Hi guys,

So the Rogue character that I was working on yesterday has a dark and twisted backstory.  He was born to a broken and despondent mother, who had been abused by the characters father since she was a young child

(basically her story is one of emotional, physical, psychological and sexual abuse) - extreemely dark and twisted themes.

The character himself was kept in captivity by his father, who never acknowledged him as being his child and treated him little better than he did the characters mother (minus the sexual abuse)

When the character and his mother were finally freed, they were freed by a band of so called heroes who saw this tiny half baked little boy and his mother as a chance to have some "fun"

They left them a broken mess, but still alive and now free.

When they eventually made it into the outside word, they suffered more abuse - this time racial, because they were Drow.

So this whole story is full of dark adult themes and I don't know how to write it.

Any advice you can give me will be most appreciated.

So basically writing fan fiction about your character (not the "it's so good it could be cannon" kind). Just try not to put any hole in the character sheet with all that edge.

Joking aside (maybe not all joking), no body cares as much about your character's backstory as much as you, so you dont need to go into gory detail. "Bad childhood, all the bad things. Yep that too." Tells your DM everything they need to know about this character in less than 10 words.

Yeah, I'd probably not go any deeper into detail than your post on what happened. But I would probably work with the dm on hooks into their world. Sounds like the father is dead, but we're the adventures a known group? Does your character want revenge? Do you travel in disguise to avoid conflict from your drow heritage, or do you play it up and turn to violence (better to be feared and hated than respected)?  

TLDR: outline the events and focus on the impact to your outlook/ identify people that would impact your roleplay.

Quote from DxJxC >>

So basically writing fan fiction about your character (not the "it's so good it could be cannon" kind). Just try not to put any hole in the character sheet with all that edge.

Joking aside (maybe not all joking), no body cares as much about your character's backstory as much as you, so you dont need to go into gory detail. "Bad childhood, all the bad things. Yep that too." Tells your DM everything they need to know about this character in less than 10 words.

He actually isn't really an edgy character at all.  He tries his hardest to be a Goody person and to do the right thing, but his past experiences ultimately drive him towards being Chaotic Good.

Also, his primary short term goal is to find his mother, who has gone missing and his long term goal is to become powerful and strong, so that he will never again be a small weak little child at the mercy of others.

The biggest hurdle to achieving his long term goal, is his cowardly nature.  He is always scared and terribly afraid of dying.

As long as you know your audience and what you write is appropriate for them as well as for you, then I say go to town.

The backstory (along with everything else in description) will only be visible to you and the DM.

Quote from DxJxC >>

The backstory (along with everything else in description) will only be visible to you and the DM.

I was just concerned about the themes of it.  Even if it the other players don't get to read it in its entirety, having a backstory full of the type of themes I am going for, could come off very badly if it is not written correctly.

Not only could they make the character out to be just another edge lord, but they could make me look extremely insensitive for even incorporating these kinds of things into a game character 

I have always avoided themes like these for this very reason.  My usual dark backstory is "my parents died when I was young."

The darkest I have ever dared to go was saying that the character had once been seduced by a fiend, so he (yes a he - the fiend mother had left him holding the baby when the devil hunters got too close) had a Tiefling child.  This was in a game where Tieflings were basically considered evil and were hunted by clerics of good aligned gods.

So he had to hide his son so that he would be safe and he used being an adventurer as a legitimate excuse as to why he travelled to such distant places  

Basically, adventuring was his cover for constantly having to move from place to to place to keep his child safe from the devil hunters.

This backstory however, has nothing happy in it at all.  It's full of abuse of various kinds, a father presumed dead and then a missing mother and I was concerned about not being able to write it properly, because I don't want it to come across as though I have trivialising or making light of the experiences of anyone who might have actually lived through these kinds of abuses.

Have you had a session 0 with the group? What the group is okay with, and what things are off-limits are key to discuss in a session 0. These themes could touch on one of your fellow players' own lives, so you need to work with kindness when bringing something like this into a social, fun atmosphere. Ensure that the other players and the DM are alright with each of the themes, so that should it come up it doesn't ruin the game for someone else.

What Mellie said is super important and must be respected first and foremost. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with dark themes and if everyone in the group is into it, it can be a completely different kind of gaming experience. I would make sure there is enthusiastic consent from everyone at the table and, if so, then go do your thing.

What everyone else said. I had a fairly detailed, dark backstory, but then I realised its for AL play and no one cares. Even in a regular group it wouldn't matter much. 

It's already been said, but a Session 0 works wonders. Work with the DM, meet with the other players and DM to figure out what's acceptable in the game, and figure out ways to integrate everything into your character. Torture is a big topic to go over, for instance. Do you gloss over it? Everyone ok with details? What are you willing to have your character go through for story? There must be consensus by everyone at the table, or the game could fall apart. You never know what the other players are dealing with.

Adding a journal into your inventory that someone might steal that tells part of the story, as an example. If someone gets it, you can pass out a sheet or notebook with the notes in it. I have a character that if very free with his desires. In his inventory, he has a black book with names and ratings of those he's been with. I got two very cheap notepads. In one, I wrote random stuff no one can read. If they know Gnomish or can magically read it, I hand them the other with everything written down in English.

With flair? 

I am a minimalist type person. Put a bit in there to get started and let some of it come from on the spot idea's, this way you never have to lie about your past.  Also, as said before, Session 0 helps. don't write yourself into a corner with your backstory. let there be some wiggle room.