Who creates your character backgrounds?

[lostingeneral]

Typically, when a character is made in my group, the player comes up with a rough background and the other players help fill them out. I contribute as well, offering suggestions and helping incorporate ideas into the campaign setting, but I have never just assigned anybody a background.

That said, I do have two players who aren't very involved in the RP side of things, and would not come up with a story. They each had a very loose background contributed mostly by the other players that they just gave the go-ahead to, and in these cases I filled in the blanks myself. I did this because I like to give character-specific content as much as possible; it's easier with a background, so in this scenario I was revealing their background through exposition (where usually it's the other way around). I also feel that if their character is more involved in the world, the players might be as well.

 

[Greg K]

When I run, the player creates their background. However, they have to do it within the setting constraints (cultures, deities, etc.) and mechanical constraints (available races, classes, etc.) I have set before hand. We also talk about the character background so that I can suggest tweaks to better integrate it or rein in/veto it (if the player goes out of the set boundaries or what I feel is plausible given the character's age, culture, existing organizations and other such factors ).

 

[Michael Silverbane]

In our group, players usually come up with the character background for themselves.

I'm sure that if the DM wanted to add to or expand upon my character's background, that would be fine... But coming up with it whole cloth? I'm not sure that would be okay...

 

[TheUltramark]

I think every DM meddles a little with pc's backgrounds some, it makes hooks way easier. "The orcs that raided this village are the same ones that raided your boyhood home"

it never fails, the pc's are always "ok, lets go smash" and another page of character history is written.

But to do a whole 3 page write up is a pretty much way over the top imo

 

[TerraDave]

I think this is unusual. What is described (player may make with DM input) is the norm.

Of course, my main problem is the 3 pages...1 para is usually more then enough, unless the point is short story writting (not that there is anything wrong with that).

I am very aware of the background that in the end has not much to do with anything, but takes a good amount of time to read and write (again, see the caveat about short stories) and I can see some alternatives that are more time efficient and tie the player to the setting or adventure more effectively. Using a traveler esque system (but without the death, or other direct mechanical implications) like Lanefan describes could be interesting, and the few times I have done that as a (non-D&D) player, I really liked it.

I can also see more direct measures to tie into the local setting. Maybe giving a list of background or hooks the player can choose from (as I have seen suggested here and there).

 

[Mallus]

In our campaigns, players have pretty much free reign to create their PC backgrounds. We treat our games as creative exercises for all involved, not just the DM/setting creators (of which I'm usually partly both).

I'm not knocking people who want to enforce a high degree of setting fidelity. Or players who desire that in a DM/GM. It's just not my cuppa tea when I run; I'm much more interested in all the crazy stuff that *didn't* come from my own imagination, the material my players add to their characters and to the game.

 

[TarionzCousin]

This seems a little bit too controlling to me. Maybe, just maybe this is some sort of hint of things to come.

[sblock]

CONTROL FREAK DM!!!
RUN AWAY!
RUN AWAY!!!​

[/SBLOCK]

 

[pawsplay]

Is the GM a struggling novelist? Just asking.

 

[wingsandsword]

This seems a little bit too controlling to me. Maybe, just maybe this is some sort of hint of things to come.

[sblock]

CONTROL FREAK DM!!!
RUN AWAY!
RUN AWAY!!!​

[/SBLOCK]

This. Seriously.

In all my years of gaming, the only DM's who insisted on dictating a characters backgrounds (other than one-shots games for club meetings or convention games) were ones that had a nice big railroad built for you in advance. Only exceptions being where the setting is so strange or unusual that it's just easier to do this than to explain to players the various backgrounds available.

The social norm in gaming is that for ongoing/recurring player characters, the players create a background for their character, with input from the GM. The GM retains a veto power over things that are impossible or would strongly conflict with what the GM wants (like a background that would let a character know a big secret of the setting before it is revealed or strongly influence the direction of the game in a way the GM doesn't want it to go). The background varies anywhere from a couple of sentences, to a couple of pages depending on how detailed the setting is and how seriously the players and GM take the plot and roleplaying aspects of the campaign.

 

[possum]

I would only accept the GM completely writing my backstory if it was a complete pregen like the original replier stated. Some of my backgrounds are sparse and unoriginal, while others are long and intricate. The point is, it's my character and I should have at least a little say on the background.