Background
I have been hosting DnD 3.5 and then more recently Pathfinder for the last few years fairly consistently on a weekly basis for a group of in person friends. We have run through some personal homebrews (many of which did not continue after a period of time for one reason or another) to Adventure Paths such as the Savage Tide and now currently a little over halfway through The Rise of the Runelords.
As the Always GM I try to keep my ideas fresh and put spins on things the players would enjoy thus was born the idea for my next campaign.
Caveat
I tried posting on Reddit for help with the idea but most everyone instantly took it the wrong way and began ranting about taking away player angency. All the ideas when it comes to the player's characters have been talked about and explained to them and they have agreed that they like the idea of this.
The Concept
We start with the epitome of a fantasy trope.... all the PCs wake up in a room together with amnesia.... yeah yeah I know it is over done, most often in video games or with players that just don't want to spend the time to create a back story!
What I am doing differently though is that I will be compiling a list of 'Memory Snippets/ Flashes of Insight' that when a PC has done something that I as a GM feel could trigger a hidden memory that player will randomly receive a Snippet which is actually a very brief flash of memory of their unremembered life. All of them will be drawing from the same list of memories, I won't be tailoring memories to each character as if I have written their histories for them, the memories will be totally random.
What I'm looking for is constructive critiques as well as help compiling a list of compelling, interesting, bizarre, and even goofy memories that the players could draw from.
Obviously this is sort of an exercise as well as a game for me as a GM as well as for my players, memories cropping up that go against their current view of their character's morals could definitely make things difficult but I feel that having to riff off of and work with these ideas could help me as a GM and my players get better and developing deep and thoughtful characters!
Thanks for the suggestions people!