This Chapter’s goals are to assist you the Player in making a Narrative Background for your Character. You already would have decided on a mechanical Background in the Character Generation & Levelling Chapter, which was detailing something your Character did before they became an adventurer.
A Narrative Background is taking the elements of that chosen Background, the training and knowledge you decided to gain, and to give them a story you, your Party and your GG can call upon during play, both for Character motivation as well as future plot threads.
Creating a background is very simple grab a paper and pen, or a word document program, and write about the Character’s early life before they were an adventurer. This can be as simple as a bullet pointed list of key NPCs and moments or could be something more involved. It is entirely up to you and optional.
Once you do have something written though, pass it to your GG as it will potentially help with the Campaign, giving the main plot thread of the Campaign a chance to have greater import for your Character or providing the GG a new NPC to throw in at an important moment.
This Chapter is here to provide advice on writing a Narrative Background, provide prompts, and even example tables for answers to the prompts. This Class Playbook will also Feature some unique prompts and ideas related to the Class you have chosen to play. These tables and prompts should be used as places to help generate ideas rather than to force them, and as such, you do not have to use an prompt or a rolled result from a table if it doesn’t mesh with the Character.
So, to begin with first look back at the Background you made during Character Generation, note down in your Narrative Background document the following things:
Background’s Name. This was what you did before you became an Adventurer, it did not have to be your whole life prior, as you may have learnt the basics of your chosen Class before the first session.
As such consider how what you did in your Background related to your training to be a member of your Class.
Background’s Languages & Training. You in your Background chose to learn to use certain Weapons and Tools, as well as specific Languages. It may be wise to consider what about your Background led to you gaining that knowledge and could provide some threads to include in your Background.
Background’s Feat. Another thing you gained because of your Background was a Feat. Consider what the Feat says about the Character and their Background and how that could be incorporated into your Background’s narrative.
These may give you some ideas for basic beats your Background should cover, from there we get onto more specific aspects that will vary Character to Character.
Realmwalkers spend years wandering the land, learning from the world around them and all the beings that call them home. Some may even have explored other Realms of creation, expanding their knowledge and experience even further. These questions will hopefully help determine aspects about your character. So, considering your character consider the following aspects and looking to the following tables for inspiration for your own answers:
Why did you become a Realmwalker? Consider the personality and ideals of your Character. Did you willingly choose this path? Is it tied to an event from your backstory? Is it tied to your feelings about your family, community, or the region you grew up itself? Do you have strong opinions about nature, animals, and/or plants? Did you take this path because of wanderlust or a drive to travel? Or are you more sedentary preferring to learn about and protect your local area alone? Do you enjoy the company or people, or do you prefer the company of nature, or both? This may inform how you answer the other questions.
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | I never felt comfortable in my village, the road always seemed to call to me. |
| 2 | I continued my family’s tradition and role as protector of the local forest and village. |
| 3 | I have always loved animals and the natural world. I wanted to protect it. |
| 4 | A tragic event in my past led me down this road. To ensure the monster could never hurt another soul. |
| 5 | I found I had a gift for being able to see and commune with the spirits of nature around me. |
| 6 | I wish to become a realmwalker like the heroes I grew up reading about! |
Which Realms do you have an affinity for? Many Realmwalkers may find they have an affinity tying them to at least one of the other Realms of creation. Which Realm(s) do you find you have an affinity for? Why is this the case? Is it tied to your backstory or an aspect of your nature/personality? How do you feel about this affinity? Is it something you encourage or something that concerns you? Do you find it easy to find an affinity for additional Realms when you encounter them? How does this compare to your affinity for your homeland? What does your current affinities and you ease or difficulty forming new affinities say about you?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Having grown up travelling the desert you found affinity with the Realms of Fire and Air. |
| 2 | You found you have an affinity for the Realms of Earth, drawing on your years of wandering the plains of your homeland. |
| 3 | You find it difficult to bond with any Realm bar the Realm of Dreams, its bonds with the Material Realm making it the easiest to bond to. |
| 4 | Ever since a tragic event in your past you found yourself with an affinity for the Realms of Death and Decay. |
| 5 | You have an affinity for the Realms of water most likely due to having lived under the sea. |
| 6 | I find it incredibly easy to form bonds with every Realm I encounter. I am a wanderer at heart, with a fondness for everywhere my travels have taken me. |
What enemies would you consider a Nemesis? Some Realmwalkers may find that in their travels they again and again come into conflict with certain kinds of entities, especially those that may invade the Material Realm in order conquer or destroy it. Do you have a Nemesis? If yes, why? Is it tied to an aspect of your backstory? Is it something you actively chose? What caused you to make this choice? Do you hold a grudge or negative feelings against your Nemesis? Does your conclave have a Nemesis? If yes, is it the same kind of entity as yours? If not, why do you have these differing opinions?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | You have no nemesis. |
| 2 | Your nemesis is a being that brought tragedy into your life when you were young. Ever since you have vowed revenge. |
| 3 | Your enclave has sworn to slay this kind of creature, for their nature is to invade this Realm and bring only destruction. |
| 4 | You have no one particular nemesis. Just a hatred for those individuals ho choose to needlessly destroy nature, hunt more animals than you need, or poison the land and spirits. |
| 5 | You have had an uncanny ability to encounter Outsiders in your travels. Each time you laid these monsters low. |
| 6 | Your nemesis is a specific group or organization, whose efforts you have been attempting to foil for a while now. |
How have your travels affected your view on the world? As you have travelled and gained experiences, how has you opinion of the World and those that live their changed? Has it cemented earlier beliefs or changed them? Do you have different opinions about the folk of the world compared to the animals and plants that call the world home? Do your views apply everywhere or to specific regions? Has there been any change to your view on other Realms or their denizens?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | My travels have reinforced my disdain for towns and cities. |
| 2 | I found that living in the wilds I concert with nature, removes a lot of the weakness I see in the city folk. |
| 3 | My travels have reinforced my thoughts that we need to work together to overcome the larger threats to our world. |
| 4 | My travels have reinforced my love of all life, in all the many forms it can be found throughout the World. |
| 5 | Civilisation is at its best when it develops in concert with nature, rather than in opposition to it. |
| 6 | There is so much to see in the world. I can never remain in one place for too long. |
What effect have your travels and affinities had on you and your abilities? Consider the above answers and your character concept when answering the question. Potentially also consider the themes of the Realms you have an affinity for and your Character’s relationship with these themes and Realm. Finally consider with all of the above, what does this say about you? How does it reflect the background and nature of your Character?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | My spells often take the forms of animals of the wild I have encountered in my travels. |
| 2 | When I cast spells, I call to the spirits of the world around me to channel my magic and produce the effect for me. |
| 3 | I tend to prioritise spells and abilities tied to the elements of the Realms I have an affinity with. |
| 4 | I often use the languages of the Realms I have bonded with for my verbal component of spells that are tied to that Realm. |
| 5 | When I cast my spells, plants bloom around me. |
| 6 | My animal companion and entities I summon always appear with elements of the Realms I have bonded with in their appearance. |
| 7 | Elements tied to the Realms I have an affinity with often coat me or appear around me when I cast spells. |
| 8 | When I cast spells, my nature as a warden of nature appears for all to see. |