Weaving Backstories Into Your Adventures
Your players have written their backstories and now its time for you to use them, but… how? Let’s find out.
Weaving a backstory into the adventures you run for your players can feel like a daunting task. Do you make a whole adventure for a part of the backstory? What if they don’t fall for the hook to the backstory adventure you made? Such questions plague every gamemaster (GM). My first rule is never to make an adventure focused only on one backstory. Instead, I await the players to become invested in an adventure and then sprinkle in backstory tidbits. To do this, I list useful and interesting things from each backstory. I then enhance the bits by making NPCs, scraps of dialogue, or sometimes an item. To demonstrate this, here is a sample backstory:
“Alph was born to a blacksmith. He played near the forge, watching his father make many things including a very fine sword. One day, their village was attacked by Boss Brigand and his band. Their assault was savage and bloody as they killed every villager they could find. Alph, hidden in the secret cupboard in their root cellar, was the only one to survive. After the raiders had plundered and burned down the village, Alph made his way to the town where his mother’s brother had a mill. But a miller’s life was not for him as revenge burned deep, so when a recruiter came to town calling for those willing to earn their way in the arenas, he eagerly signed up. It was hard to learn the ways of combat but Alph was determined. He learned fast and began earning a name for himself until the arena’s owner died and her brother inherited it. He was a drunkard and a gambler and within a year, he had lost it betting on knucklebones. With the arena shifting hands too many times, Alph left. It was time to try and find Boss Briagnd.”
The first tidbit I noticed was the Very Fine Sword. This will be a unique weapon immediately recognized by Alph should he get to see it. What properties it has… I will add later when it’s time for him to encounter it as knowing what level he will be then is important.
The second tidbit is Boss Brigand. I gave him an actual name and a gang of minions large enough to destroy a village while keeping him three levels higher than Alph. Word of his misdeeds as he grows in infamy, perhaps wielding a Very Fine Sword, will travel along the rumor mills to Alph, dropping breadcrumbs to lure Alph into taking the hook to get his revenge when it’s time.
The third tidbit is his uncle, the Miller, who seems to still be alive. There are no details about family so… I can have NPCs ask him personal questions from time to time and see how to flesh him out on the down low. This is the sort of NPC called “hostage of fortune” where the GM can make something personal for Alph by having a crisis with a family member.
The fourth tidbit is the recruiter. Again, idle conversations through NPCs can help flesh them out and I can decide if this is a friend or foe.
The fifth tidbit is the arena owner’s brother, the drunkard gambler. Perhaps he has a past with the recruiter and between the two there could be a scenario or two for Alph to encounter.
Armed with Alph’s backstory tidbits, I can prep the party’s adventures accordingly. Chatty NPCs during other adventures can make small talk to try and pry details out of Alph while spreading the occasional rumor about Boss Brigand. Even if the player has no answers or brushes them off, I will take that as a sign to do my own embellishing.
I will then get a better sword to Alph as soon as I can so he can feel a bond to it and still yearn for the Very Fine Sword. This is done by adjusting the loot from other adventures. It will be less impressive than his father’s sword. And I will make sure to hint at that with every finer sword he stumbles across. Finally, I will use members of Boss Brigand’s gang as enemy NPCs here and there, hinting that Boss Brigand is still out there in need of being revenged upon.
When it comes to the uncle and drunkard gambler, these are important in giving Alph a reason to care, one way or the other, about things other than his revenge against Boss Brigand, maybe even a conflict of the heart. Or, I can use them as further bait to get Alph committed to a special adventure against Boss Brigand.
Pay attention to how your players react to your weaving of their backstories. Their reactions will dictate how you use the tidbits and when they are ready for their special backstory adventure. Do not be in a hurry to have them face a big backstory moment right away. Use the tidbits like breadcrumbs to build up to the moment, ensuring they will be fully baited and ready for those special backstory moments when you spring them on your players. Good luck and happy gamemastering.
