Covering the basics: Creating a character backstory

Overview

Think of your favourite characters from either a book, movie or a tv show. Can you form a list of what actually makes them stand out from all the others? Not just what they look like or what their actions were in the story. Most likely, once you stripped those characters of their physical appearances and put aside the plot of what they achieved throughout you are still left with elements that actually made them become memorable. The time you had with that character was most likely a fragment of their entire life. Their actions, beliefs and behaviour was likely derived from something that made them that way.   It was their backstory.

A backstory as a structure

When creating your character https://groupfinder.eu/library/covering-the-basics-making-a-character, once you set aside the technical attributes and specifics, it is worth spending more time on figuring out who they are. While it might feel like a waste of time and effort to spend too much time on building their backstory, it is likely to help you out in the long run. Assuming your character will be yours for a longer period (not one that is built for a quick oneshot), understanding them will become invaluable. Not just for the Game Master to know where your character is from and how they ended up as an adventurer - but it will help you stay consistent throughout the campaign. Your character should stay consistent. This isn’t to say that they can’t evolve and grow throughout the adventure - they most definitely should be affected and moulded by their experiences throughout the story. But at their core, they should still be the same person from session to session. And this is why having a thorough backstory is important. Knowing how they would react in a situation should come from understanding why they would act that way. What experience in their previous life set them up to see the world in this way. It will also be a great framework for your Game Master to have and construct around. After all, they dont know your character. But having a reference document (a backstory) will be of great help.

Matching the theme

Before you start collecting various ideas and concepts for your character be sure to familiarize yourself with the game and it's world you are about to bring them into. Whether the story will focus heavily on the world and the politics or will there be enough "screentime" for the characters to develop their story. Hoping to fully go through your character's backstory in a game that will not give enough time for that will lead to disappointment and potentially disinterested players. All of that should be discussed during your session zero, where the theme and topics are set and agreed upon. The theme of your character should fit both with the world and potentially with other players. Of course the generic tabletop gaming table will include characters of different styles and themes. However, depending on the immersion balance and expectations, you might want to discuss this with other players, without delving too deep into specifics. Agreeing on following a similar theme or storyline will help your party feel more likeminded and in the same genre. 

Think big, write small

Before you end up with a document, that is stretched over tens of pages (Which most GMs will not bother to read and memorize) try and create a rough overview of their story so far. Limit yourself to a few paragraphs at the most. As an example, let’s create a character alongside this article. Meet Bork… the orc. To start off with, let’s focus on simply creating an outline of who they are. Bork’s life began in tragedy when a brutal bandit raid destroyed his birth-tribe's village. His parents either perished or were forced to flee in the chaos, leaving the infant behind to perish in the smoke. He was saved by a twist of fate when Ningo, an aging gnome hunter drawn by the smoke of the burning huts, discovered the crying orc baby in the ashes and chose to adopt him. Raised in Ningo’s secluded woodland home, Bork’s upbringing was completely upside down for an orc. Instead of being taught bloodlust and brute force, he was raised on gnomish values of curiosity, patience, and meticulous planning. Ningo taught him how to survive using stealth, tracking, and clever traps, resulting in a towering, muscular adult orc who could move with surprising grace and possessed a gentle, analytical mind. Once Bork reached adulthood, Ningo realized his adoptive son was shrinking himself down to fit into a gnome's world. Wanting Bork to forge his own identity rather than just mimic his upbringing, Ningo encouraged him to venture out into the world. Equipped with a heavy pack, a hunting bow, and a mind full of gnomish meals, Bork set off into the wider world to discover who he truly wanted to be. And thats it - this is Bork in a nutshell. But what we have established throughout this brief introduction are multiple key elements we can built upon. What was the tribe like, who were the bandits? Why did they raid the tribe? Who were his biological parents? What is Ningo’s story? What kind of values did he instill in Bork? And many others. But as a brief overview we have much to work with. From here you can fill in the blanks, separate it into various other subsections to dive deeper into. Find answers, more questions and potentially leave things vague. Many elements can be left vague so that your Game Master can pick elements to integrate into the campaign story.

Unique. In this version

To quote Mark Twain: "There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations." While you can try and work on an uniquely unique concept, it is unlikely that you will be negatively called out for "reskinning" an existing character from a popular franchise. But if your goal is to create an interesting character, borrowing from other creators and slightly modifying them is perfectly acceptable. Just be respectful about it and acknowledge that your character is either an intentional or unintentional between you and someone else. There is no shame in basing different bits of your character off something else.  

Knives and other “cutlery”

Knives

Years ago a reddit user jimbaby https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/ introduced a system called “Knife theory”. A simple system to build plot hooks into your character’s backstory. These “knives” are elements that resonate with your character - and your Game Master can use to “stab” your character with (metaphorically). There are various types of knives you can craft:   Relationships - Bork’s biological parents. Or his adoptive father, Ningo. Debts/Vows - Bork’s somewhat suppressed hatred towards the bandits and his desire to one day avenge his tribe. Unanswered questions - Who were his parents? Why did the bandits assault the tribe? What is the deal with Ningo? Internal conflict - Being part orc, part gnome, he might have found it difficult to fit in with his non-traditional life. A secret - Perhaps Bork has throughout the years ventured back to where he grew up and discovered something that he shouldn’t know. And many others in a similar style. While these knives aim in different directions and are rather vague, pick those that  resonate with you and dive deeper. You don’t have to cover all five themes - a few will suffice. But by creating those knives (and handing them to your Game Master), be aware that you are giving them permission to use those at any point in time. If you don’t want Ningo to be put into any danger - make that explicitly clear and keep any knives pointing away from them. Try and aim for three to five different knives. Some of them might require you to collaborate with your GM to make sure they can find a way to fit it into their story.

Spoons

In addition to sharp knives, you can create “spoons” - these are minor, everyday character flavor details that bring them to life (Their favourite tavern meal, their distinct posture, or how they sleep). These are not elements that are to replace knives - you can include them to bring more character and personality to your adventurer. These will help you flesh out your character in a more real sense. Connecting these spoons to their backstory, you can discover what makes them tick, what brings them joy and what hobbies or habits they might have. Even a powerful warlord can find enjoyment in knitting. And it makes them less two-dimensional, showing them as more "human".

Forks

The character's core motivations and prongs of desire. Goals and ambitions that they would like to strive towards throughout their story. These are more proactive elements that you as a player will gravitate towards throughout their journey. Forks should also be shared with your GM, as they could seed the story with situations and possibilities you would like to stick a fork in.

Expand and summarize

By now you will have a general overview of your character with various plot hooks and ambitions. While preparing those, you can expand your current overview with additional details to connect various bits and pieces. Adding additional characters your character may have had encounters or relationships with is a great way of introducing additional knives and expanding the character’s story.   When collecting your knives, you are bound to discover gaps or missing connections: Bork enjoys reading  - but it is likely that he has exhausted Ningo’s library many times over. This allows you to expand his backstory with a travelling librarian or a salesman who would bring him books to consume. Or a friend who shares a similar passion with whom he used to discuss various stories with. Throughout this process you may want to have a separate section for key takeaways. In addition to describing his book club friend and their encounters, create a short summary: Frank(27), a human farmer, also interested in books - friend, but hasn’t seen him in over two years. These quick summaries will help you to quickly recall various elements from Bork’s backstory. And your Game Master has a handy list to quickly reference, as they will most definitely not be able to remember your entire backstory at all times.

Done but never completed

Make sure to give your Game Master enough time to process your character’s backstory, ask for clarifications and potential changes. You want your character to be part of their world, not have it as a separate entity forced into their story. And feel free to continue expanding your backstory throughout the campaign. Not exactly changing anything overly important (unless the change is explicitly done with the permission of your GM), but instead expanding on elements that already exist in your story. The more different elements your backstory has, the more the other characters’ have to discover and find out about. Understanding and knowing your character will help you make decisions on the spot, that feel in-character for them. Ready to find a dnd group https://groupfinder.eu/lfg/dnd and start working on your character? Post your profile and put yourself out there.