Anything more than a couple of paragraphs is too much. I’m not going to sit there reading pages of stuff. I’m not your editor or publisher. I have a job and a family and a life outside of my role as a dm.
Grab an idea, pick a direction to run with it in, and see where you end up. Read about Arem, then see how I came up with him and see if that helps you any.
It seems a lot of people either mix up or interchangeably use backstory and lifestory. A “good backstory” must answer these questions (or at least set the groundwork for them to be answered)
Who are you?
Why do you act the way you do?
Why did you become an adventurer?
That’s it! You can include a funny quirk they have and mention who raised them after their parents died if you really want, but those are just cherries on top.
“Having said that, it’s not wrong to write a super long backstory, but try to keep in mind that, unfortunately, almost no one besides you will ever read it and even fewer will actually care about what they read (as much as you do). It is a sad yet true fact that a long backstory is a pain to read when the reader is not invested in the character. Also, having the only or best description of your character be super long it makes it hard give a brief description of your character when someone casually says, “Tell me about them.”
I was bored by this point. If I get a backstory this big then I won’t read it, and it won’t get incorporated into my game. No matter how good the player thinks it is.
My simple rules: 1) how did they get their background skills etc? 2) How did they come by their class(es)? 3) How did they get any additional levels they have - careful here as the events should match the experience for each level if they are starting above level 1.
Anything more than a couple of paragraphs is too much. I’m not going to sit there reading pages of stuff. I’m not your editor or publisher. I have a job and a family and a life outside of my role as a dm.
And the character is probably between 1st and 3rd level, which means that they're relatively inexperienced and should not have a backstory full of multiple seasons of the player's favorite shonen worth of stuff the character's done.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think it’s always important to collaborate with your DM on the backstory. Start a general idea about your backstory, without too much detail. Then you and your DM come up with ideas together to fill in the details.
It will help synchronize your character with the world the DM builds. You will also get an idea for how much detail may or may not get worked into the story. Having “too much“ detail for your own purposes never really hurts anything. It just may not all get used.
Once, I wrote long, winding backstories. I enjoyed doing this, I've always wanted to write a fantasy novel (I'm not so deluded as to think it'd be any good tho), so I tried my best to give my characters interesting backgrounds.
I've since stopped, though. I've come to the realisation that my characters personality grows from play, not from backstory. And the one time a GM actually tried to use events in my backstory, he had to remind me that the villain of the plot from the backstory I wrote. As a GM, I've never done it myself, and I'm completely honest about the fact that I never will.
I think the main reason why I want backstories as a GM is as a test of the writing of the player.
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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.
(amused that it has been a number of years since my lost post on this).
As others have said, how much you MUST put into a backstory is between you and a DM. The DM may, or may not use it, depends on how it fits with the plan for the game or campaign. As a personal fan of "big" backstories, I would avoid it unless you love tracking detail, like publishing about it unless its your thing, and remember it probably isn't other people's thing.
Now, as to what is/may be useful (much of which have been already said)
Why are you adventuring?
How do you know what you know? Skills and class abilities.
Where do you come from? Geography, schooling, and the social aspects. details on your background then.
Who are your family and how is your relationship with them. Include close friends here, including the other players if it applies.
if you aren't 1st to 3rd level, what have you been doing?
How detailed? Up to you. However, doing all the significant stuff in the backstory, may prevent you from developing the character further. This might not apply if you are starting at 14 or so...but this is where you can talk to your DM. I would spend more time on family (this coming from someone who has orphans or single parent characters all over the place), and how they influenced you. There aren't enough good functioning families compared to orphan edgelords in many campaigns.
How much is too much? When you start having details to your backstory that you try and gain huge advantage beyond what is natural/comparable for your table.
How much is too much? When you start having details to your backstory that you try and gain huge advantage beyond what is natural/comparable for your table.
Technically, I could write a backstory with a single line that does that :). But your point is very valid...a level backstory is (now) a way to deliver feats, skills, tool profs, not a trump card.
I like a lot of the advice so far, but I'd add two things:
1) The most exciting things in your character's life should be ahead of them, not behind them. It's a game of heroic fantasy, and the most exciting times in the characters' lives should happen "on-screen." Backstory is a great way to get you into the character's head and give the GM plot hooks. If your character has already changed the course of history, what are they going to do as an encore?
2) Don't write a backstory that will get in the way of you and everyone else enjoying the game. If your answer to DM plot hooks winds up always being "my character wouldn't go on this adventure because (backstory thing)" no one is going to have a good time. If your backstory is going to result in serious incompatibility with other characters or the direction the GM and other players want to take the game, likewise. This, especially, is your "talk to your DM" moment, and even "talk to the other players." I really like games with a "session 0" where some of the backstory development happens between the players to establish how and whether they know each other and so on. D&D is very much a cooperative enterprise, and everyone needs to contribute to trying to help everyone present, including the GM, have a good time. Of course, the other players and the DM owe you the same courtesy, and should be willing to accommodate unusual or odd backstories within reason. PCs are, after all, exceptional and unusual people. Everyone needs to be a bit flexible in designing storylines.
In most games I play or run, character backstory is for two distinct purposes:
Information the player needs to feel comfortable with starting to roleplay their character; and
Information the DM needs to prepare the beginnings of character specific story arcs.
Everyone is different, which is why the answers here vary wildly, but personally I prefer as little information as possible to comfortably tick both of those boxes. Too little, and there isn't enough to run with. Too much, and it can close off opportunities for the experience of shared storytelling (which personally, is my favourite part of playing TTRPGs). Short, interesting, and evocative, always trumps long, superfluous, and generic, for me, but YMMV of course.
TL; DR: I don't think there are any universally right or wrong answers, though it's good practice to bear in mind the purpose we write backstories for in the first place, and work with those goals as best as we are able.
As a lot of others stated, asking your DM is probably the most important part of this all.
Personally, I want my players to enjoy setting up their backstories, but be willing to be somewhat vague about fine details. This leaves room to grow later, as well as opportunities to make changes that do not counter the world you are in.
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Anything more than a couple of paragraphs is too much. I’m not going to sit there reading pages of stuff. I’m not your editor or publisher. I have a job and a family and a life outside of my role as a dm.
Grab an idea, pick a direction to run with it in, and see where you end up. Read about Arem, then see how I came up with him and see if that helps you any.
It seems a lot of people either mix up or interchangeably use backstory and lifestory. A “good backstory” must answer these questions (or at least set the groundwork for them to be answered)
That’s it! You can include a funny quirk they have and mention who raised them after their parents died if you really want, but those are just cherries on top.
“Having said that, it’s not wrong to write a super long backstory, but try to keep in mind that, unfortunately, almost no one besides you will ever read it and even fewer will actually care about what they read (as much as you do). It is a sad yet true fact that a long backstory is a pain to read when the reader is not invested in the character. Also, having the only or best description of your character be super long it makes it hard give a brief description of your character when someone casually says, “Tell me about them.”
I was bored by this point. If I get a backstory this big then I won’t read it, and it won’t get incorporated into my game. No matter how good the player thinks it is.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/118709-three-sentence-backstory
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My simple rules:
1) how did they get their background skills etc?
2) How did they come by their class(es)?
3) How did they get any additional levels they have - careful here as the events should match the experience for each level if they are starting above level 1.
anything more than this too much in my opinion.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
And the character is probably between 1st and 3rd level, which means that they're relatively inexperienced and should not have a backstory full of multiple seasons of the player's favorite shonen worth of stuff the character's done.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think it’s always important to collaborate with your DM on the backstory. Start a general idea about your backstory, without too much detail. Then you and your DM come up with ideas together to fill in the details.
It will help synchronize your character with the world the DM builds. You will also get an idea for how much detail may or may not get worked into the story. Having “too much“ detail for your own purposes never really hurts anything. It just may not all get used.
Once, I wrote long, winding backstories. I enjoyed doing this, I've always wanted to write a fantasy novel (I'm not so deluded as to think it'd be any good tho), so I tried my best to give my characters interesting backgrounds.
I've since stopped, though. I've come to the realisation that my characters personality grows from play, not from backstory. And the one time a GM actually tried to use events in my backstory, he had to remind me that the villain of the plot from the backstory I wrote. As a GM, I've never done it myself, and I'm completely honest about the fact that I never will.
I think the main reason why I want backstories as a GM is as a test of the writing of the player.
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.
(amused that it has been a number of years since my lost post on this).
As others have said, how much you MUST put into a backstory is between you and a DM. The DM may, or may not use it, depends on how it fits with the plan for the game or campaign. As a personal fan of "big" backstories, I would avoid it unless you love tracking detail, like publishing about it unless its your thing, and remember it probably isn't other people's thing.
Now, as to what is/may be useful (much of which have been already said)
How detailed? Up to you. However, doing all the significant stuff in the backstory, may prevent you from developing the character further. This might not apply if you are starting at 14 or so...but this is where you can talk to your DM. I would spend more time on family (this coming from someone who has orphans or single parent characters all over the place), and how they influenced you. There aren't enough good functioning families compared to orphan edgelords in many campaigns.
I am an Aaracroka Assassin so I had to explain why I am NE instead of a good alignment.
BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS! NEWS!
The Pinguino: Speeding through stealing Dnd books(but mostly Premium seafood, preferably squid)!
How much is too much? When you start having details to your backstory that you try and gain huge advantage beyond what is natural/comparable for your table.
Technically, I could write a backstory with a single line that does that :). But your point is very valid...a level backstory is (now) a way to deliver feats, skills, tool profs, not a trump card.
I like a lot of the advice so far, but I'd add two things:
1) The most exciting things in your character's life should be ahead of them, not behind them. It's a game of heroic fantasy, and the most exciting times in the characters' lives should happen "on-screen." Backstory is a great way to get you into the character's head and give the GM plot hooks. If your character has already changed the course of history, what are they going to do as an encore?
2) Don't write a backstory that will get in the way of you and everyone else enjoying the game. If your answer to DM plot hooks winds up always being "my character wouldn't go on this adventure because (backstory thing)" no one is going to have a good time. If your backstory is going to result in serious incompatibility with other characters or the direction the GM and other players want to take the game, likewise. This, especially, is your "talk to your DM" moment, and even "talk to the other players." I really like games with a "session 0" where some of the backstory development happens between the players to establish how and whether they know each other and so on. D&D is very much a cooperative enterprise, and everyone needs to contribute to trying to help everyone present, including the GM, have a good time. Of course, the other players and the DM owe you the same courtesy, and should be willing to accommodate unusual or odd backstories within reason. PCs are, after all, exceptional and unusual people. Everyone needs to be a bit flexible in designing storylines.
In most games I play or run, character backstory is for two distinct purposes:
Everyone is different, which is why the answers here vary wildly, but personally I prefer as little information as possible to comfortably tick both of those boxes. Too little, and there isn't enough to run with. Too much, and it can close off opportunities for the experience of shared storytelling (which personally, is my favourite part of playing TTRPGs). Short, interesting, and evocative, always trumps long, superfluous, and generic, for me, but YMMV of course.
TL; DR: I don't think there are any universally right or wrong answers, though it's good practice to bear in mind the purpose we write backstories for in the first place, and work with those goals as best as we are able.
Frequently flippant; sorry for being an apologist.
As a lot of others stated, asking your DM is probably the most important part of this all.
Personally, I want my players to enjoy setting up their backstories, but be willing to be somewhat vague about fine details. This leaves room to grow later, as well as opportunities to make changes that do not counter the world you are in.