Backgrounds for PCs

One of the things I have been neglecting in the Dungeon World game is background info for the PCs. Play starts, players think about their Bonds, and we start. That leads to the question - do PCs in Dungeon World need backgrounds. Are bonds enough?

I don't think so.

Bonds really only define the interaction between characters (which is awesome), but they don't have to do anything about what happened before the characters started adventuring, or even before the current set of adventure started. Information like that can give the DM a lot of information to make the game more personal for the players.

For my own game, I think I'll start with two questions:

What do you think of when you think of home?

What made you leave home to go adventuring?

"Rules" for answers.

Don't give too much information - make your answer short and open ended.
Think about your bonds when answering, use them as guides.

Thanks to Happy Jacks RPG podcast and Metagamers Anonymous podcast for the ideas.


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