Being an orphan is probably fairly common in your campaign. With illness, war, monsters, corrupt officials and random gateways to other planes opening and closing, it's inevitable that people are going to have to grow up without the people that brought them into the world. However, this can be frustrating for DMs (and other players) if the orphan in question has no connections to anything or anyone in the world.
This brings me to my question: how can we as players make our orphan characters more interesting/less generic? Unless your parents mysteriously burst into flames the day you set out on your adventure, odds are you've got some emotional connections in the world, good or bad. I'll list a few ideas I've come up with before. (Note: if your parents did happen to burst into flames that day, I'm so sorry for bringing that up.)
How were you orphaned? Was it a monster attack, a raid, a famine, a vengeful wizard or something sinister and unknowable to our mortal minds?
Were you given away by uncaring/naiive parents?
Were you shipped off to a relative when you were orphaned? Who was it?
If you joined (or were shoved into) an orphanage, what was it called? Were the people who run it nice? Cruel? A mix of both? Do you keep in contact with anyone that you met there?
If you ended up on the streets, where did you find shelter? Under a bridge? In a box? With a thief's guild?
Were you lucky enough to be adopted? If so, were your new parents of a different race, or the same as yours?
Did anything unfortunate happen that forced you to leave your orphanage/new home? Was it your fault, or the result of whatever caused you to become orphaned in the first place?
Do you still hold out hope that your parents are alive?
That's what I've come up with. Do you have any suggestions? Feel free to list them below!
These are good points! I like your questions about the orphanage. No one grows up completely alone, and it would be neat to see orphans who actually grew up quite emotionally healthy because they had kind caregivers, close friendships, or loving adoptive parents.
And if someone insists their orphan did grow up completely alone, I'd have these questions for them:
Are you feral, or otherwise seem alien or foreign in your adherence to social norms?
If so, how did you come to interact with society? Did someone find you? Depending on the age you were found, were you eventually taught how to integrate into society?
Those are also some good points! I can't believe I forgot to mention those ones, since one of my orphans is a feral tiefling. He was raised by spider monkeys for a while. It took some time for him to learn that throwing your poo at people isn't a valid counterargument.
Ah, that's my fault. I think I wasn't clear. I was trying to encourage people to explore their backstories beyond what the player's handbook and Xanithar's Guide offers (although those are great starting points) since there are quite a few forums and memes floating around about PCs that happen to have orphans and the trouble that can make for bringing them into the story. With that in mind, I thought I'd try and help.
I had a half-elf Monk character who was raised by rats under the city and learned how to be basically sentient through a bond with a metabeing. Of course, he was always somewhat feral.
I keep forgetting about parents in most of my characters, and have to make up something on the spot, usually non-orphan and parents passed peacefully just to avoid having to create some tragic unwanted hook for my characters.
"You're the long-lost child of a demideity, abandoned as an embarrassment to the royal family of the other parent," or "You were prophesized to save the world, but a world-ending cult killed your parents who had already hidden you away before you could be discovered, leaving a cryptic note that would hopefully set you on the path to fulfill your destiny."
It's just not for me. I prefer a mostly happy kid who either messed up somehow or felt the need to be something greater (and usually the former by some ridiculous accident—less tragedy in the past).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
What's up, fellow D&Ders?
Being an orphan is probably fairly common in your campaign. With illness, war, monsters, corrupt officials and random gateways to other planes opening and closing, it's inevitable that people are going to have to grow up without the people that brought them into the world. However, this can be frustrating for DMs (and other players) if the orphan in question has no connections to anything or anyone in the world.
This brings me to my question: how can we as players make our orphan characters more interesting/less generic? Unless your parents mysteriously burst into flames the day you set out on your adventure, odds are you've got some emotional connections in the world, good or bad. I'll list a few ideas I've come up with before. (Note: if your parents did happen to burst into flames that day, I'm so sorry for bringing that up.)
That's what I've come up with. Do you have any suggestions? Feel free to list them below!
These are good points! I like your questions about the orphanage. No one grows up completely alone, and it would be neat to see orphans who actually grew up quite emotionally healthy because they had kind caregivers, close friendships, or loving adoptive parents.
And if someone insists their orphan did grow up completely alone, I'd have these questions for them:
Those are also some good points! I can't believe I forgot to mention those ones, since one of my orphans is a feral tiefling. He was raised by spider monkeys for a while. It took some time for him to learn that throwing your poo at people isn't a valid counterargument.
Isn't that what the Bonds part of the character background is for?
Ah, that's my fault. I think I wasn't clear. I was trying to encourage people to explore their backstories beyond what the player's handbook and Xanithar's Guide offers (although those are great starting points) since there are quite a few forums and memes floating around about PCs that happen to have orphans and the trouble that can make for bringing them into the story. With that in mind, I thought I'd try and help.
Having used the orphan trope before, some questions i have asked myself:
Why are you orphaned? War, famine, pestilence? Was it by choice of your parents? Are you being hidden? Are you a source of shame?
When were you orphaned? At birth? Later in life like teens?
Were you in an orphanage? Was it like a sweatshop? Was it a church/faith? Kindly family member? Foster parents? Guild of beggars or thieves?
What pulled you through? Foster parents? A mentor (positive or negative). Other orphans? A stern churchnan?
Are you in debt to the orphanage? Are you apprenticed to pay your way? Are you on the streets? How did you get your gear?
Few are alone, so these can creat contacts, rivals, and connections to places and people.
I had a half-elf Monk character who was raised by rats under the city and learned how to be basically sentient through a bond with a metabeing. Of course, he was always somewhat feral.
🍅 PM me the word 'tomato' 🍅 Extended Signature Musk Sucks, Quit X!
I keep forgetting about parents in most of my characters, and have to make up something on the spot, usually non-orphan and parents passed peacefully just to avoid having to create some tragic unwanted hook for my characters.
"You're the long-lost child of a demideity, abandoned as an embarrassment to the royal family of the other parent," or "You were prophesized to save the world, but a world-ending cult killed your parents who had already hidden you away before you could be discovered, leaving a cryptic note that would hopefully set you on the path to fulfill your destiny."
It's just not for me. I prefer a mostly happy kid who either messed up somehow or felt the need to be something greater (and usually the former by some ridiculous accident—less tragedy in the past).
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.