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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 5663096" data-attributes="member: 22424">I wouldn't do that, but if you and your players want to, then go for it.In general, I think my current group have found a decent balance when it comes to character backgrounds. At the start of the campaign, we have a single character creation/party formation session, during which we go through the mechanics of building the characters, and then spend some time working out both a brief character background and the details of how the group got together.If players then want to detail their background beyond that then they are free to do so, but it certainly isn't required, and there's no in-game benefit to doing so. In actual fact, I discourage overly detailed character backgrounds - tying too much down can actually reduce fun later in the campaign because it's harder to then pull in the "long-lost brother" or other previously-undefined detail.It hasn't happened so far with the current group, but if we had a player who wanted to play but couldn't make that first session, then I would expect a four-sentence background for the character:The first sentence is the anecdote, some aspect about the character's past. It could be almost anything. A classic example would be "I used to be a Jedi, the same as your father." The second sentence is the quirk, something about the character's present. "He's a card player, a gambler, a scoundrel. You'd like him." The third is the goal, something about the character's future. "I want to come with you... I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father." And the fourth is the secret, which can either be something the character wants to find out, or something the character hopes other people don't find out. "Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father..."Obviously, when it comes to putting the group together, the absentee player really has to just go along with whatever the rest of us agree on!</blockquote>

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