Let me Explain.

My first or Rather Second character (my first attempt at a character was a paladin) Was a Very Basic and Inexperienced design.

I play warriors in every game so I made a fighter. I like elves So I made a Woodelf. I play females in games so I made her Female. I Like Swords and Sword play so Gave Her a GS and a Longsword etc. I like to have more options than just Bonk so I Chose a Battlemaster. I Dont Like Watching Characters Die so I Made Her Flaw that She Hates Executions. I am Straight so I Made Her Lesbian. I am Also a Guy who is Not a Girl so I explained that she Used to be male but got shape changed to a girl due to a mishap while trying to become a Eldritch Knight and Decided to take That As a Sign. I Explained That She Only Remembers a Few Vague Details such as the Name of Where She Came From and How She Became a Woman. And The Rest I Just left Alone.

However.

Instead of simply having no back story I just added to her back story with tiny little tidbits of her memory coming back to her overtime either through interactions or events that would happen to her during our sessions.

From seeing a random figurine that reminded her of the person who trained her, to meditating at one point to try and remember what happened so long ago to her home.

I would have her constantly introduce herself as being from her homeland only to be informed that her homeland didnt exist.

She found out quickly through asking around that her homeland was destroyed over three hundred years ago.

Just small little details to keep her story flowing.

And that went really well.

I ended up with a very fun and enjoyable character and I was always excited to both play her ingame and play As her ingame.

I didn't give her a back story i just gave her a couple personal details and made it work.

But I always hear about How important your characters backstory is. And honestly? I just wonder if that is really as important as just building your characters backstory over time.

I don't know.

I guess I just Feel like Good Writing Doesn't Need To Explain itself when it can just explain itself over time.

But Maybe Thats Just me.

What Do You Think? Do You Think That a Good Character Needs to Have a Backstory? Or Do You It Doesnt Need it?

Share Your Thoughts in The Comments Below.