Allow me to introduce why I am asking this:
I recently joined a group of people who are round robin GMing Kingmaker on Roll20 (I know, I should just quit and never look back), and after having watched the other two GMs run a game, I found myself so utterly bored with how slow their sessions were that I started watching videos on youtube during the game. I stepped up to the plate and told the current game owner that if he builds all of the stuff in game to the point that I only have to show up and run it, that I would GM the game for him.
Now, not a week later people are wanting to send me their backstories.
I am of two schools of thought when it comes to player backstories:
First, if the content is pregenerated: an AP, module or scenario, the backgrounds exist purely for the players roleplay moving forward in the content.
Second, if the content is being homebrewed: the other players or me are actively generating content, the backstories are extremely important as it gives content creators the ability to custom tailor the content to the players.
The game creator evidently sold these players on the idea that the GM, whoever it would be, would seamlessly integrate player backstories into Kingmaker. Of course, they then spent the next 8 to 9 months, depending on who I ask, waiting for a GM before they decided to round robin it.
I have already told these guys how utterly unrealistic it is for them to expect a GM to effectively rewrite the entire AP to slip in their backstories (one of which consistently demands I make checks for people in his backstory to show up, which tells me that he evidently has a god angry at him or some other absurdity that no level 1 adventurer would possibly survive). One of the entire reasons I have time to GM this game is because the game's owner is creating all of the content with my just running it.
So, how do you guys treat backstories as a GM and as a Player? I'll make it easy and define
GM: Pregenerated and Homebrew, and
Player: Pregenerated and Homebrew.
As posted above,
GM Pregenerated:
Backstories don't matter. They exist purely to help the players roleplay and give their characters motivation.
GM Homebrew:
Backstories matter. I typically mine player backstories, mix them together and create splinter groups that all want to interact with the players in some way, shape or form. Typically by wanting to kill them, but hey, some people would love to be friends with them (before twisting the knife).
Player Pregenerated:
I create backstories that exist purely to tell me about the character and his motivations. These motivations fall in line with the AP's built in character motivation or are so general that they'd fit in with pretty much any game (I made a crafter once who basically profited off the other "actual" adventurers, so he acted as their wizard while crapping himself in combat).
Player Homebrew:
I create backstories that set up organizations, both allied and against the player, with information about them. I set up these organizations with detailed information in terms of classes, names and ranks. I pretty much do everything I can to detail what can be mined by the GM complete with guild symbols and detailed rivals who would absolutely love to kill the character and his friend. Same thing goes for the allied guilds with members who would likely help the character and its friends. Finally, the character has an overarching motivation that drives the character forward. Basically, everything the GM could need.
So, what about you? Do you have the time required to rebuild content to suit your players or do you play pregenerated content with the least amount of customization possible? Sound off GMs and players!
I wouldn't say backstories don't matter in a pre-generated campaign. They should definitely have context TO the campaign, though; having a character whose backstory demands new random people might suddenly show up is definitely not a good example of an AP-appropriate backstory. I'm currently playing through Kingmaker myself, and I have a pretty detailed/specific backstory, but it's in context to the campaign. This backstory has affected my interactions with NPC's that otherwise would have been standard social encounters. Granted, Kingmaker is one of the most detailed, contingent-based AP's Paizo has ever created, and gives much more flexibility to unique backstories.
But, I'd think at the very least, a GM should be able to tweak a PC's experience with almost any AP just based on if they're from the starting town or not. This changes NPC's attitudes toward them for better or worse. Many times, yes, the PC's murdered father isn't going to be relevant in an AP, but the fact that he's of noble birth might hold some influence over say the Mayor.
As far as homebrew games, I'm personally not a fan of a player handing me a stack of papers and saying "this is my character's backstory, his friends, his enemies, his affiliates, a couple guilds I invented, ect..." It feels like I'm being strong-armed into using all of it, when I hadn't planned to use any of it. If the player instead wrote me up a page or two with his character's backstory, some friends and enemies, an organization, and how they all connect, that's something I can work into the world I'M building, instead of me rewriting entire parts of the map and plot to fit in the world that HE made. Of course, if he approached me with those couple sheets of paper and asked how in depth could he go with it, I'd happily share some extra info about my world that could synergize with what he's going for, and probably tweak a detail or two from his original idea, so when he does write up the info for that guild, it will all fit. As far as class levels, those are hands-off. I will write them up, not him. I guess my conclusion here is for homebrew campaigns, you can be exactly as detailed and creative as the GM lets you, and as a GM, I encourage creative backstories, but usually ask to keep them at rough-draft level, so I can tweak them as I need to.
As an FYI, I've only ever played one AP, and it started to get boring after a few sessions in.
That being said, on either side of the screen, I think of the character's backstory as a blueprint for the character. It provides a framework for how the player will RP the character, and various hooks the GM can use to get the character involved.
I like to think of it as sort of a contract between the player and the GM.
In my personal campaigns, backstories are important for establishing the motivations of the Pcs, and elements I can use to target, or empower them, to make the experience more tailored.
In a published adventure path, I try to do the same thing, but I also cite the player guide that comes out with each path, to try and inspire them into using the elements in that game.
In an example with Kingmaker, if a dwarven ranger wanted to hate giants, I'd probably suggest Fey as an alternative to hate, as they are more common. Together we'd work on a means for it to be a part of his story.
Furthermore, I enjoy adding in some Npcs I create here and there, and these characters can serve as a bridge between the Adventure's Needs, and the Player's Needs.
For Hell's Rebels, I have a PC who wants to be a Monk from the Dragon Empires (I think that's the region name...), while having a reason to be in Kintargo, so I suggested he have been sent here to contact a certain group dedicated to Irori, and that his character comes from one of the Tian regions that is enslaved by Oni. This way he has parallels to his home here, and a reason for arriving. In the future, I'll probably replace a devil of low importance with an Oni he remembers from home.
I say whenever possible, work to use their backgrounds; afterall, for a player like me, the story is most important, and my contribution to it means a lot to me. When I'm Gming, I imagine my players feel the same way.
I have already told these guys how utterly unrealistic it is for them to expect a GM to effectively rewrite the entire AP to slip in their backstories (one of which consistently demands I make checks for people in his backstory to show up, which tells me that he evidently has a god angry at him or some other absurdity that no level 1 adventurer would possibly survive). One of the entire reasons I have time to GM this game is because the game's owner is creating all of the content with my just running it.
It may not be that hard to make existing content fit in with backstories. Obviously, if you have limited time, it's going to be difficult. But you can often just change a few of the names and details in the adventure. There are lots of human NPCs in Kingmaker - could you just change the names of the most similar characters who are in the adventure to the names of the people from the backstories? The guy who is trying to sabotage their town could be doing it for reasons of personal vengeance rather than what it says in the book. Maybe one of their old enemies has become a werewolf, or is telling the local rival baron lies about how you plan to conquer his territory.
And if a god is angry at them? Well, an angry god probably isn't just going to drop a mountain on your head. That might antagonise the other gods. So instead, the angry god can be the cause of any implausible bad thing that happens to the party. So if you want your party to be ambushed in order to make a combat more interesting, but the party is scouting too well to make that happen, then the angry god appears to the scouts in a vision, and distracts them enough to let the monster sneak up on them. Similarly, an angry god could explain sudden hostile weather conditions, or enemies who know more about you than you know about them, or could be the cause of the AP boss villain picking on you.
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I prefer running sandbox-style games, so for me Character backstory is something to use to generate more plot, but with a canned adventure it's a different story. (literally)
Backstory is best used to generate Allies, Enemies, and Complications. With a canned adventure you have all of that baked in already, so the PCs backstories tend to become superfluous. But you can use them:
- Allies: If your PCs seem stuck or off-track for any reason with a canned adventure, then a Backstory ally can help push them in the right direction.
- Enemies: If your PCs are having too easy a time of it, a backstory enemy can show up to aid the official bad guys of the plot. Also Backstory enemies can be "gag enemies, just a humorous aside to the main plot.
- Complications: If the PCs are bored with or not engaged with the canned plot, a backstory related complication can draw them in.
For better integration, you can ask the players if they'd be willing to change some elements of their backstory to fit with the canned plot better - maybe replace a an ally or enemy of theirs with one from the campaign. This works both ways, too: you can always re-skin one of the allies or enemies from the campaign to match a PC's backstory.
I have a lot more experience with this on the player side than the GM side, but I think a detailed backstory can be one of the most valuable things in a game. My current character Adah is probably the best example I have of this. When I created her, I decided that she was the youngest child in a large family and had complicated relationships with several of her siblings. This explained why she had initially learned to fight and why she tended to feel like she was useless or unimportant, as well as why she had struck out on her own at the start of the campaign. The GM totally ran with this - two of her brothers have ended up as important villains, and the sister she's closest to has become a recurring NPC. I think developing her family and her feelings towards them was what really helped me elevate Adah from my initial concept of "lovesick fighter" to a character with interesting perspectives and reactions to the events of the campaign.
On the GM side of things, the only time I've really utilized player backstory was in a game set in the Dragon Age universe. The main villain of the second phase of the campaign was an escapee from the Circle of Magi, while one of our PCs was from the same Circle. I left it up to her to decide how she knew the villain and what their interactions had been like, and let that influence his encounters with the party. It was pretty interesting for the short time it lasted before I moved away :)
agreed with whats been stated here, to a point. (Making a god mad is no small feat and would be highly difficult for a level 1 to do unless ita not him but the parents that made him mad.) If you can I would remind the players to keep their background level 1 friendly and add amall bits of fluff like what November said. A small humble backround should be enough to tweek campaigns ever so slightly and may make the difference between hqving a good time for all and it being boring.
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In my personal campaigns, backstories are important for establishing the motivations of the Pcs.
I think this is my response, but since Issac wrote it, I need to expand.
In general, the actual world does not care about my background. If I decide to walk through a bad part of town tonight, muggers won't suddenly pop into existence (or not). Pregenerated content like APs to a large extent reflect this. Baba Yaga has been around for centuries, and her plans for Irrisen are what they are; the idea that a group of random first level characters might take up the challenge of dealing with her is outside of her scope of vision.
On the other hand, why MY particular first-level character should choose to take up the challenge is deeply important TO ME. If my character's primary motivation is to become the best cobbler in the village and to marry the daughter of the local priest, I might not volunteer to become a hero.
The GM isn't obliged to change the story to make sure I become a hero, but there's also nothing that prevents it. At some level, this becomes an issue of realism -- if it turns out that I'm the predestined long lost heir to the throne of Irrisen, it ceases to be an adventure novel and starts to turn into a fairy tale. Is that the story the GM wants to tell? Is that the story I want to be a part of?
There was the time Grom got intoxicated enough that he slept with the town hag - the half ogre inn keeper. Unfortunately Grom was soo charismatic and dashing, that the ogre decided to keep him forever as a sex slave.
Artanis and Clarabel concerned when Grom failed to join the party the next morning, decided to confront the inn keeper. A natural 1 on slight of hand, 1 on bluff AND a failed diplomacy by Artanis, the Ogre became infuriated. Artanis was dropped on the first shot and Clarabel failing her concentration check took a crit to the face.
Hans who had been passed out from drinking all night decided to look his drinking buddy Grom. Flunking his sense motive, Hans was lured into the inn keeper's basement.
Seeing his friends tied up Hans flew into a drunken rage, throwing his wine bottle at the ogre's head scoring a natural crit blinding it for 2 rounds. Throwing the next nearby object (an oil lamp) Hans managed to set the ogre and the building on fire.
Running to the shackles of Grom, Hans broke the shackles with his bare fists. Grom and Hans low on time decided to fireman carry Artanis and Clarabel out of the burning inn despite them now all being on fire.
The most interesting story is not the story you create yourself but the crazy adventure you create with your party.
When it comes to homebrew, backstories are extremely important as it drives the game further and helps you write adventures. Its more of a collaborative story at this point. Having those recurring characters from the past are easy, along with the choices they've made before the campaign started.
With regards to APs I think the number one thing is that your character needs a reason to adventure. If that reason is in their backstory, thats great! If their backstory helps develop who they are over the course of a campaign (perhaps a reluctant hero), thats also fine! I think asking the GM to develop entire plots around you is a little selfish by default, though if they're willing to go that extra mile and the other players are fine with it, why not? It makes for some memorable encounters (we changed a certain character in CotCT to become a dirty, criminally funded boxer to match with one of the character's boxing origins and it played great) and it really helps the world feel alive at times, that your choices in the past mattered.
Personally though?
I generally leave my backstory semi vague, and develop it as we go. I have an idea of who they are and why they are and just leave the specifics to when we need it. We encounter a hag? It reminds me of the first time I used magic. We watch someone die to a disease? It haunts me because my lover died the same way.
I don't write pages and pages, I just have this idea of a character and how they would act.
My bastard noble-born ifrit? He grew up in a fallen efreeti house so he's devious, dangerous and has no reason to care for those who are under him; but he does so because its advantageous and the strong should herd the weak. Because he's of a fallen house, he has everything to prove and will do anything to show that a half born is as powerful as the full born. He has nothing left to lose and due to it will do anything to have that type influence on the world that he was accustomed to, even if it was a fraction. Yet he's a charmer and knows full well how politics are and has a deep rooted belief that vows should always be upheld to to an event in his past. Etc etc.
The character's motivations are for you, and to help you decide what you will do when you encounter a situation. Sometimes I explain them upfront to my party, sometimes I write session synopsis which help people read the internal monologue. For instance, I have a Harrower who draws a card at the end of the session and writes the synopsis based on it, her views of the card, what it means and why it makes sense to her.
When I run games I like backstories but they aren't required.
What I do require is Mouse Guard's Beliefs, Instinct, Goals and Traits at a minimum. I think that those 4 things are a great foundation to a character.
Examples
Belief: There is good in the hearts of every person, even if they don't see it them self.
Instinct: I always defend those who are powerless, even if its at risk to me.
Goals: To save at least one person today and spread my message of mercy.
Traits: Merciful, understanding, naive, overprotective.
I run a homebrew campaign with ah...custom generated characters. Over half my annoyingly large party are new at the game (I love them to death) and so I have to build and maintain half of their characters. Their backstories were left fairly open on purpose, to allow them to develop their characters. There are some general points that I've predetermined but the rest are up to them to figure out and expand upon as the RP proceeds.
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As a player, I always have a pretty detailed backstory thought out for my characters (it's often where the character idea comes from in the first place). I don't usually actually write any of it down except for a brief paragraph or so, but if the GM asks for details, I'm happy to share them. Before I roll up a character, I have personality, history, motivations, family...pretty much their life. I don't usually tell the rest of the players, only the GM, so they can find that stuff out in-game.
Now, I do this with the full knowledge that 98% of it isn't actually going to be relevant to the campaign, but it WILL be relevant to my character and how they react to things/people/etc. Most of the GMs I've played with solicit backstory info from players so they can work in short cameos, mini-quests (not more than a session), etc. The groups I play with are usually pretty role-play oriented, so that sort of thing is a lot of fun for us.
As a GM, I like getting backstory info from players so I can work in those little seeds myself, or even just know how a character is likely to react to a certain situation. In my experience, it makes the game richer if someone has an idea of who their character is and what they want besides the basics. I wouldn't rewrite a campaign or anything, but just slipping in some small details or cameos can be a lot of fun for people. (Caveat being that if you have one player who wants to dominate the spotlight, you'll have to make sure that everyone gets equal focus.)
Yeah, so they basically said, "You're not GMing for us."
So, I'm done with Roll20 forever. I deleted the accounts on there, did away with all of my assets on that site.
Ahh, the sweet smell of freedom.
I found a meetup group that plays Pathfinder/D&D 5E in a nearby town, I'll probably play there from now on.
I've only played, never GMed. That said, I like playing with backstories and fiddling with things. Often if I see an interesting arrangement of things in a game, I'll try to think up a plausible backstory for that arrangement. And I do like the idea of having a connection.
That said, I also try to make sure I won't be causing my GM any issues. In our run through Rise of the Runelords, I did ask him if any features of my character's past would get in the way of things. We didn't know it'd be Rise when we started (in fact, this is for most of us our first time through, including me). It's actually fun to use bits of that backstory as a reason for my barbarian to do some of the things she does. (And it explains her dumped Charisma too. And not in the physical sense, it's hard to justify horrid with 18 STR, 14 DEX, and 16 CON.)
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I'm not that much into backstories, personally, because I don't like giving the GM plot hooks to use against me(I've been burned too many times-like saying because my alignment is such, I can't do something that would contridict my alignment and railroading me into doing something I don't want to do). Possibly the GM may find a blank slate easier to work with in integrating into the campaign.
Also it could be the excuse for me to mix up random traits for max cheese, but again, I actually do check if my traits are consistent with the character I want to play...
I used to ask for backstories, but I don’t anymore. We dedicate our first session to game and character creation, deciding on the themes we want to explore as well as the setting, so all I ask is that they have a concept (or concepts) in mind. As we work through the session, I ask questions and use the answers. There’s a strong element of shared world building, which I picked up from running Fate Core and Dungeon World.
As a player, I don’t bother anymore. I’ve played with enough GMs who asked for them and then never used them to know it’s not worth my time. I might jot down a note or two about personality or motivations, especially if that is a systemic element, but that’s about it. Of course, if the GM is engaging the players, I’ll gladly contribute, but I’d still rather play to find out than spend a lot of time on something up front.
Player: I'm always worried I'll overstep my bounds and make stuff up that doesn't make sense in the setting.
GM: I absolutely detest the player that "make[s] stuff up that doesn't make sense in the setting" or adds stuff that should give a mechanical benefit ("im teh eir 2 þe thrown") if it were true, or the low-level character whose backstory puts mid/high-level characters' actual achievements to shame.
if i can't think of one or stitch one together from various fiction books i go here.
If you take a look at Burning Wheel, it's the single best explanation for how to make backstories that drive characters forward and propel the action.