A List of Ideas for Character Backstories

For me, one of the greatest joys in tabletop games is making a character. By that, I mean the whole process. From choosing a class and race or the equivalent information to developing that character's personality, there's so much to decide. But the backstory is probably where I've classically spent the most time. You may have read about how I created 80 pages of backstory documents for a cleric I played or read a chapter from the novel I've been writing as a backstory for a rogue I'm currently playing. I say this bashfully--I acknowledge that admitting this to a non-tabletop gamer would get me some weird looks. But to me, it's a huge part of the fun of the game. 

But for every player like me who wants to develop every detail of the character, there is another player who is so daunted by the idea of making a person up out of nothing that they don't know where to begin. That's why I thought I'd share some of my extra energy in this arena with you, the overwhelmed player. You came looking for backstory ideas, and I've got you covered. 

Below are 25 ideas for backstories to get you started. I don't want to take away the fun of getting into the details--that's for you. Remember that you can take parts you like from any of these and rework or combine them! Your goal is to end up with something you're passionate about, so get creative and have fun.

1. The Hero Out of Time - You are descended from a long line of nobles who have always done right by their people. But as time has worn on, your position of power has waned, and now you are being ignored like you have never known. The time has come to leave your defunct holdings behind and either set right what took your power or make your fortune anew. You might be begrudging, hopeful, or determined about your plight. 
2. Mistakenly Involved - You are certainly capable in your own right, but you had been pleasantly living a quiet life. Then suddenly, some new twist seems to have upended you. You are stuck with a group of unpredictable people (perhaps the party). Your involvement might be because people in power think you're part of the group or because of some coincidence. Part of your struggle will be in either returning to your quiet life or learning to live a little louder. 
3. At War with the Gods - You've explored a handful of religious beliefs in your life, but none has ever given you more than anxiety. But the more you come to resent them, the more life's troubles seem like punishments from the gods. Part of you isn't sure if it's all in your head. You may mask your anxiety well, or not at all. (Be sure to check this one with your DM, who may have their own agenda when it comes to handling gods-related things.)
4. The Troubled Parent - You're a good, attentive parent to a wonderful child. The problem is that your child is very sick. You've tried everything, but they only get worse. You're in search of a cure, and you'll work alongside anyone who can help you. You can portray varying levels of stress depending on what the context calls for. (Check in with your DM about the details of the illness--they'll probably want to consider how that storyline plays out.)
5. The Simple Farmer - You grew up on a farm without ever straying too far. You only know about the big city because Pa told you about his trip there as a boy. But that story never faded from your mind. All those days out in the fields, you dreamed of more. And now, it's time to find out what's out there. You may be a naïve wanderer, you may be searching for something, or you may just want something different. 
6. The Lone Survivor - You lived on an outpost on the edge of civilization. Something from beyond the edge came to visit, and it killed everyone--everyone but you. You're sharp from years of growing up on the edge, but you know you can't get revenge on your own. It's time to gather the forces you can and get ready. (Actually returning to your home is of course up to your DM, but as a driving force, it will keep you motivated.)
7. "I Just Want a Good Book" - You are a voracious reader. You've heard talk of a legendary text that no one has seen in centuries. You've taken to searching tombs, dungeons, and lairs for traces of it. Every new discovery of a scroll or spellbook means you are poring over its pages, insistent on learning just what it holds. You may be obsessive in your quest, or you may just know the text would be worth a pretty coin. 
8. The Young Ace - From a young age, you just got it. Even though you're still young, you're already out in the world being trusted with adult responsibilities. But getting responsibilities isn't the same as being treated like an adult. You're driven to prove to everyone that you're capable of being trusted. You may play this struggle as a serious clash between identity and society, or you may decide to take it in an altogether sillier direction. 
9. The Salty Dog - Something about life on the sea drew you in during your youth years ago, and you've spent those many years on ships, rarely docking and never straying from a port city. And though your life on the waves has been good to you, you've realized it's time to move on to something new. You've set foot on dry land and decided to find out what life here is really like. You may play this as a fish out of water comedy or a more serious coming to terms with the changes you didn't expect to find. 
10. The Disillusioned Veteran - You grew up mimicking soldiers and fantasizing about serving in battles. Then you got older and did those things. It was nothing like you imagined--there was no honor, but only carnage. It changed you, made you more empty. Now the war is over and you're back in society with everyone. But no one listens to what you say you've seen. You might play this more as someone trying to change peoples' minds or more as a victim of paralysis. 
11. The Delinquent Student - Your wealthy parents have always given you the best of the best. So too with your education--only you didn't go. When they sent you off to the fancy university in the mountains, you skipped out and have been carousing across the continent on their money. Part of you wants to see how far the coin will go, and part of you is ignoring the consequences. Your reluctance to get an education may be humorous or a genuine resistance to being ordered around. 
12. The Curious Writer - You've spent your life writing, learning about new things and skills via the writing of others. But in your most recent project, you realized that certain things must be felt firsthand to be able to satisfyingly describe. So you've set out to begin experiencing those things, aiming your work at the ultimate goal: to meaningfully change the world and learn what that would feel like. 
13. "I Just Want to Start Over" - You had a good life. But then tragedy struck--someone close to you, someone you were nursing when they were sick, died, and everyone thought it was your fault. At first you tried to explain, but nobody listened. Life got hard for you. You decided to move away and start over. You picked up what you could and dropped yourself into life in a new place. But will you really be able to leave it all behind for good?
14. The Protective Sibling - Your parents died years ago, and you've been watching out for your little sibling ever since. They're kind of an odd one. They have a made-up language that only they speak, and sometimes you catch them staring at people in weird ways. Perhaps that's to be expected; they're the one who killed your parents. How and why they did so is for you to decide, as is why you keep protecting the murderous sibling. 
15. "I Just Want to Fit In" - You were raised in a secluded culture in which you were marked as a special person at birth. All your life, everyone you know has treated you like you were more than mortal. You have come to hate this--you want to live like anyone else. You fled from your secluded society and entered the world. Now you must learn what is normal in your new home and learn to be just like anyone else. 
16. The Watcher - You've seen lots of people claim to have everyone's best interest in mind. You think it's obvious that they don't really. Before, when you were growing more powerful, you saw through their act, but now you can do something about it. You're starting to watch the people in charge, and you're going to make them actually do what they say. You might play this as a realistic take on a superhero or more of a paranoid type for humor. 
17. The Dearly Departed - You were married for years before it happened. You were holding their hand one minute, and then suddenly, they were gone. Disappeared. No one had heard of anything like this, and they assured you that they were just missing. No one just disappeared. But you know it--they were there and then gone. You've got to find them. But where do you start looking, and who will listen? (Work with your DM here--they'll want to have something in place for the disappearance.)
18. The Penny Pincher - Years of just barely scraping by have left their mark on you. You're painfully hesitant to part with any amount of money for any reason at all. The people in your life know now to ask you for financial help, more for your reaction than the lack of help. You've realized it's destroying your relationships, so you're experimenting with better sources of income. You may also decide to experiment with changing your ways. 
19. The Performer - You're not dishonest--you're just putting your best foot forward. You've noticed that people tend to be happier when you're happier. If only you could help people see the truth of the matter--but no one listens unless it sounds good. So you've just taken to giving a little shine to the truth, even if it makes it a little less true. You may learn the folly of your ways, or you may carry on sugarcoating things for people, but it affects the way you experience the world. 
20. The Lonely Immigrant - You left your homeland behind to make something of yourself here. But something about you marks you as different from the people here, and you are held at a distance. As you struggle to make a life for yourself, those around you make it harder for you to survive. Will you fight against what marks you as different? Will you prove yourself unworthy of their assumptions? Will you find others like you? (Work with your DM to determine how your character will be different from the people around them. Be willing to compromise here.)
21. The Imaginary Friend - Something happened to you that made you a little different in the head. Ever since, you've had a friend only you can see and hear. It sure puts people off when you talk to your friend, so you've learned to keep that kind of thing private. The thing is, though, that ever since you learned to blend in, your friend has been talking about scary things. Dangerous things. You may play this invisible friend for humor or horror.
22. The World Traveler - The world is a big place, and you want to see it all. You want to taste every cuisine, hear every local tune, feel the pulsing of every city known to humanity. But travelling is pricy, and it can be dangerous, so you've learned to finance your travels through creative means. You've done odd work wherever you can find it because you know adventure is just around the corner. (Work with your DM to get a good sense of the gameworld so you can determine where you've been and what you know.)
23. The Captive - You led a pretty normal life. Exceptionally normal, in fact, until you were kidnapped. Your captor or captors held you for over a year, feeding you only enough to survive and performing strange experiments on you which you only discovered via the marks left on your body. And then, just as suddenly, you were released into the woods. What will you do now that you've regained your agency? And will you ever be able to find out what happened to you?
24. The Fine Artist - You've always had an eye for beauty. You've had your adventures, and you've begun to paint, sculpt, and otherwise memorialize your achievements. The art catches peoples' eyes, but do you do it for their attention or for the satisfaction of the perfect expression of something? Part of you thinks that the adventures are just an excuse to create the art, and part of you thinks they're both good enough reasons to adventure. 
25. The Tale Teller - Everyone knows a few good stories, but you know them all. You collect them--folk tales, urban legends, secondhand retellings of supernatural happenings--and you tell them again. This has earned you a reputation as someone who knows about the strange happenings of the world, both earning the ire of common people and the love of other strange folk. You may use these stories for deep lore into the world (with your DM's help, of course) or something sillier (imagine a conspiracy theorist who sees connections between everything in the gameworld). 

There you have it: 25 unique backstory ideas to get you started. Any of these should give you a pretty interesting time at the table. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: a guide to nature in my homebrew setting, how to use divination in your games, and how writing and tabletop games enrich each other. Until next time, happy gaming!

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