Who creates your character backgrounds?

[fba827]

generally, in my experience players write their own history. Though, once (as DM) I asked the players if i could do it to try "something" (unknown to them, the thing i wanted to try was subtly sticking in something that related to the overall meta plot). In any case, they all said okay and i didn't get any hesitation so I went with it, and it worked out well. i did get some input from them with regards to "do you want the loner on the run type feel' the 'i cam e from a happy family' type feel, etc. so that the tone would be along the lines of what they are hoping for.

i think the key thing here is that a) i asked ahead of time and b) i didn't get any hesitation (aka no stammering or people thinking i was taking something away from them by doing this etc) and c) i did make the sure that the tone would match what they were comfortable with. and d) it wasn't an "always" this way, it was just to try something different than our usual game methods.

 

[howandwhy99]

Chiming in with everyone else here. The players write up their backgrounds, though they can do so in groups or as a team. The DM converts it to their game and works with the players to do so. This is basically asking questions, clarifying points, reiterating that the DM will be fleshing a lot of what's left blank via the conversion. Basically "Did you include everything you want?" You can add more later I've found, but it's harder with unknown elements already defined.

I like public, group, and private backgrounds. Private stuff means I get to have a few secrets too in the campaign for the other guys figure out as we go along. Group stuff means I have some perceived knowledge of the others prior to start. Public is basically the stuff I tell when the character introduces him or herself.

 

[Elf Witch]

I would have an issue with it. One of the things I love about gaming is character creation and for me that includes my character's backstory. I don't mind the DM making tweaks to make sure it fits in the world he is running.

When I DM I like to work with the players to help make a background that fits the world but I would not want to make the entire thing up.

 

[Jhaelen]

I wouldn't have a problem playing a pregen char with a DM-created background. But the DM creating the background for a character I created? Nope, sorry. When I create a character I'm already thinking about my background and when I'm done with the mechanical details I also have a complete background. When picking feats and skills and backgrounds (doh!) the choice is already informed by my ideas for the character's backstory.

I prefer creating backgrounds with plenty of hooks for the DM, though. I'm not a fan of backgrounds that list every detail.

 

[steeldragons]

Seems I am pretty evenly in the status quo.

As a GM, I would NEVER presume to write entire backgrounds for characters. those are the players' creations...it would be entirely inappropriate to tell them where they came from or what had happened in their lives.

I will certainly HELP with the creation if asked. Some players just aren't that interested in fleshing out their character's past. And that's more than fine. But I do like to have at least a skeletal idea of their history. Do they have family/parents? Are they still alive? What's their hometown and why have they left it to explore the world at large?

I will also review and make suggestions for in-world details. You want your character to be/think like this. People from this region think/act like that/have that societal belief (or superstition or racial bias). It would make sense for you to be from "here." The coloring you want seems to fit people from this area of the world...whatever it happens to be.

I also have certain world-specific bonuses...if you want to play a wizard, magic-users from R'Hath have a superior reputation among the other men of Orea...you might want to consider being from there...or be from somewhere else but are coming from some time studying there? Druids and barbarians have certain items/abilities they start with, so I would recommend being from x, y or z and you get "this and that" automatically.

I've never met any disagreement with these types of suggestions.

Naturally, as any DM would (or perhaps "should", if there are any who don't) I will comb the backgrounds for relevant plot hooks or opportunities for interesting/fun NPCs or "surprises".

But certainly not write it for them or create out of thin air/without the player's knowledge/assent someone or thing from their past just popping into the story.

--Steel Dragons

 

[slwoyach]

Writing pc backgrounds for the players is a big no. These characters must belong to the players. The farthest I'll go is I'll give guidelines or limitations (all the characters must be human commers from the same village).

Players have taken over NPCs, but that was entirely their own decision.

 

[WHW4]

I would list the DM creating my character's background wholecloth as one of my gaming turn-offs.

He already gets to create everything else in the world; he can let me have this. I'm not above tweaking the background I create so it fits properly, but if I showed up to a presumably long-running campaign and the DM plopped a few pages in front of me and said "here's your history," I'd ask him how much he was going to pay me, since I am essentially an actor at that point not a cooperative storyteller.

 

[khantroll]

It depends on the game and situation. My players can be, uh, difficult. For instance, we call one of them "Ug", as in the character from Critters. Why? Because "Nothing Likes Me". He will literally take weeks to settle on a single character, and even then complain. And that is with 3.5E, something we have been playing as a group for a decade. Through a new system into the mix and it gets exponentially worse in direct relation to the number of options available.

The other players seem to contract this dreaded mental malady if the system is widely different then they are used to. The first time we played Shadowrun, or Star Frontiers, comes to mind. In those cases, I have printed off multiple character sheets, asked them to put names in the player fields, and give me a concept. And then I have gone and done it, including backstory, and returned it to them. It is simpler that way.

 

[Hassassin]

In our group it depends on the game and especially the campaign world.

When the world is a published one all know (FR in our group's case) everyone can make their own backgrounds with DM input. When the world is DM made it's customary in our group that DM gives the background and just asks if it's fine by the player. Totally pre-made characters are also possible in the latter case.

 

[jaerdaph]

I've never seen it (except with pre-gens in convention or demo play as previously mentioned). Personally, I don't like the idea and prefer a player/GM collaboration in character creation, but I won't go as far to say that GM player background generation is wrong for others, if that's what they all mutually want.