Drakkenheim Backstory Template

(It’s NOT a HOMEWORK you don’t need to fill it all xD

But it’s preferable cause the more I have the better)

Basics
NAME:
RACE:
CLASS:
ALIGNMENT:

Summary
A one-paragraph pitch of your character concept. Should summarize the character’s life up to
this point, mention the inciting incident, and talk about their current motivations for adventuring.

Relationships & Locations

A list of important NPCs that I can torture – I mean remember and locations that feature in your
character’s backstory, as well as a brief description of how they’re tied into your character. This
provides an easy reference for all of the important bits in your long backstory for both you and I.
At least give one NPC who’s still alive.
Full Backstory
The meat and potatoes of your character.

Circumstances Of Birth/Cultural Heritage

(If applicable)
Some characters, like Half-Elves or Tieflings, may have had a unique circumstance of birth. For
example, if a Half-Elf character’s mother was an Elvish queen who was discovered to be having
an affair with a Human commoner, it would make for an interesting plot hook if the party ends up
visiting that kingdom. Perhaps the character comes from a long line of Druids, and this unique
culture is crucial to understanding their identity. If the character’s parents or heritage are
important to their motivations or personality, it’s worth thinking about; however, it is not
necessary for every character concept.

Early Life
Childhood is crucial in shaping the way a person thinks and acts. What was their relationship
like with their family growing up? If they didn’t have any family, how did they survive? Did they
have any friends? Did they attend school? What were their hobbies? How did these experiences
form them into the person they are today?

What was the incident that Unveiled your character?

During your childhood, something occurred to you that ultimately altered your mind. Suddenly
the veil over the Unseen World is down, and you are now able to witness things that most do
not. It could have been physical trauma to the head, a psychological trauma, a near-death
experience, etc etc You can always give more ideas beside all the mentioned.

Adventuring Incident
Every character has to have a reason they started adventuring. Why did they leave behind their
life as a civilian and take up this dangerous lifestyle? Was their village raided by orcs, and they
swore revenge? Did they have a vision from a powerful entity about their destiny?

A good inciting incident for a character is one that shifts their perspective. Upon being
introduced to a new party, no matter the level, the character is in a state of change: there is a
reason that they abandoned whatever homey or difficult life they had previously in order to join
this party. What is that reason? How do they feel about it? The party’s quest is going to be the
character’s primary goal, so their perspective has to shift in order to pursue that goal.
(Characters can have motivations that differ from the group’s, but these should be limited to
personal goals, lest there be too much inner-party conflict.)

In addition, good inciting incidents leave room for mysteries that can be filled in by the DM. Why
did the orcs raid the village? What was the powerful entity that contacted your character?
Having a villain or mystery present in your backstory, especially those with vague or unknown
(to the character) motivations, is a great way for a DM to connect your character organically into
the world.

It should be noted that the inciting incident is a problem that the character has encountered, but
not necessarily already overcome. If a character has already solved the problem of their inciting
incident, then you have to think about the reason why they’re continuing to adventure. For
example, if a clan of orcs killed the character’s family, but the character has already exacted
revenge upon that clan before the start of the adventure -- what, now, is their motivation for
adventuring? That is not to say that the character cannot have already been on several
adventures or be adept at their class; however, it is the duty of the campaign to turn your
character into a hero. For this campaign, a character should not be a notable hero at the
beginning of the adventure.

Present Goals and Motivations

A compelling character to roleplay and roleplay with should always have strong motivations
and goals. Strong motivations often relate to the inciting adventuring incident (i.e., “I want to
avenge my family”). In addition, the character may be motivated by a general “idea”, such as
money or power; but ideally, the character wants that money or power in order to achieve a
more personal goal. Perhaps they want money in order to build a house for their family, to care
for a sick friend, or simply to live a lavish lifestyle. Perhaps they want power in order to kill a
dark entity who wronged them, to be as great a hero as their ancestor, or to live forever. Most
people want money and power, but why does your particular character seek them out? Why are
they on this adventure?

Both short-term and long-term goals are important for a character’s development. For example,
a character may have overarching long-term goals, such as “slay the dragon who killed my
parents.” However, a short-term goal might be to help a particular noble who could provide
information on the dragon, or simply to accrue gold in order to buy better armor in preparation
for the fight against that dragon.

Goals and motivations will naturally change throughout the course of an adventure. It is
important to periodically think about why your character is adventuring, what they are fighting
for, and if and how that’s changed.

It’s important to note that a character may not achieve their goals. TTRPGs are not the same as
novels or films—a character doesn’t have to have a fulfilling arc. It’s completely possible that
your character will never slay their dragon, or may even fail at trying. By that point in the
campaign, your character should have developed other goals and motivations—perhaps, now,
their motivation is to protect their friends. Even if your character does slay the dragon who killed
their parents, it’s possible that the campaign will go on after that, and you want to keep the
same character. This is also fine: but, in order for your character to continue to be invested in
the plot, it is important for them to have a strong motivation and goal for adventuring. Again, the
most crucial part of creating a strong character is a strong answer to the question: Why are
they on this adventure?
If you cannot think of a good motivation for a character to continue adventuring with the party, it
may be worth considering creating a new character that better gels with the party’s general
goals and dynamic. It is fine to have inner-party confrontation, but forcing a character to pal
around with people they don’t like usually winds up no fun for anyone.

What are your character’s greatest fear?

Even when you’re immune to frightened xD Deep or irrational, what does your character fear the
most. It could come in the shape of loss, a phobia, actual monsters, a concept, a situation,
losing their mind etc etc you get the idea xD

What is the biggest mistake your character has ever

made?
Pretty obvious question. Enjoy writing. 

If your character was granted a single use of Wish, what

would they use it for?
Pretty obvious question.

Roleplay notes and Character Quirks

Additional notes to help you better keep track of and roleplay your character.
Also once you choose a background from dnd beyond and it lets you choose flaws, bonds and
what not, please send them my way or put them here.

Personality
Establishing a voice for your character and deciding how they interact with, treat, and think of
others will ease some of the difficulty of improv, as well as help you roleplay more consistently.
A character’s personality may change from their inception depending on how you naturally play
them or how they interact with the other players, so it isn’t necessary to be too terribly in-depth.

P.S: If you want to play a lone wolf… don’t. This isn’t a campaign fitting for them as this
campaign is all about building allies (npcs and pcs) and creating a circle that can help you
achieve your goal. Lone wolves die all the time in this world, that’s why people made factions xD

Unless you’re a level 20, monster slaying 500 year old witcher that looks like Idiana Jones and
spent your life eating bark… there’s no way in hell you’re surviving by yourself.
Appearance
Just a section to put your character description here. What they look like, how they walk (shy,
confident, limping) what they wear and all that mumbo jumbo that none of us like to write since
we prefer to just find art and throw it in people’s faces.