PC histories/backstories -- help, hindrance, neither?

[Quasqueton]

Do character histories/backstories enhance a game?

Can you point to examples in your experience where a PC's pre-written history/backstory has made the campaign better than if everyone started off with a blank slate (read: nothing nailed down and written out)?

Can you point to examples where a PC's pre-written history hindered a campaign?

Can you point to examples where a PC's pre-written history was completely irrelevant to the campaign?

Quasqueton

Edit: This was not supposed to be a multiple-choice poll.

 

[diaglo]

yes.

Player 1: so we are all in town. how did we meet?

DM: you tell me.

for some this is great roleplay opportunity. for others it is complete waste of time.

 

[Crothian]

In my games it always enhances the game. THe first few adventures usualyl build in some way off of backstories and it gets the players involved in the story instead of just seeking adventure for the sale of adventure. It also provides side plots and complications. Do you help Uncle Fred who's farm is going finacially into ruin or do you help the King uncover the assassin?

I had a typical campaign where the players where trying to locate the true heir to the throne. In typical fasion one of the PCs turned out to be the heir, but becasue oif the backstory he created; he didn't want to be the heir. So, he down played and hid proof that pointed to him. Then when he's finally ready to accept it, some one has even strnger proof and he was a little angry and confused. But it was really the back story that made the search for the heir very atypical even though on the service it seemed like standard plot. In the same game the first adventure was because one of characters grandmother needed a special herb that only grew a few hundred miles away in the mountains. They actually did a lot for her and helped her with a small hospital she was running. Another player was rebeling against his family and became a Ranger even though the family were prosperios wood carvers. That had a lot of small sub plots and a lot of time brough t the characters back to reality. Sure, they could go save a village of hundreds but Dad was always upset that his eldest son turned his back on the family.

 

[Enkhidu]

Example of making the game better: a PC, in her distant past, was a wanted criminal in a different part of the campaign world. When the PCs finally get around to going back there, such a history gives all kinds of adventure hooks.

Example of NOT making a game better: PC A, as a child, watched their family get slaughtered by (insert core race here), and hate them with blind passion. PC B is from the same race. Intra-party conflict.

 

[Crothian]

Example of making the game better: a PC, in her distant past, was a wanted criminal in a different part of the campaign world. When the PCs finally get around to going back there, such a history gives all kinds of adventure hooks.

Example of NOT making a game better: PC A, as a child, watched their family get slaughtered by (insert core race here), and hate them with blind passion. PC B is from the same race. Intra-party conflict.

I don't think it is this black and white. It has more to do with the DM and if he is good at bringing in elements from players past into the story in a realistic and reasonible way. Either of these could be good or bad really depending on the DM and how he handles the situation.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

I had an elf PC whose family was murdered by some human thugs. He vowed revenge, and sold everything his family had in pursuit of his revenge. He only kept a painting of his family, and he treasured it more than his own life.

Our first adventure started off with us being captured by orcs and using the PCs for slaves and torture targets. This includes psychological torture, my elf almost lost his painting (the cleric ended up getting a Gruumsh brand burned into his chest). As always, those orcs don't move no more.

Prior to playing him, I told the DM he was chaotic neutral, and depending upon how the non-elves (especially humans) in the adventuring group acted, he would go down either the Duelist path or the Assassin path.

The DM was working an adventure around this story (the above is a much shortened version of the original), but unfortunately he had to move away before we got to it.

 

[ivocaliban]

More than help, PC backstories are essential to my campaigns. In fact, I tend to build them around the PCs background as much as possible. My first session with players is generally all about background. I "interview" the characters, so to speak, asking about their families (who are they, what relationship did the characters have with them as they were growing up, what relationship do they have with them now, etc.), careers (were you trained or self-taught, does your work define you or is it simply a way to make ends meet, and so forth), and a dozen other factors (such as fears, hopes, aspirations, hobbies...). Basically, anything to flesh out the character and find out what sorts of things the players might like to go up against.

All this being said, I don't make the entire game seem like it was crafted just for that PC, because the element of surprise and unpredictability is just as important. However, if you have a Dwarven Ranger who hunts Drow and is afraid of heights, you probably don't want to have your campaign centered on fighting a harpy sorceress who lives atop the highest mountain crags...unless you're just evil.

So, I would say that the backgrounds of PCs are major influences on me as a DM. And I believe they should be. If you're running a pre-made adventure, for instance, you should try and tie something in the game to at least one of the PCs' backgrounds. It doesn't have to be blatantly obvious, of course, and you shouldn't play favourites, but the PCs should feel that the goal is important to them for more reasons than just gold and experience. Unless, of course, that ties in well with the character's personality.

I don't really like PCs with blank slates, because in my experience it never gets filled in. If a player doesn't come up with a background at all I still let them play, of course, but I tell them if they don't come up with some sort of background that they have amnesia...and I'm going to fill in their background for them throughout the game. I make no promises about what sort of person they'll turn out to be, either. So far, no one's been willing to take that chance with me...so they come up with some sort of background, even if it isn't very thorough.

 

[was]

I think they are a great help. In my experience, they improve the overall story line, provide plot hooks so DMs can customize campaigns to players and help the players connect more with their pc. I don't have any bad experiences with character backgrounds to relay to you...sorry...

 

[Mr. Kaze]

Every time we started a new party, we'd take a session to build a story around the party to figure out what their relationships with each other were. It does great things for helping players figure out how they're going to react to seeing another party member who happens to be their father-figure as opposed to some ugly rude dwarf that they hired for no discernable reason get eviscerated by a bebelith. For example.

NPCs don't know or care about the PCs internal relationships, so the impact on the campaign is limited. But when a PC is offered a miracle after seeing that said father figure is wandering around in a tormented state of undeath... it can make the role-playing a lot more engaging.

::Kaze

 

[irdeggman]

I ran a Birthright game (2nd ed) and had all of my players write out a character history - for which I rewarded them exp based on how well it fit their character's desires and skills.

3 of the characters split up a portion of a guilder run domain and they provided me some basic concepts to fit in. I added info to intertwine the story and meshe things better. One of the PCs was a manic-depressive alcoholic who spent most of his previous career acting as a mercenary. I used this to provide him with a life-long friend as a Lieutenant. It just so happend that this NPC was going to end up be the main attagonist in an adventure that required any character levels to properly set up. It was a very dramatic conclusion.

One player had his PC being romantically linked with the previous ruler. I worked this in by providing some more depth. Basically his love was pregnant when she was killed by a powerful NPC ruler in an adjacent kingdom. This played out as the former ruler's brother was bypassed in the line of acsension with the land itself choosing the PC instead. Although they loved each other like brothers the NPC had to go into seclusion and left the kingdom - only to make a dramatic appearance later on to swear fealty to his "brother" who in turn granted him his own mini-kingdom. There was one other PC who knew about the condition that the former ruler was in when she died - and he was a priest presiding at the death bed.


A lot of intrigue and threads can be introduced based on PC history. The DM needs to "tweak" them though to help them all fit toghether and keep PCs in check.