Ramp up your role-playing game and make your character your own with this fun, interactive workbookan essential addition to any RPG players gaming kit.
Youve chosen your class, bought your weapons, and rolled for your stats, and youre now the proud owner of your own RPG (role-playing game) avatar. But before you begin your adventure, theres so much more you can do with your character to make him or her your own! Just how evil is she? What does his dating profile look like? Where did she get that scar? What does he want for his birthday? With fill-in-the blank narratives, prompts, and fun activities to help you customize your character at the start of the game, or build out your backstory as you play, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Book will help you fully imagine your character and bring them to life for the ultimate gaming experience!
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Review
"Your character creating journey itself seems like a game, theres space available to write in the book which I feel helps add to pencil and paper feel to the famed tabletop RPGs! What I like about this book is even if you dont want to play with others, you could entertain yourself by creating characters for fun OR to help you create characters for a book or short story. From what Ive read so far, this book is pure fun. If someone like me who knows little to nothing about traditional RPGs could enjoy this book, then other newcomers to the genre and returning heroes from past fellowships will find something in this for them." (Horror Fuel)
"I took my time reading through this book, trying out exercises with new and existing characters, and handed it off to friends, both those who D&D players and short story writers. I was pretty quickly getting questions about how much it cost, ($14.00 USD MSRP, though its currently on sale for a lower price several places), when it comes out, (October 2nd) and if Id be willing to let them borrow it, which I think speaks volumes. Ive found myself reaching for the book when trying to come up with a clever little something to fit into a characters backstory while writing a script, and have had other writers suggest theyd use it to do the same. Its not only a useful tool for building and fleshing out characters, its also written in an incredibly entertaining way, making it fun way to get the creative juices flowing." (Gaming Trend)
"What I like about The Ultimate RPG Character Back Story Guide is that it is completely non-linear and you can make of it what you will. Even if you are not currently in a campaign The Ultimate RPG Character Back Story Guide is a fun workbook for any fantasy or RPG enthusiast. It may also be a great way to teach your children how to begin to establish their own role-playing characters and make for a fun night of creativity and adventure for the whole family. Longtime gamers know that having a character with a full and fascinating backstory makes for compelling gameplay and The Ultimate RPG Character Back Story Guide helps you do just that. Did I mention it was extremely affordable? You can pick up a copy on Amazon for a tick over $10. Thats less than almost any RPG accessory!" (Geek Dad)
"James DAmato has thought about the novice and the experienced player and has put together The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide to essentially have you be an RPG superstar. Taking fear into account can make your role-playing character come to life by giving them a sense of humanity and creating interesting gameplay. Thats something only DAmato has realized and gamers will be the better for it. James DAmato has done something special with his new book The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide. Its akin to a graduate school course in role-playing games." (Reviewfix)
"Overall, I think this is a really cool book for those of you that enjoy RPG kits, but... I think its also a great tool for (aspiring) character developers." (SDGT ENT)
"There is an argument that could be made that anyone could come up with their own backstory, but as someone who often runs into creative ruts, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is a fantastic tool. While the obvious use is for your character in a role-playing game, I see tons of great potential for both character backstory and world building in games, writing, and general storytelling." (That's Entertainment)
"This is a great book for any player of RPGs and can be a valuable resource for those that act as a Game Master. Much of this book is addressed in the third person and it gives the feeling of a great attentive Game Master working out character creation you the reader as the player. We should all be so lucky to have such a GM and we should all be such thoughtful and creative players." (Game Industry)
"I can give The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide the following praise - it's inspired me to want to kick off a new RPG Campaign for the first time in a year and a half. I want to DM a campaign and I want to play in a campaign. I want to pick through the guide for nuggets of inspiration, for added depth to my next game world. I can think of no better endorsement other than "this book will be used". Sadly, I can't say that for the vast majority of my gaming collection." (Tenkar's Tavern)
"For me as a founder of Halo: The Lost Keys a text based RPG played via discord it really was fun and entertaining to do, and I look forward to writing some more in it." (Nation Fusion)
"It truly is an RPG guide that hopes to make everyone a bit more excited for the RPG experience. Again, as mentioned above, its incredibly useful for those trying to get a kickstart into creating a story for their friends I can dig this guide and its purpose Anyway, there isnt a lot to dislike about this book. It shoots straight, it works for what it is, and it feels open. I particularly enjoyed the fact that there are spaces for writers/game masters to fill in the blanks to answer questions, as well as make notes it is a good book that does truly act as a guide. It will certainly help to kickstart ideas for characters, stories, and situations that pure RPGers can get behind." (Digital Chumps)
"The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is the perfect way to create a unique character for yourself, and no two characters made using this book will be the same Even if you dont intend to use your character for anything, going through this book will give you an appreciation for the skill of creating characters. Whether for video games, literature, D&D or even comic books The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is a gem for all dungeon masters, and for anyone who may find themselves with the need to create characters with depth. I could even picture indie developers who may not have their own creative resources, utilizing this book to flesh out characters in their RPGs. At $10.39 for the paperback currently, this book is completely worth the price." (Koalition)
"In what seemed like it would be a novelty item to your RPG adventure, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide comes off far more as a requirement for crafting your character I absolutely enjoyed this. I tried to be a bit critical and think what this book lacked. Theres really not much The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide is still a really essential guide for crafting your player character to their fullest. For me, this gave me the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into my own character in some rather interesting ways that I never thought about. Highly recommended." (Outright Geekery)
"And I really love some of these exercises. Im almost always running games these days, but when I do get a chance to play I often feel like my characters lives are so much more nuanced than what we see on screen; these are people that Id like to get to know better. The Ultimate Guide promises to help you do just that, and creates an avenue for you to continue playing the game without your GM or the rest of the party, and it largely succeeds." (Reckoning of the Dead)
"The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide will not only help spark the beginners mind to create a healthy backstory, but will also help veterans find aspects of their character that they may have never considered before. Anyone with an imagination could take a blank slate and come out with an interesting character on the other end. If anyone asked me for advice, my first suggestion would be this book and I would even recommend my favorite activities." (Gaming Lyfe)
About the Author
James DAmatois the creator and game master of the One Shot Podcast, as well as several spin off podcasts dedicated to RPG gameplay. He trained at Second City and iO in Chicago in the art of improvisational comedy: he now uses that education to introduce new people to role-playing, and incorporates improvisational storytelling techniques to create compelling and entertaining stories for RPG campaigns and one-shot adventures. He lives in Chicago, Illinois and is the author of The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Book.