some dnd backstory ideas that give your character a reason to leave home that isn’t “everyone in my family died.” (just to say: i have nothing against those backstories (i use them a lot), but its fun to mix it up!)
family/friends/personal
someone close to you is sick. you need to adventure to find a cure
someone stole something important from you and you need to find it
you’ve received a message from a long lost relative and are trying to find them
someone that you love has been kidnapped (maybe you have to earn money to pay a ransom or complete some deed…)
adventuring runs in the family! everyone is expected to complete one quest in their lives
your family/culture sends people out to complete certain tasks when they reach a certain age as a rite of passage
another player’s character saved you in the past so you feel indebted to them and travel with them, protecting/aiding them
there’s a magical drought in your hometown and you have to fix it
your hometown doesn’t have a lot of jobs so you have to travel and send money back home
some childhood friends and you made a “scavenger hunt” where you try and complete a checklist of certain tasks (ie. defeat a barbarian in hand to hand combat, steal x amount of gold, slay a dragon, etc) in an allotted amount of time
quests/jobs
a god/patron has sent you on a quest to do something for them
you’ve been hired by someone to complete a task (and you get sucked into the big adventure along the way)
you’re on a quest for knowledge. maybe it’s to learn the best ways of fighting, maybe it’s something more academic related
your priest received a vision from your god and they sent you on a quest
you’re writing a book about the world and different cultures and you need first hand experience
you’ve found every map you’ve come across is shitty, so you decide to become a cartographer and make your own
you’re a detective who helps solve crimes and need to travel to solve a particular case
you’re a collector of a certain object and travel across the land to find it
you’re apart of an adventuring academy and have to complete a quest to graduate
you’re an artisan and you travel with your wares, trying to sell them. alternatively, you’re trying to spread word of your business and gain new business partners
you worked at a tavern your whole life where an old bard would sing songs of their adventuring party and that inspired you to go and do some adventuring of your own
feel free to add some of your own!
you just learned how shitty the world is and damnit somebody’s gotta fix it
you did something embarrassing and need to get the hell out of dodge
you’re taking a gap year
your arch nemesis is dying and you need to call them a bitch one last time before you go
hrt is free in a certain monastery
you met your significant other on fantasy tinder but they live across the kingdom
you’ve heard humans have this thing called “djinn Der” and you want to know what that’s all about
resume building
you’re adventuring to save up enough money to hire a wizard to cast True Polymorph on you because you wanna be a dragon, damnit
your friend got super drunk and stumbled into a random teleportation circle and you were the only sober one at the party so you have to go find them
you want that super powerful dude’s sword and will do anything to get it
you wanna get swole by hitting lots of different things with very large hammers
you want to prove the arrogant bard who told that super incorrect story in your tavern wrong by bringing them the evidence yourself
you read someone’s biography and want to imitate their life ultra-fan style
you found a message in a bottle asking you on a date
you want to find somewhere where your allergies will be less annoying but no one knows where that is so you have to find it for yourself
you really really want to see a volcano
you heard about another culture’s food and are desperate to try it
you’re interning with/shadowing a professional adventurer before you set off on your own
spite
^^^ Really like the spite one so here’s some more detailed specifics pertaining to it:
Your magic/craft is really unconventional and no one thinks it’s useful so you head out on an adventure to prove them all wrong
You made a bet with your sibling/friend that you can find and kill a dragon/some other big monster
Honestly any bets of unlikely magnitudes are very fun
Your (possibly ex) god/patron told you a problem can only be solved one way and you don’t want to do it that way and you think there’s another way so hey, guess who’s being a rebellious child?
There’s a legendary recipe (potion or legitimately baking/cooking) that requires incredibly rare, hard-to-procure ingredients and no one thinks it’s possible to be made. Guess who’s doing it
Yeah sure everyone may think the world is bleh but that doesn’t mean you’re not gonna go and and spread kindness to counter it
Or maybe you think the world needs… less good. Maniacal laughter time
Spite is very fun
boredom
Backpacking around Fantasy Europe while taking a gap year, got a bit carried away.
Hehe, Thilbo pic posted to twitter for this year’s 14th February🌰👑
After my friend took me to see Botfa at the beginning of february, then gave me some fanfics to read, I found some great fanarts and then watched it again.. Well..I’ve been stuck since then;; <3
sixty-nine more questions for your ttrpg characters!
(i originally made one of these on a defunct sideblog; i thought it was about time i made a new one! send an oc’s name and a number, go wild!)
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1. what drives them? what’s their ultimate goal?
2. what was your original concept for this character? how did playing them change that concept?
3. can they accept failure?
4. what one person, place, or thing do they love more than anything else?
5. is there something they want to be known for?
6. how have they changed in the last year? how about the last five years?
7. there’s a magic item (or technological innovation, or special resource) made just for them—what is it?
8. what songs remind you of them? if there are specific lyrics or movements, list ‘em!
9. when in their life were they most scared?
10. what inspired this character’s creation?
11. if they have a pet or animal companion, how do they spend time with them? if they don’t have one, what sort of animal would they be interested in raising, if any?
12. how have they altered their body? piercings, tattoos, biohacks, or other modifications—anything. why (or why not) did they (or someone else) make those changes?
13. what are some motifs you associate with them? did you intentionally bring in those motifs, or did it happen over time?
14. what keeps them up at night?
15. is there something that never fails to make them laugh?
16. do they value their appearance?
17. they’re crying—what did it take to make them cry?
18. what dish brings back the best memories for them?
19. what sparks genuine, unadulterated rage in them?
20. what attracts them to someone—platonically and/or romantically, anything counts.
21. do they have an idea about how they’ll die? do you?
22. how would they decorate their living space, if they had a chance?
23. in what moment did they consider themselves to be “grown up”?
24. are they close to any family members?
25. who is their best friend?
26. what type of person pisses them off?
27. how do they usually dress? why do they dress the way they do?
28. do they collect anything?
29. what feelings do they internalize?
30. how do they handle confrontation?
31. do they respond well to praise? how about criticism?
32. which of your decisions led to their voice being the way it is?
33. what artistic medium are they most drawn to?
34. what languages do they speak? how did they learn them?
35. when did they feel loneliest?
36. how do they fidget?
37. if they’ve had one, what was their first kiss like?
38. do they see themselves as an important part of their party?
39. are they insecure about their appearance? how about their personality? what aspects specifically worry them?
40. if you had to remake this character right now, how would you change them?’
41. how do you keep notes for this character, if at all?
42. can they dance?
43. how much do they know about the world they live in?
44. what lies do they tell others?
45. what lies do they tell themselves?
46. have they taught themselves any skills just for fun?
47. what could they talk about for hours on end?
48. do they relate to anyone in their group? conversely, which person do they relate to the least?
49. how often do they cut their hair, if at all?
50. do they have a go-to beverage, alcoholic or nonalcoholic?
51. what element of their backstory are you proudest of?
52. how would they dress themselves up for a formal event?
53. do they keep their plans close to their chest?
54. how important is money in their life? do they save up for ages, or spend quickly?
55. they’re seeing their greatest wish come true—what’s happening?
56. who would they trust with their life, unequivocally?
57. do they see value in the laws of where they live?
58. how often do they swear? do they mind when others swear?
59. what’s an element of their philosophy that you disagree with?
60. what do they have faith in? what keeps them believing?
61. is there an in-game moment of theirs you think about and just laugh?
62. do they believe in good and evil?
63. what’s a meme or tiktok or vine (or whatever) that you associate with them?
64. how would a party member describe them?
65. what would their go-to karaoke song be?
66. which fruit do they like most?
67. do they consider themselves to be special?
68. where’s their home?
69. what’s one secret they don’t want getting out?
man just when i think “maybe it’s not that funny” i remember that we’ve all silently agreed that Matteo JWHJ0715 is just. a normal name. yeah he’s the director what about it. his mother was italian and his father was a license plate
girls when he rounds the parabolica then to start his final lap in this race and you can bet your bottom dollar that no one is gonna be sat down at all as they make their way around 3.6 more miles let’s look at the list ascari phil hill surtees scarfiotti regazzoni scheckter berger schumacher barrichello alonso ferrari drivers that have won here at monza and this man charles leclerc is about to add his name to that list and that means something bottas has been given the power he’s been given the tools to chase after charles leclerc but he is a bit too far back leclerc who won in spa of course last week and might join this list bruce mclaren nigel mansell damon hill mika hakkinen and lewis hamilton drivers in the world championship who’ve won their first two grand prix back to back have a listen to that they rise through the ascari chicane ascari the legend that of course won here for ferrari and they rise to charles leclerc he can see the celebrations starting he’s got one more corner the famous parabolica to go mercedes threw everything at him today charles leclerc has coped brilliantly he won in spa he wins in monza charles leclerc is the winner of the 2019 italian grand prix how about that
charles leclerc literally just opens his mouth and says things like “at times i have not been merciful towards myself” and “now grandma is gone, i can’t sew, and the ritual is gone” and “if this is a cage then i’d like to be kept in a cage as long as i live”. like he just says these things. these things come out of his mouth like it’s normal
