this is for a character named OverLord Will. he is a Dragonborn with great power, but not so great wisdom. he is my main character, and I'd like to know if this is good.
I lived in the natural cave system of Exsnare, a spiteful planet where no creature should ever live. I lived with my father, who I now hate with all my heart. he was a horrible person, corrupted by his own belifes and lies. I never knew my mother. she died when I was 1 notch old. I left that horrible god forgiven place when I was 14 notches. I came upon new lands with my last sliver of hope for a future. After living in GoulCrest for 3 years, I finally met someone. A sweet woman named Crystal. it was love at first glance. Well, maybe not, but still, the love was strong. I was on my way through town when I accidentally crushed her vermillads. instead of scolding me, she asked me on a date. 6 moths later, we were married. a year after that, SnakeRoot came, enraged by the news of my marriage. he burned Goulcrest to the ground, killed my wife, and left me with a scar that held this brutal memory
It's a good start - who is Snakeroot? I'm guessing the father.
One thing which makes DMs very happy with a backstory is uncertainty. If you say "My mother died when I was 1 Notch Old", the DM has to retcon this information if it's wrong (IE if the mother is still alive somewhere). If you instead say "I never knew my mother, she left just after I was born", the DM has a whole arc they can attach this to for you in the campaign.
The next thing you need is "Why are they adventuring as part of a party". The character you're describing is currently on the knife-edge where one wrong push turns them into Lonewolf Edgypast, the trust-nobody go-it-alone type who can be found brooding moodily in the corner of a seedy inn. It's unlikely that the DM will make the main quest "go find Snakeroot and kill him", so you need to un-focus the character's goals a little to make them flexible.
One thing I tend to do when I make backstories is to go along the lines of Inigo Montoya:
Character had a traumatic event which left them with a single-track quest.
Character failed at their original quest, needed money, fell in with people who help him (could be good or bad people)
Character used their skills to adventure, then a second thing happened which was less traumatic but left recent people with grudges against them.
Character falls in with the party, to continue adventuring.
In this case, your character might have gone to find Snakeroot, but either failed to kill him (like Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) or failed to find him (Like Inigo) and needed to find something to make ends meet, primarily to get enough to pursue Snakeroot off-world (by your mention of a planet I am guessing spelljammer?). His skills in (what class is he?) and tracking made him a capable bounty hunter (don't say "Expert" in anything unless they're level 10+) for a corrupt Sherriff named Wild Wayne (your naming can vary) and after a few successful bounties, he met (insert another character from the campaign here, if one fits - collaborate with them!), who offered him a chance to travel more widely and rekindled his hope of one day finding Snakeroot. From there, he has been travelling with them and the party, but Wayne has taken out a bounty on him for going rogue on him (Wayne thinks he owes them a debt).
These final details are important because your character now has a hook to remain with the party, and a sub-goal behind their quests, but they aren't single-minded. The DM can draw on the existence of Wild Wayne and potential bounty hunters, the mystery of the mother, the vengeance against the father, all to tie in your story with the campaign.
this is for a character named OverLord Will. he is a Dragonborn with great power, but not so great wisdom. he is my main character, and I'd like to know if this is good.
I lived in the natural cave system of Exsnare, a spiteful planet where no creature should ever live. I lived with my father, who I now hate with all my heart. he was a horrible person, corrupted by his own belifes and lies. I never knew my mother. she died when I was 1 notch old. I left that horrible god forgiven place when I was 14 notches. I came upon new lands with my last sliver of hope for a future. After living in GoulCrest for 3 years, I finally met someone. A sweet woman named Crystal. it was love at first glance. Well, maybe not, but still, the love was strong. I was on my way through town when I accidentally crushed her vermillads. instead of scolding me, she asked me on a date. 6 moths later, we were married. a year after that, SnakeRoot came, enraged by the news of my marriage. he burned Goulcrest to the ground, killed my wife, and left me with a scar that held this brutal memory
It's a good start - who is Snakeroot? I'm guessing the father.
One thing which makes DMs very happy with a backstory is uncertainty. If you say "My mother died when I was 1 Notch Old", the DM has to retcon this information if it's wrong (IE if the mother is still alive somewhere). If you instead say "I never knew my mother, she left just after I was born", the DM has a whole arc they can attach this to for you in the campaign.
The next thing you need is "Why are they adventuring as part of a party". The character you're describing is currently on the knife-edge where one wrong push turns them into Lonewolf Edgypast, the trust-nobody go-it-alone type who can be found brooding moodily in the corner of a seedy inn. It's unlikely that the DM will make the main quest "go find Snakeroot and kill him", so you need to un-focus the character's goals a little to make them flexible.
One thing I tend to do when I make backstories is to go along the lines of Inigo Montoya:
In this case, your character might have gone to find Snakeroot, but either failed to kill him (like Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) or failed to find him (Like Inigo) and needed to find something to make ends meet, primarily to get enough to pursue Snakeroot off-world (by your mention of a planet I am guessing spelljammer?). His skills in (what class is he?) and tracking made him a capable bounty hunter (don't say "Expert" in anything unless they're level 10+) for a corrupt Sherriff named Wild Wayne (your naming can vary) and after a few successful bounties, he met (insert another character from the campaign here, if one fits - collaborate with them!), who offered him a chance to travel more widely and rekindled his hope of one day finding Snakeroot. From there, he has been travelling with them and the party, but Wayne has taken out a bounty on him for going rogue on him (Wayne thinks he owes them a debt).
These final details are important because your character now has a hook to remain with the party, and a sub-goal behind their quests, but they aren't single-minded. The DM can draw on the existence of Wild Wayne and potential bounty hunters, the mystery of the mother, the vengeance against the father, all to tie in your story with the campaign.
Hope this helps!
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