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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nomnath" data-source="post: 5456938" data-attributes="member: 6669521">I personally don't like the idea of offering incentives for backstory or penalizing them for rerolling.  Incentives for content makes it feel too much like homework.  Rerolling should be a difficult choice to make, but it should be a choice espcially since in my games I sometimes kill them in ways that makes it so they can't be brought back.What I do to make sure they aren't always rerolling is to make rerolls 2 levels lower than the highest level, so if sean is lvl 11 and bill dies, then bill comes back at 9.  But then if sean dies and suddenly the highest remaining person alive is mike who is at 10, then sean has to come back at level 8.  It prevents them from rerolling too much and incentivizes them to keep ressurect instead (only lose 1 level instead of 2) without being too punishing.  I also rule that if they reroll a character, then they use avg PC wealth to create the character and all items that character has disappears (lost with the body) perhaps even removing items from the others if the reroller didn't have that much on him.The biggest thing is, you have to get your players to identify with their characters.  Force them to speak in character every now and then when they want to find information or diplomacise with a major NPC.  It's fine if they don't have a backstory, you can force them to make one up in small bits over time.Tricks:-hit them with illusion spells that emulate their fears/desires. (at high levels drop a wierd and spend 20 mins talking about everyone's phobias)-introduce a character that forces them to repeat a ritualistic greeting every time they meet that incorporates small amounts of backstory.  (hello I am blank son of blank slayer of blank.  I am the hero of westblank, the killer of blank the blank.  I was trained in blank academy and had blanks for supper).  Write down what they say and stress that failure to say it exacty as they jsut did will have consequences in the future.-force them to have entry papers to a town and make the application process much longer than they're willing to wait, then allow them to BS a reason why they already applied a while ago into their backstory.-send them to jail and have the jailor ask for character references... people they grew up with, family members, former employers, even the major law figures of their hometown.If all else fails, invoke the plot device clause:  If you lack a backstory element that opposes this, then I reserve the right as DM to insert it into you backstory, enjoy being the deadbeat dad of 8 kids.</blockquote>

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