Here we go (or went) again.

This story might be cold by the time I’m done typing it. The topic of backgrounds in tabletop roleplaying games has arisen again. Should we (Game Masters) ask for them? Should they be woven into the larger narrative of the campaign? How long should they be?

Character backgrounds seems to come up as a Silly Argument about once every 4-6 months. It’s another one like the combat wheelchair or GM dice fudging.  Give us five minutes and we’ll be onto something else again. Oh, Ginny Di made a video that upset a bunch of old school guys? The OSR is changing its name to try to shrug the negative connotations of certain members. We might be all the way back around to killing off characters or TPKs before this goes to press. (Gets published for all y’all interwebs folx.)

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

I’ve run a lot of different RPGs in many different genres.

Here we are again.

The whole topic of character backgrounds comes up at the beginning of almost every long term game. For short term games and one-shots, I try to keep backgrounds extremely short and poignant for shorter term stuff. Longer term campaigns require a little more love from the players, though.

I’ll be the first to admit Dragonbane and a lot of old school games have a potentially higher character mortality rate than 2024 Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a little disappointing to build a three page character backstory only to have the dude perish an hour into the second session due to 0 HP and poor Death Rolls (If the game even allows such a thing.)

The new edition of Dungeons & Dragons might be root of this discussion.

Prior to 2024 D&D, backgrounds were an excuse for an extra skill or two and some tools. Basically it’s just a summary of your character’s life before becoming a stalwart adventurer. It could also be seen as a secondary profession aside from “adventurer,” although many of us don’t believe PC’s should really have a profession outside of their adventuring career, but that could be an argument all on its own.

Backgrounds in the “new” game replace a lot of what we used to get from “character races,” backgrounds, and basic skill/feat selection as I understand it from what little I’ve actually seen of said PHB. Good for them, I guess? It’s not my jam, but that’s where all the character background discussion is being generated.

Personally, I prefer Dragonbane with its Professions and skill choices. All the kin have an ability or two build into them, as logic would dictate. Your character’s background is whatever you decide it is prior to them becoming an adventurer. Simplicity gets people to the table faster, as I see it.

90% of this discussion boils down to what I say every time.

With the new/not-new 2024 D&D PHB, I can’t say it as an absolute any more because of the way the game stats work. But, as always, do what works best for you (as the GM) and your group. The background discussion usually happens during Session Zero, before characters are made.

Please try to come up with some sort of background for your character in a long campaign. Please do not hand your poor GM a 200+ page fantasy novel about your character prior to them joining the party. Just please keep it reasonable, whether it’s a paragraph or three typed pages.

We’ll circle back to this discussion the next time this topic comes up, probably in a month or two at the most. Something tells me not a lot will have changed. It just reminds me of why I stopped talking so much about D&D. Onward and upward, I suppose.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.