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Progressing character backgrounds as the campaign progresses
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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 2804457" data-attributes="member: 8835"><p>As a DM, I'd want certain rules of thumb for players to follow for making a background. Though the DM should always have editorial control over a PC's background, if there were some rules, the players may have an easier time of it.</p><p></p><p>Here's some ideas I've got so far (assuming a 1st level PC):</p><p>your background should introduce your known parents, siblings and mentors</p><p>it should explain where your primary skills and class came from</p><p>it should give a reason for you to be adventuring generically</p><p>the background may imply certain types of events occurred, but nothing too specific</p><p></p><p>you can't invent any powerful NPCs (>5 levels?)</p><p>you can't have done anything worth XP (no defeating orcs in combat as a child)</p><p>you can't reference any special item directly</p><p>you can't be guarranteed anything (ex. Torek is going to inherit his father's kingdom)</p><p>you can't have done anything that would have needed DM adjudication if it were a normal encounter</p><p></p><p>Armed with a background, the DM may use it as a foundation for building an encounter or adventure based on some aspect of the background. This would be revealed to the PC at the time of the encounter, in some form of remembered fact. Such as, "you recognize the mechant as a man you once robbed when you were a street urchin." The player shouldn't be inventing every act he did before 1st level, if it is important, it will be the DM's job to adjudicate what happened by telling you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Janx, post: 2804457, member: 8835"] As a DM, I'd want certain rules of thumb for players to follow for making a background. Though the DM should always have editorial control over a PC's background, if there were some rules, the players may have an easier time of it. Here's some ideas I've got so far (assuming a 1st level PC): your background should introduce your known parents, siblings and mentors it should explain where your primary skills and class came from it should give a reason for you to be adventuring generically the background may imply certain types of events occurred, but nothing too specific you can't invent any powerful NPCs (>5 levels?) you can't have done anything worth XP (no defeating orcs in combat as a child) you can't reference any special item directly you can't be guarranteed anything (ex. Torek is going to inherit his father's kingdom) you can't have done anything that would have needed DM adjudication if it were a normal encounter Armed with a background, the DM may use it as a foundation for building an encounter or adventure based on some aspect of the background. This would be revealed to the PC at the time of the encounter, in some form of remembered fact. Such as, "you recognize the mechant as a man you once robbed when you were a street urchin." The player shouldn't be inventing every act he did before 1st level, if it is important, it will be the DM's job to adjudicate what happened by telling you. [/QUOTE]
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