DM question: how much do you incorporate PC backgrounds into the campaign?

[Panda-s1]

I've heard good things about it, so I'm not surprised. I gather it's more the exception than the rule, even among 5E Adventure Books, though.

oh sure, but a lot of people like how the starter game that's going to introduce a lot of people to 5e encourages this sort of behavior instead of fostering the idea that PCs are just completely independent entities to the story.

I run homebrew, but trying to get some players (past and present) to do backstories would be largely similar to trying to squeeze water from a stone.

This would leave me-as-DM in the unpleasant position of either having to ignore the backstories that did get done, or unduly favouring/focusing on those PCs with backstories over those without. Never mind some players tend to go through characters at a rather rapid rate...

If everyone was willing and enthused about doing backstories that'd be different.

man I don't see how that's "undue". it's like giving out xp to the player who wrote out a backstory, if you want your character to be tied to the story you can write one out. if a player doesn't want to do something that they would get rewarded for then that's kind of on them imo.

 

[prabe]

I run homebrew, but trying to get some players (past and present) to do backstories would be largely similar to trying to squeeze water from a stone.

This would leave me-as-DM in the unpleasant position of either having to ignore the backstories that did get done, or unduly favouring/focusing on those PCs with backstories over those without. Never mind some players tend to go through characters at a rather rapid rate...

If everyone was willing and enthused about doing backstories that'd be different.

Some players are better at it than others. Some don't want to be the center of the campaign that way. Whether putting a specific character in the center of an arc is unduly favoring or disfavoring that character might depend on the nature of the arc, and the player.

Rapid character death is an entirely different thing. Bug? Feature? Kinda a matter of taste/preference. I'll agree that the closer your campaign is to a meat-grinder the less important/useful character backstories are.

 

[aco175]

I try to tie things in if the players are into it. In a recent game the fighter's backstory was that he was a soldier and taken prisoner and now owes a life-debt to someone, which is why he is adventuring. A few times in play he mentioned that he was saving his gold or almost there with his debt. Finally around level 8 the PCs were heading to Waterdeep and I introduced his person whom he owed 1000gp. I was able offer an adventure to offset half the payment and spin another module out of it.

Another example that only partially came into play was the thief was a guild cartographer sent to Phandalin by some noble families in Waterdeep to look into lost ancestor lands around the new community. I had an adventure where some old maps and books surfaced sending the PCs on another quest to an old tower to see if anything was around from these noble lands. When the group got to Waterdeep there was some roleplay and a party in their honor.

I like to play around the periphery of the back story and not the direct events. If orcs killed the whole village and that's why I hate orcs. This is just meh to me and I most likely not have the same tribe of orcs come into play unless the PCs went looking for them. I may have one orc from the tribe be discovered half dead or all dead and offer some clue to another adventure. I would not take a brother or parent and make them a bad guy in some twist. Maybe an old frenimy from the old days.

I'm sure there is some one-page background information that could help the DM tie things in. Maybe a few NPCs that the PC knows or grew up with. Something like a traveling merchant or the person that trained the PC. A few sentences that the DM could take and draw out.

 

[Nagol]

For me, it depends very much on the game system/campaign. It's an obvious thing to do in Pendragon, Hero System, or the like since it is baked into the game. For D&D specifically, it'll depend on what the campaign is about more than anything.

If the campaign is expected or "allowed" to be wide-ranging (typical D&D exploitation adventure, operating a privateer along a wide stretch of coast, or exploring a newly discovered map area) then I'll incorporate very little of anything volunteered (and I won't require any) since the campaign conceit is the PCs are away from home. If the players specifically go to a PC's background area then there will be some nods towards it.

If the campaign is expected to take place in a more narrow geographic focus (adventuring in an patron's or owned territory, adventuring inside the walls of a single city, or operating a reasonably stable trade route) then the backgrounds will take more prominence if the players want it (and I'll mention the possibility to make sure players consider giving me something).

 

[Lanefan]

man I don't see how that's "undue". it's like giving out xp to the player who wrote out a backstory

Which is something else I would NEVER do.

Xp are not and never will be awarded for things done in the metagame.

No matter how much beer you bring me.

if you want your character to be tied to the story you can write one out. if a player doesn't want to do something that they would get rewarded for then that's kind of on them imo.

Flip side: if a player doesn't have time for or interest in coming up with a backstory, why should I punish this?

 

[Blue]

I run homebrew, but trying to get some players (past and present) to do backstories would be largely similar to trying to squeeze water from a stone.

This would leave me-as-DM in the unpleasant position of either having to ignore the backstories that did get done, or unduly favouring/focusing on those PCs with backstories over those without. Never mind some players tend to go through characters at a rather rapid rate...

If everyone was willing and enthused about doing backstories that'd be different.

It is not an unpleasant position. Request backstories, tell them why. If they do not wish that, they don't need to participate. If they see how it's affecting the characters that did and want to submit it, let them - there's no due date - this is all fun.

It's as if someone only shows up every other session and you're worried your favoring the players who are left with more attention. It's really a false position that people voluntarily not doing somethings means that you can't pay attention to the ones that were willing to put in the effort.

 

[Blue]

Flip side: if a player doesn't have time for or interest in coming up with a backstory, why should I punish this?

You aren't punishing it.

What you are doing is rewarding the players who do have an interest in enriching the game.

If two students are given an opportunity for extra credit and one does it, it is not punishing the other one to not award them extra points.

 

[Panda-s1]

Which is something else I would NEVER do.

Xp are not and never will be awarded for things done in the metagame.

No matter how much beer you bring me.

I mean same, at least I find the idea of xp as an extra reward kinda bad, but some kind of reward is nice?

Flip side: if a player doesn't have time for or interest in coming up with a backstory, why should I punish this?

I'm not sure this is really "punishing" them. I can't make a meaningful story hook related to someone's background if I'm not given one. and not everyone is into that sort of thing. also if you focus on one player's story it's not like the other players don't get to participate anymore.

 

[gepetto]

So what would happen if I made choices during play based off my background? Let's say it's something as simple as "My character became an adventurer because he wants to visit the island of _____.

Dont tell me. I play with big groups, chances are the other 5 players at the table dont want to show up and watch you play out your background story or follow along while you shoot " bobs travel documentary the D&Ding." If that island happens to come up anyway in the course of the campaign and people are trying to decide whether to go there or not then sure feel free to bring it up to the other players as a reason for them to agree to go or not.

But if the rest of the group doesnt want to go there then its not happening. And ya know thats okay. People set off on certain paths in life for reasons that are never fulfilled all the time. Just ask everyone with a job that has nothing to do with their college major (theres a lot of us).

 

[Blue]

Dont tell me. I play with big groups, chances are the other 5 players at the table dont want to show up and watch you play out your background story or follow along while you shoot " bobs travel documentary the D&Ding." If that island happens to come up anyway in the course of the campaign and people are trying to decide whether to go there or not then sure feel free to bring it up to the other players as a reason for them to agree to go or not.

But if the rest of the group doesnt want to go there then its not happening. And ya know thats okay. People set off on certain paths in life for reasons that are never fulfilled all the time. Just ask everyone with a job that has nothing to do with their college major (theres a lot of us).

Nothing in a background requires anything to happen. If you are looking at it like that no wonder you dislike them. Luckily, that's not the case at all.

But if your plan involve the characters traveling to an island, you can get some instant buy-in if it's Bob's Island.

Just like if you had a plot that needed a horde of low CR monsters, and one charater's village was wiped out by gnolls - picking gnolls instead of hobgoblins or whatever is no skin off your nose, and can get the player invested. If gnolls never comes up there's no harm, no requirement that you must use them. Just a way that you can get the players more involved with a fantastic return for the work involved.

Need to come up with a trustworthy questgiver, maybe the mentor of one of the characters? It is the less work for you since you already have a name and some details, and establishes it immediately and gives the character a reason to want to do the mission.

A background literally doesn't detract anything or require anything, it's nothing but bonus for the DM if they have a place to fit some of it in.