Thread 96803449

You do make your level 1 characters have appropriate backgrounds for their level right anon?

>>96803449 (OP)
>Levels
Already fucked up, anon.

>>96803449 (OP)
According to the character proposals I've come across for my most recent lfg announcements, this is still beyond the capabilities of ChatGPT.

>>96803449 (OP)
You don't. Levels 1-3 are the background

>>96803449 (OP)
I unironically do "Bob the farmer picked up his grandfather's sword to defend his village from goblins" type shit for like 90% of my backstories.

>>96803765
Based
>>96803613
Cringe

>>96804052
It is unironically fun to be the simple farm boy with good traditional values in a party full of drama-whores with theater-kid problems. Dumped Charisma? Doesn't matter, you're still the most approachable, level-headed, and trustworthy. Clark Kent may not be the most Charismatic super hero either, but I'd trust him to watch my kids over Tony Stark any day.

>>96803449 (OP)
You play through level 0 and their background is that

>>96803449 (OP)
Even level one adventurers are considered above average compared to regular people.

Part of the backstory should explain their training, even if it's only basic training by some random.

>>96804071
This. Players who are unable to adapt their character and let him grow and/or change are complete bitches.

>>96804093
>5e is implied

>>96803449 (OP)
I don't run zero XP games in any system but the likes of Barbarians of Lemuria.

>>96804093
My "training" is that I was one of the ones who stepped up and grabbed a weapon to defend our home with. The rest can happen in the actual campaign. Fuck this nu-age D&D 5e shit your character is best friends with Cthulu at level 1 or whatever.

>>96803449 (OP)
Of courshe, and it baffles me when people get upset that you do this

>>96804159
I meant more like a soldier that went to boot camp or a wizard who took Intro to Magic. It doesn't have to be elaborate.

>>96804159
>Friends with Cthulu at level 1
The Warlock class (and removal of prestige classes in general) was such a fuking mistake.

>>96804071
>theater-kid
Is this the new "X-shitting"?

>>96804399
>theater kid
>new

>>96803449 (OP)
Considering the backgrounds are baked into the character options of my games, yes I do.

>>96804399
Please lurk more, or better yet just fuck off with your retardation forever.

>>96803449 (OP)
I built 4 characters recently, a cluster of options for a game my friend was possibly going to run.

I try and keep D&D and similar characters to less than half a page of bullet points unless I'm building above 5th level. Pic is my backstory for Nathan "Jib" Salle. a hexblade warlock, pact of the tome. (built at level 3).

>>96805434
I do something similar, except I separate bullet points between the past, inciting incident, and how they got to the current location.

I also try to name any important NPCs while providing a goal the character wants (pic rel is missing one).

>>96805721
that was an excerpt.

whole document is 4 pages.

but mostly thats all the mechanical stat details (where I get what stats, equipment etc.) and the build level-to-level and notes about what the DM would allow (like adding the ritual tag to more spells for my Book of Ancient Secrets invocation.)

one page was just a list of every ritual spell in the rules as written.

I also try and get the art threads here to make me a character portrait (a good character isnt complete without one!) here is someone's rendition of Nathan in Pixel Art form.

>>96803449 (OP)
You don't write a background that presupposes power and abilities you don't have yet.

>>96803449 (OP)
I guess, if I want a character have some not worthy accomplishment in their background I always have it as a group effort.

>>96804399
found the theater kid

levels aren't really good for storytelling, but in both DnD 3.5 and 5 a level 1 character already has an array of supernatural powers the commoner does not have. it represents training or inherent talent, but its still something your level 0 peasent would take years to achieve. IME if you are playing 5th its better to start people at level 3 and have them already have had a decent amount of training or real world experience.

many of the traits you get at around 3rd/4th level are usually something very tied to backstoryand its better to skip the awkward phase of squishing goblins until you unlock the power that's in you backstory already.

Great example is a warrior getting find familiar from a feat or a scholar having a lot of points in a knowledge skill they trained in before the adventure.

Additionally, its hard to play old characters at level 1 due to levels trying to gamify gaining experience, which old people should already have some more than a 20 year old level 1.

Some classes its easy to say you just woke up with powers one day, like sorcerer, but a fighter trained in a longbow had to spend years building muscle and skill to operate it at all.

proficiencies in 3rd especially really speak of formal training

This character is a monk. This is a wizard. And this is a ranger.
O no no no they must all be just random farmboys, the specialization must happen after they clear their first lair of goblins!
Now give me the yous, maybe even call me based. Fuck those dnd theater kids am I right?

>>96806277
No freakshit either, they must all be white human men.

They must have ordinary lives, non of that story hook shit. Plain DnD only.

Fuck libatards, am I right?

>>96806277
>>96806505
Nobody who is playing D&D in 2025 is based. I'm sorry.

>>96803449 (OP)
No I do not. What will you do about it?

>>96804218
Nah, if he wants to be a farmboy who picked up a random weapon, just let him start as a Commoner who got lucky enough to kill a couple goblins. He can multiclass into Fighter after the game starts.

>>96808518
this

>>96803449 (OP)
>He plays games with levels
>He plays them by starting at level 1

>>96803765
>>96804071
I unironically think you are a never game fishing for (You)s, so here is mine

>>96803449 (OP)
level 1 narratively is supposed to represent people in their first steps of whatever class or journey they've set themselves on, so beyond what happened in your childhood and teenage years (if teenage years isn't filled with training for weapon proficiencies that martials begin with, for example) their backstory should be pretty bare because they're building it right now at the table.

>>96803449 (OP)
... why the fuck are you playing/running lvl 1 games? Are you fucking insane? This game doesn't fucking work if you are below lvl 4

>>96803449 (OP)
You can do "killed a dragon" as a level 1 character in D&D 5e. A couple hundred conscripts with crossbows can kill an adult red dragon (albeit suffering significant losses). You just make your level 1 guy one of those conscripts.

>>96810101
This, Ive never played an edition of DnD (3.5, 4th, 5th, Pathfinder 1E and 2E) where starting level 3 or 4 didnt just open up backgrounds, storytelling and creative freedom massively with zero downside.

>>96803449 (OP)
>90% of the background is a story about how the character go isekai'd

>>96810689
more like
>uncle trained me to use a sword
or
>born with magical potential
its far more isekai brined to think someone could be a peasent for 20 years of their life and then just wake up one day with superpowers.

>>96803449 (OP)
If we’re talking 5e the subclasses all being at level 3 is retarded too. Warlocks don’t have a patron, sorcerers don’t get their ancestry, clerics are just generic priest dudes with no domain. For other games with levels I’m sick of the idea you have to be a hero before the game. Unless you’re starting at a high level you’re just a normal dude who might be good with a sword, sneaky, or knows magic. Heroic in a way but not a hero of the land.

I liked how Traveller handled backstories. A game in its own right.

>>96811320
>its far more isekai brined to think someone could be a peasent for 20 years of their life and then just wake up one day with superpowers.
using D&D as the example. you very well could get lost in the woods, trip down a hole, or just wake up with powers.
>sorceror
its in the blood, pops out whenever it likes
>warlock
you cleaned up an old shrine in the woods to use as a hunting shelter. your casual and flippant oath grants you a pact.

though, you could get fighter from any military career action and just "[name] was an exceptional warrior in several battles"

its not inconceivable to have a reasonable backstory for any of the classes. its just that you have to understand your place in a narrative at the time of campagin start. Isekai tends to massively overpower the protag far too early to mimic most TTRPGs (some exceptions do apply) instead of struggles [through the lower levels].

but, especially younger players (my expereince, teenagers and their friends) want that Isekai experience. being overpowered from square one. which doesnt exactly feed into "fresh off the farm/out of the military service/wizarding apprenticeship, etc." feeling that level one is supposed to be.

>>96803449 (OP)
Man, I love cats. It's like someone was like
>you know these huge apex predators that all dominate their respective biomes?
>make them small and stupid
And now we have tiny tigers that keep yelling like they're starving even though they ate an hour ago

>>96803449 (OP)
>>96804071
>>96810078
I think what everyone here who says "intricate backstory bad, make your own story along the way" is missing is the fact that intricate does not mean finished, and conversely, simple does not always make for a good starter. If you wrote an entire page worth of setup describing how your farmboy was wronged by say, a noble who refused to defend his village when he was a boy resulting in the massacre of his family at the hands of orks and due to that, he has both a seething hatred of nobles and orcs - that's fine. That is much better than someone who writes verbatim "my guy has been in a thousand battles, felled entire kingdoms, and is joining your party for a bigger fight " (obviously I am exaggerating here but you get the idea). A backstory can be long and intricate, but as long as it feels like a backstory, a setup to a greater story, that's acceptable. Look at the hypothetical one-page worth of farmboy Bob's backstory where he has a personality, a motivation, and a feeling of being at the beginning of the story, rather than the end. Versus our second hypothetical, cultivator Chris here - who despite having a single line of description, feels like a level 20's post-game summary rather than an actual backstory.

I mean look at actual "level 1s" throughout actual stories. Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter can have an entire paragraph of backstory, while Bilbo Baggins only has a couple sentences, but all three feel like "level 1s" as they are not fully developed at the start of their stories. Compare this to...I don't know any examples of characters that started strong and that's their entire backstory, but I'm sure some other anon can provide an example of "simple and fully grown."

>>96803765
And that's fine too. Nothing wrong with a simple backstory, as long as you are willing to build onto it. Or not, if it's a silly dungeon crawler.

>>96804071
Clark Kent is extremely handsome which gives him high charisma. Low charisma means you are autistic AND ugly.

>>96810603
If it's any help, it worked even worse with TSR-era games: lvl 3 was usually where it was anything more than just poking shit with a pole and hoping for the best, and 4 was where you get actual survivability.
The worst editions were the post mid-80s and onward, because they already figured out that this kinda doesn't work when played as an actual game sold to people instead of fucking around with your close circle of friends BUT actively refused to do anything about it, because "b-but we had this in previous editions like that!".
People shit on WotC for "muh tradition" approach, but they do that for marketing gimmick. TSR refused to innovate, because.

>>96811320
>>96812221
>Let's make thread shitting on people having elaborate backstories
Which are pointless, no question about it
>by bending over to justify our characters existence in the mudcore workframe
God damn it, why are you faggots always so retarded?

If you don't like elaborate backstories, here is a clue:
Don't fucking have them
Do you have ANY fucking idea how retarded you come off when starting with your powerless wank and then write 3-5 sentences of nonsense that only works if you were playing WFRP 2e under a Polish GM?

>>96806139
>levels aren't really good for storytelling, but in both DnD 3.5 and 5 a level 1 character already has an array of supernatural powers the commoner does not have.
DnD has always had this weird problem where being an adventurer is supposed to be special on it's own, but in reality you are more generally incompetent feeling than a normal person.

>>96812221
it depends on the class. no one just picks up a warbow and is able to fire that like its nothing. its a bunch of wierd muscles that take years of training, conditioning and working up in draw strength to use.

>>96812644
3.5 had robust Take 10/ Take 20 rules iirc my group used that a lot. We always interpreted skill checks as something made under pressure. A knowledge check doesn't mean you are a retard who can't research something, its more to roll to see if you already know it in the middle of a conversation. The last time I played 3.5 our dnd kind of did a half assed degrees of success thing though where he would decide how good or how much you failed kind of arbitrarily (but fairly, it worked well).

An example I always think of was talking to a small wizard study group in a mid sized town (wizards need to relearn their spells every time they cast them) and they mentioned a historical wizard who was kind of a common anecdote of bad management for local wizards in wizarding communities that was relevant to the mystery and our noble fighter guy rolled an untrained knowledge arcana(?) check and our DM said "its not enough to pass, but its enough to know that you could read up about it at the library in the nearby larger city". When we went there 2 of our party members went shopping and the other two did a Take 10 at the library to get the clues.

Maybe its one of those things were DnDs rules are so vague and nebulous they are best for hand-wavey DM's whos brains can fill in the gaps of the ruleset.

I've played 5E and had so many things not have rules its very frustrating. No rules for giant/tiny weapons. No rules for drowning people. In one encounter I shapeshifted into a crocodile and dragged a side boss underwater and spent like 20 rounds grappling a bandit leader underwater and we really couldnt find a way to handle it that made sense.

>>96812221
This is your brain on mudcore fetishism

>>96812221
I agree with you, but none of that is "Dave the farmer picked up a rake and then got once per day action surge and can now magically use weapons that other people trained their entire lives to use". Its exactly my point that most level 1 characters represent fresh from military service or apprenticeships characters. Even warlocks are new to their pact and very low ranking in their patrons hierarchy (with most warlock backstories).

Monks and Druids especially have an esoteric knowledge vibe which almost certainly includes someone having taught you the martial art or druidic language and practice.

Though any class can have a backstory thats just "nature god bonked me on the head and Im a druid now" or "i absorbed the power of the iron fist im a karate guy now", ime most people dont actually want that. Ive played with randoms online and close friends and the isekai premise is actually pretty rare and when it does happen its usually someones first game.

Had a guy when I was in the Navy join one of my remote games we played in TTS, we would have a few beers in the barracks while we played it and it was his first game. He made a rogue who had trickster god talking to him in his mind. And desu because he was the only one with the isekai godlike patron backstory going on it worked for the party, he wasnt even the driving force for the story.

>>96812455
Which is weird because ugliness is directly related to fitness.
dnd never made sense.

>>96806277
>>96808518
>>96812287
>>96808974
STFU and go have chatgpt write "your novel". Backstories are worthless in ttrpgs, all that matters is what's happening during the session. Nobody wants to hear about how you're the third earl of gaylordias 2nd heir to the gaylord throne it has no bearing on what's happening right now. Go play theater kid somewhere else.

>>96812617
because its a mental exercise.

I much prefer the "was raised in conditions that could feasibly encourage a talented youngster to develop into the start of a character." guy at seminary develops cleric powers, veteran of a couple of battles shows exceptional skills in any flavor (sneaky, face-on, holy, etc.). your level of magic or fantastic elements is your buisiness, realism can fly out a window.

>>96813074
yup, but at the same time, anyone can pick one up to learn. assuming theres a warbow around to use. talent is talent.

>>96813649
and a divine inspiration, real or imagined, is a PERFECT backstory point at any level and for any character. "god bonked me on the head" is always plausible in a fantasy universe. except no young thief would have enough jobs under his belt to more than just "respected by his peers." My underrstanding of the OP is that people write backstories where they are "god of thieves with a hundred jobs on their CV" as a level one character. >>96805434 is one of my characters, he had a profession, a chance encounter and a pact-dream by 25 or so years old. a very functional "god-bonk" on the head.

>>96813801
>"god of thieves with a hundred jobs on their CV"
You know, its so ridiculous I didn't even really think of this. But I suppose there are people who do that. I'm level 1 but also the greatest warrior in my country famous and rich etc etc

>>96803449 (OP)
Mention that the backstory was basically just how you got to where you are.
You're a trainee, you are living life until you gather basic proficiencies. Talk about time as an apprentice or perhaps your role in various family intrigue.

Set a goal and define why the goal is important. Try to avoid downgrades as that requires a serious amount of justification for why you suddenly forgot you were a "master tactician" because a bucket fell on your head and you became amnesiac.

>>96813832
not so much "mudcore" (had to google that term, its been a while since I was on 4chan) more just "a case of being reasonable."

too gritty and you wear away at your game. but too soft and you dont get the right polish. I try and nail a reasonable grit number knowing that "I lived in the forest till I was a druid" character and "veteran of a dozen battles" character and "went to school long enough to get myself into trouble" character wil be coming out of very different levels of mud. Ideally I throw them all in the tumbler together and get a real gem.

>>96813731
It would be funny if your post had zero relation whatsoever with mine post, and yet you replied to me.
Here is another pity (You)

>>96813801
>I don't want elaborate stories
>Instead, I want chosen one with an extra serving of muh destiny
Explain now to us all how this is different from what you are bitching about.
Come on, you can write the words, there is a chance you can also think what they mean

>>96814364
>>96813801
>you can be both, but you dont need both.
can YOU think the words and what they mean?

>>96813801
What the other anon asked already:
Can you figure out why your idea of a "perfect backstory" is the shit that insecure 15 yo would come up with in the fear of being called "cringe" for writing an actual backstory?
Because boy oh boy, if there are actual annoying backstories that players come up with it's this exact kind of shit: oh, no, my character isn't speshul at all, except he [long list of nonsensical shit that at the same time tries to play down all the achievements].
Just fucking own the character, instead of being a monumental pussy, you insecure fuck. This is a game of pretend and by design hobby build around escapist fantasy. What sort of mental disorder do you have to be still involved, and yet only with one feet into the whole gaming stuff, still trying to run away?
Or you are simply a newfag? You know, started playing, with whateer character, but then decided to go online and "learned" that he is having fun wrong, and now is scaling back and adjusting. Because wide access to internet and mudcore fetishism in the early 00s were tightly related - a reaction of all those insecure fucks that oh no, someone is going to point a finger and laugh, because I made pretty/smart/competent/yes character, time to shit it up, but not fully, so my character still comes off as special snowflake, but with everything smeared in mud and shit.
I fucking hate this retarded mindset. It's the worse thing that could happen to a player. And if you don't beat it out of them fast, it's a lost cause: they are going to spend next xteen years hating themselves over the fact they once made a character who was anything beyond internet approved list of trite mediocrity.

>>96814506
by the standards of what a character CAN be, a level one character isnt special. by the standards of whats in the Monster Manual you definately arent special. you're exceptional by the standards of the next pesant, but most characters would be hard-pressed by a reasonably adept bear.

I do own the characters. I find it fun to have a reasonable, if simple, backstory. I usually GM, a simple backstory with minimal detail means I can slap details into it from my end. had a player with the soldier background and few details, I could slap a small team of NPCs into the game that were looking for him after the war.

I've been playing for nearly 2 decades. the only wrong fun is the fun that kills the table, also metal dice on a glass table (never been around a breakage, but that rattle is unnerving).

as for the divine inspiration, its perfectly fine, but its not a requirement. if you need/want a character in basically any setting to get a motivational boot to the ass, a few god-dreams work as fantastic motivation.

>>96814506
oh so you are just retarded and psychotic, having invented a massive conspiracy and endless amount of made up situations to get mad about

>play in game that's a dungeon diving hack and slash loot accumulator where niggas die everyday
>write melodrama theater kid bullshit 10 page character sheet about Sparkle the tabaxi and how his parents hate him for being gay and have a meltie when he dies to the door of infinite artificial difficulty that immediately vaporizes him.
or
>play in game that's thought out story-heavy setting where DM wants players to make characters with a connection to the community, or have individual goals and interests, or have values to work with.
>write in Eric Steele, the faceless body whose defining characteristics are that he holds a sword and says "I attack the thing" and get mad that theres narrative happening and he isn't involved at all.

In both of these situations, you, the playoid, are the faggot and the DM made a mistake inviting you.

>>96815088
/thread

>>96815088
Also: checked

>>96815088
Could be worse
>play in game where you don't die non-stop, but is still combat- or mission-centric
>write melodrama about your deposed princess, currently a scrying sorceress, and her misadventures across past 10 years, which nobody cares for, because the task is to explore this jungle river and do so on the rail
or
>play Dogs in the Vineyard, without reading the rules or setting
>Make a generic gunslinger cowboy with no goals, convictions or clue, then get mad when the BBG sways you to his side with a dice roll
Been there, seen both, being a GM for open tables is suffering when you land with a bad group or at least bad player(s) for today's game

>>96813125
Gygax himself was infamous for NOT USING THE RULES AT ALL. The DM screen was so he could pretend to check stuff, make a fake roll, then lie to your face. I appreciate the hustle myself.

That aside, prior to WOTC acquiring the entire IP, that is how DnD worked. Examining the thief/rogue is a great example. Earliest version had stuff like HIDE IN SHADOWS and HEAR NOISE and could CLIMB WALLS. So, wait, their entire thing is they can do normal guy stuff? The only way that works is if you then ban normal guy stuff from others. Now the fighter can't even hide behind a barn cause that's a stealth check. NPCs can see right through it with Xray maybe? No, these were miraculous abilities. They could literally meld with shadows, climb sheer surfaces with no gear, and hear noises on the wind no one else could. Wild shit like that. Anyone could check for traps, try to hide, try to be quiet, try to climb something if it had handholds/footholds or had a rope or something already set up. Anyone can do.. normal guy stuff. Such skills were not tracked, did not exist, and were not things you could even invest in.

I think the issue is.. itemization. 3.5 is particularly guilty of itemizing EVERY SINGLE THING a person can do. Suddenly a normal guy can't just run. You need to have skill points in that. Want to jump in place? Hope you put all of what few skillpoints you have in that or you can't even bend your knees to try. That's not how the rules actually work, but that's what itemization DOES. Particularly when the return on investing in doing a thing has so LITTLE RETURN that it would take all of your character investment to see a difference, and with how 3.5 handled resources it's going to be YOUR ENTIRE CHARACTER to do the one normal guy thing.

Suddenly your sense of freedom is strangled from you by nature no matter how many rule zero notes the text tries to leave behind.

>>96814506
You are genuinely a retard.

>>96813731
>t. seething readlet

>>96813832
This is probably most least favorite type of backstory. A backstory exists as setup, to explain why your character is the way they are at the start of the story, as a mound of potential so it can be shaped into something greater. I don't care about your accomplishments, tell me

Trust me, I've GM'ed way too many games where I can't help but treat the players like side characters in their own story (and of course that means no protagonist at all since I don't do DMPCs) because they're just...there. Some basic backstories work better than others - like John the farmboy can retroactively gain a backstory as I move on in, but others just indicate a real lack of engagement from the player. A player who makes a basic backstory like it's a modern art piece to "subvert le long story" in my experience, has far more in common with the theater kid storyline than they do with most basic backstory writers who are lazy as shit and don't actually care about the game. At the end of the day, both are trying to be special.

>>96815088
>Sparkle the tabaxi and how his parents hate him for being gay
I know you're writing hyperbole, but as a DM that enjoyed story heavy settings with a connection to the community and requires your character have individual goals and interests/values to work with, I would immediately boot that player from the table. That is an objectively shit backstory, even for a story heavy game.

Though, when the characters are good it can be amazing. I mostly run hack and slash dungeon delves because I'm lazy as shit, and beer and pretzel number crunching is easy and guarantees fun no matter what. But it's the serious story based games that have been high risk, high effort, and high reward for me. As long as no one is playing Sparkle the tabaxi, it can be amazing if well done. Emphasis on if.

>>96818576
What would the ideal backstory look like?

>>96806277
The monk is is a new initiate to their order going on an ordained pilgrimage to prove that they deserve full entry.

The wizard has just begun their studies of magic and is itching for some “practical application”.

The ranger is a hermit who’s just been chased out of the woodland copse they’ve spent their whole life in. Time to figure shit out.

It’s not hard anon.

>>96818833
>The monk is is a new initiate to their order going on an ordained pilgrimage to prove that they deserve full entry.

A 3.5 Monk at level 1 has a Bonus feat, flurry of blows, unarmed strike for 1d6 unarmed damage. They have proficiency with nunchaku, sais, and shurikens. These are not things an initiate has. That is years of training.

Are you the type of DM that when someone hits level 4 and gets a bonus feat they just take weapon proficiency (longsword) because they want it even if they are in the middle of a moor with no food or people around for days of travel? video game ass type gamer, fr.

>>96804399
No, it means the same thing, but is like 40 years older.

>>96813680
There are plenty of fitcels. Just because someone is strong doesn’t magically mean they get good at talking.

>>96819368
>>96803449 (OP)
This is exactly why I like to play my suboptimal and gimmick dudes and gals. More fun. Anyone can 100 to 0 a mob with enough luck, now have them be fun to play?
>kino

>>96819488
>Stormwind fallacy
*eye roll*

>>96804071
Superman is literally superhumanly charismatic
he's trustworthy incarnate capable of putting people at easy and comforting them no matter what, highly compassionate to the point he can relate to common people despite having the powers of a god

Clark Kent as ridiculously high CHA by D&D standards

>>96806582
Old editions of D&D with the serial numbers filed off are still D&D.

>>96805721
>child character
You must be queer.

>>96803449 (OP)
Usually. Acolytes, scholars, mercenaries who have a couple jobs under their belt at most, things of that nature.
I mean when we're talking about D&D. Obviously my Exalted had a super badass moment when his spark ignited even though he's only essence 1.

>>96818787
Sparkle the tabaxi whose parents hate HER for being gay.

>>96821024
damn shes just like me except im a fat dude from jersey

I've only played 2 Lvl 1 Campaigns in my whole tg experience. One was Pathfinder, the other was Rogue Trader lol

The more I read this thread, the more I realize half the people here would straight up disintegrate reading Traveler chargen.

>>96815088
I'm the Eric Steele player without getting mad I'm not involved. Other people enjoy interacting with NPCs, let them do it.
Almost all of my roleplay is trying to protect the casters, and discussing whatever we're currently working on with the party.

There is no point in writing a long convoluted backstory.

I start with a fag-packet blurb.
If it needs expanding, I can do so on an ad-hoc basis - just inventing background elements on the fly, to justify whatever action.
The tradeoff is I then have to keep them consistent.

>>96818787
DEPENDS
answer the following questions.
1.) whats the setting like?
1.a.) is setting generic?
2.) what does GM require as a minimum for the character backstory?
3.) what level of effort do you want?

once you answer all those you can say what an ideal backstory looks like.
my ideal is 7-40 bullet points (starting 'level' dependent) in a summary the GM can digest and keep handy. ideally, I get the /tg/ art threads to make a decent character portrait and attach that to the bullet list.

I will write a more detailed version for myself as a writing prompt more than anything else, but I dont expect the GM to read it and dont expect any information present there to effect the game unless its also in the bullet list.

>>96821455
That the one where you can straight up die in chargen?

>>96822552
if you use rules as written, yes

>>96818576
>baiting this hard

>>96822552
Well, that and it's nearly impossible to come out of chargen as "John Space, the son of John Space Sr., a farmboy from Spaceburg, planet Space known for its farms and space"

>>96822685
>John Space, the son of John Space Sr., a farmboy from Spaceburg, planet Space known for its farms and space
Hank Hill propane energy

Autistic people may be more likely to engage deeply with fiction or build detailed headcanons, since autism can involve:

>Strong or focused special interests (often in stories, characters, or worlds)

>Preference for structure and consistency in narratives

>A rich inner imaginative life

>Using fiction as a way to explore emotions, relationships, or identity

So while autism doesn’t cause headcanons, the traits that come with it can make someone more inclined to create or enjoy them. It can also cause situations where people with autism are unable to separate their personal headcanons and the actual canon intentions of the authors.

>>96824260
Honestly, playing TTRPGs requires some level of autism.

>>96820751
he's jewish

>>96803449 (OP)
There was one time I played a character who was an elite-level soldier, until he had his ass kicked so hard he was sent into a magical coma that practically reset his levels, skills, and abilities. DM allowed it with no complaints.

As long as it's done well, I don't think there's a problem with a "I killed a dragon" type of backstory early on, you just have to be careful to make sure it makes sense/is reasonably possible in the world. It should also reasonably cripple or destroy the connections and assets a high-level character would have earned in that time. Another fine approach would be something like "Through a series of strange bizarre accidents well beyond My control, the people of the village believed I dealt the death blow to the dragon, and applauded Me as their saviour."

>>96825479
>magical coma that practically reset his levels, skills, and abilities.
I assume his family sold all his gear to pay debts and medical?

>>96813731
>Backstories are worthless in ttrpgs, all that matters is what's happening during the session
Actually true for the most part, you should have the barest minimum of backstory

>>96803453
I mean, the concept applies to most games, anon. Characters start out weak and become stronger and more skilled over time, making it silly to have a huge self-indulgent background. Even shadowing, which has the slowest progression and highest initial power level of any game I've played, doesn't really support being super powerful world-changing Uber mensch right out the gate.

>>96803453 #
I mean, the concept applies to most games, anon. Characters start out weak and become stronger and more skilled over time, making it silly to have a huge self-indulgent background. Even shadowrun, which has the slowest progression and highest initial power level of any game I've played, doesn't really support being super powerful world-changing Uber mensch right out the gate.

By keeping them appropriate for your starting level, a level 1 character is already an exceptional person compared to the average peasant so you can have your guy be an accomplished mercenary or a wise sage but you can't start the game as the best archmage to be born in the last 1000 years grand elder sect leader super saiyan sage 4, you gotta work up to it.

>>96825734
Something like that. This was a few years ago so I don't remember the precise details, but by the time he woke up he was back to zero and had no access to the arsenal of magic weapons he was used to and had only scraped together whatever starting gold we had.

>>96803453
You do make your 62pt GURPS character have appropriate backgrounds for their character point budget, right anon?

>>96826118
yes I played kcd2 as well, it sucked

>>96826145
I've wanted to buy and play that game but I've just kept procrastinating from it. Honestly, My expectations are low. I wanna know how it all ends especially after the shitty cliffhanger from the first game, but I have this weird feeling it won't live up.

Is that seriously a thing though? Henry just suddenly loses all his skills from the first game? Re-learning that combat system would be annoying.

>>96826118
reminds me of a magic Item I found on pintrest.

>>96826284
That's neat, thanks for sharing

>>96805880

This is precisely why I refuse to have any under the age of thirty-five at my table. They all drone on and on about their character's gender, familial hardship, and aspirations. Go fuck off and play trooooon the masquerade.

>>96804071
Clark Kent is literally a field journalist which means he has high charisma
Nigger a field journalist needs to talk to people, be approachable, and in fact, SO approachable, that people is willing to give you information for free, just on presence alone
What the fuck are you talking about

>>96803449 (OP)
I, in fact, do.

>>96803613
Retard.

>>96804399
Found the newfag hypermongoloidal storyshitter. Still butthurt people call you out as the retarded and failed novelist that you are, I guess?

>>96819334
>it means the same thing
Storyshitter and theater kid does not mean the same thing, illiterati. A theater kid is someone that's just obsessed with play-acting and "expressing themselves" as someone else, even if that "someone else" is still just them by any other name. These are just wannabe actors that want to play dress-up and be obnoxious and blame it on the garish skinsuit that they are inevitably wearing (or pretending to wear).

A storyshitter is someone obsessed with telling a story, and no matter what happens or goes on or what anyone tries to do, "their" "story" *has* to happen, and it is often mapped out from beginning to end, the actions of their players or co-players often being an interference with whatever story that has to be "told" to them. These are failed writers/novelists that now have a captive audience held hostage by social contract.

>>96820223
That is not what the Stormwind fallacy is, retard pseud.

>>96803449 (OP)

They are all Poverty Farmers
Done

>>96826284
>100 years
Well that's just dumb. 3 long rests.
Also, it sounds like it affects the enemy beneficially as well, which is wild but amusing.

>>96828920
I think the implication of "those who respond to your call" is "allies at this time"

as to the time limit, its just a very flavorful way to have a once per campaign mega-boost, in a "this banner will hold our mighty deeds for eternity" speech to rally an army. especially, as the name implies, for a last stand.

>>96804399
I heard an interesting quote earlier
>If you leave an insult lying on the ground, its owner will come pick it up

>>96803449 (OP)
All my characters have the same starting story as I did. 18 works living and working on a farm, sent to work abroad at 18. Work for 3 years. Parents die and sister sends a mssg 8 months later that they sold the machines and farm, and moved out with her husband in kids to her inlaws. And that right now they can't pay me out from my half of inheritance, because they are building a new cowstead for 150 cows. So here I am 21, no degree, no high school diploma, only know farm work, but my permit to work runs out. Which ends up with me joing a life of crime. times change, setting change, races of stuff change. But the orgin story is always the same.

>>96822685
I feel like lifepath systems are their own animal and not really under discussion here.

>>96803449 (OP)
My lvl 1 is a noble and a former ambassador who lost her job when her homeland got conquered. Without financial support and with a guaranteed death penalty on return, she was forced to become an adventurer.
How do you like my lvl 1 backstory? :)))

>>96836243
I mean, that's not a bad one?

>>96803449 (OP)
Yes. Usually we start at lvl 2 for some extra survivability, which means characters already have performed something decently heroic, like killed a wyvern.

>>96815088
Honestly, this is a setting problem. Not a DnD problem.

>>96803449 (OP)
Every single one of my characters is the same character. He got fresh with a wizard's daughter and the wizard cursed his soul so that whenever he dies, he jumps into another body. This is beyond system or level or points, whatever I'm playing, fantasy or science fiction, it's just one dude doing a Quantum Leap and if he finds himself in some near defenseless peasant, that's just how shit his new life will be.

>>96815088
I'm that DM and I'd happily take a party of Eric Steele's. It's easier to play around.
Sparkle the tabaxi on the other hand is irredeemable and likely so is the player.

>>96836770
Sounds utterly boring and like a complete cop out. Basically just your own avatar.

Oh hey another thread that proves that OSRspegs are a blight on the hobby.

>>96817863
>you then ban normal guy stuff from others. Now the fighter can't even hide behind a barn cause that's a stealth check.
No anon. You're getting all mixed up.
You don't even roll for most stuff, your DM auto passes unless there is a plausible chance of failure.
Thief's are retarded because they use % for seemingly no reason, and at low levels the % is so low it's annoying for players to play and it's annoying for DM's to adjudicate the other classes fairly when they try "regular thief stuff".
>I can do this so you can't do this
Is modern design and thinking.

No, I write 14 page backstories about how he's slain dragons and taken goddesses as lovers and then I get pissed when the DM says that the goblin's crit kills me outright

>>96812287
>Bob's backstory where he has a personality, a motivation, and a feeling of being at the beginning of the story, rather than the end.
Except the most important moment of Bob's life happened offscreen in the past. Nothing the campaign throws at him will effect him as much as that did...now if you played out the betrayal by nobles and the players actually fail to protect the innocent you'd have a real story.

I have OSR fatigue

>>96836968
It sounds like you are agreeing with me and agreeing with me at once.

>>96840714
agreeing and disagreeing that is