D&D General Your Characters' Families

[BookTenTiger]

How have the families of your characters, or characters in your games, impacted your campaigns?

In the 5e game I was playing in, one played played an older dwarf cleric who had recently lost his wife in an accident, and was seeking out a diamond and enough divine power to cast a resurrection spell.

I loved that motivation! So sad and sweet!

The BBEG of that campaign was also the paternal head of the dwarven clans three players belonged to. It was really fun because we all got to add to his backstory and character.

How have your characters' families impacted your campaigns?

 

[Jmarso]

Past family backgrounds of some characters (Greyhawk):

One half-elf rogue (swashbuckler / privateer build), raised from infancy in the Dreadwood by his maternal uncle (a noble of the Silglen) after his parents died defending against a humanoid incursion. He grew older, fell in love with his pure-elven cousin, and fled home for the sea and a 'human' lifestyle after a MAJOR falling out with his uncle.

Twins, half-even male fighter, female mage. Illegitimate children of the Baron of Grayhill, in Keoland and the Dreadwood. Both had the noble background but not quite all the benefits of it due to the bar sinister; her goal was to become a powerful archmage, while his was to achieve knighthood and renown somewhere in the Flanaess despite the circumstances of his birth. The two were an inseparable team. The two could go home and visit whenever, but while their father was kind enough to him, those around them saw them as a threat/embarassment/hindrance, because Baron Skotti was in line for Keoland's throne.

One elf ranger who was the cousin of the top character, and brother of the sister the top character was in love with. The two wound up reuniting out in the world and adventuring together.

So these characters had family, per se, but mostly as backstory and not an active part of any adventuring they did.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Oh yeah, it's always fun to have another PC be your relative!

In that same 5e game we had three dwarven cousins, and two half-elf half-brothers.

 

[Composer99]

One of the PCs in my Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat games is a goblin raised by dwarves, who has parlayed extended family connections to benefit the party (he arranged to have dragon eggs they found sold through the family network).

 

[BookTenTiger]

One of the PCs in my Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat games is a goblin raised by dwarves, who has parlayed extended family connections to benefit the party (he arranged to have dragon eggs they found sold through the family network).

I am playing a Goblin Paladin right now whose family has been sponsored by a dwarf for generations! I think that's a really fun dynamic.

 

[iserith]

I don't really involve my characters' families in the campaign much except to have it as a Bond or the like. I also don't expect the DM to include them as part of the adventures.

One such Bond I've had was a character trying to make as much money as possible to restore his family's wealth which they lost on a scheme to buy up or craft all the 10' ladders in the kingdom, remove the rungs, and then sell the two rails as 10' poles which were more valuable. It turned out there was a change in the market which saw the price of 10' poles plummet and the family fell on hard times. My character was trying to bail them out so he took a bunch of 10' poles and started adventuring.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

How have your characters' families impacted your campaigns?

I call all my characters Disney Movies.

...because their parents are dead.

 

[Vaalingrade]

As an only child, I always have siblings for my character.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It turned out there was a change in the market which saw the price of 10' poles plummet and the family fell on hard times.

Of course they fell. They took all the rungs out of the ladders.

 

[payn]

Usually the families dont enter into it. Often, the PCs are travelling around the world/galaxy and dont spend much time in any particular place. I like the idea though.