Should character backstories be filled out slowly--each little piece of information revealed getting complete attention? Should backstories be revealed all at once with a single powerful narrative thrust? Maybe character backstories are best left completely mysterious; all their juicy narrative nuggets intact and untasted? Or perhaps backstories should be well-explored and known by all?
What is best?
>>44503424
>tasting the back stories nuggets
Ew, sounds shitty op. Back story should be handled slow and sensual- er, I mean, well paced.
>>44503424
Holy shit those thighs....
And I think that a characters backstory should be revealed the way the character would reveal it.
I always have the backstory other players see and the backstory the DM has slightly different, and let the two become closer and closer (Or further apart if my character is a dirty liar) as the game continues.
>>44503424
Generally speaking there should be a reason for exploring a character's backstory, otherwise it's just shameless indulgence. One of my favorite characters started off with a very flat backstory, but over time it was gradually fleshed out until it was something you could really sink your teeth into. Sometimes it's better to just let things fall into place rather than trying to force it.
>>44503512
>body I could say was "built for sex"
Speaking of which, imagine a hereditary caste of harem girls literally trained from birth in the pleasure arts. They'd be like the Spartans of old, but with a different sort of penetration mastery.
>>44503560
>imagine a hereditary caste of harem girls literally trained from birth in the pleasure arts.
I was under the impression that children of harem girls were "free" and treated as children - albeit second-class - of the harem master.
Women trained from birth in the pleasure arts isn't anything new, Theodora for example was supposedly taking it up the ass and down her throat before she hit puberty, and was taking it up all her holes as soon as she was able (supposedly this was how she was rendered infertile, since having your first menstruation doesn't mean you can just start taking cocks up there 24/7.)
Generally, what you want from a harem girl is a good mind, recreational skills/talents, and a novelty. Harem girls are not meant to remain in the harem for long, especially if their only talent is being really good at sex.
>>44503662
>Harem girls are not meant to remain in the harem for long, especially if their only talent is being really good at sex.
Couldn't they be sent to the breeding pits once their looks begin to fade? The most suitable offspring could be sent to the harem and the cycle would being anew.
>>44503560
Well, consider that as a rule the reason to have a harem is basically prestige.
Eventually you cannot conquer or buy slaves from conquest that gives you prestige as much as you would like if your harem is not among the very few.
Enter the engineered harem girl, designed for sex appeal, fertile and easy breeding and usually trained in the sensual arts.
This makes having well engineered caste of harem girls a mark of prestige in and of itself as while they are self replicating in a way, after a generation they will loose the looks if people do not know the treatments, training and techniques to bring forth said perfect harem girls.
Plus it doubles as a great soft power weapon as eventually they should in a way displace other women from the sex market and later perhaps even the marriage market.
Controlling access to said harem girls and their disposition in a way would yield something like the Star Trek Orion situations where the 'slave girls' are actually in control of the society where sex is a weapon and slavery, prostitution, sexual entertainment &Co are delivery mechanisms.
>>44503662
Harems were mostly packed with older women and female relatives, as well as the wives and children of the ruler. They weren't sensual at all, really. There was an Ottoman official who had the job of choosing the one and only girl to visit the Sultan for that night. Since that was generally the favorite at the time or someone who had managed to gain political favor, that means harem life is a massive lot of sitting around and scheming to have your children obtain power.
>>44503777
>>44503733
>>44503662
>>44503560
The fuck
>>44503424
Backstories for me start at the second session, which are notes from the first.
I don't care what your character did in the past, only at the table.
>>44503733
Breeding pits didn't exist, anon.
The harem is simply a secluded place full of beautiful women trained in art and literature, who could provide sex when desired but also, and more commonly, song or dance.
Consider the clientele of a harem, anon. We're dealing with an Emperor, or an especially powerful nobleman. These people have their pick of women, and have been sheathed inside one or another since their parents encouraged the busty serving girl to take their 13 year old son into a room and "make him a man." These people don't need sex, they want comfort and pleasure.
>>44503777
So, the trips say sex harem girl Bene Gesserith?
They might be in a way created and influenced by the rulers, but like Jenissaries if not given a voice in the way things work eventually they will pull a coup, and as the most potent soft power venue if they exist in a monolithic coalition a coup is quite likely to be night imperceptible, bloodless and none the wiser until it has become history.
The backstory should have little attention given to it. The real story you should be telling is the one you're currently playing.
>>44503818
Do not post a picture more interesting than the topic of the thread.
This is the consequence. Enjoy the /tg/ derail as it figures out to implement said picture in campaign and story settings, sometimes complete with rules, statistics, mechanics and most important numbers.
>20 years in the pleasure pits
>Survivors: 20 years in the breeding pits
>Survivors: 20 years as a teacher in the pleasure pits
>Survivors: Taken into the ruling Elder Council
Sounds about right?
>>44503777
>the 'slave girls' are actually in control of the society
Reminds me of this, but with more orgasms:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk
>>44503944
>Reminds me of this, but with more orgasms:
It's fascinating how the (typically Christian and/or European) castes of Islamic society usually become the ruling class.
>>44503733
>Breeding Pits
Lol, someones been on /d/ a little too long
>>44503560
Bene Gesserit and her Madre counterparts.
Sex so good you'll follow her every whim.
And it's not the bald ones, if that's a problem.
>>44503424
OP, one of the few rules in /tg is to never use an image more interesting than your topic.
That said, are we talking about PCs or NPCs here?
>Sultanate of Women: the harem dominated the ottoman empire for 130 years.
>>44503424
Your character description, including appearance, history and demeanour, should all be covered in exactly four sentences. Exactly four.
>>44503424
A paragraph or two of backstory should be written for the GM with character creation. This let's the GM use "personal" motivations as adventure hooks. Backstory should only be shared with other players if it's in-character sharing.
>>44503424
>Should character backstories be filled out slowly--each little piece of information revealed getting complete attention?
This one, is what I sayAlso, I would gladly worship that backstory OP
