If you allow your players to create their own characters, are you prepared for them introducing plot elements and world information that you weren't prepared for?
• Do you already have ideas for the characters or do you need your players to think up some creative twists?
• Do you want the players to create their own characters and thereby feel invested in them?

If you allow the players to write their own characters, you'll probably want to get together long before or set aside an hour or two before the session. Help those players who are unfamiliar with the rules and walk them through creating a character. Have everyone brainstorm about whether their characters know each other and what they have in common. Try to get them to care about their characters and invest in them.

If you decide to create the PCs yourself, you should still let the players be involved so that their characters feel personal.

Try not to make any one character crucial to the plot, in case the player can't show up on game night.