For the last couple of years (prior to and during the pandemic) Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop gaming in general has seen a rise in popularity. So much so that there are various ways to consume this media, from live streams and in game store events to video games and books. Speaking of books, one series of books that I have found very helpful in getting the most out of my play sessions are the Ultimate RPG Guides by James D’Amato. There’s The Ultimate RPG Game Master’s World Building Guide, The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide, The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book and now his latest book, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition.
The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition is, as the title states, an expanded version of the first The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide. Where as the first book deals mostly within the fantasy genre, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition expands on those prompts and activities and applies them to various other genres such as horror, sci-fi, westerns, x-punk (ie cyberpunk, steampunk etc.) and other genres.
So instead of individual topics as chapters, each of these genres gets a whole chapter worth of activities and writing prompts that go into more detail. For example, under x-punk there’s a prompt that asks about the fashion choices of the player. Now for other genres this might be a weird exercise to do, but under x-punk (in this case cyberpunk) you can tell alot about a player’s personality by the way they dress and what physical augmentation they are equipped with. They could be a corporate drone intent on protecting the corporate’s profits and enforce their mandates or they could be hackers who are on top of the latest augments so that they can be a thorn in a corporation’s side. There’s also a prompt that asks about the various factions in the world and what kind of economy it has. These and similar activities are found in each of the genres’ chapters can really help elevate not just your character’s background but also the world that they inhabit.
The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition has eight chapters, six which are genre specific and one that is a general guide that can be used for all genres. While I don’t play as much tabletop games as I would like to, this and the other Ultimate RPG Gudies have really help with my creative writing and world building and I would highly recommend getting them and this guide as well, even if you don’t play tabletop games. The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Expanded Genres Edition is out at all bookstores and online and retails at $15.99.
