I’ve put together 20 unique and interesting DND backstory ideas… that don’t suck! At least I hope they don’t. Check out the list below and let me know what you think. When it comes to fantasy tabletop RPG campaigns, I’ve put together a lot of great content over the years. Feel free to browse the site and use the information for your own tabletop campaign.
20 DND Backstory Ideas
- Fighter – You are the newest member of a prestigious military order, devoted to the protection of a nation. These orders have been around for millennia, and the current generation is simply the latest in a long line of ancestors. You are expected to be the next leader of your order, which is a lot of pressure, but you are prepared to meet that challenge. To that end, you have been given a very special gift: a magic sword that has been passed down through the three previous generations. It is a powerful blade, and very intelligent. Its spirit has been passed down with the blade, and it is eager to help you in whatever way it can. You may acquire additional magic and equipment, as you have become betrothed to a prince of the neighboring nation, and he is sending men to escort you to your new home.
- Rogue – As you know, there is a very lucrative trade in rare artifacts and arcane lore across the sea. This has been going on for millennia, and the most recent generations are simply the latest in a long line of ancestors. The people who started this trade are the founders of your civilization, and you are the last member of the family to follow them. Your family has a long history of being the guardians of a sacred relic that is used in this trade. You have been given the task of carrying on this tradition, and you eagerly accepted it. It also serves as an excellent cover for your activities, as well as providing you with additional equipment to aid in your tasks. Your family’s friend, the head of one of the other trading families, is sending his men to accompany you to your post.
- Ranger – You are the guardian of an important relic, held by your extended family for generations. This is an item that used to belong to a powerful god, and is believed to have great power. To this end, it has been broken down into four pieces which are hidden in different locations across your homeland. This is a very important responsibility, and you have been given a magic blade to aid in your task. Your family is sending some men to accompany you as well, but they have not been told what they are guarding, because it has been forbidden for anyone who is not part of your family to know the power of the relic. This is not a decision that was made lightly; it was made only after several failed attempts by outsiders to claim the relic for themselves.
- Rogue – As the last descendent of a long line of leaders, you have been given a traveling companion. This companion has been alive for many centuries, and has seen everything there is to see at least twice. He is an entity made up entirely of magic, that has been embedded into a sword with the sole purpose of following you around and providing advice when needed. This entity has also lent you his magic weapon, which will aid you tremendously in your endeavors. Your wizardly ancestor was quite powerful, but was betrayed by his apprentice, and cursed into becoming a creature that only exists in magic. Because you are following in his footsteps, it was assumed that you would be the target of the same treachery.
- Wizard – Your parents were both powerful wizards, and they were slain by the same man. It turns out that this man was a demon prince, who had been hunting down powerful wizards and their offspring for eons. He was searching for a family that had the potential to stop him, and the child of your parents fit the description. You were the only one who escaped, and you have now been given an artifact that belonged to your parents. It is a powerful weapon capable of destroying the demon, but it cannot be used by anyone who is not a member of your family. It has been broken in two, and he divided the pieces between you and your parents’ enemies in case they were attacked by the demon as well.
- Druid – Your family is one of the many pantheons that exist in this world, and you are its last living member. Your family was in charge of protecting the source of life for all life on this world. The end of your family was not a result of your failure, but instead it was caused by your success. Every time your family members were born, they were given a piece of magic armor. These pieces were scattered across the world in hopes of protecting them from an outside threat. You were given the last piece, and it has now gone missing. Without this magic armor, all life on this world is doomed to die out. The elders have decided to send you on this journey to find the magic armor before it is too late for life on this world.
- Fighter – You are a member of an order that has been around for thousands of years, and has trained thousands of warriors. The order always provided a champion to fight for a person who was chosen to lead their country. This tradition has now come to an end in your homeland, because an outsider was chosen as their next leader, and he has not sent a champion to choose his successor. The leader of your order has sent you on this mission, because they believe it is important that a member of their order become the next leader of the country; especially in light of the fact that they seem to be wavering on their decision to stay with their ally. When you arrive at this country, you will be greeted by their army, who will take you to their leader so that he may choose you as his champion.
- Paladin – You are one of the last members of an order devoted to the protection of a nation. The order has existed for centuries, and it has had a long line of illustrious champions. Your family has been part of the order for generations, and it has been passed down to you. This job is a lot of pressure, and the elders of your order have made it clear that they have no intention of letting you have a normal life. You are expected to be the next champion and the last member of the order, because they believe that the world is no longer in need of a champion of this order. They are sending you on this mission to prove that they are wrong.
- Cleric – You are the guardian of an order devoted to a powerful god, who has bestowed upon you a powerful artifact. The artifact has been passed down through your family line, and it is believed that your family was chosen by this god for this task. The artifact is powerful, and you have been trained in how to use it properly. You have been sent on this mission because the other members of the order believe that your family has failed in its task. You are supposed to prove them wrong. You know that your family actually did its job quite well, because your family’s duty was to protect a sacred relic. This order wants you to guard this relic, but your family’s sacred duty is to guard one different from this one.
- Wizard – You are the last member of a long line of powerful wizards, and you have the responsibility of protecting all of magic. Each wizard who came before you took it upon themselves to guard a book which contained all of their knowledge. These books have been distributed throughout the world, and you must find them all before magic is lost forever. Your family has sent one of their men with you to serve as your protector, but he has no idea what he is guarding. He believes he is in charge of making sure that you do not get into trouble, but in reality he is there to make sure no one else finds out what you are trying to accomplish.
- Rogue – You are the last surviving member of an order of thieves. The order was founded long ago by a nobleman in the kingdom. Your family was given the responsibility of taking care of the kingdom’s treasury, and you have spent your life doing this. The kingdom is about to be destroyed by an invading army, and the king has sent you on this mission to save his kingdom’s treasury. He has had to promise the invaders that he will hand over the treasure, and he wants to make sure it is put to good use. The invaders are planning to destroy the treasury if they do not get what they expect, and you have been sent on this quest to recover it and save it in another kingdom.
- Sage – You are one of the last members of a group dedicated to the gathering of knowledge. The group has existed since the dawn of time, and has been kept alive through the generations. It was started by a group of mighty beings, who had dedicated their lives to seeking out knowledge. Unfortunately, because of their quest to learn, they forgot how to use what they already know. They would spend all their time seeking out new knowledge, and forget to figure out how to apply what they already knew. You are one of the last members of this order, and you have been charged with completing its mission. You must go out into the world and find all that the members of the order have learned, and make sure that it is not lost forever.
- Druid – You are one of the last druids of your order, and you have been given the duty of protecting a forest from a group of evil bandits. Your order has existed for hundreds of years, and it has been charged with protecting a great forest in a kingdom. Recently, a group of evil bandits have moved in, and they have turned this forest into a place which is feared by all. They have killed off the animals that would normally inhabit the forest, and they have driven off all of your order’s members. They plan on spending the rest of their days turning this forest into a terrible place, so they can make people afraid to return to this forest once they are gone. The king has sent you on this mission because he is afraid that you will be unable to stop these bandits once they have established themselves here.
- Ranger – You are one of a group of rangers who protect their homes from outside threats. The groups’ main enemies are a group of evil forces which are trying to expand their territory. Your order has existed for centuries, and it has been helping to protect their homeland for as long. The forces invading your homeland will not rest until they have claimed it for themselves, and this has caused the king to send you on this quest to find allies who can help protect your homeland.
- Bard – Your order has existed for centuries, and it has been providing entertainment for the people of your kingdom. You are the last member of this order, because the other members of your order have been scattered throughout the world. You have been sent on this quest to find your companions, because they believe that you must be reunited in order to complete your mission together. The king has asked you to go out into the world and find those who have scattered from your order, and convince them to return to your homeland.
- Artificer – You are a member of an order of craftsmen, and you have been sent on this mission to find a friend. Your order was started centuries ago by a group of artificers, who had dedicated their lives to aiding those in need. Your order believes that there is an individual who is in need of their help in a very distant land. They have discovered that this individual is being kept prisoner by a group of evil necromancers, who are planning on raising her from the dead. The group has sent you on this quest to rescue her before it is too late, because they believe that you might be the only hope this young woman has.
- Fighter – You are one of the last members of an order dedicated to warfare, and you have been sent on this mission against your will. The order’s leadership believes that you are no longer useful to them, and they have sent you out on this mission to prove that they were wrong about you. The king has sent you on this mission to help him decide who will be his next general in his war against his enemy. You are supposed to go out into the world and battle as many warriors as possible, and see if you can prove that you should be given this honor. You know that if you succeed in this task, it will be the end of your order, because you will become the new general.
- Illusionist – Your order has dedicated their lives to the study of illusions, and they have been sending you on missions to test your skills. You know that your order has been keeping their true motives hidden from you, and that you are not here for anything but to test your skills. You have been sent out in the world to find an illusion, and overcome it. You know that you must learn to overcome illusions before you can be tested again, because it has been determined that you are ready to be tested again. You know that if you succeed in this task, it will be the end of your order, because their purpose will have been completed.
- Monk – Your order has existed for centuries, and it has been dedicated to the preservation of peace. They have a prophecy that foretells a great conflict between good and evil. Your order believes that you have the power to turn the tide of this war in favor of good, or doom the world to an eternity of darkness. The order has discovered that the leader of a great evil has given you a task to complete in order for that evil to be unleashed upon the world. You have been sent out in the world to find this task, and complete it. The order believes that once you have completed this task, it will be too late for them to stop whatever it is you are meant for. They are sending you on this quest to stop your task from being completed.
- Paladin – Your order is comprised exclusively of paladins, who have dedicated their lives to defending people who cannot defend themselves. Your order believes that there is a group of people somewhere in the world who need your help. The group has sent you on this mission to find someone who can help them, because they are under attack by a group of evil warriors. They believe that this person is the only one who can help them defeat this threat, because they know that if they fail, the world will be thrown into chaos. They are sending you on this quest to find this person because they believe that only you can accomplish what is necessary to stop this threat from being unleashed upon the world.
More DND Character Backstory Ideas?
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