A really important thing that I find a lot of writers need to learn is that backstory is not character depth. You can write an incredibly deep and complex character without ever telling us anything about their past.
Depth comes from complexity. Complexity is found in contradiction. Real people don’t have some simple set of programming that defines them. This is why I despise the alignment system; it’s basically a textbook for creating uninteresting characters. In real life people often hold complex and contradictory (or seemingly contradictory) ideals. Or they profess one ideal but live out another.
Think about a character who lives by a philosophy of always putting themselves first. Think about all the times they do something for someone else, not even really understanding or accepting that they’re breaking their own rule. Think about why they would do that. That’s character depth. Maybe there’s something in their past that explains why they are that way, but we don’t ever need to know what it is. And in truth, most people can’t be summed up as one or two pivotal events. We’re the sum of every single moment in our lives, all put together in one complex mess of a human being.
The alignment system really isn’t that complex or strict. Lawful means you’re someone who generally holds to personal principles and chaotic means you go where the wind blows. Good means you do what’s best for everyone and evil means you do what’s best for yourself.
Chaotic Good would be the hardest one to wrap ones head around. That would be someone who wants to help people but isn’t really sure how. They don’t have a strong oath like a paladin and they don’t know if they should be nice everyone or if they should maybe be a little quicker to fight against the obvious bad guys.
Ultimately though, the alignment is system is something pretty well explained in the DMG, from what I remember, but with D&D people just look at poorly informed memes and then complain about how rules don’t even function in the actual book. Their ignorance is not the fault of the source material.
Otherwise I generally agree with what you’re saying. I would like to add that you can also create depth with character growth. A simple character is a fantastic starting point if you actually develop them over the campaign.
A really important thing that I find a lot of writers need to learn is that backstory is not character depth. You can write an incredibly deep and complex character without ever telling us anything about their past.
Depth comes from complexity. Complexity is found in contradiction. Real people don’t have some simple set of programming that defines them. This is why I despise the alignment system; it’s basically a textbook for creating uninteresting characters. In real life people often hold complex and contradictory (or seemingly contradictory) ideals. Or they profess one ideal but live out another.
Think about a character who lives by a philosophy of always putting themselves first. Think about all the times they do something for someone else, not even really understanding or accepting that they’re breaking their own rule. Think about why they would do that. That’s character depth. Maybe there’s something in their past that explains why they are that way, but we don’t ever need to know what it is. And in truth, most people can’t be summed up as one or two pivotal events. We’re the sum of every single moment in our lives, all put together in one complex mess of a human being.
The alignment system really isn’t that complex or strict. Lawful means you’re someone who generally holds to personal principles and chaotic means you go where the wind blows. Good means you do what’s best for everyone and evil means you do what’s best for yourself.
Chaotic Good would be the hardest one to wrap ones head around. That would be someone who wants to help people but isn’t really sure how. They don’t have a strong oath like a paladin and they don’t know if they should be nice everyone or if they should maybe be a little quicker to fight against the obvious bad guys.
Ultimately though, the alignment is system is something pretty well explained in the DMG, from what I remember, but with D&D people just look at poorly informed memes and then complain about how rules don’t even function in the actual book. Their ignorance is not the fault of the source material.
Otherwise I generally agree with what you’re saying. I would like to add that you can also create depth with character growth. A simple character is a fantastic starting point if you actually develop them over the campaign.