It's All about the Backstory

My Inaugural Post!

In the thirty-six years I've been involved in D&D one of the things that I've probably done the most is back-story.  Be it for characters, items, places, nations, etc I've written reams of words on paper and in digital format as the times change to make things more engaging for my players and my DMs alike.  Today however I wish to focus on character backstory.

It is easy to answer the simple questions DMs most often pose 'Why are you here?' and 'Where did you come from?' but answers are not a story. They are the germs of a story.  I know most of us aren't writers and asking for an engaging story is a bit much but not every backstory has to be The Hobbit just as not every character is going to be a shining paragon of virtue.  At one time reporters were taught to focus on the five W's: Who, What, Where, When, and Why (Yes How is attached at the end of that but not important for us at this moment). That's the beginning of a good story.

Who, that's easy, your character.  What, that can mean what is he, what is he doing here, What are his goals, and the list goes on but the first question in our list is most probably the correct one  What is your character...
          'Johan Schmit is a Human Ranger.'  There in one simple sentence we've answered who and two whats.

Where, now that one is tricky if like me the DM prefers home-brewed settings so you may need to ask the DM some questions first like what areas in his world fit your view of your character.  Let's assume though it's a prebuilt world or one you are familiar with.  Where does he come from and where is he going?
            'Johan Schmit is a human Ranger. He is from a rural village and is heading to the free city.'

When isn't really something we as players need to worry about.  Your DM handles most of the Whens.  Let us move to 'Why'. This is the question your DM will or should ask most often and it is here that a story can be started.  Answering 'Why' is where you begin to add spice to your character changing him from every other of the same race-class combo into your character.

Why is Johan a ranger?  Why did he leave his home?  Why is he  headed for the free city? Why is he an adventurer and not some safe profession like a blacksmith?  The more whys you answer, the bigger your story grows and the more meat grows on those bones of 'who' and 'what'.  You want to give your DM something to get a hold of. Good, bad or embarrassing it is what allows the DM to add you to the world in a unique and interesting way.

While I do understand it goes against the grain of most players to actually give the DM some way of tormenting your character it can be fun too when the DM incorporates something you've had in your backstory.  Take Johan up there,   what if the reason he left home is because someone is hunting him?  He watched his family home go up in flames and he ran for it.  That puts a whole different twist to the character, looking over his shoulder, a dark need for vengeance, who can he trust?  all of these change Johan from a cookie cutter character into a true character with a backstory that is more than two sentences.

Now I would be remiss in not pointing out that in this digital age there are numerous sites and books that have tables galore to roll on and consult on backstories.  I like them and I don't like them at the same time.  They're great when you really are stuck or don't have the time but they can become a crutch too.  Use what you need but always make sure you are the one modifying things to fit your story and not the other way around.

One thing to remember, the DM has a plan already and may not be able to use your wonderful back story the way you'd like and that's okay.  Clever DMs will involve elements when they can.  The best thing to remember is  every backstory you write is one more step you make on the path to better stories.

A fellow DM once told me that we (as DMs) all create the adventures we ourselves would love to play. I think it is also true that we write the backstory that we as DMs would like to get. So players remember,  give your DM something to work with and DMs try to use what the players give you and everyone will have the game they all want.