Batman?

In Group One, I have a player totally new to the D&D experience. When we needed to fill some chairs in the group, I asked him to join. He is perfect for this game; creative, fun and just enough of an asshole so he isn't boring. From the start, this last trait was coming through. In the group chat, I asked for general character stuff. Race, class any background they had. His reply?

It took nine hours for me to start regretting adding him.

I then sent the group the PDF of the character sheet. Got this back two hours later:

          Him: Am I doing this right?

See? Asshole. But in a not boring way. Then we had to work on the backstory. Normally, I would let the play pick or create their own but since he was new, we worked on it together.

Okay, we are both assholes. But in a not boring way.

We created backstory with a couple of hooks. The first one is the town's paper, I pushed for that to connect a plot point in the story. While I wanted that for this character, I also let the player fill in most of the details. These characters are going to be played for a bunch of adventures crossing several chapters and game nights (hopefully, I have no problem letting a character die if the player makes a really dumb decision) and they have to like them. There is nothing worse stuck with a character you hate. The second hook is his search for his real mom. This could turn into a whole new adventure, or a side quest. The character was given the name Steve and we started Chapter One. This adventure will be covered in a separate post, I promise.

At the end of the night, I had an epilogue for each player and character. Here was Steve's with player input:

Me: After receiving your award for saving the town, you, Step-Mom and Dad start walking back home. Your parents seemed to have forgotten all the acrimony toward each other and are following you holding hands and whispering a quiet conversation, like lovers do. You turn down a darkened alley that you walked a hundred times before.

Player: I don't like this. Something is happening.

Me: They suddenly start giggling, your step-mom giggling! All seems right with the world.

Player: Oh god, I'm gonna die. This is really bad.

Me: You hear a soft scraping noise behind you...

Player: Why are you killing me?

Me: ...and a slight gasp...

Player: Oh no, mom and dad.

Me: You turn around and you see your parents...with blades sticking out of their throats. There is a heavily cloaked figure holding the blades. The only thing you can see is a ripped and torn smile on it's face.

Player: Wait...

Me: The figure pulls out the blades. And as if the blades were the only thing keeping your parents on their feet, they fall to their knees.

Player: Am I...

Me: With continued momentum, your parents fall forward on to their faces. With the last of their strength, they turn to face each other.

Player: Did you just...

Me: The blood pouring from the holes in their throats start to pool together. They are still holding hands.

Player: Mom and dad...

Me: The necklace your mom was wearing was broken. Pearls roll through the combined blood of your parents, to your feet.

Player: Is this happening...

Me: The most beautiful voice you have ever heard sings out "The little pretties are now oh so icky! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!

Player: Am I Batman?!

Me: Tomas and Murtha are dead.

Player: ...

Me: YOU ARE GODDAMN BATMAN NOW!

And that was the end of the night.