Character concept issues

[deathwombat]

How does one  without hurting feelings suggest to a fellow player that their character concept is pretty cool but not really Dresden Files ?
Of course they have not read the boooks and refuse to read any parts of the rulebooks.

[SkywardEyes]

How does one  without hurting feelings suggest to a fellow player that their character concept is pretty cool but not really Dresden Files ?
Of course they have not read the boooks and refuse to read any parts of the rulebooks.

Maybe explain how much awersomeness they are missing out on through their stubborness and that even the rulebook is actually a very fun read compared to other ones on the market? The situation should resolve itself then, as well as letting your player in on the metric-ton amount of inside jokes bound to fly around the table. I unfortunately have never played the DF game because I know no one that plays but I can't imagine picking up a book-themed game without taking at least a half-glance at the source material. (but I AM a book nerd so...)

[Drashna]

Why does it have to fit in the dresden files?  And honestly, why can't it?  It would depend on what the idea is.  It could be very easily adapted.  I mean, there is a thread about making DC/Marvel superheroes in DFRPG.

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't see any problem with not having read the series. But you probably shouldn't be playing if you haven't read the rules.

[Drashna]

@Sanctaphrax: only the GM really needs to read the rules. As long as everyone else has a basic concept of what they're doing, that's fine!

[toturi]

How does one  without hurting feelings suggest to a fellow player that their character concept is pretty cool but not really Dresden Files ?
Of course they have not read the boooks and refuse to read any parts of the rulebooks.

At some time or another before playing, they would have to read the rulebook. I mean, unless the GM is doing all the work of assigning skills, stunts and powers, not to mention Aspects, they would have to read the rulebook.

Besides, maybe it would be better if you asked the GM what he thought about that player's character concept. If the GM is alright with it, then it should be fine.

[Wordmaker]

Can you give any more information? The Dresdenverse is pretty open in terms of what you can play. The most likely way something will feel "non-Dresden" would be the motivation of the character or how it fits in the context of the group as a whole.

If the character is motivated by selfish desires and is cruel to others, they're not going to fit well in the Dresden Files world, where PCs are responsible for making their own motivation to put themselves at risk for the sake of others.

Similarly, if you're playing a group with a werewolf, a wizard, and a White Court Vampire, it's going to be very hard to incorporate a zealous monster hunter who believes all monsters and magic-users are evil and should be destroyed.

If your situation is like either of these, then you should be able to fairly easily explain to the player that their character might have trouble working with the other PCs, and that will cause delays in play. See if they're willing to tweak their concept a bit, rather than saying no outright.

[JustinS]

How does one  without hurting feelings suggest to a fellow player that their character concept is pretty cool but not really Dresden Files ?
Of course they have not read the boooks and refuse to read any parts of the rulebooks.

Carefully.

"I know you have not gone through the background or read the books, so you might not realize that $concept does not really fit the genre of the game and the setting, even though it is really cool. The closest thing I can think of to what you want is $idea. What is appealing to you about $concept, I may be able to suggest something with similar features from the setting that you may not have known about."

[babel2uk]

To be fair, if they've not read the books they should be aware that there's a chance their concept might not fit. I'd just tell them straight out "Sorry, it's a really cool concept, but it just doesn't fit the setting". If it's adaptable then go through the changes they'd need to make. If they stubbornly refuse to change it to fit then they'll either have to come up with another concept (and you probably need to sit down and explain the setting more thoroughly), or they're actually not really interested in playing in the Dresden setting - which s a whole other problem. That said, I've never encountered a player yet who was completely unwilling to adapt an idea if it didn't fit the setting - or to come up with a new one if it was totally unsalvageable.

All that aside, the final call on that is down to your GM. It's their game, and if they're happy to allow the character concept as presented then maybe they've got a different idea of the setting to you - in which case maybe you'll need to adapt your concept.

[Arcteryx]

Aren't you all tired of the jerk who won't take the time to invest even the slightest bit of time in the setting and rules? And even that would be OK but... can he even try to respect the spirit of the source material? I understand all those bits about being open-minded, the Dresdenverse is a big place, blah blah blah...

But I think most of us who GM need to outline what our expectations are. If folks don't like'm, they'll let you know by not signing up for the games, and you'll just eat humble pie by dialing it back towards center.

Stop wasting time on that one guy. Focus instead of the other 4 or 5 who're there to play exactly what the rest of us had in mind.

[newtinmpls]

"How does one  without hurting feelings suggest to a fellow player that their character concept is pretty cool but not really Dresden Files ? Of course they have not read the boooks and refuse to read any parts of the rulebooks."

Well....

My first thought is that of course the campaign is going to be slightly different from the books or from the series - so what does it matter?

My second thought is that I actually had a sort of similar problem. I had a player who essentially wanted to be a "bad guy"; all the character concepts he started with were ... unkind. He wanted to be a government guy on the take, then a sports guy cheating with drugs or magic. I basically told him he could start any which way, but by the end of chararacter creation he had to come up with "how his character became a good guy" which turned out to be the crux of the matter - and he literally walked away.

[Quazar]

@Sanctaphrax: only the GM really needs to read the rules. As long as everyone else has a basic concept of what they're doing, that's fine!

No, it's pretty important that everyone has read the rules.  Not necessarily the whole rulebook, it's a big book, but everyone should at least read the basics and the character creation sections.

[TheRealMe]

Point your player to this:

http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,22372.0.html

This short read of Richard_Chilton's reply should adequately cure problems of ignorance about the setting.  

[Richard_Chilton]

Then again it might not be a matter of ignorance.  Some people just like being that special, unique, 'no one is like me', 'everyone bow down to my coolness', snowflake character.

If the setting is a Western Europe fantasy game then they want to be the ninja.  If the setting is feudal Japan then they want to be the knight who got lost on his way to crusades and is one of the few Gaijin in the setting.  All their concepts scream "look at me!" and in various rule books they are referred to as "that guy", as in "don't be that guy".  Houses of the Blooded (another FATE based system) has a long essay on how to handle "that guy", but in most cases you and your group will either:
a) have to accept that one of the group always wants to be the special one, or
b) decrease in size as you stop inviting the guy over to game.

From what I've seen most groups choose A.

Richard

[TheRealMe]

Richard,

I carefully said that your excellent short intro would cure ignorance.   

I made no other promises about other problems.  So if we have a player who insists (in a Dresden Files game) on running a 48th level assassin/wizard/ranger/bard/paladin quarter-elf/quarter-dwarf/quarter-pixie/quarter-demigod...

- Ed