Digging Into Character Backstories for Fun and Pathos

Some players come into any RPG they play with a 4-page character origin and personal history that drives them to adventure — others can barely pick a name. What do you do with player character backgrounds like these? Would you rather have the deep story, and the story baggage that comes with it, or the blank campaign canvas? Do PC backstories ever lead to unfair play, special treatment or other problems in the TTRPGs you play?In this week’s episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave dig into what they want and don’t want from character backstories, and how they use them in their games. Along the way, the guys talk about where their backstory boundaries are and a few times when background plans went way wrong.3:00 Who writes the PC backstory: DM or Player?8:00 The risks of embracing backstories15:00 Background bias: Do you find PCs with more better backstories overshadow other players?19:00 Using backstories to keep players invested24:00 What do you want out of a PC backstory for your game?29:00 How we make sure background details don’t become a problem34:00 Some good ways to handle background contacts in the game39:00 What’s off-limits in character backgrounds?41:00 Do you give mechanical, in-game benefits based on backstories?48:00 Secret history: Is it a good idea for the DM to “reveal” secret details the player doesn’t know about their character?57:00 How secret do you keep player backgrounds and side-play?60:00 What we want from a boss fight, and breaking down a good one: COS Baba Lysaga66:00 Group backstories: What about having the whole party come in with a combined history?72:00 When not using a PC’s backstory goes wrong75:00 Final thoughts