Share your character backstory

So, a genius without the ability to relate to other humanoids. Love it!

Sorry, I don’t know much about dnd (I’ve been to two campaigns lmao), but I thought it would be fun to write a background story for my character. It was originally longer, but I cut some stuff because I didn’t think people would want to read about her parent’s death lol. Also, her original name was Calilyse if anyone cares lol.

It had been 15 years since the death of Rowan Naïlo’s parents, and 15 years since she had set foot outside of the temple grounds. One might think that having your parents brutally butchered in front of you would cause a thirst for revenge, but instead it just left Rowan broken. Hollow. The murderer had turned to Rowan and decided that she would live, leaving her outside the nearest temple, in the town of Jündaer.

Her parents had been a rare match, elf and human, considering that they stayed together to raise Rowan, and that was part of the reason the murder had occurred, with an old flame becoming jealous. Rowan hadn’t understood much about the world at that time of her parent’s death, but she learned that you can’t let anyone get close to you or they’ll disappear.

After that fateful day, Rowan had lived under the schooling of the head of the monastery she had been brought to. She had been too shocked to say her name, so she had been given a new one, Rowan, named for the strength of the wood. She had lived out her life until she was 23 in that monastery, never leaving the grounds, but the priest had finally decided that she should get some experience with the outside world.

Rowan had been kicked out and wandered around the country for 2 years until she had met a cloaked figure, who instructed Rowan to find a group of adventurers for her boss. And thus Rowan began adventuring, trying to fill the hole in her heart left from the death of her parents that had been hidden through years of studying.

I have a half orc Barbarian Druid multiclass with an interesting backstory

Gromirash Frostmane

He is the son of his village's Shaman and thus, next in line to become the Shaman. His Village is located in the Arctic regions of Faerun

Per tradition, the day after his 16th birthday, he is exiled from the Village in order to grow as a Shaman. His father left him with these words. "Only return, when you have received Their full blessing."

He left his village, without a clue of Who "they" were.

I created him here as a lvl 4 character (2 barb 2 druid) where his age is now 18, with the intention of reaching druid 6 barb 13 at lvl 19, and finishing lvl 20 with Druid 6 Barb 14, to get all the Path features for the Barb.

As Druid, he is a Land Arctic Druid, themed with Water / Ice magic, but his Barbarian Path is where the backstory unfolds.

Because Who are "They"? Ancestral Guardians. And only when he reached character lvl 6 (3 / 3) will "They" reveal themselves to him. But the "Full" blessing hints towards unlocking all of the Path features.

This is the first character i made, with the limited available things on this site, and some stuff that i found in other places, because i have separate sheets for every level.(i am organized like that)

I have been away from D&D for 40+ years. I don't think we ever played strictly by the rules. I guess we merged a few different sets of rules, but regardless, back then, as an engineering student, my creativity for stories was pretty poor. It hasn't improved much, but I did take the basics and inserted them into ChatGPT and Bing Image Creator to generate this. Call it cheating, if you like, but I have always wanted colorful characters and never knew how to get there. AI has helped me overcome this deficiency.

Here is my Hafling Rogue's back story:

In the bustling sea town of Ahnkpork, amidst traders' cacophony and brine smell, a child was born to a family of tinkers. This child was named Milo Greenbottle, standing no more than 36 inches tall as an adult, with hazel eyes that shimmered with mischief and a heart full of curiosity. As a Lightfoot Halfling, Milo found companionship and acceptance among his kind. However, interactions with children of other races often led to teasing about his small stature. With his calm demeanor and quick wit, Milo learned early on that charm and a friendly smile could win over even the toughest bullies. The Tragic Turn Milo's life dramatically turned at 12 when a rival family accused his father of stealing their designs. The accusation led to a confrontation that spiraled out of control, resulting in the tragic death of Milo's younger sister, Elara. The loss of Elara shattered Milo's family, and the burden of his perceived failure to protect her weighed heavily on his heart. From that day forward, Milo vowed never to let anyone he cared about suffer due to his mistakes. A Life of Shadows Seeking a fresh start and a way to survive, Milo left his family behind and ventured into the underbelly of Neverwinter. His natural ability to blend into shadows and calm, unflappable demeanor made him an ideal candidate for the criminal underworld.

Milo became a member of the Gilded Gallows thieves guild, navigating the labyrinthine networks of corrupt caravan masters, seedy sailors, and local messengers with ease. His dedication and reliability earned him a trusted contact within this network, someone who could always be counted on to pass along crucial information or arrange clandestine meetings. A Dual Life To the outside world, Milo was a tinker, following in his parents' footsteps. His crafting and repairing skills made him a respected member of the community. This profession provided the perfect cover for his activities as a Rogue.

Milo's knowledge of mechanisms and intricate designs also proved invaluable in his covert operations, allowing him to disarm traps and pick locks quickly. A Chaotic Good Heart Despite his immersion in the world of crime, Milo held onto his belief in freedom and redemption. He saw himself as a force of good amidst the chaos, breaking literal and metaphorical chains and helping those trapped by their circumstances. His faith in Our Lady of the Silver Frisbee, a whimsical yet comforting deity, provided him solace. The belief that souls ascend to a roof they cannot escape upon death reminded him of the importance of finding peace and resolution in life. His experiences shaped his personality and Ideals Milo's personality. He remained perpetually calm, never raising his voice or allowing his emotions to control him.

This tranquil exterior made him a valuable ally and a dangerous foe. Milo preferred making friends over enemies, always seeing the potential for good in others. He held firmly to the ideals of freedom and redemption, believing everyone had a spark of good within them, no matter how deeply buried.

The Road Ahead Now, at 21, Milo stands at a crossroads. His dual life as a tinker and a rogue has equipped him with skills and contacts, but his heart yearns for something more. He seeks redemption for his past mistakes and the peace that has eluded him since Elara's death. Milo knows the road ahead will be fraught with danger and moral ambiguity, but he is determined to walk it, hoping to find a way to balance his chaotic nature with his inherently good heart. As he steps out from the shadows, dressed in his grayish-green clothes, ready to blend into the night once more, Milo Greenbottle carries the weight of his past and the hope for a brighter future.

Alchemist Heydan Seegil was born somewhere in Maztica and commonly it is assumed to be in New Waterdeep but the truth is that he was born in the north in a small village north of Fort Flame. When the continent returned after Abeir and Toril merged he made his way east to Faerun hoping to sell the products of his trade. He made port first in Waterdeep leaving from New Waterdeep then made his way north with a trading caravan to Baulder's Gate where he was recruited by a party of adventurers as their healer while they sorted out the mysteries in the small town of Phandalin.

After dealing with a group of Drow controlled brigandines the group formalized themselves as "Big Pharma" pooling the wealth they made from adventuring and opened several franchises around the Realms to sell their pharmaceutical products with Heydan Seegil as their chief executive officer. In all it took about six months and during that time the party also weasled their way into every faction except the Emerald Enclave with Heydan Seegil personally being offered and accepting a membership to the Harpers. Leaving the surface having set up shop and wanting to gain more wealth so they could expand their operations Big Pharma headed into the Underdark where they saw several demons freed from the Abyss and agreed to help seal them away. During their travels across the Underdark Heydan Seegil was able to create a number of new monstrosities through the power of Alchemy including: an ooze inside a talking doll which wished to change it's nature to become an adventurer, a baby red dragon which they stole and hatched from the parent so that it imprinted Heydan Seegil as it's father/mother and this dragon was kept on a psychotropic and behavioral therapy regiment to attempt to curb it's hostilities, an even more colossal breed of purple worm with a tracking implant for mining purposes, among other things. In order to sell off their unwanted by products Heydan Seegil establish the rogue on the Board at Big Pharma as a drug cartel with the Zhentarim and in order to conduct their mad science Heydan Seegil also married into one of the noble houses of Menzoberranzan. In order to ensure that he would not just be a slave in her harem not only did Heydan Seegil save her from death but he also wiped out all the noble houses which opposed hers in a single swoop using poison. To the public in Menzoberranzan she appeared to be the dominant one pulling the strings but behind closed door he was. She hated that always trying to scheme a way to take control and take over Big Pharma, but he had locked everything away behind their two children who would inherit everything should anything happen to him. This included the baby red dragon in therapy. So, Big Pharma and Heydan Seegil as their CEO may have done some really sketch stuff but we did good stuff too. We did seal the abyss and help the people in Phandalin. We also developed a ton of new curatives and stuff. However, we did some evils too like selling drugs to fund our curative research and creating monsters to see if we could change their nature.

Eventually it happens after the rest of the Board of Big Pharma (the party) disbanded months/years after the adventurer as the Emerald Enclave (those holistic hippies!) started to uncover how far-reaching Big Pharma's power was, their secret research in Menzoberranzan, etc. At the same time Heydan's wife made a hard push for control completely unaware of the Emerald Enclave and everything happening on the surface which threatened to destroy the company/party. Deciding it was time to end it he quaffed a Potion of Youth and absconded back to his home in Maztica where it would be impossible to track him. The children would inherit the company via a trust, the dragon and the worm mining operations. His wife would receive monthly payments from his estate protected by an LLC which prevented the Emerald Enclave from liquidating his wealth in court so long as she continued to raise his children in order to care for them. So, she got nothing but what she wanted control of the company/party as soon as the Emerald Enclave busted it while my kids got everything but that headache.

Thus, Heydan Seegil is a true neutral character as he does both good and evil and instead of breaking a law, he'd typically set up shop where the illegal activity is legal or manifest some way around the illegality. Our DM is letting me continue Heydan Seegil's story in the campaign after this one which we are playing now following establish Heydan Seegil in the prior campaign. I have to wait for him to grow back up because he's now a teenager again due to the potion of youth. Then I can head back to Faerun and continue to adventure/set up a new company. Now, Drow do live a long time so I may have to deal with my ex-wife at some point or the kids or that red dragon. I am rather curious if the therapy made it into a friendly red dragon or if it became a burnt-out hippie from the medications, it was on. The ooze I have played and do play in One-Shots and basically it has copied itself into several Talking Dolls at this point. It roams around with a general release of liability releasing Big Pharma from any liability for it should another party accept the ooze. It is in a Talking Doll though so at early levels no one knows it is an ooze, but eventually it grows too big for the doll. So far one has eaten one party, another has worked to complete a quest with a different party, and the last one I played freaked out another party by eating the goblins who attacked them. As for the Purple Worms they'd probably be full of gems by the time we finish this short in-between campaign and ready to be slain for their bounty.

This was my favorite D&D character and I've been playing for like 20 years. Ed has Elminster the Wizard and I have Heydan Seegil the mad Alchemist from Maztica!

Love this story!

 Forever DM here who finally has gotten the chance to sit in the player seat after years. For the campaign I am in now, we rolled stats first and the rolls were fixed in order. Forced me out of my comfort zone of always playing a bard, as the stats didn't favor it. I had this idea for a wizard that had previously been something akin to an arcane trickster, before fate had taken away her nimbleness of the body and forced her to focus more on the nimbleness of her mind. She's been a blast to play so far. Firefly's Malcolm Reynolds offers some small inspiration for the character.

"Been stealing e'er since I was a kid on the streets an been practicin magic nearly as long, e'er since I picked a mage's pocket an got myself a spellbook for the trouble. Took me years just ta learn the basics from the thing; wizardin folk have a need to make they writin more complicated than it has ta be. Though I only got the basics, it's been quite a boon ta me an mine while smugglin or thievin.

Recently though, sumthin just kinda clicked in my mind an I was able to do a lot more; makin my own spells an such. More ability means bigger jobs. Took a big job from a bad man, Apallo 'Knuckles' Ceglia - I ain't judge if'n the money's good though. Did the job real nice, smugglin sumthin big an heavy. On delivery, they killed my crew an messed me up sumthin fierce. Burned my spellbook an put a hammer to my hands... an knees. Ain't so quick no more.

Managed to escape when they wasn't lookin, been on the run ever since. Course, I use the word 'run' loosely. A person in my line o'work don't last long on they own, 'specially when they hurtin an someone after 'em. Healed up some, got a new spellbook. Findin a new crew will keep me safe.

Tôi sẽ trả thù."

My charecter is named Cornith. she is an awakened black leopard, but she can wildshape into an eldarin, and now she hides her backstory. her awakener was named vesimere, and he also awakened corniths brother and sister, Cuwer and Carster. Cuwer lives with the emerald enclave now, and Carster lives in waterdeep, wildshaped as a human. vesimere died when he was showing cornith some of her drudic abilities, and then cornith ran away from his home to live in the forest. She hates tabaxi and dragonborn, and she wishes she is truly a humanoid. 

Forever DM here, but I will have a chance to play as a PC soon. I will join a group in the region of Icewind Dale. So here is my backstory...

"My father was a hero, Xalvador Roquefort, a great wizard of renown throughout the human realm of the Sword Coast. During his travels, he saved my mother, Khaleen Naqima, on a demi-plane, a genasi of Earth. They fell in love and settled in Calimport. Later on, in an evil _(insert undead monster)_ dungeon, my father was caught in the traps of the evil undead entity. He made a pact that he tought was fool proof with the entity. He would give the life of his current living son to the service of the undead monster, in exchange for his liberty and his companions. Unbeknownst to him, my mother was pregnant with me, sealing my fate. 

My dad ended up dying in this dungeon anyway. My mom raised me alone, in poverty. The entity came back into our life when I became an adult and wanted to enforce the contract upon us. We fled to the frigid north, to avoid a terrible fate. But the undead is relentless and will surely catch up with us. Meanwhile, we made friends in the ten towns and my father adventurous spirit inhabits me today, and will protect me on the road of adventure."

Onyx Roquefort is an Earth Genasi Fighter, that will eventually multiclass in Warlock (Undead patron) once the undead entity catch up with him. I plan to fill the role of a tank for the party. We start at level 1. Wish me luck! 

this is my character i am planning to use someday

How sad. What class?

she is a rogue

my lizardfolk warlock/ranger of the Archfey, Sylcraa Shalemaw

conceived in the back room of a temple to Pharika by a foxish and arrogant prince and a young temple maid in the realm of Theros, Sylcraa was cursed from birth by the god Pharika to appear crocodilian as punishment for the prince defiling her sacred temple. deemed a monstrosity by the prince, Sylcraa was left in the woods by his father, despite the protest of his mother. Sylcraa was eventually found in the forest by a kindly fey lord named Vellothin. he brought the child to his city and raised him as his own. he grew up among the residents of Vellothin's realm, the moonlit city, which was in a perpetual state of cold, wintery night. eventually, nearly 200 years after he was adopted (much like the rest of the realm, people are frozen in time and don't age), sylcraa met a young half-orc named Kaima, and the two fell in love. but soon, Sylcraa wanted to leave his adopted father's realm. kaima wanted to stay, and they got in a fight. sylcraa abandoned Kaima, but soon regretted it. he now searches for a way back to his father's realm to reunite with his love.

Here’s my character backstory and classes, though it ends at starting my very first campaign: 

Classes: Cleric, Druid, and Paladin 

Chosen by fate to be the next high priestess and something more, I was born under the fated double solar eclipse. Luminara informed the temple of this, and started giving me her loose scales for my armor while the temple came and got me. I was sad to leave home, but so excited to find out what my deity, Gloria, had chosen me for.

As I grew up in the temple, I started having vague dreams and visions of something terrible happening that only grew clearer as time passed. I was feeling confused most of the time, wondering what these visions meant. I asked my teachers about it, but they had no clue, and told me that it must mean that Gloria had a great destiny in store for me. After that, I went searching elsewhere for answers. As an Eladrin, I had a connection to nature that most of my fellow brethren didn’t have, so I would often visit the nearby Fey forest to help reach my ancestors for answers. They were also of no help, but during my meeting with them, they gave me these wings as a way to help however they could.

Despairing, I decided to go on the pilgrimage that all high priests and priestesses must go on in order to find out why they were chosen, and to find out what they must achieve in the temple during their time in this position. I was trained as a cleric, druid, and paladin in preparation for this eventual pilgrimage, but I decided to take it earlier than they expected. I told my teachers about this, and while they were surprised, they were also understanding, because they had seen my struggles with the visions and dreams I had been having. They sent me off with enough to live comfortably, and told me that I could ask for help whenever I needed. They also gave me Gloria’s Blessing, the sword Lumen Aegis, and completed the armor that was being made specially for me while making sure I swore to follow the temple’s rules and teachings while on my pilgrimage, which including avoiding lethal force whenever possible, and only killing when absolutely necessary. So, here I am, going on my first adventure.

Quote from CofeWaror4 >>

I wrote a water gensai who is a thief disguised as a bard.

 Is your character, perhaps, based off of your profile picture?

Im very new to DND so its kinda basic, but my character is a Tabaxi bard named Jeff the Whimsical (same as my handle) and I am in love with how I made him. first off, Jeff the Whimsical is possibly the best name ever made for a Tabaxi bard, and second, his magical instrument is an accordion, which is a lot of fun to have. Third, I impromtu decided that his character trait is misnaming magical animals, such as "AHH BIG CHICKEN!" "that's a dragon. How do you not know what a dragon is." best character. super happy with him.

here's my high elf moon druid backstory! it's not that great since this is my first ever campaign, but we've been playing since febuary.

My OC, Anti Enderking. (Lol he is named after my username) I have multiple illustrations of him, but they are pretty mediocre and I can't figure out how to upload it to my PC (And I'm lazy and don't feel like doing it) 

 This is the incomplete quick summary of my OC's backstory. There are MANY MANY MANY events that I omitted. His story is currently still being produced.

First time player here, here's the backstory i just made for my new characters campaign. 

*words and ideas are mine so please don't copy them*

Nephi Olori was born into the Advar tribe, deep in the woodlands. Her father Anphari being the second in command to the leader of the tribe, and captain of the militia.

For generations, it had been taught to the children of the tribe who wished to be soldiers, that the best method of warfare was it had always been, hand to hand combat, swords, axes and arrows with wooden bows. This tradition was law. The tribe despised magic and modern weaponry, they believed it took away the bond between them and the land and shunned those who entertained its appeal.

From an early age, Nephi knew she wanted to grow up to be just like her father, strong, resilient and most of all, feared by all those who dare consider challenging the tribe. As soon as she could walk she began to train. However as she matured it was clear she did not share the same love for the old methods as her family did. Her brothers and sisters all found themselves wielding wooden swords in the evenings, Nephi found herself trying to make explosive powders and reading books that detailed the weapons used by human armies, guns that could mow down enemies in a second, explosives that destroyed buildings in a heartbeat. The new technologies were astounding to her, craving weapons forged in metal and fire and gunpowder rather than wood and bone and string.

Nephi tried for years to comply with her Father’s wishes, gaining herself a place in the infantry with an axe and shield on her back, but still could not stop dreaming and crafting. On one evening just before Nephi’s 23 birthday, she came to her room to find her Father Anphari sat on her bed surrounded by all the books she had stolen on convoy’s to nearby villages and hidden away, books that illustrated the manufacturing of guns, bullets, explosives and attachments. An argument ensued whereby Anphari threw all of Nephi’s books into the fire, demanding that she forget this nonsense and live a true Advar life, to take advantage of the legacy left to her by him and his father before him.

Following this, Nephi’s passions withdrew, trying to live the life that was demanded of her, that was expected. A year this went on, Nephi was due to marry her lover, she worked hard, she loved her family, but Nephi still stole silent nights hidden in fallen tree trunks to continue her work, trying to remember the correct calculations to create the explosives she had been working towards. So lost in her work one evening she did not hear Anphari calling her name, nor did she see the torch he carried, until it was too late. Frantically Nephi tried her best to hide her secrets once more, but in the process had knocked a small parcel of gunpowder onto the concoction. A scuffle ensued with her father. He tried to shake her back to her sense. The torch fell. An explosion erupted throughout the woodland. Nephi had been shielded from the blast, but only by her father’s body. Which was now more ash and blister than it was flesh and bone.

The grief was unbearable, the Advar tribe turned on her in an instant, blaming her chaotic hobby for the death of her father. That night Nephi was given two choices, death or exile. Even her soon to be wife would not look her in the eye, yet her mother begged her not to end her life so young. Nephi chose exile.

She now resides in a small cabin on the outskirts of the woodland, a humble abode but enough for her. She spends her time scavenging, crafting, playing the music of her tribe and writing in her journal, her only companion, where she writes letters never to be read to her father, her was-to-be wife, her mother. Nephi has no friends, she is known in the nearby villages but only to be seen skulking around, never to speak to. Nephi keeps to herself, understanding she does not deserve to be a burden to anyone else but wanting nothing more than a reason to use all the skills she has gained, all the knowledge of warfare and modern machinery. Nephi needs adventure and needs a reason to stop thinking she had made the wrong choice back in the woodlands.

Nephi is haunted by her father every night, the grief and guilt have never subsided. She misses a love she lost when she left. She misses feeling like a part of a team.

Nephi gained significant burns to her right arm and torso following the fateful explosion leaving ugly scars as a reminder of her mistakes.

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