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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7121751" data-attributes="member: 6796661">The effectiveness of a player backstory depends a lot on how willing a DM is to Accommodate it in the campaign. If the character backstories do not impact campaign development, it is more difficult for players to identify their character with it. Actual in-game experiences will quickly dominate how players think of their characters and unengaged aspects of their character backstories will be forgotten. 5e does a nice job trying to make a mechanic for bringing backstory into play and making it matter. Both by giving skills associated with backgrounds and inspiration by playing to your background. The problem is that it can be hard to play to many background items if the DM doesn't provide in game opportunities to do so and inspiration can be a ham fisted way for DMs to reward what they like about character backgrounds and players will take actions they know are more likely to result in getting inspiration rather than playing their character they way THEY find most compelling.  This is one reason I like inspiration to be rewarded by players—if I use inspiration at all. When I'm playing, I try to keep to broad strokes and fill in the details as the game progresses.</blockquote>