Letters from Home Idea

[PalletTown]

This is just an idea that I had bouncing around my head for a couple of days. What if, based on your class, a person significant to you writes to you and you write them back with your letter incorporating some of the achievements you made.

For Example

Noble Scion: Your mother writes to you about your siblings and various noble politics. Your response back will focus on your gaining of titles or marriages, particularly if your marriage partners are noble.

Scholar: Your former professor writes to you about the going on of the university. Your response back will focus on your gaining of knowledge over magic i.e. mirror magic etc.

Slum Rat: You receive a bounty on you from the thieves guild, but inside the bounty is a coded message from your former partner. Despite you wanting to contact them again, you wisely decide not to write a letter.

Barbarian: You reminisce about your home. Your thoughts are influenced by how you dealt with the Kervus orc camp and what companions you made.

 

[Zackflame]

How would our Mother even find us in the middle of nowhere

 

[Tony_Redgrave]

I always like personal quests/interactions with our own PC's in games. I would be down for something like this.

 

[SmithEK]

Ooh would be interesting. It's a shame CoC2 lacks any family interactions for the champ. At least with TiTs we have cousin Jill and Anyxe if Steele is half Leithan.

 

[WolframL]

I think it would be very tricky to do without potentially stepping on the toes of individual players' headcanons for their Champs, since the background details that are set in stone are done in broad strokes and people can fill in the blanks in too many ways to neatly account for. Ways to incorporate the Champ's past can be really neat and help enhance the RP aspect, but things like the broad 'Do you imagine your background to be sad or hopeful?' question Aileh has or the limited reactions spread throughout the game are a lot easier to do without causing conflict with any given player's headcanon.

For instance, while we know a Noble Scion champ must have at least one older sibling (because they aren't inheriting) we don't know more than that. Which of their parents are alive? What's the Champ's relationship with them? How many other siblings do they have beyond whoever is inheriting, what are their genders and what's the Champ's relationship with them? We just don't know these things. By way of example, my main Champ falls into this background, did not leave on the best terms and has no interest in going home until she can do so after both marrying Ryn and stopping Kas, to fulfill the rather impetuous boast she made before walking out the door. That's just an example, ask ten other people who're sufficiently invested to do these RP things to begin with and you'll get ten different answers.

It's a cool idea, I'm just not sure how you can do it without the aforementioned toe-stepping-on.

 

[Ossa]

I came to say basically what Wolfram did. In theory I'd be cool with this, but I'll bet a lot of money that this is going to clash against a lot of peoples headcanons about their characters.

My guy, Strider, was born in the heartlands, spent time as a holy warrior fighting Wraith-touched, became disillusioned and fell out with his family, and worked his way north up to the start of CoC 2. I can safely guarantee that mother dearest would -not- be sending this noble scion any 'hope you're well' letters any time soon; they'd rather forget he even exists.

 

[Tony_Redgrave]

I wouldn't mind just a few more open-ended questions/answers from NPC's, particularly our companions. Just questions such as one of them asking "What about your family?" when you ask them about theirs. The responses would be vague such as "I don't like to talk about them.", "I don't have any." etc

 

[PalletTown]

Fair enough. With something like this, it will probably conflict with people's headcannon. In general the more specific the writing is the more it will clash with people's headcannons. For the letters, I would try to build off what was already established as much as possible.

For Example: On the Noble Scion letter, Your mother would inform you that your eldest brother is preparing to inherit and your second eldest brother got married. Also your family rivals' are at up to their old tricks.

If it is your headcannon that your relationship is so bad then you have the option to trash the letter when it arrives, and your PC would say something like "I don't want to think about "Them".

This won't completely satisfy everyone but I think it strikes the right balance between interesting and headcannon preservation.

Also for how the letter would reach you. My best idea is that whoever sent it to you put a magic sigil and put it in a merchant caravan. This method of letter transport is slow and expensive, but eventually guaranteed to reach the intended recipient.

 

[Ossa]

I wouldn't mind just a few more open-ended questions/answers from NPC's, particularly our companions. Just questions such as one of them asking "What about your family?" when you ask them about theirs. The responses would be vague such as "I don't talk about them.", "I don't have any." etc

I won't lie, one of my lowkey wishes going forward is that NPCs, -especially- Companions like Ryn, express more interest in the Champ's story and past before they came to the Marches.

 

[Dr. Bootytaste]

The point of a backstory is to move past it. The most interesting part of a characters story should be the part that is being told. I like the hunter background for this reason. Because it's literally just a job. Like my backstory is I worked at Wendy's last week and now I'm here.

That being said, a character who had a prior relationship with your PC is an interesting idea if implemented correctly. Maybe even with a choice to decide how we first met.
Oh hey! Up ahead it's Dingo Dango Dongis, that guy you used to....
-meet at Outback Steakhouse.
-Crush mad puss with.
-Recieve Succ.
-Harass homeless people.

Something like that could have interesting application. More for getting their insight on your companions and achievements as someone who knew you in the before time. Maybe throw in a few clever anecdotes.
Plenty of room there for dialogue that is universal to all backstories, not to say it couldn't have flags for specific ones.