DMing Adventures
One of my players decided as part of his backstory that his character, Lyle Greenbottle, has memory loss. OH BOY what a wide open door for me as a DM. He knows he used to work as a thief for a gang, but was injured on the job once, went into a coma for several years, and when he awoke he had lost much of his memory. He then changed his ways, came to god, and became a paladin. Conveniently, in the story we're playing, The Lost Mines of Phandelver, the players must confront a group of ruffians known as the Redbrands who have been hassling a town. Perfect. I decided this was his old gang. It went beautifully. As my players approached the Redbrands ready for a fight, one looked at my paladin and shouted, "Lyle! I know you!" The "OH SHIT" faces on my players was so beautiful guys, I couldn't have asked for better. (For those who care, my paladin stayed true to his god, refused their offer to have him rejoin the gang, and the Redbrands were nicely dispatched with plenty of blood and also some fire.)