For the most part, I run into little difficulty when writing a backstory, but many of the players in my party have trouble coming up with compelling backstories. I've seen all the character description tutorials and systems the web has to offer, so I turn to all you friendly fellow gamers.
What are the most important aspects of a backstory in your eyes?
What is the minimum amount of information needed to constitute a good backstory?
At what point does additional information become irrelevant?
Should a character's personality be fundamentally constructed in relation to his/her backstory?
Any advice to player's that have trouble writing one?
Let 'em rip, boys 'n girls.
It is pretty easy, really. I just review my twinked out munchkin of a character and come up with anything that even slightly justifies the incoherency. Oh, and I make sure all of his family are dead. We wouldn't want the DM to use them as any kind of hook.
Seriously, what I look for most in a character background is motivation. From a Game Master perspective, this is what I will use to compel the character into action. Without a good motivation, the fourth wall becomes really shaky as I have to insert the character into the action without much rhyme or reason.
From the Player perspective, a good motivation gives me a quick grasp of the character and how to play them. It defines likely responses to any situation. I also find it easy to start with a motivation and then work backwards. For example, I will play a greedy character. Now why is my character greedy? Did he never have much growing up? Was his family poor to the point of starving?
A good motivation with some basic development of 'why' does not require a ten page, double-sided essay on the history of my character. It leaves room for adding other aspects and motivations, but still gives my GM something to work with.
For the most part, I run into little difficulty when writing a backstory, but many of the players in my party have trouble coming up with compelling backstories. I've seen all the character description tutorials and systems the web has to offer, so I turn to all you friendly fellow gamers.
What are the most important aspects of a backstory in your eyes?
What is the minimum amount of information needed to constitute a good backstory?
At what point does additional information become irrelevant?
Should a character's personality be fundamentally constructed in relation to his/her backstory?
Any advice to player's that have trouble writing one?Let 'em rip, boys 'n girls.
1) Most important aspects of a backstory. To me, this has to be the motivation to become an adventurer. Something had to happen that motivated the character to take levels in a PC class, and this needs to be defined in the backstory. Maybe the fighter is motivated by a sense of duty and tradition; for generations, the firstborn sons have always been career soldiers, so he's following in the footsteps of his forefathers. The sorcerer was always considered odd, even before his abilities developed; he hit the road when his home village was threatening to stone him for the death of their livestock. And so on.
2) Minimum information. Where the PC was born, some basic family info (parents, live or dead, siblings, live or dead), formative events (see examples above), how they ended up where the campaign begins. Preferably a few personality notes too.
3) Information is never irrelevant. It's just not useful right now.
4) A person's personality should be tied to their backstory but it doesn't have to tie in completely. If your character was raised on the streets and spent his formative years as a bully in a gang, then I want to know why you're playing him as generous. Maybe to make up for the wrong-doing of his past? Or if you were born to a wealthy merchant family how you ended up being a druid with strong antisocial tendencies. Some things won't need explained though.
5) Advice to others? Read a lot of fantasy, watch lots of fantasy movies, you'll see plenty of characters and learn their stories. Then steal the best parts from the characters you like for your own. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all;)
Beyond that, write down your ideas and then look them over. Think about who you are playing, look at your backstory, and then tie the two together in your head. If you're playing an antisocial wizard, then look at the backstory for reasons why you're antisocial and a wizard. Finally, run your story past someone else and see if it makes sense to them. Feedback is critical to successful writing. Too bad lots of movies don't get their scripts passed around, we'd avoid lots of drek;)
If you are having trouble, are just looking to add some more flavor or only have a basic sketch of an idea, talk with the DM, ask how your character concepts would fit into the campaign. Whether its a richly detailed home-brew or an AP, there are plenty of ways to get your character to feel more alive and more apart of the world they will be adventuring in.
Being more integrated into the world, and the specifics of the campaign, may create some new ideas and take you in directions you hadn't thought of.
It's an art, not a science. Don't expect a textbook with definite answers. Let those creative juices flow!
Central Casting: Heroes of Legend is a great resource to get your creative juices flowing. Good luck finding one for a decent price though.
Someone really needs to publish a new book like this.
What are the most important aspects of a backstory in your eyes?
Provide not only what the character's goals are, but WHY. That's probably the most important. General origins are also important for DM and player to know not only to provide motivation but also what the character has as general knowledge--where is she from, was she raised in a particular trade, what are her parents like, was she rich/poor, etc.
What is the minimum amount of information needed to constitute a good backstory?
Name, place of origin, profession, parents' profession, are parents/family alive or dead, do they know anyone in the area, religious views, and as everyone else says, a good reason for why they are adventuring.
At what point does additional information become irrelevant?
I have never found additional information irrelevant completely, but as Lathiira says, it's more a matter of WHEN it becomes relevant. The more background, the more both GM and players have to work with to come up with story hooks and motivation development, so more info is always better, IMO.
That said, if one person hands me a succinct but nicely detailed 1 page origin story, and another person hands me a rambling 20 page origin story, I am more likely as a GM to REMEMBER the pertinent facts about player#1's character than player#2. So a better question to ask as a GM for yourself is, "At what point will I be more overwhelmed than intrigued by a PC's backstory?"
Should a character's personality be fundamentally constructed in relation to his/her backstory?
I think there is an intrinsic relationship between history and personality, but of course there is the "nature" aspect as well.
If someone is from Stalwart Warrior Land, and he is not a Stalwart Warrior, this can be fine, but a backstory should reflect why this is (and there are many good reasons not all people from Stalwart Warrior Land are stalwart warriors)--and in fact thinking about why will help develop one's background further.
Any advice to players that have trouble writing one?
There's no "right way" to do it, but I would advise starting with one of two approaches: campaign based, or questionnaire based.
To do from the campaign based perspective, the player reads through the campaign material. Have them think about what excites the player the most, what area they think is coolest or what part of the history gets them interested. Have them build their character up from that, choosing them to be from the region they like best, and decide from there is that person a typical denizen, a societal rogue, in between. A lot of time world flavor can help inspire personal character flavor, and sometimes people who have trouble just coming up with material from whole cloth can get a lot of ideas by reading through setting material.
The "questionnaire" is more of just having the player fill in the background by answering some basic essentials questions--
What is your name?
Who is your closest family member, and what did they do? Is that person alive?
What deity do you worship and why? (Or why don't you worship a deity?)
Where are you from? Have you always lived there? Do you have a job?
Do the people in your hometown like you or dislike you? Why?
Does your character know the other party members? How?
Why are you adventuring? (Money, fortune, fame, monster to slay?)
Even little things like "What is your favorite food/song/color?" might help them think about their character and moreover put them in their character's shoes. Sometimes it's a matter of jogging creative juices before they really get into it.
A THIRD way is a little tricky: the "Inspiration" way--in which the player picks a fictional character to help inspire some of their background. This CAN help, especially if they're just looking for ideas, not trying to PLAY that character. A friend of mine calls this the "Bracelet technique"--think of the character that inspires your PC, and imagine they wear a bracelet that says, WW(initial of character)D?
The problem is that some people use this either to try to push to play broken characters, or they base their character SOLELY on a fictional character with NO background of their own--this is how we get Drizzt clones, etc.
The right way to do it is say, "Okay, I really like Xena: Warrior Princess. I know I can't be a super fighty martial arts chakram throwy badass at level 1, that's not what I'm trying to do. But... she was an innkeeper's daughter, whose town was attacked by warlords. She learned to fight to fend off the warlords, and became a warlord on her own thinking it was the best way to get rid of the other warlords. I really like that idea, and I think I want to do something like that--someone from a small town, but because of being attacked all the time, now is looking to become a great warrior. Maybe I'm getting pulled down to "the dark side" too--tempted by all this killing I'm learning how to do. But then that gives the party bard a reason to try and tell me stories about why it's important to do things for the right reason, right?" This provides some backstory and a means for party interaction.
And bear in mind, some people get more into background writing than others. The important thing is to be sure that they at least have something to go on, and if the bare essentials is all they're interested in providing, that's fine--as long as you have what you need to work with as a gm.
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What is the minimum amount of information needed to constitute a good backstory?.... Any advice to player's that have trouble writing one?
As a player, the minimum I need is to be able to "feel" the character. I need to know why they are here. Why aren't they just running a shop somewhere, or mowing hay, or whatever. Where is their family, dead? don't care? Were they abandoned, or sent out with warmest wishes? All slaughtered in the attack by the local bad guy? Even a kernal of an idea can be enough to run with. Talking the character through with someone can be helpful.
As a GM, I want to have some idea of who they are as well. "We meet in a tavern" can get old after awhile and I want to be able to bring them into the story in some way that at least has a smidge of sense to it, if possible.
I have a few questions that I ask players that are stuck (or ask myself on the rare occasion that I am stuck)
What race are they? How are they like the stereotype of that race, and more importantly, how are they different?
Parents and Birth order: how many siblings and which one. Who was your favorite, and who did you not get along with.
Job or occupation: why this one and not something else. Is this what you want to be doing, or do you dream of studying the cosmos, but you're stuck at the anvil because your father and his father before him were blacksmiths?
If nothing seems to help, sometimes going back to the drawing board really is the best decision. If the character in your head refuses to be a sorcerer(or fighter or cleric or whatever else you had in mind), try to figure out what it wants to be, and why.
At what point does additional information become irrelevant?
I don't think additional information is ever irrelevant to the player. But it doesn't all have to be laid out in story form. A vital stats sheet of the most important stuff, with a page or so of story flavor is probably all I need on the other side of the screen.
Should a character's personality be fundamentally constructed in relation to his/her backstory?
A character's backstory should lend credence to the personality. Why is she the way she is? Why those spells or that weapon, why does she strike first and answer questions later when it comes to some beings but not others. But nothing and no one is static, so don't try to answer everything. Sometimes it's enough just to ask the question.
I don't usually post here, more a reader than a writer, so take the advice above for what it's worth.
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Some people like lots of backstory -- some like only a little.
As a DM, one has to be accepting of all kinds.
For me, I like a really good physical description; it helps me associate the PC name with the new PC.
I like good definitions of what the PC's Alignment means for that Player -- what makes you CG or LN or NE. What would you do in such-in-such situation?
And I like it to be about the past, not the future. When a PC has a backstory with "One day..." "I want..." then I have to go (sometimes) out of my way to include it in the campaign. The less "future story" a PC has, the easier it is for me to design the campaign.
. . . .
For example,
Not 10 minutes ago one of my Players (who peruses the Gamma World Forum here on the Boards) sent me his initial proposal for his new PC. This is a portion of his e-mail to me:
Ok, I've come up with basic character concepts for my PCs:
The 13th-level gestalt is an aasimar (if that's okay) fighter-cleric named Sardrik Kordsson.
He is the son of the barbarian god Kord and a mortal woman (hence the aasimar part), and so has potential to gain divine ranks some day (though obviously that won't come into play except as RP fluff).
I'll play him with a jolly foolhardiness similar to Hercules. Spent his 100k thusly: mithral full plate of speed, winged shield, belt of physical might (+2 Str, +2 Con), and "Icerazor" (+2 holy frost longsword).
The 9th-level secondary will be either a rogue or a bard who serves as Sardrik's sidekick and chronicler.
Don't have much else yet.
I couldn't tell you how they come to me. I usually create a character first. Then I think about how he got there. I'll often change skills around to suit the backstory after I initially create if I have time to work on the character.
Case in point, I have a halfling cleric of Nethys who as part of his backstory had to flee Cheliax after trying to free his mother from slavery. He signed onto the first ship out of Westcrown offering his divine services. Before I wrote this, I didn't have a skill point in Profession (sailor), after I wrote it, I changed out a skill point from somewhere else to fit in here.
Lately I've been trying to stay away from the tragic character backstory (i.e. parents dead, born a slave, etc.). As a GM, I dread the typical parents dead backstory (out of 7 players in my Kingmaker game, 4 have a parents dead back story). I guess it's a good motivational factor for getting into the adventuring business.
Go with what makes you happy, and when all else fails, go with Table 4-1 in the Gamemastery Guide.
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For the most part, I run into little difficulty when writing a backstory, but many of the players in my party have trouble coming up with compelling backstories. I've seen all the character description tutorials and systems the web has to offer, so I turn to all you friendly fellow gamers.
I agree with the comment that this is an art rather then a science. However, I think sometimes some examples might be the best inspiration.
Find some you like, (I suggest winners) and show them to players. See it this gets their creative juices going.
All the Best,
Kerney
What are the most important aspects of a backstory in your eyes?
The hooks. You want the first words out of your GM's mouth upon reading the story to be "wow, this gives me so many ideas!"
Integration with the world. The best backstories are non-transferable. Look for things in the game world that present ideas you want to do things with. If you don't know and can't find out about the world, think about this in terms of what your character's connections are - friends, family, enemies, contacts, mentors, that sort of thing.
What is the minimum amount of information needed to constitute a good backstory?
A single motivation ("I'm looking for the man who killed my ma") or a single concept ("the Hipster Paladin"). Once you know that, you can always head back to it for answers. ("So, what was adolescence for this character like? Well, I know that she ends up the Hipster Paladin, so what would drive her there? I know, she was a really awkward teen, leading her to...").
At what point does additional information become irrelevant?
Here's where I somewhat split ways with some of the others. You're not writing a book, you're writing a backstory for a character in an RPG. If you want to also write a book, go do that too. In fact, even if you were writing a book, there's a lot of detail that just isn't necessary.
Furthermore, a highly detailed character backstory can turn into a liability. You're not allowing breathing room, not allowing you to discover things about the character in the process of playing the character.
Some of the best backstories I've seen have been single, well-written scenes out of a character's life, that, even if they didn't actually explain everything, explained enough of the important things. Go deep; don't necessarily go wide.
Should a character's personality be fundamentally constructed in relation to his/her backstory?
Not really. The backstory is sort of the process of construction. I mean, it's a bit of a tricky question to answer, because it's more of a chicken-and-egg sort of thing, and also one where personal preference matters.
Any advice to player's that have trouble writing one?
TVtropes. TVtropes is a godsend.
If you're stuck for an idea, look at some of the character tropes. Hit random. Pick a show or book that you like, and check out some of the ones that are included. One of the best character histories in recent memory that I was handed started where the player knew what role he wanted to play on the ship (pilot) and what trope he wanted to invoke (heel face turn). It's an unofficial rule for my games that characters should be able to tell me who they are in Five Man Band.
Also, to be a bit blunt, don't be afraid to be crappy. So you're stuck at paragraph three and realize that it's cliche-ridden and kinda dull. You're not writing Hamlet. Just get it out, so that you then have something to look at and reference to in terms of playing the game.
So you're stuck at paragraph three and realize that it's cliche-ridden and kinda dull.
When I need something quick, I often think of the most clichéd background I can, and then try to think of some way to turn it on its ear.
"I am Montoya Ignio. You killed my father. Can I be your apprentice?"
"My entire village was saved from a flood by a tribe of friendly orcs."
"I'm a dwarf. I shave and I don't drink."
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I've used most of the above as inspiration: Twisted Cliche's, TV characters, got real tired of the tragic beginning story. Now I just pull the characters personality and bkgrd from my experiences with my military peers, then shift them into a fantasy setting, adjust as necessary.
We are always going somewhere, doing something "adventurous" (relative to civilian population), dissimiliar persons with no real reason to associate (ie meet in a tavern) except a common mission.
Background is rarely tragic, motivation for joining sometimes financial, sometimes noble, curiousity, wanderlust, a stepping stone for something bigger or get the hell out of Dodge.
And those guys are always talking about what they're gonna do when circumstances are just right...
Class and Skills just fall into place after that.