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<blockquote data-quote="NewJeffCT" data-source="post: 5413789" data-attributes="member: 10784">I prefer a backstory be limited - a few paragraphs to a page, at most.I think if a player goes into too much detail and creates a too extensive backstory, you run the risk of several things:1) The player feels disappointed if you &quot;hit&quot; on 80% of his backstory during the campaign, but not all 100%.2) The DM feels obligated to include every bit of the lengthy background into the campaign, possibly making it seem the campaign is focused on that PC and not the players who wrote up more limited backgrounds.3) And, the one I've seen the most over the years, the background has so much going on that it's more appropriate to being the memoirs of Gandalf (if a wizard type) or Conan (if a fighter type) than the backstory for a first level character with zero experience points.Sure, the DM can put the kibosh on the extensive backstory, but then you also run the risk of disappointing the player who just wrote up War &amp; Peace for their backstory.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="NewJeffCT, post: 5413789, member: 10784"] I prefer a backstory be limited - a few paragraphs to a page, at most. I think if a player goes into too much detail and creates a too extensive backstory, you run the risk of several things: 1) The player feels disappointed if you "hit" on 80% of his backstory during the campaign, but not all 100%. 2) The DM feels obligated to include every bit of the lengthy background into the campaign, possibly making it seem the campaign is focused on that PC and not the players who wrote up more limited backgrounds. 3) And, the one I've seen the most over the years, the background has so much going on that it's more appropriate to being the memoirs of Gandalf (if a wizard type) or Conan (if a fighter type) than the backstory for a first level character with zero experience points. Sure, the DM can put the kibosh on the extensive backstory, but then you also run the risk of disappointing the player who just wrote up War & Peace for their backstory. [/QUOTE]

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