CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO WHERE I SHOW YOU HOW I USE THESE THIS TEMPLATE AT MY TABLE! HTTPS ://YOUTU.

BE/1OUSZKGGCSI

TABLE OF CONTENTS Medium Humanoid

Table of Contents................................................................... 1
Credits .................................................................................... 1
The Past .................................................................................... 2
Motivation ................................................................................ 2
Personality ................................................................................3
Plot Holes ................................................................................. 5
Abilities ..................................................................................... 5

YouTube - The Dungeon Coach YouTube Channel I create

weekly videos every Saturday to help make your games more
creative and more fun!

CREDITS
DM’s Guild –Check out the other content I've published. I will
keep making more and more of my documents available
online from my large list of homebrew content!
Author: The Dungeon Coach – Alan Bjorkgren
Layout and Editing: Mark MacPherson
intrepidadventuring.carrd.co Patreon - If you like the stuff I have here as digital resources
Graphics and Editing: AvalonInk www.avalonink.com and want ALL of those and MORE, think about supporting me
Template: Simple Microsoft Word Template by over on Patreon!
Laura Hirsbrunner I have many resources and more involvement with what I do
over on my YouTube Channel too! Including Multiple Reward
Tiers and a GREAT Community!

Copyright 2020, The Dungeon Coach, The Dungeon Coach, LLC

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, LLC.
System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors
Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James
Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based
on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft,
Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product
names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA
and other countries.

This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other
authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content
Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by The Dungeon Coach and
published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
B
ackstories are an important part of all RPGs and Dungeon Masters need them in order to
weave their players into an immersive story. But sometimes players either don’t want to
make them, don’t know how to make them, or… write an entire novel. I am here to simplify
the process of creating a backstory that’s not to short, not too long… but that’s just right.
This template does not have to be COMPLETELY filled out, it is meant to be a source of inspiration for
players to find out who their character really is. They can read through it, answer the questions they
want, and the parts they fill out will be what the dungeon master now has to weave into their stories.

Dungeon Masters: Backstories give you a way to personalize your campaign, help players get invested
in the story, and add in character arcs just for them.

Players: Backstories help give a direction and purpose with goals to accomplish both your character
and the party. It can help you know how to role play your character and make decisions on how your
character would react to a given situation

How I use it: Give this to your players at the start of your session 0 and let them fill out what they
want all together at the table. A lot of times one players answer will chain reaction inspire other
players to answer their own, either in a similar or different direction. You could lead them through it
but what I do is just tell them that the more they give me the cooler their first level bonus feat will be,
BUT ill talk more about that in the video with this linked right here: https://youtu.be/1oUszkGgCsI

I hope this helps makes things easier for both players and dungeon masters, and don’t forget to think
outside that box!
THE PAST
BIRTHPLACE
Where were you born?

You don’t have to name the city exactly or even

go into too much detail, just give an idea of
what kind of city it is, the environment, the
size or some unique things about it. You can
work on the specifics with your DM to see
where in the world those attributes might be
found.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Who are your parents? You can start with
giving them names and an occupation. Try
NOT to just kill them off and be an orphan, but
you CAN make it unique. What do they do? How
do they feel about you adventuring?

Who do you know in the world? These can be

friends, enemies, extended family,
acquaintances, former employers or even
travelers you have met while they were passing
through your town.

PAST DETAILS
What were you doing before you left to be an
adventurer, or have you even left yet? Did you
go on any adventures before this? What did you
leave behind?

Do you have a connection with or know any of

the other party members already? How did you
meet? What have you done together?

Do you have a rival, or some type of danger

that affects your character either near to home
or far away?
MOTIVATION
CLASS
How did you become the class you are? What
choices did you make that led you down this
path? If it wasn’t a choice, what circumstances
caused you to be thrust into this path?

What do you call yourself? A sorcerer probably

doesn’t call themselves ‘a sorcerer’ for
example.

GOALS
What do you want? Do you have any immediate
goals? How about long-term goals? What are
you trying to accomplish, make progress
towards? Why are these things important to
your character?

Describe why your character wants to (or

maybe has to) leave their current life to
become an adventurer.
PERSONALITY

IDEALS
What do you love?

What do you hate?

What are you afraid of?

BONDS
What do you respect or value in others?

What do you respect or value in the world?

What unbreakable promises have you made?

For example, did you make a promise to a
person, to a god, to an organization, or to
yourself?

FLAWS
What major flaws do you have? These can be
physical, mental, social. You get bonus points
for cool / big flaws.

What minor flaws or struggles do you have that

you are trying to overcome? Was there
something that caused you to have these
flaws?

TRAITS
Are you heroic? If there was something
dangerous happening, would you run to it, or
away from it?

Are you merciful? Would you spare or forgive a

person who wronged you? Do you hold a
grudge?

What abilities do you have confidence in,

weather you are actually good at it or not?
PLOT HOLES

Introducing a few holes or unknowns in your

backstory gives the DM some wiggle room to
creatively fill in the gaps. This will allow them
to anchor your character in the world, tie the
characters together in interesting ways or
introduce connections to NPCs that can hook
directly into your backstory. This is great for
‘verisimilitude’ - making the world feel more
like a real place and driving the narrative
forward. Here are some questions that will get
you thinking about interesting gaps in your
backstory.

Did you lose something of great importance?

Did something mysterious or unexplainable

happen to you, or have you heard about
something like this happening to someone
else?

Do you know of any suspicious activity, but are

unsure exactly what was going on?

What parts of your backstory are you unsure

of?

ABILITIES

How do your powers work? For example, you

can describe anything cool or unique to the
way you cast spells, or the way that you move
when you make your attacks.

For the warlocks, what does your Eldritch Blast

look like? For the Wizards, what hand
movements do you make when you cast
Fireball? Barbarians, what do you look like
when you Rage? Bards, does your Bardic
Inspiration have a different tune for each party
member? Is your inspiration more verbal, like
a motivational speaker, or do you dance or use
some other art form to cast your spells?

Be as creative as you like! Explore how you

could use the material components of your
spells. Define your monk fighting style, druidic
rite or battle cry.