Funky Goose
2011-10-31, 10:27 AM
Hiyas, I'm trying to put together some characters for an upcoming sandbox style game, and I want the characters backstorys to have some meaning in the plot of the game. Basically, hooks such as Family members, friends, Important Items like family heirlooms, and stuff along those lines. Anything that can give a nice juicy plot hook for the PCs to bite onto. Any ideas for how these can be added to the plot or setting of the game without seeming too jammed in? (also suggestions for backstory hooks would be nice!)
I often find that trying to add these story based elements to characters can go unnoticed by the PCs, who often choose to act completely against what they said their guys would do in those situations (example, a Cleric worshipping a god of nature setting light to a forest in order to *maybe* cause a distraction when sneaking into a tower) so I am also looking for advice on how to rule for these type of actions, should I outright disallow it? Or should I encorage them to at least be consistant in their alignments (I honestly dont care if I'm DMing a CE party or LG, but swapping between the two is getting tiresome... :smallsigh:)
TL;DR
How can backstorys can be added to the plot of a game well, and how to deal with coin flip Alignments?
I often find that trying to add these story based elements to characters can go unnoticed by the PCs, who often choose to act completely against what they said their guys would do in those situations (example, a Cleric worshipping a god of nature setting light to a forest in order to *maybe* cause a distraction when sneaking into a tower) so I am also looking for advice on how to rule for these type of actions, should I outright disallow it? Or should I encorage them to at least be consistant in their alignments (I honestly dont care if I'm DMing a CE party or LG, but swapping between the two is getting tiresome... :smallsigh:)
TL;DR
How can backstorys can be added to the plot of a game well, and how to deal with coin flip Alignments?