Tim had an interesting exchange with Anthony recently, presumably about backstory. The gist was that Anthony asked if Tim wanted the info sent to him privately, and Tim replied by saying "If you want… It's ok to play your character without secrets from the other players too." He followed this up with a second comment that was more philosophical, saying, "I've always wondered what the purpose to having character secrets that don't come up in gameplay is? If it isn't discussed in-character, is it relevant?"
I thought that was a fascinating point, and got to the heart of a lot of the discussion we've had over the last two year in and out of game with regards to backstory and character interaction. From the beginning of 5e, backgrounds have seemed really appealing, and yet they seldom have more than a cursory effect on actual gameplay. I think this last comment is telling and appropriate. We all enjoy choosing a background and developing a backstory, but rarely share the information with other players or reveal it in game to other characters.
It turns the background motivation that you thought important to creating your character into a secret backstory that has no bearing on the games they join. A disconnect between the intention and application enters the equation.
I think backgrounds are a good way to build a character, they help frame the character in your mind as a player, and allow you early insight into how to play them. Yet of the eight players in our game, I only know bits of most backgrounds, and probably only know Lyra's in anything approaching the detail of my own character. Most are broad sketches - Taman was a soldier, Nim is crazy and a long-time loner, and Josef is mostly a land-locked pirate. Lyra has read much more of her backstory, so I guess there is more there, but it gets to the heart of the other element of importance - relevance.
Lyra has a story of abandonment and cruelty from her youth that has limited her emotional and mental development. All that seems to give is an excuse for playing badly… I don't think that was the intent. Still, it exposes an interesting point, is there relevance to backgrounds and backstory? When I fleshed out Peren's backstory, I was trying to build a sense of his values and morality - how does he react to certain actions? Will he kill a bystander in order to take out the boss? Will he be greedy about treasure?
I think it helped me decide what I wanted to play, but I wasn't looking to bring in characters from my past to interact with. I wasn't trying to use my upbringing to emote with every NPC. I don't think that aspect of my backstory is relevant. It actually helps to talk this through, to realize that there is a big difference between a character's background and their backstory. I think I built a background for Peren in order to inform how I wished to play the character, and Anthony skipped background to develop a backstory for Lyra.
That suggests that what Tim is really looking for is backstory, and that he feels it should be public among the members of the party and the DM. That is probably an accurate position to take. What I've built is a background for my character, and that is the kind of information that should largely be kept secret. I'm starting to think that our biggest difficulty has been lumping the two together and treating them as interchangeable, which they aren't. On the other hand, after two weeks (or years for us players) together, how much relevance does any of it carry to the adventure at hand.
Reconsidering Tim's musing, what is the purpose of having character secrets that don't come up in play? I'm not sure. I think they should. That is what seemed so appealing at the first about backgrounds, the ability to interweave character arcs into a common backstory that could inform the campaign arc. Once the campaign is established, can those background elements be melded effectively? I think I need to revisit my character and think about this. There may be aspects of the background I gave myself that I can use as in-play backstory. I think one part that might surface soon is walking away from the fools in the party and no longer following their insane actions. Peren is sick of being underground, and feels the company he is keeping has held him there too long.
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