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Shared backstories are a great tool that can be used in almost any campaign ofDungeons & Dragons. Siblings, friends, business partners and lovers are all great platforms for building characters. Giving the player characters some existing bonds creates the potential for new storytelling angles, roleplaying experiences, and strategies for puzzle-solving or combat.
There’s also a special type of fun to be had from working together with another player to craft two characters that complement each other. Some character concepts work the best when done in contrast to or alongside another character. Here are a few different ways of pulling off shared backstories.
Agree On A Shared Theme And Goal
Moreso than for a normal game, you’ll need to work together on what you want your characters to be.Most types of group backstory require players to agree to playing certain roles, so you need everyone on board.
A helpful thing to do is discuss what each of you wants out of the process. There are different goals people might have:
None of these goals contradict each other. Two people might decide to play a two-headed ogre because they’re already close friends, want to roleplay being two heads on the same body and have an obscure grappling focused build that only works if the left and right arm of the same body both have separate action surges.
You don’t need to have the same background to have a shared backstory.Your background represents a part of your past that was influential but doesn’t have to be the only thing that shaped you.Two people might both have been urchins together but one’s skillset might be more influenced by a local church that provided charity (taking the acolyte background).
Work With The DM
The Dungeon Master should be included in the creative process. They’ll want to know details ahead of time to create quests and encounters that play off your characters.
In character goals don’t have to be the same across both characters, and can even be interesting if they are at odds with each other.
Find Ways To Represent The Shared Backstory In Gameplay
Whether you are creating shared backstories for mechanical or roleplaying benefits, you want to find ways to express it accordingly. Considerdifferent ways you can roleplay or design your characters to complement each other. A good backstory isn’t just a page of text that describes where you come from but insteadguides the decisions your character makes.
Combat and Exploration
Overprotective Siblings
The younger sibling might be more outgoing in social sceneswhile the overprotective one approaches them with caution.
One character might take a playstyle that supports the abilities of the other, such as a Fighter with the protection style and a Storm Sorcerer who needs to cast spells at close range.
Master And Apprentice
The apprentice might beeager to demonstrate their abilities, while the master tries to create learning moments for the student.
The two characters might have similarplaystyles that represent a shared school of study. A Bladesinger Wizard and an Eldritch Knightboth combine wizard spells with martial discipline but are different enough to be interesting.Druids and rangers, or paladins and clerics are also good pairs that play differently.
Stuck Together
Two PCs sharing a set of manacles areforced to participate in each other’s scenes, creating a good source of tension or comedy.
Characters forcibly chained together can be difficult to play in combat without good planning.Make sure that both players have a shared vision of what tactics and strategies the duo will use, so they aren’t tripping over or dragging each other around.
Rivals
The two PCs might useroleplaying and social encounters as an extension of their contest,potentially with harmful consequences.
Rival characters are less likely to take complementary styles and might act more independently in encounters.This gives both players more freedom in how they build their characters.
Business Partners
The two PCs would have shared interests they pursue in roleplaying encounters,even if they are mechanically different.
The characters might havecomplementary skills that relate to their joint venture. A good example is a transmutation wizard and artificer, but could also be as simple as having skill proficiencies that apply to different parts of running the business.
Interpreter
A player who is consistentlytranslating for another character, such as one who doesn’t speak common or is mute, will get a lot of opportunities to roleplay with their partner about how their intentions are translated.
The chaos of combat can put extra strain on a character with communication difficulties. This can be great for roleplay butmakes one character very reliant on the other.
An important point for shared backstories is thatboth characters should be fully fleshed-out. If one of the two characters were to die, would the other still have a reason to continue adventuring?
Consider Shared Backstories For An Entire Campaign Group
Some themed campaigns work best whenthe entire party have shared backstories to draw onfrom before the first session of the game. An advantage of having the entire group on board is that nobody is left out. If only two or three players have shared backstories, they’re liable to take more spotlight time in roleplaying scenes and have more quests related to that backstory.
A Dungeon Master can also give perks for shared backstories when applied across the entire party.There’s less concern about disrupting balance when all the players are given the same reward. Here are a few different ways it can be handled:
Notes
Shared NPC connection
The party all have connections to an NPC that ties the group together.
Dragonlance’s module does this well, havingall the party members meet while attending the funeral of a shared friend.
Shared Event
The party’s backstories are allimpacted by an important event in the history of the setting.
This allows for PCs with disparate backgrounds to still take part in a shared backstory.Both street urchins and nobles might have memories of their city being besieged even if they felt it in different ways.
Shared Boon
The party all have a benefit from their shared history. This could be askill, feat or a magical benefit.
Turn Of Fortune’s Wheel does this by giving thePCs shared access to reincarnation via their Glitches.The party members are all afflicted with the same magical anomaly.
Shared Faction
The PCs have a vested interest in the success of their group faction, as well asshared access to its resources.
Acquisitions Incorporated represents this mechanically through its franchise system. The party members are all business partners in a shared venture.
Other systems have their own versions of tying the player characters together into a shared backstory and setting which can be used for inspiration.
