Progressing character backgrounds as the campaign progresses

[howandwhy99]

Basically, I'm asking what you think as a DM about players who continue to create their PC's background as the campaign progresses. Do you allow it? Do you think it hurts your games? helps them? what do think?
(Yes, this thread was inspired by the "What's an "interesting" character anyway?" thread)

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If you're looking for more detail, here is an example. Personally, I would start the game with a fairly generic background at 1st level with a couple plot hooks for the DM to play with.

Turnkey the Thief was raised as a slave. He has distant memories of having a normal family when he was a young child, but has yet to fully remember any significant details. His master Vorl the Mad was cruel and forced him into a life of crime. When Turnkey was old enough he escaped and has been fending for himself ever since.

This should be enough fodder for a good DM to create any number of things, a price on his head (as an escaped slave), a foe (Vorl the Mad), or even a quest (to find his lost family), just to mention a few. All these can be dropped in subtly during game without overshadowing whatever else is going on in the campaign.

But later, maybe I'm getting bored or some of these plot hooks have played themselves out, I progress the background. Generally I just fill in gaps that weren't included above, but are really aimed at cool things I think would be fun to do.

When he worked for Vorl the Mad, Turnkey mainly pilfered from the rich under his master's watchful eye. But sometimes he was a courier taking packages to strange people and picking up others. One memorable contact was an exceptionally tall wizard with one good eye. During one courier run Turnkey opened a package for this wizard which had been moving under its wrappings. Inside he found a large red eye. Even more amazing it turned and looked at the little thief and Turnkey trembled in fear. He felt as if his soul was utterly open to the living eye. Sometime latter he came back to his senses, wrapped the package back up, and ran to drop it off. His tardiness was noted and this eventually led to his running away.

Here I'm not really telling the DM to do anything, but I'm hoping he will include Vecna in the campaign and perhaps a tie between my PC and him - something suitably ominous. I could have put in a much more obvious tie in, like a gift from the Harpers, or a treasure map leading to some place called "Acererak".

I hope you get the gist. The character is developed both ingame and by writing extra backgrounds that expand on his youth. Now, if I can simply go and do what interests me in game, I prefer that method, but long lost siblings, forgotten alien abductions, even past ties to an organization the PC might want to join, I think can all be accomplished using additional backgrounds.

On the other hand, I could see this done poorly. Another example:

When the moons and stars aligned, Hytotimous the golden warrior was born the chosen babe in his tribe. He is destined to bring unity to the Horselords of the Blinding Sands. Trained by the wisest elders and fiercest warriors, Hytotimous left his homeland to test his courage and prove himself to his people.

I think this is okay. But later the player adds on:

Now Hytotimous has reached the age of 25, he must follow his destiny to search for the 12 artifacts of Zorb who once used them to ascend to Godhood. Long ago Zorb turned evil and cursed the lands of his people - causing his followers to be ever thirsting for water, though they live in dry steppe and desert. When Hytotimous finally succeeds he believes he will become a God among men and king of his people.

This is a little overdone, but I hope you get the point. If the DM doesn't ratchet down this PC and lose the endless questing, Hytotimous is going to overwhelm whatever the rest of the party wants to do. In fact, they're might end up following the "chosen one" around for the rest of the campaign.

So,
- If some players use only in-game events to progress their character, are they shortchanged when others use extra backgrounds to progress more?
- What of the potential of manipulating the campaign world of the DM by including things a player would normally have no control over, be it Vecna or Zorb above.
- Is this the player's purview - his background, a concern of the DM's to allow only certain backgrounds, or maybe all the players who are the ones who actually choose what the group does?

To reiterate, What do you think about PC backgrounds progressing along with the campaign? Would you simply veto portions you didn't like or remove them altogether? In my experience these are normally attempts by the player to reinvest their interest in the game. I think they also have the potential to add to the experience for everyone.

I used to give the advice, "If you're bored with your current character, spice up their background and include hooks you are interesting in doing." Perhaps it should be the standard, "start a new character" instead? This is difficult in one of my games as new characters always start at 1st.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

You know, I can't say that I've ever had that happen. I did, however, do that to a DM once. It didn't come up, but made my character feel more complete, and wound up explaining my skill ranks in profession (cook).

I'm actually hoping that something similar will come up in my super-heroes game. As soon as we hit the end of the arc, I'm going to drop the bomb, a year passes, and this was all backstory as to how you met. What happened while you were apart? I hope this gives them a little mroe opportunity to write in the stuff they wish they had thought of before the game began. It also is going to give them some time after they're familiar with their abilities to go do some noteworthy things without having to worry about the rest of the group.

In terms of incorporating new background information into a D&D game, I'm pretty sure I can trust my players not to do anything too outlandish witout asking me first. If they did, I'd probably ask what they wanted to accomplish, and see if I couldn't temper that a bit more into something that works within the game.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I would not only accept it, I encourage it. So long as everything is reasonably internally consistent, I think it's great.

 

[el-remmen]

I would not only accept it, I encourage it. So long as everything is reasonably internally consistent, I think it's great.

Yep. Exactly.

I remember in one campaign I ran ending a session right outside of one of the party member's home town and I turned to the player and said you have until the next session to get me info on your family (something which he had never detailed - his background was all about his apprenticeship and then later entering seminary)

And a few days later he handed me a a couple of sheets with names and relations and personalities - just a line or two from each person, and it made the whole encounter wonderful - and the party stayed with them a while.

It set up cool plot-hooky stuff for later - like the sister that ran away from home after he had already left (where did she go? where is she?) the envious older brother who had to stay home and take care of the farm with the parents, etc. . .

Unfortunately, later an evil necromancer killed most of them and rose them as undead to attack the party.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Yep. Exactly.

I remember in one campaign I ran ending a session right outside of one of the party member's home town and I turned to the player and said you have until the next session to get me info on your family (something which he had never detailed - his background was all about his apprenticeship and then later entering seminary)

Very cool. I like it.

And a few days later he handed me a a couple of sheets with names and relations and personalities - just a line or two from each person, and it made the whole encounter wonderful - and the party stayed with them a while.

It set up cool plot-hooky stuff for later - like the sister that ran away from home after he had already left (where did she go? where is she?) the envious older brother who had to stay home and take care of the farm with the parents, etc. . .

Good, good this is going places...

Unfortunately, later an evil necromancer killed most of them and rose them as undead to attack the party.

...that we don't want! Ahg! That was a cruel, cruel thing.

I like it even more!

I encourage players to add to their PCs background and will also add to it myself if it is needed (and the player agrees). Sadly I have seen many players who are so scared of anything bad or, even worse, permanent happending to their character that little can be used from anything they come up with (my most vivid memory is of one player who wrote 6 pages of background that was esentially him getting, fighting and killing a major nemesis all before the campaign began. In the end he had no relatives (all killed by the nemesis), not friends (outside the party - same reason) and no important NPCs in his life. Just awful).

 

[Aeson]

I don't create backgrounds before the character. I usually do it as I'm playing. My character changes as does his history as I play the first few sessions. I come up with a concept that doesn't always work. I make changes to fit in or stand apart.

 

[Graybeard]

As a player, I generally come up with enough background for the DM to use for plot hooks, character motivation, etc. An example is an Elven Sorcerer I am playing in one game. He is a Gold Elf born in a village of regular elfs. He was under a lot of pressure because the village elders and his parents felt it was a sign from the gods that he was destined to do something important with his life. All the character wanted to do was have fun. Eventually he left home and wandered the countryside until he met the rest of the party. Since then, I have expanded his background to include people he has met, places he has visited, etc. The DM has also given my character many things in the way of small side quests and organizations which are interested in him.

I do the same in the game I run. My players have given me backgrounds. SOme are highly detailed, some are pretty basic. The PCs are still pretty low level but I've managed to include some additional things to add to their backgrounds. One of the PCs is a former gladiator. I gave the party information that gladiators from a certain training school were exceptionally lucky in the arena. Winning against superior foes, etc. This PC investigated the school (started to anyway), and found a link to a major villian in the campaign. I alos tied it into his past by having his character know some of the gladiators from this school and remembering that thye always won their matches. This gave him an extra incentive to investigate the school.

I have many things plannned for the other PCs to expand thier character backgrounds. One of the players has already given me more background information based on events in the game.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I don't create backgrounds before the character. I usually do it as I'm playing. My character changes as does his history as I play the first few sessions. I come up with a concept that doesn't always work. I make changes to fit in or stand apart.

Same here.

Generally, after the background is written up, finalized and approved, it doesn't change further. From then on, it's what the character does in the campaign that affects their story. (I wouldn't suddenly surprise the DM by hunting artifacts.)

I try to limit the number of NPCs in my backstory, however. I'd rather the DM use NPCs that the whole party has interacted with to drive the plot. (And, of course, protection. But my current Eberron DM is nice about that.)

 

[comareddin]

I ask my players to write something on what their character thought about the events that happened in the session. Their thoughts on NPCs, their thoughts on the other PCs, accomplishments, failures, desires etc... It helps integrate the character into his background and more importantly it helps tremendously with character development. I started using this only in my latest campaign but I will use it in my future ones and I will do this for my own characters as well.

I give them rewards for it as well. The typical reward is 1 XP per word multiplied by a variable between 0-1 depending on how good I thought the paper was. It really helps set the mood of the characters.

If the group finished one adventure and the other starts sometime later, I tell them this length of time at the end of the session, one month, one week, three months etc... They again write me on how they plan to spend this time and before the session I tell them their accomplishments. Another thing I give them before sessions is the happenings around the world, like the issues of Sharn Inquisitive. These all help make a better game atmosphere and create more in-depth characters. During these session thought write-ups they are free to add more pieces to their backgrounds if it contains consistency.

One of the players in the game is suffering from amnesia and his main goal is to discover his background. Sometimes he spots things that seem familiar, does something reflexively, or finds out that he can speak a certain language with ease (Sort of like Jason Bourne, but the characters are much different other than this aspect) Great opportunities for background development.

Com

 

[diaglo]

I would not only accept it, I encourage it. So long as everything is reasonably internally consistent, I think it's great.

ditto.