WotBS Ideas for Incorporating Character Backstories

[Joseph Griffen]

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for incorporating character backstories. Some of my characters have very easy to tie in backstories, but I'm at a loss as to the others. My party is currently at Castle Korstull. My characters are:

1. Notso Snique - a half-elf rogue. Used to be Rhuarc Knightsbane's apprentice and is a Taranesti refugee. This one is straightforward and I already have a lot of tie-ins. Rhuarc also killed the parents of one of the other characters who was a member of the Order of the Aquiline Cross. This would have been a great story moment, but unfortunately that character died and the player has since left. It might still come up though.
2. Berrick - a Dwarf Cleric. Follows a god of travelers and seeks to find new paths. He's been acting as the party's guide of sorts through Ostalin and Sindaire and wants to end the war, so that people can travel freely through the world.
3. Maddox - a human Conjuration Wizard. A member of the Lyceum as was his father. Never knew his mother. His father went missing and his sister left in search of her, but was seduced by the powers of the abyss and made deal with several fiends to gain power. Wants to take revenge on the demons and bring her back to the light. Also wants to learn more about planar travel (which the burning sky has been hindering. (I think that one of the demons in Castle Korstull could have been one that made a pact with his sister)
4. Fennec - human Circle of the Moon druid. From a small village in Dassen. She came from a lineage of Druids that would take the forms of animals to protect the village. Eventually they would be forced to take on one of their forms permanently. When her mother became a wolf permanently, she was left in charge of the village. While protecting the village from a group of Ragesians she accidentally killed a young child. She fled the village in shame. (This is a really cool backstory, but I have no idea how to include it in the larger story.)
5. Unknown Name - Sorcerer. One of our characters is currently making a new character that is going to be a sorcerer that wants to start a cult around himself. He's going to view himself as basically a god and as the party travels try to spread his religion. I'm less worried about this character as he hasn't showed up yet and his backstory will likely change a lot as the character is finalized.

 

[emeraldbeacon]

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for incorporating character backstories. Some of my characters have very easy to tie in backstories, but I'm at a loss as to the others. My party is currently at Castle Korstull. My characters are:

1. Notso Snique - a half-elf rogue. Used to be Rhuarc Knightsbane's apprentice and is a Taranesti refugee. This one is straightforward and I already have a lot of tie-ins. Rhuarc also killed the parents of one of the other characters who was a member of the Order of the Aquiline Cross. This would have been a great story moment, but unfortunately that character died and the player has since left. It might still come up though.
2. Berrick - a Dwarf Cleric. Follows a god of travelers and seeks to find new paths. He's been acting as the party's guide of sorts through Ostalin and Sindaire and wants to end the war, so that people can travel freely through the world.
3. Maddox - a human Conjuration Wizard. A member of the Lyceum as was his father. Never knew his mother. His father went missing and his sister left in search of her, but was seduced by the powers of the abyss and made deal with several fiends to gain power. Wants to take revenge on the demons and bring her back to the light. Also wants to learn more about planar travel (which the burning sky has been hindering. (I think that one of the demons in Castle Korstull could have been one that made a pact with his sister)
4. Fennec - human Circle of the Moon druid. From a small village in Dassen. She came from a lineage of Druids that would take the forms of animals to protect the village. Eventually they would be forced to take on one of their forms permanently. When her mother became a wolf permanently, she was left in charge of the village. While protecting the village from a group of Ragesians she accidentally killed a young child. She fled the village in shame. (This is a really cool backstory, but I have no idea how to include it in the larger story.)
5. Unknown Name - Sorcerer. One of our characters is currently making a new character that is going to be a sorcerer that wants to start a cult around himself. He's going to view himself as basically a god and as the party travels try to spread his religion. I'm less worried about this character as he hasn't showed up yet and his backstory will likely change a lot as the character is finalized.

ROGUE: I think you've already got some great setups in place to be paid off in Chapter 7.

CLERIC: A Dasseni native might've had some great tie-ins in chapter 4. You might connect the god of travels to the Wayfarer's Guild. Conversely, that deity could be one that aids the party in planar travel to the dream realm in chapter 10, as opposed to the primordials.

WIZARD: "Never knew his mother" is a bit vague. Did she die in childbirth? Vanish while he was a baby? Could she turn up later somehow? There are lots of demons that show up in Castle Korstull, but also in Chapter 9 (the liberation of Gate Pass) and 12 (stopping the ritual in Ragos). Might also have connections with the Cleric's deity, in the "travel" sense.

DRUID: The idea of forcing someone to take an animal form permanently is intriguing; you might want to clarify how that's enforced among their people. She might find a kindred spirit in Metamorphosis in Chapter 9. If Mother is still alive, she might join the effort to help liberate Gate Pass in the same chapter... and if Metamorphosis survives, she might even take refuge in Mom!

SORCERER: I love the idea of turning anything weird into Trillith activity. Maybe the Sorcerer's powers come from being trillith-imbued, and they don't really understand that their "fantastic god-like powers" aren't entirely self-generated. It could be a good way for the character to learn humility along the way... and their apotheosis might ultimately need to come at the high price of their life (if they make it all the way to the endgame).