Just this week, my Dungeons and Dragons group shared our character's personal backstories. This was huge. For me at least; backstories add more to my enjoyment of the campaign than anything short of the Dungeon Master's narrative for the campaign. Now I feel like I can better connect to the characters of the other players and we can better play as the characters themselves instead of like remotely operating them.
It is a more direct experience. It is a more immersive experience. Finally, it opens the possibility of those backstories influencing the events of the campaign, thus leading to a more unique experience. All these things can be used to enhance a novel as well as a tabletop game.
For instance, I decided that my character didn't like high elves (despite being one himself) because of something in his backstory. This flavored the party's encounter with some high elves that were in trouble. It is something that got the group talking about the subject and led to a fun event that connected with something from a previous session.
As part of the same encounter, another player did something purely because that is how their character, with their backstory, would act. This turned out to be the key to something that could enable our party to move forward with a particular task. I am still thinking about how my character can make use of that event in the coming session.
All of this happened because our players put thought into their backstories. Without this, our characters would be stats on sheets. At best, amnesiac heroes who popped into existence one day and started marching. It would still be fun to play, don't get me wrong (I know some people are more interested in power gaming) but it would be less fun to read about.
If a hero has a history with a villain, be it anything from former friend to forgotten victim to arch enemy, then their conflict has more emotional heft. Likewise, if two party members have a history prior to the campaign (or the current campaign for that matter) then they can parlay that into discussion, battle tactics and story decisions.
I have another example from a different source. It is, in fact, what inspired me to write this blog article.
Every time I watch the beginning of a Black Clover episode, I smile. "All seemed lost until a lone mage stepped forward and took up the fight", this solemn narration accompanied by visual of the original Wizard King in his famous battle is nothing short of classical fantasy awesome. Say what you will about the manga's originality but it is amazing in how it uses its backstory.
This backstory sets the tone for each episode and the story as a whole. It is an epic that involves grand heroes fighting against overwhelming odds. It is encapsulates what Asta and Yuno, our principal characters, aspire to be. It says a lot by saying little. All these enhance the story that unfolds in each episode.
For without it, fewer things would make sense. Asta's drive to become the Wizard King would have less weight because the audience wouldn't know what it was, and without the demon, there would be no sense of how important such a role is. More broadly, it says this is going to be a heroic fantasy and promises battles of might and magic.
This is why creating a backstory is part of my process when I create new characters. I want to know who they were by learning where they come from. I want to know how they gained their skills and what events formed the personality they have at the start of the story.
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
It is a more direct experience. It is a more immersive experience. Finally, it opens the possibility of those backstories influencing the events of the campaign, thus leading to a more unique experience. All these things can be used to enhance a novel as well as a tabletop game.
For instance, I decided that my character didn't like high elves (despite being one himself) because of something in his backstory. This flavored the party's encounter with some high elves that were in trouble. It is something that got the group talking about the subject and led to a fun event that connected with something from a previous session.
As part of the same encounter, another player did something purely because that is how their character, with their backstory, would act. This turned out to be the key to something that could enable our party to move forward with a particular task. I am still thinking about how my character can make use of that event in the coming session.
All of this happened because our players put thought into their backstories. Without this, our characters would be stats on sheets. At best, amnesiac heroes who popped into existence one day and started marching. It would still be fun to play, don't get me wrong (I know some people are more interested in power gaming) but it would be less fun to read about.
If a hero has a history with a villain, be it anything from former friend to forgotten victim to arch enemy, then their conflict has more emotional heft. Likewise, if two party members have a history prior to the campaign (or the current campaign for that matter) then they can parlay that into discussion, battle tactics and story decisions.
I have another example from a different source. It is, in fact, what inspired me to write this blog article.
Every time I watch the beginning of a Black Clover episode, I smile. "All seemed lost until a lone mage stepped forward and took up the fight", this solemn narration accompanied by visual of the original Wizard King in his famous battle is nothing short of classical fantasy awesome. Say what you will about the manga's originality but it is amazing in how it uses its backstory.
This backstory sets the tone for each episode and the story as a whole. It is an epic that involves grand heroes fighting against overwhelming odds. It is encapsulates what Asta and Yuno, our principal characters, aspire to be. It says a lot by saying little. All these enhance the story that unfolds in each episode.
For without it, fewer things would make sense. Asta's drive to become the Wizard King would have less weight because the audience wouldn't know what it was, and without the demon, there would be no sense of how important such a role is. More broadly, it says this is going to be a heroic fantasy and promises battles of might and magic.
This is why creating a backstory is part of my process when I create new characters. I want to know who they were by learning where they come from. I want to know how they gained their skills and what events formed the personality they have at the start of the story.
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
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