The Free-Form Backstory

by Sullivan

Not every backstory is chiseled in stone. Perhaps details are like clay, making things a bit more impromptu and keep one on their toes. The free-form backstory is like that.

This alternative works great for light and medium role-players, but can be used by any “flavor” and experience level of rp. The key parts of this are easy also:

Be Simple: Start with a simple concept and “grow”. Jot down some base info that form a good concept and jumping point for your role-playing as you play.
Be Informed: Know a little about the overall lore and focus on ones that pertain to you.
Be Alert: Think ahead and pay attention when role-playing.
Be Flexible: Adjust and tweak the backstory as needed.
Be Consistent: Keep your story as consistent as you can, switching to much confuses people that already”know” you and people that will meet you later on. This goes a long way over time. So, if you commit to a part of your past, try to stay true to it.
Be Respectful: Respect others as you interact with them.

This gives you a high level of freedom in your backstory. It also can lead to contradiction or RP’ers “Block” if not careful. But this may well be a good way to start if you feeling bogged down on the backstory or if you are up to a challenge.

Enjoy!

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2 comments

1 Ringo Flinthammer { 10.28.08 at 8:20 pm }

Freeform is also dangerous because you might end up getting painted into a corner that you later will desperately want out of. I’d recommend starting with as good of a starting point as possible and to be wary of committing to anything for a while, just in case.

2 Sullivan { 11.02.08 at 2:00 am }

It is a double-edged sword, but as long as you try to see those corners coming, it can work. This is especially good for folks that have hard times with backstories and want a certain level of “flexibility”.

Having as much “solid” as you can does go a long way to keep you out of those corners and defines “you” ICly.

As always, results will vary from character to character, roleplayer to roleplayer. That was definitely a good point to bring up Ringo.

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