C2 and C4 are two really good examples of how to handle character backstory as a DM, and C3 is a great example of what not to do.
C2 and C4 represent the two general categories of how to weave characters into a story.
In C2, the plot was centered around the character’s backstories. The things that happened to them and stuff they cared about to begin with are the plot, and important story beats follow them wherever they go. It’s not that the story is random or unconnected, it’s that the overarching narrative was constructed from what the players gave to Matt. Which creates a story that every player, and therefore every viewer, is super invested in.
In C4, the character backstories are informed by the story that’s going to be told. Brennan knew roughly what the larger plot would be, so he gave all the players ways to connect to that plot in character creation. The plot exists somewhat independent from what the characters do, but because they’re all connected to it and have reasons to care about it, they all naturally interweave into the broader story. And because the players had the freedom to choose in what way they connected to the plot, the plot can be approached from many different angles, which makes it all the more rich.
C3 is the worst both worlds. There was one extremely specific overarching story, but the players were given the total free rein with backstory creation that they had in C2, so most of them made characters that had absolutely no connection to the broader plot. Therefore there was no inherent reason for a lot of the characters/players to care about the plot, and their backstories, the cores of the characters, often felt irrelevant.
I think Matt tried to connect some characters to the plot through their backstory after the game had started, but that’s already too late. Connections that are narratively derived from the character’s backstory, but not derived from what the player actually wrote (like Fearne being Ruidus born) feel kind of meaningless and tacked on. Even a connection like Ashton’s primordial heritage feels kind of haphazard, because it isn’t really building on something that Talesin had already created, it’s inserting something that wasn’t there before. It doesn’t make him care in the same way because it’s not something the character already cared about (side note, if something like Ashton’s primordial heritage WAS part of Matt’s initial plan for the character, it should’ve been brought up/foreshadowed WAY more heavily WAY earlier, or even straight up revealed earlier).
A connection to the story isn’t just about letting the player interact with the story better, it’s about making the player feel like their character matters to the story on a deep level, and their character’s backstory is the best way to do that.
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