Hi, I'm a new DM DMing a campaign for three new players.
They are all very interested in playing the game, but I don't understand why they don't want to create their background.
They first told me that the background given by dnd beyond (such as solider, folk hero) was enough.
I told them it would be good if they wrote their own back story.
I'm going to copy-paste what one of my players sent to me:
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
Hi, I'm a new DM DMing a campaign for three new players.
They are all very interested in playing the game, but I don't understand why they don't want to create their background.
They first told me that the background given by dnd beyond (such as solider, folk hero) was enough.
I told them it would be good if they wrote their own back story.
I'm going to copy-paste what one of my players sent to me:
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
To be honest, one big thing that the character went through and one overall thing they want should be enough. Even entirely ironic, the Barnum Loderr backstory tells about the character: they lived through a war and they don’t like being paid lower than they want.
It’s not necessary to demand a backstory from your players, especially when all they want is a fun game, and not a fully-fledged novel-length story. Since that seems to be the case, I would say it’s not exactly a problem with the players’ refusal, just a problem with the approach to their limited response.
The Dwarf is a simple person, who went into soldiering, survived a war, and afterward didn’t like how low the pay for fighting other people’s wars was, and decided to become a mercenary, earning coin on their terms.
That is motivation, history, personality, values, and goals, all in something short, sweet, and in character.
I am one of those write a short story for a background types — and note, all my characters are npcs because I am just a DM, lol — and just reading that made me jealous, lol.
I can’t speak to the other one, but that one did the assignment, lol.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
The Dwarf is a simple person, who went into soldiering, survived a war, and afterward didn’t like how low the pay for fighting other people’s wars was, and decided to become a mercenary, earning coin on their terms.
That is motivation, history, personality, values, and goals, all in something short, sweet, and in character.
I am one of those write a short story for a background types — and note, all my characters are npcs because I am just a DM, lol — and just reading that made me jealous, lol.
I can’t speak to the other one, but that one did the assignment, lol.
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
This player gave enough information to run with, and as mentioned, it's done in character.
As to what you should do? Yes, create social interactions that ask questions about their past. Engage with them when they are "sitting around the campfire" about what they are thinking about, what their memories are and the like. Should you have one of your PCs fall unconscious and begin the "Death Saves" portion of the game, you can ask for memories that might be flashing before them as they die. Part of the fun of the game, for player and DM, is learning about these characters as they live. If the player writes a novel about the entirety of their PC's life, there might not be much left to learn.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
You've run into the realm of player preference. Imagine three sliders. The first is labelled Combat, the second Roleplay, the third Exploration. Every player (GMs included) will have their own settings for the sliders. For me I like a good 33.3% mix, one third of each of the pillars. Some players will like 90% combat, 5% roleplay, and 5% exploration often we'll recognise this as a hack 'n' slash campaign. If you take something like Critical Role it's more like 10% combat, 80% roleplay and 10% exploration. That's part of what gives it the slow and considered pace of the third campaign in particular.
As a new GM you've come to this likely not understanding where the sliders are set for you. You clearly want to set the game's roleplay slider far higher than your players do. And on both counts that's fine. Some people just wanna roll dice and engage in real tactical stuff. Some want to talk about character backstory and improvise all session. The important thing to recognise is that as a group your session zero should discuss expectations from everyone. How much combat are they looking for? How much exploration? How much role play? This allows everyone to meet on a common ground, and for you as a GM to offer a compromise if the rest of the game group are on a different page than you.
Finally, don't try to force players to play the way you want them to. This seems harsh, but honestly, it won't be good for you or for your players. Don't be afraid to say 'look, I had something different in mind for this campaign so maybe this one isn't for this group'. It's really hard to do, but sometimes cuts out a lot of undue stress. Compromise within reason and be prepared to walk away if it's going to be problematic. Above all never force players to play the game your way. The group (you included) should decide the way the group wants to play. Once you've got more experience as a GM you'll eventually be able to state up front 'this is the way I run games folks, it's pretty heavy on the roleplay'.
I agree with the others that what you have recieved is a backstory but I can also understand that you think it's a bit on the weak side. What I'm curious about is, why do YOU want your players to write a backstory? Is it just to flesh out their characters? To help you create plot hooks? To make the setting a richer place? Because you might not really need more than what you got.
For me as a DM, what I want from a characters background are ways to engage the players. If they have a cousin in a remote fishing village then I can have pirates raid that village and it will be a reason for the player to care. Now, if the character doesn't have a cousin there I can still give the players reasons why they should go there but they might actually lose out on a bit of fun roleplaying. And if they're fine with it, no worries. As long as everyone has fun, I'm fine with it.
For me as a player, the reason why I like at least some kind of background is similar but also different. For example, if I play a shady character I might want to have a friend in the capital where I can lay low for a while. If I include that in my background and my DM approves that I know that it's a resource that I can use. The DM also doesn't have to make a decision right away if I all of the sudden go "Hey DM, I know I didn't put it in my background but is it OK if we go hide at my friend Gary's place? He's one of the best at hiding people, I promise."
So to summarize, backstories aren't mandatory to have a good game but it gives you more options to play with.
I wouldn't impose a backstory on new players. Often, new players don't come with the narrative focused mindset that veteran players develope, and that's fine-- good even. It lets them ease into the game and discover those parts as they go.
What I would do instead is let them keep their backstories simple at the beginning-- really the simpler the better for new players-- BUT leave them open for retcon. My first character, for example, was a belligerent Gnome alchemist who only cared about money and blowing stuff up. He joined a party and went on a few adventures and as I played him, I realized that I wanted Haggis to care more about the world, and I made him more altruistic. I decided that he'd had a family that he abandoned to go become a famous inventor, and I decided that his desire to do good in the world stemmed from guilt from such a selfish act, and I decided that his belligerent, abrasive personality was his way of keeping people at arm's length to protect them from getting close enough to him for him to hurt them too.
The point being, first time characters start off simple and gain complexity through being played as the player learns the game format and what's expected of them generally. You shouldn't try to force them to skip to the end result, instead you should let them get there organically, coming from a place of wanting to enrich their story for fun, not because someone told them to.
That said, do still on occasion bake in opportunities for players to make choices about their characters' lives. Small choices, but still defining ones. Maybe if the party is being honored with a banquet after saving a town, the head cook asks them what their favorite foods are. Maybe a potential client sending them on a mission in an abandoned mine starts off with "ok, how many of you have swung a pickaxe before?" Allow players little opportunities to raise their hand at times and say "ooh that sounds like something my guy has done" or "maybe I'm from there!" Those smaller choices can inspire larger ones, which can generate backstory.
Do a session zero!!! Ask them what kind of game they want!!! If they don't want an RP heavy serious game, if they're just looking for a fun night of joking and playing around with friends, then make sure you're on the same page!!! If you want a huge sprawling epic campaign and your players don't, then one of you will not have fun. And that's not fun.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
This particular PC survived a war - so if it ever comes up, then they can either make a History roll to remember some important aspect about that war. As DM, you can decide what the war was about, it sounds like the PC was just a grunt in the army, so probably didn't know what he was fighting for, or why.
If they don't like low pay, then start with normal price missions, then offer a mission where they are being offered less pay for the same danger. See if the Dwarf responds.
Hi, I'm a new DM DMing a campaign for three new players.
They are all very interested in playing the game, but I don't understand why they don't want to create their background.
They first told me that the background given by dnd beyond (such as solider, folk hero) was enough.
I told them it would be good if they wrote their own back story.
I'm going to copy-paste what one of my players sent to me:
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
At the end of the day are back stories important.
Unless you need to actively incorporate their back story into the your game do they matter
Hi, I'm a new DM DMing a campaign for three new players.
They are all very interested in playing the game, but I don't understand why they don't want to create their background.
They first told me that the background given by dnd beyond (such as solider, folk hero) was enough.
I told them it would be good if they wrote their own back story.
I'm going to copy-paste what one of my players sent to me:
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
Good on your players. Don't expect your players to want to write anything more than what's on the character sheet. They want to play a roleplaying game, not get involved in someone's writing circle.
Find out their backstory during play. Ask them questions about their characters, put them in positions that explore their morality and experience but don't make the poor sods write it down.
And that Dwarf's statement is so cool it should be used to create the character's personality traits.
I have several players who never create backstories and it can be really frustrating. I have no idea what to do with them.
But that character gave you enough to go off of. It might not be long and full of dark secrets and hidden fears, but it shows how they plan to play. If you really want their character's backstory to be more invested in the story, ask them if they would like a secret. Some event in their history, goals they are trying to achieve, or secret they will try to keep hidden. Then in the story, you can set up situations where their secret might be revealed, or a chance to achieve their goals.
Also, they are new players. They may not completely understand how the game works and that is okay. When I first started playing, I didn't really understand what backstories were for and what roleplay was. I just played as if I was there with all the magical powers. Reacting how I would react when we enter a cave. These players may need to explore Dnd for a while before they can create fascinating backstories. Some players might prefer not to have a super dark past with goals and a code of honor. They might just want to explore this fantasy world, fight monsters, save people, and have fun. Later, after they are experienced, they might decide they want to create story driven characters that tie into the campaign, but it doesn't start automatically for everyone.
If the players are intimidated by the idea of writing a big backstory, maybe this thread can help them come up with something simpler that still provides you with a couple story hooks as a DM
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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)
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
I would be totally fine with it.
What they did before only matters a teeny tiny bit to what they are going to do now and in the future.
Look up the thread Three Sentence Backstory.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
That's a more comprehensive backstory than probably around 4 out of 5 players I've encountered. I've always considered backstories to be the players' opportunity to stake their claim on tying certain pre-existing information into the campaign somehow, but completely optional if they want to just be a blank slate that showed up one day and started adventuring for no apparent reason. To be honest I kind of prefer the blank slate backstory as a DM, makes my job easier
I think another thing to keep in mind is if these are new players sometimes it can be a little bit daunting to come up with a backstory, especially if you know little about the setting the game is set in, sometimes it is good to just have something simple that outlines their basic personality and motivation for taking up the adventurers lifestyle, from there they can fill out the blanks as they become more comfortable with their character and have a better idea of where they are going with it.
But as others have already pointed out, I think you need a session zero, explain the type of campaign you were hoping to run and find out from your players the type of campaign that they want to play and find some sort of compromise.
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Hi, I'm a new DM DMing a campaign for three new players.
They are all very interested in playing the game, but I don't understand why they don't want to create their background.
They first told me that the background given by dnd beyond (such as solider, folk hero) was enough.
I told them it would be good if they wrote their own back story.
I'm going to copy-paste what one of my players sent to me:
"me be alive, me be dwarf, me be soldier, me survive a war, me don't like low payment, me become mercenary, me am Banrum Loderr" Banrum Loderr is his name.
What is the best thing to do? Should I make NPCs ask them questions so they come up with stuff, should I insist more on the backstory writing even though they are clearly not interested, or should I just ignore that and make their backstory be the adventure we are roleplaying I guess??
To be honest, one big thing that the character went through and one overall thing they want should be enough. Even entirely ironic, the Barnum Loderr backstory tells about the character: they lived through a war and they don’t like being paid lower than they want.
It’s not necessary to demand a backstory from your players, especially when all they want is a fun game, and not a fully-fledged novel-length story. Since that seems to be the case, I would say it’s not exactly a problem with the players’ refusal, just a problem with the approach to their limited response.
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Hi!
what they sent you *is* a backstory.
The Dwarf is a simple person, who went into soldiering, survived a war, and afterward didn’t like how low the pay for fighting other people’s wars was, and decided to become a mercenary, earning coin on their terms.
That is motivation, history, personality, values, and goals, all in something short, sweet, and in character.
I am one of those write a short story for a background types — and note, all my characters are npcs because I am just a DM, lol — and just reading that made me jealous, lol.
I can’t speak to the other one, but that one did the assignment, lol.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
100%. Could not agree more.
This player gave enough information to run with, and as mentioned, it's done in character.
As to what you should do? Yes, create social interactions that ask questions about their past. Engage with them when they are "sitting around the campfire" about what they are thinking about, what their memories are and the like. Should you have one of your PCs fall unconscious and begin the "Death Saves" portion of the game, you can ask for memories that might be flashing before them as they die. Part of the fun of the game, for player and DM, is learning about these characters as they live. If the player writes a novel about the entirety of their PC's life, there might not be much left to learn.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
You've run into the realm of player preference. Imagine three sliders. The first is labelled Combat, the second Roleplay, the third Exploration. Every player (GMs included) will have their own settings for the sliders. For me I like a good 33.3% mix, one third of each of the pillars. Some players will like 90% combat, 5% roleplay, and 5% exploration often we'll recognise this as a hack 'n' slash campaign. If you take something like Critical Role it's more like 10% combat, 80% roleplay and 10% exploration. That's part of what gives it the slow and considered pace of the third campaign in particular.
As a new GM you've come to this likely not understanding where the sliders are set for you. You clearly want to set the game's roleplay slider far higher than your players do. And on both counts that's fine. Some people just wanna roll dice and engage in real tactical stuff. Some want to talk about character backstory and improvise all session. The important thing to recognise is that as a group your session zero should discuss expectations from everyone. How much combat are they looking for? How much exploration? How much role play? This allows everyone to meet on a common ground, and for you as a GM to offer a compromise if the rest of the game group are on a different page than you.
Finally, don't try to force players to play the way you want them to. This seems harsh, but honestly, it won't be good for you or for your players. Don't be afraid to say 'look, I had something different in mind for this campaign so maybe this one isn't for this group'. It's really hard to do, but sometimes cuts out a lot of undue stress. Compromise within reason and be prepared to walk away if it's going to be problematic. Above all never force players to play the game your way. The group (you included) should decide the way the group wants to play. Once you've got more experience as a GM you'll eventually be able to state up front 'this is the way I run games folks, it's pretty heavy on the roleplay'.
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I agree with the others that what you have recieved is a backstory but I can also understand that you think it's a bit on the weak side. What I'm curious about is, why do YOU want your players to write a backstory? Is it just to flesh out their characters? To help you create plot hooks? To make the setting a richer place? Because you might not really need more than what you got.
For me as a DM, what I want from a characters background are ways to engage the players. If they have a cousin in a remote fishing village then I can have pirates raid that village and it will be a reason for the player to care. Now, if the character doesn't have a cousin there I can still give the players reasons why they should go there but they might actually lose out on a bit of fun roleplaying. And if they're fine with it, no worries. As long as everyone has fun, I'm fine with it.
For me as a player, the reason why I like at least some kind of background is similar but also different. For example, if I play a shady character I might want to have a friend in the capital where I can lay low for a while. If I include that in my background and my DM approves that I know that it's a resource that I can use. The DM also doesn't have to make a decision right away if I all of the sudden go "Hey DM, I know I didn't put it in my background but is it OK if we go hide at my friend Gary's place? He's one of the best at hiding people, I promise."
So to summarize, backstories aren't mandatory to have a good game but it gives you more options to play with.
I wouldn't impose a backstory on new players. Often, new players don't come with the narrative focused mindset that veteran players develope, and that's fine-- good even. It lets them ease into the game and discover those parts as they go.
What I would do instead is let them keep their backstories simple at the beginning-- really the simpler the better for new players-- BUT leave them open for retcon. My first character, for example, was a belligerent Gnome alchemist who only cared about money and blowing stuff up. He joined a party and went on a few adventures and as I played him, I realized that I wanted Haggis to care more about the world, and I made him more altruistic. I decided that he'd had a family that he abandoned to go become a famous inventor, and I decided that his desire to do good in the world stemmed from guilt from such a selfish act, and I decided that his belligerent, abrasive personality was his way of keeping people at arm's length to protect them from getting close enough to him for him to hurt them too.
The point being, first time characters start off simple and gain complexity through being played as the player learns the game format and what's expected of them generally. You shouldn't try to force them to skip to the end result, instead you should let them get there organically, coming from a place of wanting to enrich their story for fun, not because someone told them to.
That said, do still on occasion bake in opportunities for players to make choices about their characters' lives. Small choices, but still defining ones. Maybe if the party is being honored with a banquet after saving a town, the head cook asks them what their favorite foods are. Maybe a potential client sending them on a mission in an abandoned mine starts off with "ok, how many of you have swung a pickaxe before?" Allow players little opportunities to raise their hand at times and say "ooh that sounds like something my guy has done" or "maybe I'm from there!" Those smaller choices can inspire larger ones, which can generate backstory.
Do a session zero!!! Ask them what kind of game they want!!! If they don't want an RP heavy serious game, if they're just looking for a fun night of joking and playing around with friends, then make sure you're on the same page!!! If you want a huge sprawling epic campaign and your players don't, then one of you will not have fun. And that's not fun.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
This particular PC survived a war - so if it ever comes up, then they can either make a History roll to remember some important aspect about that war. As DM, you can decide what the war was about, it sounds like the PC was just a grunt in the army, so probably didn't know what he was fighting for, or why.
If they don't like low pay, then start with normal price missions, then offer a mission where they are being offered less pay for the same danger. See if the Dwarf responds.
At the end of the day are back stories important.
Unless you need to actively incorporate their back story into the your game do they matter
Good on your players. Don't expect your players to want to write anything more than what's on the character sheet. They want to play a roleplaying game, not get involved in someone's writing circle.
Find out their backstory during play. Ask them questions about their characters, put them in positions that explore their morality and experience but don't make the poor sods write it down.
And that Dwarf's statement is so cool it should be used to create the character's personality traits.
I have several players who never create backstories and it can be really frustrating. I have no idea what to do with them.
But that character gave you enough to go off of. It might not be long and full of dark secrets and hidden fears, but it shows how they plan to play. If you really want their character's backstory to be more invested in the story, ask them if they would like a secret. Some event in their history, goals they are trying to achieve, or secret they will try to keep hidden. Then in the story, you can set up situations where their secret might be revealed, or a chance to achieve their goals.
Also, they are new players. They may not completely understand how the game works and that is okay. When I first started playing, I didn't really understand what backstories were for and what roleplay was. I just played as if I was there with all the magical powers. Reacting how I would react when we enter a cave. These players may need to explore Dnd for a while before they can create fascinating backstories. Some players might prefer not to have a super dark past with goals and a code of honor. They might just want to explore this fantasy world, fight monsters, save people, and have fun. Later, after they are experienced, they might decide they want to create story driven characters that tie into the campaign, but it doesn't start automatically for everyone.
If the players are intimidated by the idea of writing a big backstory, maybe this thread can help them come up with something simpler that still provides you with a couple story hooks as a DM
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)
I would be totally fine with it.
What they did before only matters a teeny tiny bit to what they are going to do now and in the future.
Look up the thread Three Sentence Backstory.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
That's a more comprehensive backstory than probably around 4 out of 5 players I've encountered. I've always considered backstories to be the players' opportunity to stake their claim on tying certain pre-existing information into the campaign somehow, but completely optional if they want to just be a blank slate that showed up one day and started adventuring for no apparent reason. To be honest I kind of prefer the blank slate backstory as a DM, makes my job easier
I think another thing to keep in mind is if these are new players sometimes it can be a little bit daunting to come up with a backstory, especially if you know little about the setting the game is set in, sometimes it is good to just have something simple that outlines their basic personality and motivation for taking up the adventurers lifestyle, from there they can fill out the blanks as they become more comfortable with their character and have a better idea of where they are going with it.
But as others have already pointed out, I think you need a session zero, explain the type of campaign you were hoping to run and find out from your players the type of campaign that they want to play and find some sort of compromise.