Example of the process

This is an example of the process I will go through for the Steamworks & Arcana campaign, to help with character creation.

The setting is given: A long time ago in a galaxy far away.... In SPACE!!!

Characters

Obviously these are examples and I would like more than a short paragraph.

Player 1

Player 1 says: "I want to play a whiny farm boy who's parents are dead and I live with my Aunt and Uncle. I my father was a pilot in this war that happened before I was born. I work on moisture vaporators. My goal in life is to follow in my father's footsteps and get off this backwards rock I live on"

Player 2

Player 2 says: "I want to be an old jedi (there like wizards but with swords of light). I fought in this war a long time ago. I never had time for a family, but my best friend did. My friend was corrupt by the dark side of the force and has become evil. Now I watch over the son of my friend as a favor to the man I knew before he went crazy.

Player 3

Player 3 says: "I want to be a scruffy nerf herder/scoundrel. I'm a smuggler who flies the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. A while ago, I was smuggling some spice for this gangster named Jaba the Hutt. I dropped my cargo and now he is either trying to get his money back or kill me.

Player 4

Player 4 says: "I just want to growl... alot. Hell, I'll just be the copilot of player 3"

Player 5

Player 5 says: "I want to be a space princess. I was adopted in to the family because the father couldn't produce and heir. My family is part of this rebel alliance, planning to over throw the tyrannical Empire. They have this space station call the "Death Star" that would cement their control over the galaxy. Just before the campaign starts I've lead a mission (with my 2 droids) to steal the plans for this battle station. Also, I'm not going to be around for the first several sessions, so you may want to have me get kidnapped early on..."

Campaign

Then I create Star Wars... hopefully.

Notice that all of these entirely separate and independent of one another (because all of the characters came from different places). And they all have their own motivations for adventuring. As the storyteller, I try and construct a plot that pulls them all together.

E.g.:

• Since Luke and Leia are both ophans, they become brother and sister.
• Leia just did something to cause some action, so I'll use that to jump others into their quest.
• The son that Obi-wan is looking after happens to be another PC

Obviously, it won't pull together as clean as this, but that is the idea.

Also, I'll by trying to pull the story out of what you give me and not forcing too many of own ideas on the campaign.

E.g.:

• The final bad guy is pull from a combination of Obi-wan's and Leia's backgrounds, and tied to Luke's.
• The idea of the rebels comes from Leia
• The Jedi and the Force come from Obi-wan

The point to see is that if Player 2 had submitted a back for Picard instead of Obi-wan, there would have been a dramatic impact on the tools I have to bring everyone together and the story would have unfolded differently.

Also note that the backgrounds given are only from the perspective of that individual character. It's in Obi-wan's background that Ankin becomes Vader, not Luke's. Because Luke wasn't aware of those events.