If you’re reading this, it is most likely because you are making your first character, and you’re struggling with making a backstory. While it appears to be a daunting and scary task at first, don’t worry! Here’s a few things that you should know about to help make a more compelling backstory.
1. First things, first: what is a backstory?
A backstory, at it’s core, is what separates characters from just mere stats on a piece of paper. It helps showcase a character’s past, present, and potentially their future. Making a good backstory should also help you with figuring out how your characters acts towards the world around them. For example, a character that comes from a loving family might be more optimistic, while the orphaned character would act more gloomy.
2. Don’t make it too big or significant. Instead, make it short and to the point.
As tempting as it is to make a few pages worth of a backstory, complete with an entire kingdom, a pantheon of gods, and an entire hierarchy, that amount of detail is usually up to the DM to make for you. It’s also worth mentioning that depending on what level you are starting out at, your beginnings as a character should not be that significant.
For example, you shouldn’t make a backstory about how your character is a destined hero of a prophecy who will save the world, or that they’re heir to a throne of a far away kingdom, when they’re only starting at level 1.
Instead, make it a shorter backstory, around 2-3 paragraphs, with a backstory that focuses on how it made your character into who they are in the present, complete with their own goals.
3. Make sure to add conflict to the backstory
What is a good story without conflict? One of the things that make characters so compelling are the conflicts, both internal and external, that come from their backstories. Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker are iconic examples of characters with conflicts.
When making your character, it is generally a good idea to have at least one conflict with an NPC. This could be a multitude of things, ranging from a rival who trained alongside a character, to the mad scientist who experimented on them. When making the character, consider questions such as:
1. What is keeping them from attaining their goal?
2. How will they attain it?
4. Make sure it’s connected with the world and the people around you
The hardest thing to justify in a campaign is why a party is staying together in the first place, especially if they are always arguing amongst each other.
Thus, making a backstory that actually has connections with at least one of the party members has multiple benefits. One, it helps add a bit of comradery between the players and their characters, which helps give a good reason as to why the party is staying together. Secondly, it helps the DM with worldbuilding, as they don’t have to come up with a reason themselves.
For example, let’s say that Player A’s character is a Hill Dwarf Ranger, who has dedicated his life to hunting those who threaten nature. Perhaps Player B’s Human Sorcerer, who has uncontrollable and unnatural magic, was the Ranger’s mortal enemy, but the two are now forced to work together to defeat a common foe. Examples like this can improve your backstory from a simple one to an amazing one.
5. Talk to your DM
Arguably the most important aspect of making a backstory is talking to your DM about it. Work together to talk about the tips mentioned above to help make your character and to ensure that they would fit right in with the world that the DM is creating.
Communication between a player and a dm is not only important for backstories but also in roleplaying, combat, all that good stuff. Which we will discuss more of next week.