In another thread there were posts about character backstories.  Some preferred sparse ones, others preferred longer ones.  What are you looking for in a backstory as a player?  What are you looking for in a player's backstory as a GM?

Personally, the most fun with characters I've run are those with the least amount of backstory going in.  I've learned that it's the unexpected awesome that comes out during play that I like the most.

In most rpgs, particularly the D&D-like ones, first session I might want to know "why did you're character decide to become an adventurer?" even though the answer is almost always fortune or escaping poverty. If a character lives, I might want to retroactively decide what they did before, and what kind of family they have alive. Regardless, we try to make our characters forward looking, not looking for hooks in their past, but in what occurs in-game.

In our new-ish now-only-lightly-'Mad Max'-inspired game my GM and I created, we are in a setting where people are 'called' from the sandstorm by a clan's mystic, and remember nothing from before walking out of the storm. It is genuinely unclear whether they even existed a moment before.

Usually just a mantra of some kind, like "I always pay me debts."

As a player, something that I write loosely and briefly beforehand to get me into the mind of the character.  Or maybe just mused about.  Which is then either tossed in the garbage, or if shows some promise, distilled into a short bullet list to remind me if asked.  I might write more than that out of sheer enjoyment at exploring the character, but it's not anything I would likely reference in play.  That's an alternate history for that character, told in a different form.  I'm also entirely fine with, "Here's a pre-gen with some stats, make up a name and let's go."

As a GM, I'm not looking, if I can help it.  I'll make an exception for a new system we are trying, or new players, to sort of break everyone into the game.  But that's for their sake, not mine.  It's not going to matter in play except to the extent that the players make it matter by their actions.  They can talk about it amongst themselves all they want.  I can always use a few more minutes to focus on the upcoming things while they give me a break.  The exception still being new gamers, new systems, where I'll lob them some easy chances to introduce their backstory stuff if they want.

As GM I like a short paragraph to get an idea who the PC is. As player I'm happy to write up a short para on request, likewise.

The more a player rights for me the more the world lives and the more hooks I can grab.  Up to a certain point  of course.

I prefer minimal back story. The back story should not invent anything with significant weight in the setting unless that is part of character generation. In a life-path system like Traveller, concocting a story to match the rolls you made for previous experience is welcome, but anything invented for the setting must pass muster. A well written back story may well affect play, but such effects should be minimal, or supported mechanically by the character. As another life path example, Burning Wheel provides traits and you can buy reputations, affiliations, and relationships so all of those are fair game (and in fact should have at least something behind them). But none of this should be so long the GM and other players won't read it at least by the 2nd game session. And of course the player must be open to veto or modification by the GM and other players.

I have had the experience of a player write a long back story that introduced or changed setting elements against what I had already settled on and not in a helpful way, and unlike Burning Wheel where you write beliefs that may not be correct, but you can play to make them correct, the player just assumed he got to dictate that part of my setting (in one case, he flipped a significant group within the campaign from friend to enemy or maybe it was the other way around -whoops...).

Frank

For games that require a backstory, I'm willing to write up to half a page, and are willing to read half a page per character, too, as a GM.

Quote from: RunningLaser;968838In another thread there were posts about character backstories.  Some preferred sparse ones, others preferred longer ones.  What are you looking for in a backstory as a player?  What are you looking for in a player's backstory as a GM?

Personally, the most fun with characters I've run are those with the least amount of backstory going in.  I've learned that it's the unexpected awesome that comes out during play that I like the most.

What the player wants out of the game.  Do they want to simply be a Sword and Sorcery type, where the past means nothing (A ranger/barbarian in my home campaign had an entirely closed off background, he was the son of a Barbarian and an Elf, he had some adventures, and childhood friend with benefits, and decided to go wander after a while.  Boom, done, meaning that he didn't want some elaborate plot involving something in his past.)  Or do they want a series of events centered around their personal situation?  (Had a Warlock noble girl, who wanted to be a Bard, but the family patriarch, and Warlock Patron, decided to give her a portion of his power, and ordered to go out into the world.  That player wanted the Waterdeep family to be a hook that ties them to the adventure.) so on and so forth.

That's all for me.

I love detailed backstories that I can work into the setting.  It's fun to have the chance to discover and explore the setting along with my players.

You get 100 words. Go crazy.

After you've written your character on an index card. If there is any space left feel free to write up a backstory? :cool:

As noted in a similar thread last year, I tend to keep my backstory short. Sometimes just a sentence, sometimes a little more. The rest comes out from role playing and talking with the other PCs.

My 5e Warlock's background was "Have Shield. Will Travel." Kefra's elf Druid was formerly a spy, still is really. And Jan's half-orc Fighter had some nautical experience which ended with her character wanting to put alot of distance between herself and the sea.

My old magic users all had pretty much the same ol bog standard "apprentice out in the world." start. Sometimes with the added flourish of "and the tower exploded!"

Quote from: Technomancer;968881I love detailed backstories that I can work into the setting.  It's fun to have the chance to discover and explore the setting along with my players.

Your post reminded me that one of the reasons I don't care for backstories is that I want to get that kind of information out of the players via discussion before I even start working on the setting.  If I wait until backstories are available, it will be too late. I'm happy to get input about what the setting is about, and what the particular campaign is about, but I want it early.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;968370I don't want backstory, I want "This is what the character wants."

Quote from: cranebump;968847Usually just a mantra of some kind, like "I always pay me debts."

Quote from: Steven Mitchell;968856As a player, something that I write loosely and briefly beforehand to get me into the mind of the character.

Quote from: ffilz;968867I prefer minimal back story. The back story should not invent anything with significant weight in the setting unless that is part of character generation.

These are my people.

Quote from: RunningLaser;968838In another thread there were posts about character backstories.  Some preferred sparse ones, others preferred longer ones.  What are you looking for in a backstory as a player?  What are you looking for in a player's backstory as a GM?
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I like backstories that present the character as a fleshed out person with some connections to the game setting and premise then provide some hooks for me to use and get a little idea of what the player is expecting from the game. I like to see explanations for things like Disadvantages, unique abilities and that sort of thing and a general sense of the characters personality and any goal they may have, especially if they aren't obvious from the nature of the game.