Benefits for a Good Backstory

[Fortuna]

Hi all! I recently started a 3.5 game, and I wanted to encourage a bit of RP and backstory. I therefore decreed that anyone who came up with a godd backstory got a +2 to a stat of my choice.

Is this a bad idea? Is this a good idea? Has it been done before?

[BenTheJester]

If they build their character depending on their backstory, and not the backstory built on their character, it is great.

It benefits the player who gimp themselves a little bit to be something similar to what they had in mind, while the characters multiclassing into 10 different classes don't get anything.

[jokey665]

The way I usually do it is I let them get extra skill ranks that would make sense given the backstory, or an extra feat that fits if it won't make them super-powerful. Maybe add a spell or two to a limited spell list. I could see stat bonuses working out pretty well in a few circumstances, though.

[Fortuna]

How large would you usually make those kinds of benefits? We use a semi-random stat generation method, and so +2 isn't that awesome, but how well would that work if you were using point buy, for instance?

[Skeletor]

I think you may be going the wrong way about this. Don't give some random stat bonus. Simply reward people with good back stories in fitting ways. Simply made it known you want your party to be built well but you don't want a bunch of cheese and that each player must have a back story to explain their build.

The key to a good back story in my mind is creativeness and not filling out every little detail to give the DM something to work with.

Pick your favorite and work in his back story with the campaign setting. Filling in a characters parentage, or maybe changing their racial type..or a bunch of other wise that are RP appropriate can be done.

I had a guy who was doing a wizard rogue build, and his character was what I called, Jack O'neils and Daniel Jacksons secret love child. Yet he wasn't sure of his parentage, I turned him into an Illumnem and had the Loredelvers society group come and induct him suddenly..and he found he now had the option to take a pretty cool PRC (lore delver) needless to say after that adventure all my gaming group is sure to come up with interesting stories and I tend to spread the love around reward wise for it. :smallcool:

[BenTheJester]

How large would you usually make those kinds of benefits? We use a semi-random stat generation method, and so +2 isn't that awesome, but how well would that work if you were using point buy, for instance?

If YOU give it, I don't see a problem. Just don't put it in an already overly high stat.

[Eldan]

I wouldn't give direct rule benefits like that for a good story, at least not fixed ones. Let NPCs from their backstories show up and help out when they need something. Let them go to their hometown and get some services cheaper. Let that count they saved once show up and introduce them to the king.
What I'm saying is: what I do is give story benefits for story achievements.

[Boci]

If they build their character depending on their backstory, and not the backstory built on their character, it is great.

How do you tell those two apart?


It benefits the player who gimp themselves a little bit to be something similar to what they had in mind, while the characters multiclassing into 10 different classes don't get anything.

A character who multiclasses into 10 different classes has gimped himself. What about someone who writes a good background story but hasn't gimped themselves?

As far as advantages for a good background story go, I'd give skills or stand alone feats instead of bonus states. The contacts idea is also a good one.

[TheCountAlucard]

I wouldn't give direct rule benefits like that for a good story, at least not fixed ones. Let NPCs from their backstories show up and help out when they need something. Let them go to their hometown and get some services cheaper. Let that count they saved once show up and introduce them to the king.
What I'm saying is: what I do is give story benefits for story achievements.+1 to this.

As a for-instance, during my first session of Exalted, the ST actually had us play First Age incarnations of our characters. My Dawn Caste sacrificed his life during the Usurpation to save the remaining members of his circle, and thus gave them time to escape and set up caches of artifacts and memory crystals for their reincarnations to eventually find. The ST hinted that as a result, our circle might come across one such cache... and that the warstrider my character had commissioned prior to his demise might have been built.

[Temet Nosce]

Hi all! I recently started a 3.5 game, and I wanted to encourage a bit of RP and backstory. I therefore decreed that anyone who came up with a godd backstory got a +2 to a stat of my choice.

Is this a bad idea? Is this a good idea? Has it been done before?

I've done various things (the most common award I've given is EXP), and that sounds fine to me (I also wouldn't recommend punishing people for being good optimizers if you do this - base it purely on backstory not on whether their character is good). Another option is as was mentioned, giving them things based on their backstory (legacy weapons for heirlooms, free feats or skills to show training, etc).

If you want to encourage RP you might also consider giving out bonus EXP for RPing each session to people who distinguished themselves.

[Tavar]

I agree on what Boci says about multiclassing; remember that some of the strongest builds in the game are Full Caster 20, while some of the weakest are Melee class 20. Plus, you're also restricting good characters, as often times to really get a characters abilities down you have to multiclass several times.