If you have no memories, what else do you need? You're just handing the DM a ticket that says "make my life interesting", and buckling in for the ride.
Although you're presumably going to need DM approval for the "crashed alien ship" part
It's rather hard to fill in those blanks with no context for the setting or if you have preferences for the character backstory. If you want the full amnesiac experience you can do what was suggested above and see if your DM will go for it. Otherwise it's not really any different from designing another backstory, aside from remembering what your character does and doesn't know of it.
Yeah, I’m with the others. Isn’t the whole point behind “none of her memories intact” is that there are blanks? Whenever I write any backstory I keep it relatively short and sweet and leave as many blank spaces as I can for the the DM (or myself) to fill in later as the campaign progresses. That’s part of the fun after all, at least to me anyway. If your DM is onboard I say go fer it, full bore. Discovering who your character was will be just as fun as discovering who they will become.
I will suggest that one of the ways to "reverse engineer" backstory elements, if you want a character with no actual memories, is to decide on their personality traits and then figure out how they might have gotten them
Are they a people pleaser? Maybe they had a powerful but temperamental parent they had to stay in the favor of. That sort of thing
You can leave the "blanks" up to the DM when it comes to concrete details, but you can also decide how you want to play the character and then offer some ideas of what might have shaped their personality
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Kidnapped by mindflayers. They experimented on you, making your magic go crazy. This caused the ship to crash. The impact combined with what was done to you wiped your memories.
I have also made an amnesia character. Haunted one background. His harrowing event was opening an eldritch tome. Looking inside it shattered him and caused him to lose all his memory.
My DM once had our memories taken from us and locked up in separate chests in a guarded location. When we opened our corresponding chests, we got our memories back.
If you're asking what background to choose in the character building (as opposed to what background to write), just pick one that fits the skills/proficiencies you want, then blank out the description.
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Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
If you're asking what background to choose in the character building (as opposed to what background to write), just pick one that fits the skills/proficiencies you want, then blank out the description.
Yes. you're working a "Jason Bourne" scenario. the PC would have skills, languages, abilities, proficiencies...either intact or a bit patchy. Events and/or time and "healing" would bring things back. Work with the DM as there is a TON of possibility for each of you to fill in some of the gaps as things progress.
just make a list of what is known: personality quirks, likes, dislikes, how are changelings/sorcerers received in the campaign, does the PC know any shapes/races to change into...?
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Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
Huh, and I never even played that game. (and I really should some day)
I haven't player Baldur's Gate either...yet.
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Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
Sounds good to me, what background would that be though?
They could really be any background. They would just have had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when the mindflayers came looking for test subjects.
I was just about to suggest that maybe it's a mindflayer ship, and maybe there's some sort of special tadpole in the characters brain now - and does getting rid of it mean you lose your warlock powers?! oO
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
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I have an idea for a changling WM sorcerer PC where she awakens on some sort of crashed alien ship of sorts with none of her memories intact.
I just need help filling in the blanks.
If you have no memories, what else do you need? You're just handing the DM a ticket that says "make my life interesting", and buckling in for the ride.
Although you're presumably going to need DM approval for the "crashed alien ship" part
It's rather hard to fill in those blanks with no context for the setting or if you have preferences for the character backstory. If you want the full amnesiac experience you can do what was suggested above and see if your DM will go for it. Otherwise it's not really any different from designing another backstory, aside from remembering what your character does and doesn't know of it.
Yeah, I’m with the others. Isn’t the whole point behind “none of her memories intact” is that there are blanks? Whenever I write any backstory I keep it relatively short and sweet and leave as many blank spaces as I can for the the DM (or myself) to fill in later as the campaign progresses. That’s part of the fun after all, at least to me anyway. If your DM is onboard I say go fer it, full bore. Discovering who your character was will be just as fun as discovering who they will become.
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I will suggest that one of the ways to "reverse engineer" backstory elements, if you want a character with no actual memories, is to decide on their personality traits and then figure out how they might have gotten them
Are they a people pleaser? Maybe they had a powerful but temperamental parent they had to stay in the favor of. That sort of thing
You can leave the "blanks" up to the DM when it comes to concrete details, but you can also decide how you want to play the character and then offer some ideas of what might have shaped their personality
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Kidnapped by mindflayers. They experimented on you, making your magic go crazy. This caused the ship to crash. The impact combined with what was done to you wiped your memories.
I have also made an amnesia character. Haunted one background. His harrowing event was opening an eldritch tome. Looking inside it shattered him and caused him to lose all his memory.
My DM once had our memories taken from us and locked up in separate chests in a guarded location. When we opened our corresponding chests, we got our memories back.
Sounds good to me, what background would that be though?
If you're asking what background to choose in the character building (as opposed to what background to write), just pick one that fits the skills/proficiencies you want, then blank out the description.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
Yes. you're working a "Jason Bourne" scenario. the PC would have skills, languages, abilities, proficiencies...either intact or a bit patchy. Events and/or time and "healing" would bring things back. Work with the DM as there is a TON of possibility for each of you to fill in some of the gaps as things progress.
just make a list of what is known: personality quirks, likes, dislikes, how are changelings/sorcerers received in the campaign, does the PC know any shapes/races to change into...?
Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
That's basically the premise of Baldur's Gate 3.
Huh, and I never even played that game. (and I really should some day)
I haven't player Baldur's Gate either...yet.
Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
They could really be any background. They would just have had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when the mindflayers came looking for test subjects.
I was just about to suggest that maybe it's a mindflayer ship, and maybe there's some sort of special tadpole in the characters brain now - and does getting rid of it mean you lose your warlock powers?! oO
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.