🦉Don't write backstories longer than two paragraphs

Welcome back, adventurer!

We just got back from our well deserved vacation and we’re full of energy.

This week I want to start off slowly after the summer break, I’m still recovering from petting so many kittens and from the 40º C we experienced in Zamora.

So today I want to talk to you about creating backstories for your character and share my approach (and Saúl's).

Trips with heated debates

Saul and I have a very special tradition every time we travel by car: he gives me a video game pin, and in return I give him one about TTRPGs.

It’s part of the deal in our relationship, and we both know the score.

Well, this time we talked about how sometimes creating a character’s backstory that’s too complicated can kill the character before the adventure even begins.

If you’re a DM, I’m sure this has happened to you: a player shows up who’s written you a two-page story detailing everything down to when the first beard hair grew on their paladin of redemption.

That character has already lived through his adventure and has a lot of details to stick to when it comes to roleplaying.

And the player doesn’t even know if he’s going to like playing the character.

From my point of view, backstories (I’m talking about low level characters) should answer two questions:

Why is your character special? And not just “Peter the baker.” Or why is “Peter the baker” suddenly a wizard, for that matter.

Why would they embark on an adventure? When you sleep so well at home.

I’ll share a few tricks I use.

Less is more

Backstories provide a starting point for the player and the DM to create a story together.

In other words, you have to agree on it.

Personally, I like to refine the backstory as the game progresses, so it’s much more useful to me if the initial premise isn’t too specific.

You’ll have to give me a very good reason why your backstory has a second paragraph.

Let me give you an example.

Saul is playing a bard who is an exceptional musician who used to travel the world with his beloved, carrying stories and legends from one place to another. One day she disappeared, and he tracked her down to Barovia, where he was trapped for years without any further answers.

During the sessions, Saúl and I refine the character as he discovers what kind of bard he wants to be: what his beloved was like, how being in Barovia has affected him, who he’s met along the way, what he’s afraid of…

All these details are easier to define when you have other players and the DM bringing the world around you to life, because as a player, it’ll be much more intuitive for you to know what you want.

And indeed, Saúl’s initial idea hasn’t lined up with what he enjoys role-playing the most.

One dynamic I love is the flashback session.

Through some vampire magic, each character ended up seeing their greatest desire materialize as an illusion. Saúl saw his beloved, and they had a conversation in a place that he could define and describe together with me.

This forced the players to reflect on their motivations and desires, and we were able to see those backstories acted out rather than just reading them on paper.

But ultimately, they became a more tangible element.

Foreplay is important

I have my own take on “session 0.”

Usually, people meet up, talk about the kind of game they want to play, create their characters accordingly, and so on…

I do that on WhatsApp.

For me, what’s really useful is getting the players to actually play and see if they’re comfortable with their creations.

For a couple of sessions, the players have complete freedom to change details of their build, their backstory, and whatever else they want.

It still stings to remember when I created a ranger with all the enthusiasm in the world, only to find that her personality didn’t quite fit the dynamics or tone of the game.

I ended up switching characters.

Or that time I created a bard specializing in humanoids in a game where we didn’t encounter a single one.

Luckily, my Dungeon Master let me change my school, and that character ended up being my favorite (and, without meaning to, the most overpowered).

I think it's essential to have sessions that let you experience what it's like to play and portray a character in a more controlled environment, to ensure you'll have fun during future sessions.

And these are my hot takes on backstories, but obviously they don’t have to be the only ones or apply to everyone.

Every player has their own tricks.

What about you,

See you next week,

Successful quests and better rolls,

🦉Irene the Wizard

🦃Saul the Bard