Backstory

Nathal · Dec 27, 2003

General question:

How important is "backstory" to your D&D campaign? Do you closely integrate NPC goals and motivations with current or past events, political, religious or otherwise? To what extent do you allow backstory to determine the mood, spirit or overall theme of the game? By backstory I mean events which were not precipitated by PC action, nor narratives born of adventures wherein the PCs were involved.

In many published campaign worlds backstory seems very important, especially in Dragonlance, or Forgotten realms where there are a ton of books depicting events of great importance (War of the Lance, Time of Troubles, etc.) But how many DMs, I wonder, ignore such time-lines and background events when constructing new adventures?

To rephrase the question: Does campaign background material provide more general "flavor" or does it prove a more solid foundation on which to build adventure material? If it "depends", then what are the factors involved?

It's an interesting question, isn't it?

Nightfall · Dec 27, 2003

Dude, trust me, with out a backstory to my SL games, it's not happening. Same with just about any other game I run. As they say "Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat."

Crothian · Dec 28, 2003

I love character backsotries and as a DM I make a pointy of using them if the player wants. Some players don't lioke to create an elobate backstory, others do. So, I leave it up to them to decide how important it turns out to be. Even if they have plots from their background they can choose to pursue them or not.

shilsen · Dec 28, 2003

Crothian said:
I love character backsotries and as a DM I make a pointy of using them if the player wants. Some players don't lioke to create an elobate backstory, others do. So, I leave it up to them to decide how important it turns out to be. Even if they have plots from their background they can choose to pursue them or not.

I think Nathal is referring to campaign backstory rather than PC backstory.

That being said, I'm with you on the character backstories. My players have been told that the more background they can give me, the more likely the plot(s) of the campaign is (are) to revolve around such a character (or characters).

The same holds true for campaign backstories. I usually work with the players on their character backgrounds. So if one player wants a PC who was forced to leave his home for some reason and has lost contact with his family, I will discuss with him how we can link that to the wars that recently occurred in that area. As a result, the PC backgrounds mesh with the campaign history and their current actions and motivations are often directly derived from such history.

The degree to which the above is true depends on the player. If someone is involved enough to create a two-page background for the character and fill out the questionnaire I like players to do for their PCs, it is very likely that the character's background (and both present and future) is deeply interconnected with the campaign history. If the player just wants to play a "wandering druid" without much of a background, such interconnection is not likely.

Crothian · Dec 28, 2003

Campaign backstory is unique for each player. No two characters have the same info starting out. It's again up to them if they want to use this info or how in dpeth it becomes.

Gothmog · Dec 28, 2003

I think backstory is very important for a campaign, it puts it in context and gives some relevance to world events. However, I am much more likely to create backstory that is more historically oriented than "metaplots". Metaplots drive me absolutely nuts in published campaign settings, because players who know anything about the setting WILL complain if you deviate one iota from it. Its one of the main reasons I don't use published settings, other than those without a constantly evolving metaplot (Midnight or Arcanis for example).

For characters, backstory is a must. Characters do not exist in a vacuum in any world, and hence I require a fairly detailed backstory for all PCs in my game. Without sufficient backstory and character motivations, it becomes little more than dungeon crawling and unrelated adventures. I'll try to work in character plot hooks and personal motivators into adventures, but not to the degree where each adventure is ABOUT one character (again, a really bad idea).

megamania · Dec 28, 2003

Backstories are incredibly important. They give direction and/or contrast to your campaign world. That then makes it more real and believable. In some games, the history of the world is a driving focus. Darksun (my main campaign world) would not exist without the arrival of Rajaat and his Champions. Everything is is as it is because of these 25 or so characters.

I encourage PC backgrounds also to make them more a part of the world. If and whenever I can, I try to incorparate that into the story somehow. This leads to excellent role playing oppertunities for everyone involved.

Back stories are a must.

Nathal · Dec 28, 2003

Character backstory vs. NPC backstory

Is integrating PC backstory into the adventure as important, if not more so, than doing so for the NPCs? I agree using PC history can help when attempting to draw the adventuring party into the plot. Of course the GM needs to avoid obvious contrivance. If every adventure incorporated goals and motivations for *all* the PCs, above and beyond those most typical to adventuring, I fear the game would feel more like an episodic soap-opera. So, although I do consider individual PC goals, I find it more useful to tie NPC motivations directly into the background events (present and past), create a simple web of NPC interrelationships, then provide a story hook that makes the PCs the main obstacle to one or more of those NPCs' goals.

I agree on the point made about meta-plots. I think it would be tough to GM a game, for example, in the 3rd Age of Middle Earth, when everybody knows the most important events are not those of the PCs...unless they wish to play Frodo, Gandalf, etc. I avoid meta-plots by anticipating the goals and motivations of the NPCs without predetermining the outcome of conflicts between them, all the while assuming their chief opposition will inevitably be the PCs themselves...provided the players take the story hook(s) which would lead them into the thick of those relationships.

So I use PC motivations more sparingly, working such goals into the story perhaps as a sub-plot, never making something that one character cares about a principle goal of the adventure. Other levels of PC motivation I simply assume for all, such as a willingness for adventure, desire for treasure, repute, and so on.

Perhaps backstory is the wrong word for what I'm talking about, since I mean to encompass both history and current events. The history and current events are designed in my games to generate NPC goals which will serve as direct opposition to PCs own goals...those typically being seeking treasure, power, and repute.

Thoughts?

ThirdWizard · Dec 28, 2003

I use backstory constantly. What the PCs do will often mesh with something they don't even know about, snowballing into something that either comes back to bite them or brings up new possibilities and options for them.

For example, their recent escepades against what is basically an organized crime leader has made one of his lackies who was already questioning the leader's abilities to decide to turn on him and try to take over. Now, when the leader is going to go after the PCs for their deeds, they might be able to conivnce him that they can help and get an ally in the process of saving their own lives. If I hadn't had the NPCs motivations and relationships planned out, that might have never happened.

Nightfall · Dec 28, 2003

It depends on the metaplot and how well know the setting is know. For me, other than a few adherants, I pretty much run the Scarred Lands as I see fit.