Hello Everyone,
I’m new to RP Repository and excited to dive into the vibrant roleplaying community here! I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a new character, but I’m struggling to craft a backstory that feels both compelling and flexible enough for different RP scenarios.
The character I’m working on is a mysterious wanderer with a knack for solving problems—be they physical, magical, or interpersonal. I want them to have a rich history that explains their unique skills and solitary lifestyle, but I also want to leave enough room for development through interactions with other players.
I’ve been considering themes like redemption, hidden identity, or a lost legacy, but I’m not sure how to strike the right balance between intrigue and accessibility. How do you create a backstory that grabs attention without overwhelming potential collaborators with too much detail?
Additionally, I’m curious about how to effectively integrate a character’s backstory into gameplay. Should I reveal bits and pieces over time, or is it better to lay everything out early on to give other players context? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes a backstory engaging and how to avoid common pitfalls (e.g., Mary Sues, info dumps, etc.).
If you have any examples of characters with backstories that worked particularly well or advice on how to workshop my ideas, I’d be incredibly grateful! Looking forward to learning from this amazing community.
Thanks in advance for your insights!
joynicalteryx
I’m new to RP Repository and excited to dive into the vibrant roleplaying community here! I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a new character, but I’m struggling to craft a backstory that feels both compelling and flexible enough for different RP scenarios.
The character I’m working on is a mysterious wanderer with a knack for solving problems—be they physical, magical, or interpersonal. I want them to have a rich history that explains their unique skills and solitary lifestyle, but I also want to leave enough room for development through interactions with other players.
I’ve been considering themes like redemption, hidden identity, or a lost legacy, but I’m not sure how to strike the right balance between intrigue and accessibility. How do you create a backstory that grabs attention without overwhelming potential collaborators with too much detail?
Additionally, I’m curious about how to effectively integrate a character’s backstory into gameplay. Should I reveal bits and pieces over time, or is it better to lay everything out early on to give other players context? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes a backstory engaging and how to avoid common pitfalls (e.g., Mary Sues, info dumps, etc.).
If you have any examples of characters with backstories that worked particularly well or advice on how to workshop my ideas, I’d be incredibly grateful! Looking forward to learning from this amazing community.
Thanks in advance for your insights!
joynicalteryx
Subscribing to your thread because I'm also quite interested in knowing how people write their own junk. I'm for sure in dire need of similar help. Stuff in my stories keep changing and contradicting so much and so often, I don't even know what to actually put down on profiles.
I think the bulk of backstory should go in the character's profiles. I used to be the kind to think that backstories are better revealed through roleplay. Turns out I'm just lazy. If you put these backstories into the profiles themselves you give your partners material to work with and spitball ideas of how the roleplay itself is going to feel like. I think it can get even better if partners can let each other take creative liberties and add little bits and bobs to each other's backstories to spice things up as tiny twists. The one time I had the opportunity to have something like that worked really well when my partner took said liberties. Trickling more of the characters' backstories into the roleplay itself, somehow trying to make it mingle with everyone else's backgrounds too is definitely my favorite way. Not that I have much experience with roleplay to make such assumptions, but oh well.
Quote:
Additionally, I’m curious about how to effectively integrate a character’s backstory into gameplay. Should I reveal bits and pieces over time, or is it better to lay everything out early on to give other players context? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes a backstory engaging and how to avoid common pitfalls (e.g., Mary Sues, info dumps, etc.).
I think the bulk of backstory should go in the character's profiles. I used to be the kind to think that backstories are better revealed through roleplay. Turns out I'm just lazy. If you put these backstories into the profiles themselves you give your partners material to work with and spitball ideas of how the roleplay itself is going to feel like. I think it can get even better if partners can let each other take creative liberties and add little bits and bobs to each other's backstories to spice things up as tiny twists. The one time I had the opportunity to have something like that worked really well when my partner took said liberties. Trickling more of the characters' backstories into the roleplay itself, somehow trying to make it mingle with everyone else's backgrounds too is definitely my favorite way. Not that I have much experience with roleplay to make such assumptions, but oh well.
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