Level 1 character has a backstory

Alternatively, Has anyone tried to make a backstory for epic level charcters? Like character that start at level 20+?

It's like trying to make a backstory for a god.

But everything should happen while playing!
So, first farming...

He said level 1 character backstory not BBEG backstory.

>having family the DM can abuse

>mfw my whole backstory happened before my death

The same is true of most living characters too

The dead family part seems redundant, seeing as they already disowned the character for banging the pigs.

>not rolling up a newborn for that authentic™ rp experience

>make level 1 character
>think of a fun backstory about them being a down-on-their-luck bard
>the GM looks at me oddly when I try to tell him about it first session
>"user, he's only level 1. Nothing's happened to him yet. He's just started out."
>Explain that I know that, but I still have to explain how he got to where he's starting, right?
>the GM's eyes go glassy and he starts shaking
>soon he's screaming in an impossibly loud howl
>"HE IS LEVEL 1, THE ADVENTURE DOES NOT START BEFORE LEVEL 1 - YOU CAN'T HAVE A STORY BEFORE THE ADVENTURE STARTS, WHAT ARE YOU SOME SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE FAG"
>b-but I've already made the character, I can't just -
>he fixes me with a dead-eyed stare, the players around the table echoing that corpse-like gaze
>"THE CHARACTER DOES NOT EXIST BEFORE THE ADVENTURE. IF YOU CANNOT FORGET THE BACKSTORY, YOU MUST NOT EXIST SO THE GAME MAY PROCEED."
>feel myself screaming as his mouth opens impossibly wide
>I do not exist

>not exclusively playing the ghosts of aborted fetuses

>Level 20 character has no backstory

>"random" npc has a 20 page long backstory

>Level 10 character has some backstory

Play Kobold.
Egg hatches.
Session begins.

Monster races are not for PCs, user.

>character has a backstory

>kobold
>monster race

What are you supposed to do with a character with stats but no class or backstory? You don't even have any motivations or anything.

Class Sorcerer.
Motivation: acquire food, gold and bitches.

Character just suffered attack of explosive amnesia. Begin session.

>bitches
>out of the egg
>endorsing pedophilia

Yeah that Lizard love...

Ignore the bitches, food and gold then.

I'm screenshotting this and printing it out to tape to the "backstory" section of my next character... and possibly every character after that.

So that's why I can't find a group!

There's a rather significant difference between having a history and knowing where a character comes from than being a special, piece of shit little snowflake that whose entire family was betrayed and murdered and has hundreds of assassins out for their life, or is the direct heir to a powerful kingdom/faction that the player made up entirely for their character.

I make backstrories for my characters and then for some systems (3.5 5th and pathfinder are the ones where I find this happens the most) I end up not being able to reflect their backstory in the build

Two examples

Like the ruined merchant trying to find the people who kidnaped his wife (after they killed his boss and coworkers and ran off with all the merchandise, food, and pack animals they could take)

Tried to make that fit a sorcerer then a fighter because the GM and players said they needed both of those things. I couldn't find a way to build this person with basic life skills (let alone the skills a career merchant would have had) and still make them a sorcerer.

Same thing with the con-man warlock I made for a different game

In both cases I ended up having to strip out most of the skills related to their backstory and life skills either of them would have learned by the time they were a teenager or adult.

I haven't had this problem with labyrinth lord, Mongoose traveller, nWoD 1e, Maid, Cyberpunk 2020, and Appoccalype World. (Though in the case of cyberpunk 2020 that was because the GM was changing things around to make the system work better)

I've HAVE had this problem, though less pronounced, in Black Crusade, Shadowrun 4e, Rifts palladium, GURPS, and Mutant: year zero.

I don't mind backstories on new characters, but people tend to write these long stories where they already had a lot of adventures, and they're only level 1.

Basically it should make sense for the level of the character.

As long as it's only vagaries, I don't mind too much. Sometimes it's good to have characters have killed a few goblins before meeting the party, or a shadowrunner have been part of another group. It can be frustrating to have characters from all walks of life suddenly get mashed together on flimsy circumstances, who may have never intended to be adventurers at all, or are just starting out as such (when they don't act like it).

Then again, a lot of people seem to dislike starting at level 1 after a few games, so I wonder why it even matters.

>meanwhile, in the pig pen out back of the tavern...

How do you make a level one character where their lack of life skills and at the same time presence of some level of adventure skill makes sense?

5e has a lovely section about this in the starting out section. Basically, you have whatever it was you were doing with your life before you became an adventurer, and ends by asking "What changed?" I prefer to interpret it as "At what point did this npc become a level one character? How did nothing become someone?"

>How did nothing become someone?

If I could answer that myself, I think my life would be a lot better.

That is a huge question to ask though, and it even implies that there is an answer. What does make an NPC into a character? Does it have to be some big event, some decision to change their life completely, or is it just some inner determination that somehow grants them motivation and powers?

Depends on the character. It's not hard to justify it. For a Half-orc Barbarian I played once, his tribe trained everyone in the art of war. So while he knows how to use an axe, he hasn't really used it in actual combat much yet. He set out on his own and ended up with the party of that game.

Probably helped that he was a survivalist and the party was a bunch of mages that took nothing that didn't help them kill stuff deader.

>Starting a campaign at lvl 5
>One of the characters has no backstory listed.
>Player says that the character is just starting out and has no backstory yet
>mfw

>Write six page backstory not on character but his clan
>All from the perspective of an outsider that they picked up
>Traveling super sheep herders in the mountains
>Far enough away where DM can totally ignore if he wants to
>Only show character at very end as he wins a music contest at the end using a ram's horn as an instrument
>Meant to be a short backstory was packed with side characters, holidays and day-to-day clan life.
>Only get three sessions in before DM vanishes off the face of the earth
>Backstory disappears because the game closed and I forgot to save it

I was real proud of that one too.

>bard
>tries to fuck every female character he meets
>has no endgame, just 'I want to help the world'
>chaotic good
>constantly steals from and fucks other good npc's over
>doesn't roleplay
>needs rules explained to him every session
>doesn't pay attention to the game or story
>on his phone during combat when it's not his turn

You forced me to write 5 pages, 11 size font, both sides and now you complain? fuck you, GM

>entire party is composed of orphans with no friends

Depends on the system, the one we're playing lvl 1 is already a seasoned character competent in his field of expertise. Comparing to DnD it would be like a 3rd level char. So yeah, you can write a backstory

...

There's nothing wrong with giving a lvl 1 character a backstory as long as said backstory is compatible with their level. I played a great warlock character once who had amnesia and had to relearn all of their skills. The problem was that while they knew they'd pledged themselves to some demon, they had to figure out which one and what exactly the deal was so they could fulfill it before the demon took retribution upon them. The quest ended up being resolved through some ad hoc demon court wherein we successfully argued some bullshit legal jargon that the deal was effectively rendered void since my character could not reasonably be in a position to fulfill their end of the bargain and that a separate contract would need to be signed by both signatories.

I actually did play a character that was locked in the same room for her whole childhood and only interacted with her single caretaker and read books to learn.

So ha, I realistically made a backstory that also lets the "nothing before level 1" people be happy.

>lvl 5 party
>gnome wizard's motivation is to go back to school
>he's a lvl 5 wizard has passed through multiple towns and could have fucked off to school at any time

>lvl 5 cleric who was raised by a cult who thinks he's the reincarnation of a god
>cult tells him that he's going to do some amazing deed to save the world
>player asks me if he can roll a new character since he feels like the cleric doesn't have any motivation
>new character is a tabaxi rogue who gets fixated on one thing for short periods of time

level 1 in Dnd is still powerful too. Fighters are described as knight tier, being able to cast a spell sets you apart from most people. reminder that in 5e a villager has 4 hp. Hell, a level 5 in 5e is basically peak condition, beyond that is superhuman.

The was the best picture in Volo's, prove me wrong.

Well don't fucking make characters like that if you're starting at level 1. And if you're starting higher, don't make a merchant character, since you're apparently a combat skilled adventurer. My point being: don't fucking try and run with a merchant or housewife or a paraplegic child in a game based around fucking heroic fantasy you insufferable cunt.

>stop trying to have fun in new ways

>posting meme tranny from meme comic
>it's a bait thread
wow how surprising

So what's the worst character motivation you've ever seen?

You're trying to, on purpose, have fun in a way that strains the system. You've even realised it yourself: it works in some systems, but not in others. You cleanly ignore this and force a system til it breaks, and then go "wow why didn't that work". This is an example of ACTUAL wrongfun and where most "this system is shit" arguments come from.

Sounds like you should have just planned your characters better then, mate. I mean I can understand wanting creativity in your character building but you're just trying to force a square peg through a round hole. Adjust your characters to fit the game or just play a different game.

It's an easy trap to fall into, and I've done it myself, and it was even a joke in Dragonball, but trying to raise enough money to support your hometown/save the village/marry the baker's daughter/whatever. Inevitably the motivation will vanish and you'll just be another weapon with some stats attached to it, because it's usually terribly obvious after a level or two that you're never going to take all your ill gotten gains back home, and if you were, you would have done it years ago.

I fuckin can't

>joined adventuring party
>saved world
>got kicked out for banging pigs
>tavern

Killing a low tier BBEG as vengeance.

Suddenly he's dead, characters are mid levels and it's only been a month.

So there's a new big bad that's bigger and badder but you can't really justify why your character wouldn't just take his newfound riches and just move to another continent.

>So there's a new big bad that's bigger and badder but you can't really justify why your character wouldn't just take his newfound riches and just move to another continent.
With in that month he learned that he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and the kill. He can't return to a simple peasant life.

Does he lie to keep himself happy? In BBEG's case, he will.

I have the problem of not being able to find a class that fits with my level 1 character. Basically a poor kid raised and trained by his knight father who is enslaved by goblin slavers after dad is killed. He's bought/rescued by an elven mage and becomes his adopted son/student in magic. Then elf dad is killed by orcs. He's spent most of his life learning how to fight like a knight and learning magic, but I can't find a decent spellsword homebrew that's balanced and reflects my background.
>tl;dr meshing creative backgrounds with available classes when you're new is a pain

Just refluff it a bit. He's either struggling to with either the martial or arcane aspect of his training. With that at level one you can have him be a fighter still trying to master magic and either have him multiclass into wizard/sorcerer/warlock/druid at lvl 2 or have him become an elderitch knight at lvl 3. Alternatively have him start off as wizard multiclass into fighter/barbarian/paladin/ranger or take the bladesong shit at lvl 3.

Or even just have him be a warlock and take pact of blade and ask your DM if you can refluff some of his shit.

You can pretty much do that as a dragon in Rifts.

What system?

Who do you think killed them?

The pigs?

Literally have a campaign that started like this. It's been going for a couple years now.

>11 years old, playing AD&D with friend and his older brothers
>make an extensive backstory about Elf, an elf whose village was destroyed by Drow
>spend several hours writing out his backstory, drawing a character portrait, painting his figurine
>mfw he dies in the first room against the first mob

Haven't made a backstory since. Usually create it throughout the game.

Then we realized that demons don't give a fuck about legal jargon and my warlock got skullfucked for all eternity by Aeshma of the Bloody Mace, but I digress.

Grubbas father was a wizard that had been abducted by Grubbas clan to help the Shaman to lock away an ancient evil. After the ceremony had been completed Reinheld (Grubbas father) got a few drinks into him and woke up the next morning in the tent of Arvia. He snuck out back and ran off. 9 months later Grubba was born and he was raised by his clan and more particularly the Shaman.
He spent his formative years being picked on and made fun of for being different. Once he learned how to throw a punch or two Grubba was usually left alone to read and learn magic from the Shaman.
When he turned fifteen he ventured out to find his dead beat dad. His mom told him where he was at the time of the great Sealing.
Reinheld had gotten the position of Court Wizard and was embarrased of his son. But he decided to take him on as an apprentice and assistant. He was cold and aloof but loved Grubba in his own way.
Five years later Grubba was sent off to his Clan to perform the great Sealing ceremony again. Things went side ways and the Evil managed to escape.

>First character fought in a small war and then on his return journey got shipwrecked and was looking for directions... in a tavern.

>Second character joined a cult and realized it was bad, left and went to get wasted... in a tavern.

>Third character is still in the cult chasing after #2 for revenge

>Fourth character is of a race typically hostile to the first three characters and doesn't speak their language but lost a bar fight with #1 so now he is with them... in the tavern.

Backstories longer than any of these are cancer. I hate it in MMOs and Tapletop when I am trying to read someones background and it goes on and on. A paragraph is enough.

>lawful evil

>if it's more than a paragraph its shit
At least it shows they put in effort. I'd rather get five paragraphs of stuff that I can possibly use as plot hooks rather than a single sentence that gives me nothing to work with.

>Lesser son of minor noble
>Joined the king's army
>Fought in border war
>Was half decent warrior
>Sword hand cut off looting the dead on either side
>Disowned by family
>Now relearning to use the sword with left hand
>Get thirsty stop in at local tavern
There is your low level characters back stort

>anons discover not everyone likes the same thing

>Not being able to fill all kinds of good shit into a paragraph. Get better writing skills.

No (you) for your bait thread.

>no backstory

Kinda sad, but I respect that sometimes it's hard to think of an entire character's past, especially for a new group or setting.

>no personality, motivations to adventure or character traits

Get the fuck out.

My campaigns start at level 3-5 and I require players write out a medium length backstory for their character. I need to know what your character's personality is like, what their goals and motivations are and how I can tie them into the adventure. I love including figures from character's backstories into the plot, either as allies or antagonists to fill in the world and make them feel more connected to the events. It's a collaborative storytelling game after all, and using the players' ideas is a quick way to save yourself time and get them instantly invested in whatever's going on.

I even give them a questionnaire to fill out, usually with bonus questions based on the nature of the campaign. For example, my swashbuckling nautical campaign included "How did you come to be employed on the Stormchaser?" and "What's your rank and role on the ship?" My gothic mystery campaign asked "What's the most terrible thing you've ever done and gotten away with?" and "Why do you still consider yourself a good person?" This gets the players on the same page and tends to resolve 'alignment' issues. Not that I use actual alignments in my game of course.

Honestly, I think that disregarding PC backstories is a really shitty practice. The players are going to spend dozens, even hundreds of hours learning about your campaign setting and all the special snowflake NPCs and enemies within it. Hating on their backstories just feels like the worst kind of entitled attitude you can have. If you don't want other people adding interesting flourishes to your world via backstories then you should write a fanfiction, not run a game.

Lighten up. Let your players write as little or as much as they want. See longer backstories as a resource you can draw upon instead of a shackle upon your story.

I like you user.

Speaking of lvl 1 backstories, let's generate one Veeky Forums

d20 for our race

to KILL A GOD

I swear, I've seen this shit more than a dozen time at this point.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

okay, I'll start us off but I can't promise anything more

Go to school.

Level 1 characters in 5E have backgrounds. You can say "My character was a nameless front-line soldier in the last war, and he made a name for himself in This Battle when he and his mates fought a Giant Enemy Crab. After the war, he picked up adventuring."

What they SHOULDN'T do is drop "and his mates" and replace "Giant Enemy Crab" with "The Infamous Death Knight Xzandarbar the Fifth" and add a whole bunch of other shit that a level 1 character doesn't have because despite being remarkable, they have a lot of room for growth.

>Elf
Our fantastic character is a knife ear.

d10 for their culture background.

DMs who demand you do homework are not people you should play with.

In my games, you decide your level of involvement. If I do my job right, you'll do what you want and have a good time. Everyone will have a good time.

Just don't tell me how you're a dragonslayer before you could even cast lightning bolt, or how you're best friends with the King, or write me a novel that I'm supposed to insert into sessions for "your arc". Because fuck all of that.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

Sorry if I fuck this up, I'm still kinda new to Veeky Forums

I never demand length. At the very least I ask for some goals that your character have. The more you give me, the more likely I can use at least some of that for the game.

>Civilized Decadent
>These are civilized cultures past the peak of their prime. Decay has begun to set in at all elevels and the people have become hedonistic and jaded. The government seems to have become self-perpetuating and careless of the people's needs, previously common civil liberties and services begin to disappear...Historical examples include the latter centuries of the Roman Empire. Fictional examples include Moorcock's Melniboneans

Now d100 to see what our social status is.

To be fair, it's fine if it's what the party is trying to accomplish already.

20 words or FEWER.

Mass nouns vs count nouns kid. If you can count it, there can be fewer. If you cannot, it is less.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

A background is fine if it's normal person stuff, with a noteworthy event or two to explain why he's adventuring.

A background is bad if it's adventurer stuff that would lead to more levels in game terms.

?

>Birth
>Family life
>Training/story of how character went from commoner/aristocrat level 1 to (class) level 1
>How the character got into the situation that begins the campaign