Preparing for the End at Creation

There is one question that one of my best friends asks me often about my characters: “What is your character’s endpoint?” It always struck me as a bit of an odd question, because I while I have a good idea where my character is going next, I never would swear where they will end up. Meanwhile, even when my friend is creating a character, he has a good idea where he wants that character to end.

I think that some of this is due to what systems we cut our teeth in. My friend has played a lot of D&D (and tons of other systems), all versions. In that, you have a pretty well defined character path, and there are certainly rewards for plotting out your character’s entire existence before you get in and play.

Meanwhile, I learned by playing Warhammer, 3rd edition. In that, you can change your characters career completely at any time. What your character’s career is ties in heavily to the story line. For example, in my gaming history, Candy is the best example. When I created her, she was a barber-surgeon. Then, in game we needed someone who could pick locks and sneak better, so I had her train with a thief and become a thief. When it came time for her to change class, she had to assassinate the man who killed her parents. Welcome to being an assassin! Then, at long last, with that done, she was able to finally go back to her roots, transitioning to physician. If I had continued playing her, I planned for her to train in apothecary next, but who knows? All the other careers were reactionary, except the first and last.

I really do think that while end points work with other systems, they do not with Warhammer. Even my friend that introduced me to endpoints got burned in Warhammer. His original concept was to take his character from pauper merchant to noble. In the words of Phil from the Hangover, “Yeah. That’s not going to happen.” When that character left the group on he was a duelist and a bit of a lovable scoundrel, but no closer to being a prince. Matter as fact, he had just learned his biological father was not a noble, but a Reiklander merchant.

Is it better to know the character’s end toward the beginning? Are you exactly where you thought you would be when you were a kid? As a kid I thought I would either be a single comic book writer or a single scholar. I am a very happily married chef. I thought I would have a daughter by 27. I am past that age with no child of either sex in sight. If the system rewards you heavily for knowing where you will end up, or offers you limited options, then by all means, make a rough sketch. But if you have never tried just going with the flow, try it and see if it helps you immerse yourself into the world.