Backstory Blues

It’s always a joke that the most dangerous profession in an RPG world is to be the parents of adventurers. Many a backstory includes parents who have died tragically, sending the young survivor on a road to revenge or simply survival. Many an orphan fills the ranks of the brave and bold, forced to grow up too soon, to learn to survive and thrive, pushed to right the wrongs of the world. Let’s face it, we’ve all done it, and we’ll continue to do it. Why would a well-adjusted, happy family member go out in the world to fight monsters for a living?

My group of players’ characters, apparently. That’s who.

I’m still waiting on a couple folks’ full backstories, but from what they have all told me to this point, their parents, or adoptive parents anyway, are all alive. There is a little bit of dead parent flavor in the one adopted character, but as far as I know, the adoptive ones are still alive.

That’s not to say they all have Happy family lives. Far from it, fortunately. A couple of them do, and good for them, I have other strings to pull there. Mistakes, either real or imagined. The rest had families that they ran away from, for one reason or another. Framed by a previously loving sister. Driven out by impossible expectations and poor treatment. Hunted because of prophecy. But sometimes, even bad families don’t always want to let go.

I’m looking forward to weaving some of these sad strings into the fabric of the campaign. I have and am working with my players to ensure the characters from their backstories show up in a form they recognize. I want them to tell me who they are, and what they act like, and even their goals – at least from their character’s perspectives. So, I can mold them into what they will become. Characters with real motivations, who may have treated their characters poorly, but are still sympathetic in the long run. These are not the unforgivable bad guys, out to destroy the world. They are people, who were trying to do their best, and maybe their best wasn’t good enough and they made bad choices, but still people who might deserve forgiveness or at least understanding.

That’s my goal, anyway. Stay tuned to see how it goes.