How much back story do you allow/expect at the start of the game?

[The Crimson Binome]

The preferred limits of a backstory depend on the game at hand. If there's going to be a lot of violence in the game, then I recommend a player to not get too invested in figuring out a backstory, or else it may be discouraging when they die to some goofball crit.

 

[fjw70]

I expect to see zero backstory. I expect the stories to be made at the table.

I am fine with a page or two at most. If it's more than that I am not reading it.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

None-- in media res, baby!

Oh, you meant PCs? A 400-page novel gets you a place at the table.

Actually, in all seriousness, I require nothing. I usually encouraged players to provide some backstory by offering 100 bonus XP for it (or 1 hero point), up to 500 words. Carrots, not sticks.

 

[Blue]

I expect to see zero backstory. I expect the stories to be made at the table.

I am fine with a page or two at most. If it's more than that I am not reading it.

If the player cares that much about their character, and gives you all of these hooks to use, why wouldn't you read it. A few pages of reading and jotting down some things to hook them in at a later point is less work then preparing for a single session but can pay dividends for the entire campaign.

 

[pemerton]

Generally, I need enough backstory to know what to do as a GM.

Some systems deliver backstory by way of PC-gen (eg Classic Traveller, Burning Wheel). Others require layering it over the suggestions that might be implicit in mechanical elements of the PC (eg 4e D&D, Cortex Heroic Fantasy Hack).

 

[Herosmith14]

I like this approach as well. I find a session 0 often gets players pumped for the following week. Also, taking some time with character creation to establish ties and hooks just makes the game better.

On the other hand, sometimes players with a sketchy or no background develop into the deepest characters, and others who arrive with a novella don't actually play to what was written. One of the longest and best campaigns we had was thrown together quickly. We were just going to use the characters for quickie, more shallow adventures as a break from our more "serious" group. They took over....The campaign was long, detailed, not at all shallow. We were planning on using published modules and adventures from Dragon magazine. I think we used two. The characters clicked, stories took off. It's still remembered fondly, and that was about 14 years ago.

That's what I love about this hobby. You never know how things will unfold.

I agree with the statement that sketchy back stories can make the most narratively pleasing characters. Heck, Vargach, my lizardfolk barbarian, started with a back story that was literally "He was the champion of his tribe, and one day he woke up and they were all gone." As I played (and am still playing) this backstory developed to flesh out his inner personality and turmoil. He started out a very hollow, 2D character, but know, he's still hollow, but he's hollow from loneliness, and he's internally obsessing over what could have happened to his tribe, the people who were the closest to helping the lizardfolk feel the emotion of love, feel like he was apart of a family.

Basically, let them write what they want and how much they want. If it's shallow , but the player thinks on it over time, than you might have a fully 3D, fleshed out, and broken character that makes the campaign worth playing for them.


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

 

[fjw70]

If the player cares that much about their character, and gives you all of these hooks to use, why wouldn't you read it. A few pages of reading and jotting down some things to hook them in at a later point is less work then preparing for a single session but can pay dividends for the entire campaign.

A few pages is fine. The page or two was a slight exaggeration (slight). But 10 or 20 pages is excessive IMO and that I won't read.

 

[PrometheanVigil]

My answer used to be - as much as the player is willing to write, but that's changed.

Now I ask for no more than a short paragraph.

Thoughts?

Sent from my SM-G930V using EN World mobile app

A paragraph. This ain't a novel and I'm not your editor. I learned that lesson early on (but have broken it on occasion for my closest players because I'm not completely cold -- I hope...).

The amount of horrible fan-fictiony short stories I've seen in my time GM'ing... Vampire's the worst for this, that's 100% real-talk right there, we will rip people for it at the club. I don't want to read, I want to see what we play out become the backstory itself!

 

[Blue]

A few pages is fine. The page or two was a slight exaggeration (slight). But 10 or 20 pages is excessive IMO and that I won't read.

Question still stands from the post you quoted: If the player cares that much about their character, and gives you all of these hooks to use, why wouldn't you read it?

 

[fjw70]

Question still stands from the post you quoted: If the player cares that much about their character, and gives you all of these hooks to use, why wouldn't you read it?

Because I am not that interested in their amateur fiction.