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He was married to a real honest-to-gods hero and he faithfully followed her in her adventures, backing her up with his feeble magic, until that fateful day when his cowardice cost her life
She came back as a battle angel though and when he expected her to kill him, she forgave him and told him about this great mission he now had to fullfill in her place
But not alone. Never alone anymore
I second this background.
That's pretty good!
Another option, was beat up as a kid until something happened and their Eidolon revealed themselves as their protector, but sometimes seems to go too far.
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Sometimes you can answer seemingly inconsequential questions (how old? what part of the world is he from? what's his daily diet like? what kind of live did he envision and what kind of life did he get? where does he live? what does he value in other people? does he have friends or just acquaintances? what kind of music does he listen to? does he hold down a steady job? etc.) and flesh out a character from that. A backstory is nice and helpful, but try to view a backstory in terms of what it means for the character's current motivations and personality.
Some things I think of...
Is the summoner a young man? If so, he may not trust his magic because he doesn't understand it. It is an unknown and frightening.
Is he an older man? If so, he may not trust his magic because he does understand it and is very well aware of how much danger it can get him and others into.
Is his Eidolon a servant whom he cajoles or begs to defend him? Is his Eidolon a guardian who imposes its guardianship upon him? Or is their relationship more complicated, one of companionship? Or driven by a mutual desire to understand something about one another, or about the worlds the other inhabits?
Cowardice is a dangerous trait. There's being afraid of things, which is reasonable. There's being a survivor and using rational fear to keep you alive from day to day. But cowardice is a title that is earned, often by a repeated deficit of courage in the face of adversity, or in rare cases one very public incident that lets a lot of people down. Were you too strong in referring to the character as a coward, or is he publically known as one when he failed in one moment of greatness? Or is he genuinely a coward who has no qualms with using others to spare him from conflict?
In my opinion, the most important elements of a backstory aren't what happened in the character's history or anything like that (not saying it isn't good to have this stuff, but it isn't really important.)
The most critical questions a backstory needs to answer are:
Why is this character going to be interested in participating in this campaign?
Why would he want to join with the other characters (and conversely, why would they want to join with him)? (If your character doesn't know the other characters, it would be why he would want to join with characters like the ones the PCs will be making).
The story that matters is the one that happens during the game, not before hand, and backstory should just be enough to get you there.
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That is quite a good backstory! Hmm, not sure what the great mission would be.. I'd have to ask my GM for ideas with that that might fit in the campaign..
Thanks for the idea!^^
He doesn't need to actually know what it is, just that there is one
Often you'll find in fantasy someone knows they are destined to do something. But they won't know what it is.
Boy who grew up in a non-magical environment (like a small village or town), then one day, Booom! He learns he has an affinity to magic, but due to aa lack of experience and teacher, he's had to be self-taught through books and reading. This led to many experiments of testing magical prowess, but due to his high rate of failure, has left him weary of his skills (accidently lit something on fire or something like that; any accident that causes him to fear his magic). The one thing he has been good at though is summoning his childhood friend that was once imaginary, but now is real (his Eidolon). She comforts him through his slow growth till one day he decides to move out there in the world to master his magical powers with his best friend with him.
Pretty cliche, but what fantasy story isn't? If ya want, his parents are both alive and supportive of him going off adventuring.
Anywho, just a food fer thought to get yer creative juices goin'.
The cowardice could be like the young man in "Red Badge of Courage". It would also explain his timidity at using magic. If his summoning is new also the poor kid is going through sensory overload.