Give your characters an interesting tale
Many times an adventuring group of new characters has very little in common. The motley band of many races and backgrounds may have deep individual backstories, but why are they working together?
One way to address this problem is with shared background stories or interesting personal secrets, such as those found in the twists below.
Either choose a twist at random or purposefully for one or more new characters, and follow its instructions.
| # | Instructions |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose another PC. Whenever that character speaks you find yourself getting angry. Invent why. |
| 2 | Choose another PC. You've witnessed that character acting against their stated alignment and they know it. Invent the story with the player whose PC you've chosen. |
| 3 | You have a secret past that you've mostly wiped away, and you've started a new life. What was that past and where were you during that time? Choose another PC; they knew your past self. Inform that player of the details. |
| 4 | Choose another PC. You've known this character since childhood. Determine the nature of your relationship and invent one shared story with that PC's player. |
| 5 | You were married once but no longer are. Invent why. |
| 6 | You have a child. Invent the child's name, age, and physical description. Determine the child's current or last-known location and your relationship. |
| 7 | Choose another PC. That character is loosely associated with your worst enemy. Determine who your enemy is and invent a story describing how they became your enemy. |
| 8 | Choose another PC. You once saved the life of a relative of that character. Invent the story of what happened and inform the player of that PC. |
| 9 | You were once convicted of a crime. If you are lawful then you served a sentence. Otherwise, you fled before your sentence was carried out. Invent the story of the crime and what the penalty was. |
| 10 | Choose another PC. Your actions led to the death of a relative of that character. Invent the story. |
| 11 | You are an exile. Determine where you have been exiled from and invent the story of what you did that led to your exile. |
| 12 | Choose another PC of the same race (if any). You suspect they may be close relative of yours. Invent why you suspect it. |
| 13 | Choose another PC. You've seen this PC make an enormous personal sacrifice to benefit another PC, but the beneficiary does not know. Invent the story with the PC you've chosen. |
| 14 | Choose another PC. Invent a story with them about how they once emotionally hurt your friend or relative. |
| 15 | Choose a food and it's method of preparation. You love this food and will go out of your way to find it. |