How do you get mid lvl characters with good backgrounds ?

[Evilhalfling]

This always seems to be a problem. The people I game with just don't seem to spend enough time on what they have done before joining the party. It happened in the highlevel campaign we started recently and in the mid level game, when Characters had to be replaced. The orginal Charaters were fine, but not everyone put thought into where they came from or how they had earned their levels.

I came up with this list to help jog ideas I was thinking 1 per 5 levels (rounded) minmum
Background Events
Local......................Travelers......................Either
Legal Problems ........... Dark Secret ...................Great Betrayal
Office holder ..............Arch Rival ......................Family Tragedy
Heroic Quest ..............Military Service ...............Bad Relationship
Large Family ...............Trading Contacts ............Planar Journey
Great traveler .............Collector .......................Return from Death
Local Allay ..................Researcher/Inventor........Undersea Journey
Family Feud.................Not Relevant Locally ........Superstition
Reputation .....................................................Personal Tragedy
Dragon Encounter ............................................Mental Problem
.....................................................................Physical Problem
.....................................................................Secret Lore

Comments ? Critcism ?

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Wow... I have totally the opposite problem. I find 1st-level characters incredibly frustrating to write a background for. Higher-level PCs come in with so many accomplishments, so much cool stuff in their past, that they're a wealth of ideas waiting to happen.

As to the system, I wouldn't consider it necessary, but a little plot hook never hurt anyone. Some of the specific elements need some work ("Not relevant locally"? ), but it could certainly jog the imagination.

WotC's Unearthed Arcana includes very extensive tables of this sort of thing, if it floats your boat.

 

[Emiricol]

I think (and this is off the top of my head so don't take it too seriously) one way to do it is to give the players benchmarks. Not sure it's a great idea, but here we go.

Example:

I want 8th level PCs. Each PC should have 800 words in their background, minimum of 1 paragraph per level plus 1 for childhood and 1 on how they find themselves at Grayleaf Inn when the game starts. Introduce 1 major NPC per two levels and at least 1 major organization per PC.

Be sure to include the current status of each parent and at least two of any number of siblings you have; this can be woven into the background or added as a bonus paragraph.

 

[Darkness]

If your campaign setting has a rich recent history, that's a good source for PC backgrounds.

A FR PC might have fought in the Luskan-Ruathym war and had a crisis of faith during the Time of Troubles, for example.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I ask questions of my players during character creation. Things like:

Where were you born?
Who are your parents?
Are they still alive? If, yes: What do they do? If, no: What happen to them? Who raised you?
Do you have siblings? If, yes: List them?
Who was your best friend growing up? Where are they now?
Why did you become an adventure?

There are others and I will adjust my questions based on the answers. This helps the players and me, it also gives me possible plot hooks for the game. Such as...Letter from home, Dear brother dad is sisk and the we are about to use our land, help! Your Sister.

 

[Stormborn]

From 2 of my players I never have problems with backgrounds, the opposite usually in that they have TOO much background. However, one player never really has any background at all, except for preimptive attempts to expressly NOT have a background, like saying he has no close relatives, they all died of natural causes, etc.

So, I say, thats fine. That means I get to make up the character's back ground IN GAME. For example, he said he never knew his mother, so I determined that his mother was realted to the ruling family and that he is a long lost heir that might usurp the family's destiny. In a game where I am also a player, the GM introduced an NPC female sorcerer, that sister his character never mentioned to the rest of us.

Less, sometimes, is more.

 

[Thanee]

Get yourself a copy of Central Casting (if you can find that anywhere).

Bye
Thanee

 

[robberbaron]

Make them feel guilty about not providing any of the imagination for the game.

Provide "interesting" backgrounds for those who can't be bothered to do more than assign skill points and pick feats - give them life-long enemies, jilted lovers, Tourettes, phobias, etc.