Backstory or Destiny?

 

Stapleton Park, John Atkinson Grimshaw

Where our characters are going is infinitely more important to consider for tabletop games than where they have been.

Some may decide that's not true, but hear me out. You can write pages and pages about where your character has been, what they have done, and how their past life has affected them up to the point of the beginning of the campaign. These pages can be written to the level of a masterpiece novel, but never actually effect the game.

Now, you could say, "Well, the GM should be doing more to incorporate the character's backstory." And that's a fair assessment. Many GMs have sorted through those novels of backstory and fished out interesting hooks to wave in front of their players. I am not saying this is wrong, or even that backstories are unimportant. In fact it's a useful process for making stories at the table engaging, however, backstories bring the characters to a point, but they do not inherently propel them forward.

That's the thesis, anyway.

A backstory can lead to a character passed out drunk, unwilling to go on. The other characters must drag them along until they find the will to continue, and a new goal to pursue.

But why not skip the slog and jump straight into motivated characters? After all, they're risking their lives out in dangerous worlds. Shouldn't they have a purpose?

I am personally fond of short, unique, and interesting backstories that point toward a destiny.

"I was thrown out of my father's noble house for fooling around with a commoner. I will make a new name for myself by attaining a noble title without my family's help."

"The priesthood marked me as a troubled and dangerous individual. There's no point in fighting with heaven, is there? I intend to become the leader of a large crime ring."

"I have no idea where I am. I left my village, wandered into the woods, followed some interesting flowers, and here I am. Despite my best attempts, I can't find my way back. Through magic or study, I will learn what those flowers were, and I will make it home again. This place is awful."

All of these destinies include a backstory, but at the table we now have specific goals for each character. The party is free to pursue their overarching goals, but they can also support one-another as they chase their own destinies, and the onus of deciding what the characters should be interested in is taken off the GM, and given back to the players. The GM is then free to scatter those goals on the map, and give players clues as to where they might look, rather than wagging ideas around and asking "does this look interesting?" only to find out that the players really couldn't care less about those goals.

Making it Work

We can gamify these destinies very simply.

1. Each character must have a destiny. A character's destiny is their life-goal, and will take time and effort to pursue.

2. At the beginning of the game, name the next major step on the road to pursuing your destiny. This is your character's milestone. When you achieve your milestone, you gain XP equal to 1/2 of the XP difference between your current level and the next. Then, name your next milestone. 

Whenever you name a milestone, the GM must agree that it's a reasonable next step, not too close, not too far.

I think this system probably happens innately at many tables, but it struck me like thunder the other day, so I hope it can be helpful to the rest of you wondering how to motivate your players.

Happy Gaming!