The following is an example intended for educational use only using examples and references to The Forgotten Realms, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and other properties owned in their entirety by Dungeons and Dragons and Wizards of the Coast.
The Dungeon Master carefully describes the scene…
The encampment lies before you. You gather from yesterday’s interrogation of the cult prisoner that this must be what was referred to as “The Nest”. You see tents spread out across the mesa and a cave dug into a cliff at the rear most part of the camp. You feel strange, as though standing on a precipice… So far from home. Yet so close.
The player prods for answers…
Is he here? My father? I knew I shouldn’t have left. Of course you won’t be able to tell me… does it look like there are prisoners nearby? I want to wait until I see prisoners exiting the cave and try to take out the guards and enter.
The Table watches…
For the brief time you’ve known her, you knew her to be strong, willful, and composed. Even rigid. But for the brief moment before the tent flap closes behind her you see Abidayah completely and utterly break as she sees her father, chained, beaten and destitute. In no condition a father ever wishes to be seen by his child..
Action, then, hope…
“I always knew you’d find me… my little star-eared girl…” your father reaches up to touch your elvish features before coughing halfway through, arresting his motion. He’s launched into a coughing fit that seizes his body while his head seems to stay perfectly still. You reach back and realize a nail has found its home there. You pull away to reveal a steady stream of crimson… You remember the patrolling guards outside as your vision flashes with rage...Time is not on your side. “Oh dearie,” he strokes your chin, not enough strength to make it to your ears. “Don’t despair. She’d be so proud of you. Your mother. If she knew… and she can. There are people waiting for you in Waterdeep. She always said if you ever... if you wanted to find her, to seek out the Enclave, The Emerald...in….” His coughing starts back up. Crimson now sputtering out amidst his words. You taste iron and remorse. “Waterdeep. Promise me. You were meant for more than simple… farm. Abidayah. I. I love you. I’m so proud…” his breathing becomes erratic and then.... A hush as his last breath out becomes the first breath in of the rest of your life.
The above is used as an example to illustrate several incredibly basic but extremely effective techniques to maximize time at the table and make a Player Character’s backstory take center stage and enhance player experience in any adventure module or homebrewed game, with a focus on 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
To be successful, and before embarking on the task ahead, consider these few bits of Wisdom (+4) from a crotchety young goblin.
Tabletop roleplaying games are, at their heart, a community sport. One must be willing to relinquish a modicum of control to the players around them every time they sit down with a character sheet, or a DM’s screen, and some dice. This is just as true for the Dungeon Master as it is for the player. In “Arbiter of Worlds” by Alexander Macris, Alex calls “Railroading” or “Film-like Storytelling” a very exciting and potentially wild ride… but it remains just that, a ride. On the contrary, enlightened Game Masters look to create what Alex calls a “Story Web”, that is, when you create a world that is changing and dynamic, but has consistencies that connect the moving parts within the story. Things in the world change according to player decisions and their indecisions. When it comes to roleplaying games, every game must be unique. Not simply because of changing variables like time, snacks, players, and social distancing; but because of the way in which different players interact with dynamic consistencies, as I like to call them, and the chain of events they set in motion.
One of the ways in which a DM can begin by creating a Story Web and therefore an enhanced player experience is through thoughtful use of provided character backstories. By following these steps you’ll begin the process of engaging your players where they are and slowly but surely make their character’s story become the web they want to unravel session after session.
Backstory in 5 Simple Steps
Here are 5 easy steps you can take to bring your PC’s stories to the forefront and begin building your story web.
1. Plant the seed
Foreshadowing is one of the oldest and most reliable tools of storytelling known to humankind. It allows for subtlety, anxiety, and that feeling of “Aha! I can't believe it was in front of me the whole time!” that audiences young and old love to try and “beat” or “guess” before it happens. To use foreshadowing, start by thinking about the final event and work backwards. Using the example from earlier, the “event” would be Abidayah finding her father has been enslaved by the cultists she’s been missing at every turn. Working backwards, find a few key ideas, emotions, or experiences that stand out to you or that you know will subjectively stand out to the player character. Destitution, contrast, change, family, home. From these words come a multitude of different ideas that we can use throughout the five steps but come in handy before the character even knows what’s happening.“You feel like you’re standing on a precipice...” and “So far from home, and yet, so close” are both ways to tie in Abidayah’s physical relationship to her father that she doesn’t know about yet, while also signaling to her that change and potential danger may be coming. Find ways to make foreshadowing your own while letting this example and Chekhov’s Gun be your guide.
2. Now, it’s personal!
But why do they care? When running any adventure, like Hoard of The Dragon Queen published by Wizards of the Coast as used in the example above, there will be plenty of opportunities for personalization. There’s no better personalization opportunity to seize than that of intertwining backstories with a pre-written module. It says that the Cultists have gathered up all the surrounding townsfolk and farmers from nearby homesteads to act as their personal slaves and pack mules as they trek up the Sword Coast. A quick scan of the party’s sheets reveals two members of the party have families in or around the cultist’s first stop. By connecting their families, their lives, and their self generated stories into this cultist plot you’ve not only given them reason to care, but generated a rivalry and passion that will motivate that character to take continuous action and stay motivated in or outside the given plot. By compounding these personal tie-ins, looking for opportunities to include them, then following these 5 steps to do so, you slowly begin to weave the web of consistencies your players will make dynamic actions within.
3. Raise the stakes
The simplest, but perhaps the most overlooked step in creating a more diverse and immersive world for your players to play within are stakes. No! Not S-T-E-A-K-S you silly Orc!
STAKES! Creating time limits, ultimatums, moral dilemmas, or rewards are all ways one might choose to raise the stakes within their game. In the earlier example, there were many ways in which time was used against Abidayah. Patrolling guards that could come at any second, a dying father about to slip away, a party outside and in danger every moment they’re gone. All of these contribute to help make the player realize this is real…it’s urgent, it needs their full attention, and it could spell life or death for anyone depending on their actions.
4. Deafening Roar!
This is the climax of the event. Using typical narrative structure this means the previous steps committed to the exposition, inciting incident, and rising action to make sure we arrived here. Everything should feel as though it was leading to this point and a game master should make good on the promises they made during the Foreshadowing step from earlier. As in Chekhov’s Gun, mentioned earlier, “If you hung the gun up on the mantle, now’s the time to make sure it fires.” The earlier example did this by invoking the danger from the precipice imagery as well as showing why Abidayah was closer to her home than she thought. When she found her father beaten and dying, this foreshadowing was cashed in so to speak for the climax of the character event.
5. What’s Next?
Finally, what corporate America calls Action Items we call What’s Next? After generating a truly memorable experience for all at the table, players usually want something to feel like they did the thing. This usually comes in the form of some sort of physical reward or at the very least a next step so the player can direct their energy and emotions towards something that furthers both their personal goals and achievements as well as potentially the “Main quest” if you will. Abidayah’s Father, for instance, told her if she wanted more answers about her mother, she should seek out an organization called “The Enclave” in Waterdeep. Those were some of his last words before passing and it gives the characters decision to follow that advice, or not to, added emotional weight simply by being said at the right time, by the right person.
& Now you have a backstory!
That’s it! Follow these 5 steps and you’ll be well on your way to creating a truly memorable player experience. Hope you enjoyed this How-To guide on how to bring backstories to the forefront of your TTRPG campaigns.
Meet the Blogger
Mitchell H.
”What? You mean he’s not a Goblin after all?” Unfortunately not, intrepid traveler, but that doesn’t make his advice any less valuable (+4 wisdom, remember?). Mitchell is a Philadelphia based Actor, Director, and producer, who found D&D at a young age. He’s played and DM’ed on and off for the past decade from 3e-5e and most recently launched a miniature painting and story writing business using his theatre training for a focus on a collaborative experience.