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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Heathen72" data-source="post: 5476226" data-attributes="member: 7029">Incorporating player background material into your game can be tricky and is not for everyone (some people hate it as you can see in this thread) but with the right group it can be very rewarding and can act as an instant and effective hook. You just have to negotiate with your players what they are happy with, and then respect that negotiation. Player backgrounds are the exclusive purview of neither the GM or the player. If your player introduces something that doesn't fall within the scope or theme of your campaign, you have the right to nix it, as does he if you introduce something to the background that is inconsistent with how he feels his character came to be. The important thing to remember is that you don't want to crap on your players' character concepts, and that when you add anything from their background you ask for their recollections. If treated with respect, your players will generally try to accommodate you. If you want it can be quite collaborative e.g.:  (...it's the middle of the session where the players meet up with someone from the Jo's character's past)GM: Jo, how did you learn to fight? You weren't in the military were you, so was it a fencing master, or some adventurer?Jo: Um, I've never really thought about it really.GM: Well, you don't get the abilities of a first level fighter in the school yard punching up bullies. Where did you get all your skills?Jo: Um.... OK. A family friend was in the military. He stayed with us during a break in the war and trained me while he was there to pay for his keep.GM: Were you a good student?Jo: (laughs) Nah, I was always skiving off down the pub with the lads. But he was a hard taskmaster, and in the end I actually learned something!GM: Did you know much about him other than that? What made him a family friend?Jo: I dunno. Um. Alright, he saved my dad's life when the orcs attacked Northfields before I was born, and my dad said he owed him. He only stayed with us a few months, so I don't remember much else. GM: Fine. Thanks. Well, you look across the room and there is Conrad (the man who trained you). He looks somewhat unkempt and appears to have had a few...(and so on)From there the GM should be at liberty to reincorporate the character, so long as what he does acknowledges what the player believed was true at the time. It is fine for the trainer to have fallen on hard times for instance, and to need a hand, or indeed for anything to have happened to him so long as it occurred after the time the PC knew him. I would be a lot more wary of incorporating anything from that time (Conrad had an affair with the PC's mum, or was part of a secret military group with the PC's father) unless the player has given you some licence to do so or a hint that such a thing might be possible. I wouldn't think it would be out of bounds, though to suggest that given the above the father might have had more of a role to play in the fight against the invasion of the orcs than he might otherwise have suggested. Still, if you are not quite comfortable with 'springing' this sort of thing on the players, yet, just ask more questions. Their answers will guide you:GM: How did your father save Conrad's life?Jo: I dunno. My father never spoke of the attack of the orcsGM: Really. Hmm, was he always just a farmer?Jo: I think so... though he did have some nasty scars he never talked about either. And he was a damn good throw with an axe!  (and so on)For some players this will spoil the 'surprise' that their father played a role in the defence against the orc invasion. Other players will be upset if you spring things on them without working through it like we did above. It's classic 'YMMV', so you really need to establish conventions for your group, and to also get an understanding of what your players like. Just remember:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Respect their character concept. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you are uncertain, ask questions to get more information - or to gauge what the players' reactions might be to your ideas</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Discuss with your group what works best for them</li> </ul>Oh, one last thing. Don't have bad things happen to the characters from your players background all the time (Unless you think the player would like that sort of thing) It's hard to play a happy go lucky swashbuckler if all your family and cousins have been killed, your hometown burnt down 4 times, discovering your best friend was actually a mass murderer and learning that your dog never liked you. Again, respect your players' character concepts.</blockquote>

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