Playing a character blind

[CKorfmann]

I have an idea for a campaign which starts out with the players not knowing anything about their characters.  This would likely only work for players with a lot of experience and really enjoy role-playing. 

The basic gyst of the concept is... you wake up.  You have no, or very limited, memory.  Maybe you're in a cell, or lying in a field, or on a ceremony table.  You start doing things, maybe you encounter a guard or some sort of hostile, or you must escape from something, or you're just trying to figure out who is talking to you and what they are saying. 

As you move along in the story you discover things about yourself a little bit at a time.  As I think about it, it's a little like the beginning of The Borne Identity.  Eventually, as you figure things out, the DM reveals more and more about your character until you finally receive the character sheet and go from there. 

Have you ever played a game like that?  Do you think it would work?  Would you enjoy it?

[sirpercival]

I've played a game like that before, but it was for beginners.  They designed their characters as they went, "remembering" things and adding them to the sheet.

In this instance, I think unless I had some sort of control over the character I played, I'd be annoyed.  Even with convention pregens I could pick from a set.

[Tonymitsu]

I've found that style of play to discourage immersion and attachment to the characters, especially if you design them.
The first time they find a locked door, you will spend a good deal of time as everyone goes around in a circle trying to unlock it. Same thing with non-hostile targets and bluff or diplomacy checks.
Spell casters have it the worst.  Randomly naming spells until you guess right.

[veekie]

It can work, but you need a more rules light system like FATE to run it on, where you can easily define capabilities and details as you go along. It doesn't do in D&D, which is heavy on rules specifics.

[rot42]

Paranoia does a bit of this by default, but that is a very silly system. I think you could make an enjoyable one shot game like this, but I would worry about maintaining the fun of the gambit long term. A compromise alternative would be to have your players build the characters and general background and then you write a bunch of plot hooks that they do not know about due to memory loss. Bonus points if your campaign world has shapeshifters.

[pet1]

Most players like if the have chance of choosing something, instead of just graining it (depending on if it is new players or experianced player and how they like playing.)
So. The best advice. Talk with the people you are planning to play with, and maybe they are into it.
Treats in pathfinder could be a thing you could add in since it was made so play would make up a background story from it.

[Drammor]

I have a friend who runs his games like this in exclusivity. He once started me off as a vampire, which would have been cool, except that I died within about 12 in-game hours of starting. That was also how I figured out I was a vampire.

I didn't play with him again.

[CKorfmann]

I have a friend who runs his games like this in exclusivity. He once started me off as a vampire, which would have been cool, except that I died within about 12 in-game hours of starting. That was also how I figured out I was a vampire.

I didn't play with him again.

Does that mean you won't play with him again, or just that you haven't.?

[Pimpforged]

I've played a game like that before, but it was for beginners.  They designed their characters as they went, "remembering" things and adding them to the sheet.

This is the way i would do it. Have them all start out as level 1 Commoners with no skills or feats. Then when they start to remember, have them switch out commoner for a real class. from that point on, just level them whenever it's appropriate.

[Drammor]

I have a friend who runs his games like this in exclusivity. He once started me off as a vampire, which would have been cool, except that I died within about 12 in-game hours of starting. That was also how I figured out I was a vampire.

I didn't play with him again.

Does that mean you won't play with him again, or just that you haven't.?

I might play with him again someday, but I find it unlikely. It's been three years.

[Arturick]

I played in a Wild Talents game where the two PCs woke up with amnesia.  We basically woke up with an intrinsic understanding of our powers and abilities.  We had our character sheets.  The first few sessions went alright, as we basically woke up in the middle of "Aliens" and we had no choice but to fight for our lives.  The campaign fell apart when we returned to Earth and tried to do some sandbox gaming.

Part of the problem was the deplorable system, and part was the emptiness of our characters.  The GM described us as "Autistic Laser Cannons."  We just sort of drifted along through events we didn't really understand and people we couldn't really relate to.

However, if you take away the character sheets, it really becomes a problem.  Now, you don't know what you can do or why you would do it.  The DM says that the door is locked, so everyone tries to pick the lock.  One person succeeds without really knowing what they were doing or even being interested in being a lockpicker.  It turns into the DM just telling you a story because you can't meaningfully contribute to the narrative.

[Captnq]

Yes.

And I ran it. Several times.

It works in a one shot, it doesn't work in a campaign. Seriously. Amnesia plot lines are right up there with disease plot lines. They suck. Horribly. Don't do it. Walk away now. It only works if you have complete control over the player OR if the PC enjoys being fucked with. Finding One player who enjoys a good mind fuck is a rare thing. Finding a bunch of players is like hitting the Power Ball.

Twice.

[Kethrian]

I ran an amnesia campaign once.  It actually worked well, since I tend to be the only optimizer in my groups, so everyone got an effective character, even though they rolled randomly to see what they would get.  I had made up 10 different PCs they could get, since I was unsure of the number of players who would want to try such a campaign.  Then I handed out blank character sheets with only the alignment filled in, which I pointed out was not something they had to stick to, but rather is just an initial clue, as some classes have alignment restrictions.

First thing I did to help them learn what they were was let them sort through their gear, which held lots of clues.  I think that's a big help, if you give them blank character sheets they have to learn to fill in.  For the spontaneous caster, I let him make a few int checks to "remember" his spells known, while the mem casters just had to re-mem their spells instead.  The others I gave clues about their abilities, as if instinct and training were kicking in, to let them learn.  And later, after they "remembered" most of their stuff, I gave them the last of the unknown details, like unused skills that had ranks or feats that hadn't yet seen use.  The players actually liked discovering what they were capable of that way, because it didn't force them to have to guess blindly, but still gave them the fun of discovery.  Plus, they still had no idea about their backgrounds or histories, or even anything going on in the world, which gave them the freedom to really explore and be curious.

I also avoided giving anyone a class that had strict alignment restrictions, like paladin, because I didn't want the player to feel forced to RP a specific way.  In fact, I generally play pretty loosely with alignments and how people should act in accordance with them.