Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Worldbuilding Through Backgrounds

Backgrounds and Worldbuilding
Selecting a background for your character in 5e D&D is a way of making an assertion about your character’s history. But what if it was also a way of making an assertion about the campaign setting as a whole? 

Dungeon Masters who are interested in shared worldbuilding with the other players could use the background system as a place to open-up some of the more important worldbuilding details to player input. When a player selects their character’s background, they get to answer questions about the world connected to that background. Those answers become facts in regards to the invented campaign setting; the Dungeon Master is then obligated to include the players' answers to those questions in the evolving campaign in play—those answers must be given weight and they must matter.

Note: this assumes that only one player can select a particular background for their character. Each background is essentially unique.

Examples:


Background Worldbuilding Questions
Acolyte There is one god who is never spoken of: what is their name and why are they reviled by the faithful?
Charlatan You know the name of the alchemist who has discovered the true panacea: who are they and why are they in danger?
Criminal What is the name of the most powerful crime syndicate? Why are they justly feared?
Entertainer Who is the most famed entertainer in the land? What secret lurks in their past?
Folk Hero Who is raising an army of the dead? To what end are they assembling this unholy horde?
Guild Artisan Which guild is the wealthiest and most powerful? What corrupt dealings are they involved in?
Hermit An otherworldly threat has entered the Material Plane: what is it and what does it want?
Noble Which family possesses a valid claim on the crown? What are they doing to place their scion on the throne?
Outlander What legendary beast still prowls the wilderness? What is the beast’s vulnerability?
Sage Where is the greatest library in the known world located? What unique tomes are safeguarded there?
Sailor What mythical land beyond the seas actually exists? Who are its people, and why do they wish to remain hidden?
Soldier What war rages beyond the boundaries of the kingdom? What caused the conflict to ignite?
Urchin Where do the tunnels in the sewers lead to? What creatures live in seclusion beneath the streets?