Tyranny's Conquest system fixes a lot of my problems with CRPG backstories
(originally posted September 10, 2023)
After I did my Beginner CRPG listicle, I reinstalled Tyranny on a lark and it got me thinking about some stuff I talked about previously where I talked about how I get less immersed in an RPG where I create a character from scratch rather than having a preset character. The crux of this is broadly that even though the game world is - by virtue of being a game - always centered around me, it feels even more transparent and dare I say masturbatory when my character is An Extremely Important Person for no reason other than I'm controlling them, which takes me out of the story.
I have a hard time really "inhabiting" my character unless the game forces me to in some way. It's cool to be able to choose stuff during character creation, but the backstory options don't generally affect the game world other than letting you occasionally pick the [URCHIN] option in dialogue or whatnot. This is obviously an important part of being able to personally express yourself via play, but I find it rarely makes a material difference in the narrative. I'll pick those options because they are there and are nominally more unique than the baseline options, not because I feel like it's narratively important in this situation that my character says a stereotypical Monk line.
I understand that this is perhaps not the intended mindset.
Baldur's Gate 3 attempts to remedy this in a few ways. There's the Inspiration mechanic, where you get an XP bonus and a re-roll charge for acting in ways consistent with your background (chosen from a generic list). In a tabletop setting, this would be awarded at the DM's discretion, but the preprogrammed-by-necessity Inspiration points are so arbitrary and numerous that I couldn't really participate with intent. Often, one action grants Inspiration for multiple party members, each with a different rationale.
The Origin Character system is a better attempt if you're willing to play as one of the - let's face it - not terribly interesting core cast. I assume this works well if you already intended on playing a Half-Elf Cleric or a Tiefling Barbarian or what have you, but I didn't. Granted, you can always respec. But then, isn't it even more incongruous to play Karlach as a squishy Wizard than to simply not play her at all?
I picked The Dark Urge, which is the only Origin where A) you can fully customize your character's race and class and B) to my knowledge is the only Origin where the game directly forces you to take certain actions. This allows for some mechanical freedom while lending a smidge more specificity regarding your character's place in the world and the plot, which pays off decently (if predictably) in the third act.
Two of my favorite CRPGs - Planescape: Torment and Disco Elysium - use the tried, true, and tired plot device of amnesia to give players a relative blank slate by which to express themselves through role-playing. The crucial difference is that their respective protagonists materially existed prior to the player taking control. A not insignificant part of those games is running into people or situations "You" met or interacted with previously and figuring out exactly what happened. You're always on your toes, thinking, "Oh shit, what did I do this time?"
This is great because it establishes that sense of tangibility to my character. No matter how nice I want to be in Disco Elysium, fact of the matter is that yesterday I ramped my car off a billboard and broke the bridge while in a drunken stupor. "I was... a different person then..." is not an excuse that is going to fucking cut it. I have to deal with those consequences and that's part of the game.
An example that doesn't use amnesia: KOTOR 2. The Jedi Exile is a specific person who did specific things, and other characters react to that accordingly. The player doesn't even necessarily know what those things were for a good chunk of the game. The script is cleverly laid out so that when multiple options appear, the options themselves deliver exposition about this backstory from the point of view of the Exile. Broadly, what you get to determine is the motive for those actions and therefore what kind of person the Exile was, is, and will become.
Tyranny's Conquest system is a pretty cool take at some kind of middle ground for this. You always play as a Fatebinder, one of the Overlord's legal adjudicators/enforcers. Par for a blank-slate protagonist, you choose a background like "pit fighter" or "diplomat" that affects a few stats, et cetera, but then the game goes to the world map and has you play through a series of branching paths and options about what you were doing over the past three years of the conquest.
This is, again, pretty cool, because it means you aren't just a Fatebinder. You become a specific Fatebinder who did specific things in the game world. Did you go to Lethian's Crossing or the city of Apex? While you were there, did you interact with Sirin, Archon of Songs, or were you dealing with the logistics of the Forge-Bound? Did you back the Disfavored or the Scarlet Chorus while dealing with the local Beastmen tribes? Did you burn the Vellum Citadel with the Edict of Fire, or perhaps buried Stalwart under the Edict of Storms?
These choices have knock-on effects within the main game, because the various factions remember what you've done and treat you accordingly. Not always in the way you might think either, because what you thought was a good decision might be considered a grave insult from their point of view. You might straight up lock yourself out of entire game paths because of a choice you made in the first ten minutes.
I think that's a good thing. How many times on the CRPG listicle did I call out "specificity" or "characters deeply informed by the setting" as major positives? I can't "play a role" unless you give me a role to play. Otherwise, it's just a toybox. Toyboxes absolutely have their place, of course - just look at how popular Bethesda games like Starfield are - but I'm becoming increasingly aware that they just aren't for me.
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