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.
World speakers spend hours listening to the World Soul and its children, their music showing where the world is being harmed by the greed of mortals, or where disease is ravaging a forest, but also where the elements are calm and at peace. These speakers act as mediators between the world and the people that live there, as well as between the World and other Realms. Ensuring the balance is always maintained. 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:
What event led to you hearing the song of the World Soul? Consider how you learnt to hear and speak with the World Soul? Was it tied to a specific event, or did it happen on its own? Was magic involved in this occurring? Were others affected by this event? How did you respond to hearing the song? This may inform how you answer the other questions as well as your Character’s backstory.
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your family or community performed a rite when you came of age, to enable you to fulfil your duty as a World Speaker. |
| 2 | One night you went to sleep, the dream was different, difficult to understand at the time. Since that night you have heard the song, though it took some time to learn what it all meant. |
| 3 | A spirit tied to the World Soul bonded with you, enabling you to hear the song. |
| 4 | You have heard the song for as long as you can remember. |
| 5 | One day you found an injured animal or nature spirit. You helped to tend to their injuries. Since helping them you have heard the song. Perhaps it was a reward for your kindness or maybe a gift of the entity you helped. |
| 6 | After a traumatic event you found you could hear the song. It helped to soothe your mind and you find a new path forward. |
Which element do you find easiest to manipulate? Consider what element you find easiest to manipulate and why it is this element, was it from a specific event in your backstory, was it from the nature of your training, or is the reason something more unique to you? Do you find you naturally fir with this element even when not channelling it? Is this an element you are comfortable or uncomfortable being tied to? How you feel about this may inform other aspects of your Character.
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | I find it easiest to manipulate the air, limited only by my imagination. |
| 2 | I find it easiest to manipulate the earth, its steadfast nature giving me the confidence to stand tall. |
| 3 | I find I can manipulate multiple elements easily. Though there is one that always refuses to answer my call. |
| 4 | I find it easiest to manipulate fire, channeling my passions into the flames. |
| 5 | I find it easiest to manipulate water. The sound of water flowing always helps me to relax. |
| 6 | I find while I am not gifted in the use of any one element more than another, that I can manipulate all the elements equally well at a basic level. |
Who was your mentor or teacher? Did you have any teacher or mentor at all? If so, were they one person or many? If there were many, did any one teacher pay you special attention, or did you have a favourite? How did they teach you, was it in stories, practical lessons, or just from observing the world around you? What was their personality like, were they strict or lenient, caring or harsh, thorough or light on details? Did they encourage learning from the world around you or try to teach you everything? Did they impact your own behaviour or methodology with theirs?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | I had no teacher I learnt purely from observing the world around me, and the animals and plants that call it home. |
| 2 | I never met my teacher they appeared to me in visions or spoke to me on the wind or through the rustle of the leaves. |
| 3 | My family taught me, they were rigid in their teachings of specific tasks and rite I would need to perform for our settlement. |
| 4 | The community came together to teach you. You were part of the community, and they poured their hopes into your education, wishing to see you succeed. |
| 5 | I learnt from an ancient tree, from its slow speech it taught me patience and to see a picture far bigger than my own narrow perspective. |
| 6 | You learnt from the song of the World Soul directly. |
What aspect of nature most calls to you? If there an aspect of nature you identify with? Why do you identify with it? Is it because of an aspect of your backstory, or merely an alignment in your personality or methods? How much do you look to this aspect when in a moment of stress or when stuck on a decision?
| Results | |
|---|---|
| 1 | The beaver shows that we can built our civilizations in concert with nature rather than opposed to it. |
| 2 | Like the sapling, you must bend with the winds of change lest you be broken standing against it. |
| 3 | Like the wind and the river, I know with constant effort we can change and mold even the most titanic and stoic of obstacles. |
| 4 | Wildfires teach us that even from the greatest tragedies, new life can grow stronger and more vibrant than ever. |
| 5 | Like a wolf’s pack, through collective action we can overcome any challenge. |
| 6 | When we die, our bodies give nourishment to new life. You know not to fear death, but like your body, you should live a life that ensures that the world you leave is a better one ready for the new generation. |
What does your magic say about you? Your magic can often reflect the nature of your Character so, consider the above answers and your Character concept when answering the question. Does it affect the kinds of spells you like to prepare or the wild shapes you may take? How do these facets appear while channelling magic into a spell, or how you commune with the World Soul? Finally considering all the above, what does your magic 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 | My spells are cast in the song of the World Soul for the verbal components, and ceremonial gestures for the somatic components. |
| 4 | When I cast my spells, elements I have bonded to shift around me to form the arcane circles. |
| 5 | When I cast my spells, plants bloom around me. |
| 6 | When I summon entities, they always appear with elements of my bonded elements in their design. |
| 7 | Elements I have bonded to often coat me or appear around me when I cast spells. |
| 8 | When I cast spells, my nature as a servant of World Soul appears for all to see. |