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General Tabletop Discussion
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Character Backstory System That Works
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<blockquote data-quote="GilMan21" data-source="post: 7820014" data-attributes="member: 56330"><p><span style="font-size: 26px"><strong><strong>Backstories for Your Character</strong></strong></span></p><p>A lot of people ask me about when they should provide the backstory for their character. Many people—and I am the guiltiest—show up with their starting character and oh the backstory they have. Pages on pages.</p><p>And then they take a bullet or arrow and alas, they are gone. Their story about losing their parents in the village or growing up on the streets on the moon of Blacar is simply deleted or even worse, just handed off to the next character (it’s my uncle! Whoops!)</p><p>I think every time a character levels, gets better, receives a new skill or boon, they get to answer one simple question about their backstory.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What is a fear they have?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What is something that they have sacrificed and why?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What is the name of a childhood friend they’ve lost touch with?</li> </ul><p>(I wouldn’t have the same question for every character. I suggest making it random or at least a batch of questions you’re interested in.)</p><p>As the character grows, their backstory does as well.</p><p></p><p>What else would you want to know? </p><p></p><p><em>This is an excerpt from </em><a href="https://burnthetaverndown.com/" target="_blank"><em>Burn the Tavern Down</em></a><em>, a newsletter about good RPG ideas.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GilMan21, post: 7820014, member: 56330"] [SIZE=7][B][B]Backstories for Your Character[/B][/B][/SIZE] A lot of people ask me about when they should provide the backstory for their character. Many people—and I am the guiltiest—show up with their starting character and oh the backstory they have. Pages on pages. And then they take a bullet or arrow and alas, they are gone. Their story about losing their parents in the village or growing up on the streets on the moon of Blacar is simply deleted or even worse, just handed off to the next character (it’s my uncle! Whoops!) I think every time a character levels, gets better, receives a new skill or boon, they get to answer one simple question about their backstory. [LIST] [*]What is a fear they have? [*]What is something that they have sacrificed and why? [*]What is the name of a childhood friend they’ve lost touch with? [/LIST] (I wouldn’t have the same question for every character. I suggest making it random or at least a batch of questions you’re interested in.) As the character grows, their backstory does as well. What else would you want to know? [I]This is an excerpt from [/I][URL='https://burnthetaverndown.com/'][I]Burn the Tavern Down[/I][/URL][I], a newsletter about good RPG ideas.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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