STEP SIX: CREATE A BACKSTORY

Think about what personal history, friends, enemies and achievements could have led your hero to delve into the secrets of the Mythos. There are ten categories listed on the back of the pulp hero sheet; try to write down, at least, one entry for the first six (Personal Description, Ideology/Beliefs, Significant People, Meaningful Locations, Treasured Possessions, and Traits). It’s not essential to have an entry for each category, but the more you are able to define, the more your hero comes to life. Further entries may be added or existing ones altered during play.

The categories of Injuries & Scars, Phobias & Manias, Arcane Tomes, Spells & Artifacts, and Encounters with Strange Entities may be written in during play. Of course, some heroes might start the game with a significant injury or scar if implied by your hero’s history—if so, write it in.

USING RANDOM TABLES FOR INSPIRATION

You can simply come up with your own backstory entries as you see fit; however, the following tables provide a quick way to determine some details. Either roll on the tables or just pick ones that you like.

Above all, be clear that the random tables are there as a springboard for your imagination. Each dice roll will give you something from that realm of life to react to: embrace it or reject it, but be sure to react to it and use it to help fuel your imagination.

Personal Description

Think of a distinct “look” that sums up your hero’s appearance (APP). Whether your appearance and your personality match are another question; a person may look stuffy but actually be very personable and open.

Here are some possibilities listed by male, female, or unisex; pick one that best matches your character concept, or roll 1D20 and add the results together.

Ideology/Beliefs

Roll 1D10 or pick one of the following; take the result and make it specific and personal to your hero.

Roll Ideology/Beliefs

1. Everyone let me down, so I take care of myself.
2. Don’t touch me; I’m special.
3. Everyone wants a piece, and I’m out for all I can get.
4. I don’t trust anyone.
5. You gotta have faith brother.
6. Hard work never killed anyone.
7. There is no higher power than truth.
8. It’s all about community, working together.
9. My destiny is already decided; I’m just following along.
10. Without my family and friends, I am nothing.

Significant People

Roll 1D10 or pick one from each of the two lists below. Take the result and make it specific and personal to your hero. Think of a name for these people.

Who are they?

1. Parent (e.g. mother, father, stepmother).
2. Grandparent (e.g. maternal grandmother, paternal grandfather).
3. Sibling (e.g. brother, half-brother, stepsister).
4. Child (son or daughter).
5. Partner (e.g. spouse, fiancé, lover).
6. The person who taught you your highest occupational skill. Identify the skill and consider who taught you (e.g. a schoolteacher, the person you apprenticed with, your father).
7. A friend (e.g. classmate, neighbor, imaginary friend, business associate).
8. A famous person. Your idol or hero. You may never have even met (e.g. film star, politician, musician).
9. A fellow hero in your game. Pick one or choose randomly.
10. An enemy. Discuss and choose someone appropriate with the Keeper.

Next, determine why that person is so significant to you. Not all of these options will mesh with every person, so you may have to roll more than once or simply pick something that feels appropriate.

Why are they significant?

1. You are indebted to them. How did they help you? (e.g. financially, they protected you through hard times, got you your first job).
2. They taught you something. What? (e.g. a skill, to love, to be a man).
3. They give your life meaning. How? (e.g. you aspire to be like them, you seek to be with them, you seek to make them happy).
4. You wronged them and seek reconciliation. What did you do? (e.g. stole money from them, informed the police about them, refused to help when they were desperate).
5. Shared experience. What? (e.g. you lived through hard times together, you grew up together, you served in the war together).
6. You seek to prove yourself to them. How? (e.g. by getting a good job, by finding a good spouse, by getting an education).
7. You idolize them (e.g. for their fame, their beauty, their work).
8. A feeling of regret (e.g. you should have died in their place, you fell out over something you said, you didn’t step up and help them when you had the chance).
9. You wish to prove yourself better than them. What was their flaw? (e.g. lazy, drunk, unloving).
10. They have crossed you and you seek revenge. For what do you blame them? (e.g. death of a loved one, your financial ruin, marital breakup).

Treasured Possessions

Roll 1D10 or pick one of the following. Take the result and make it specific and personal to your hero.

1. An item connected with your highest skill (e.g. camera, certificate, the bullet that nearly killed you).
   
2. An essential item for your occupation (e.g. doctor’s bag, gun, lock picks).
3. A memento from your childhood (e.g. comics, pocketknife, lucky coin).
4. A memento of a departed person (e.g. jewelry, a photograph in your wallet, a letter).
5. Something given to you by a Significant Person (e.g. a ring, a diary, a map).
6. Your collection. What is it? (e.g. matchbooks, jewelry, cigarette cards).
7. Something you found but you don’t know what it is—you seek answers (e.g. a strange letter written in an unknown language, a curious book, an odd meteorite found in your garden).
8. A sporting item (e.g. cricket bat, a signed baseball, a football).
9. A weapon (e.g. father’s hunting rifle, brass knuckles, hunting knife).
10. A pet (e.g. a dog, a cat, a parrot).

Traits

Each archetype provides a selection of possible traits to draw upon; alternatively, pick one of the following, or roll 1D10 (there are three choices per roll). Take the result and make it specific and personal to your hero.

Key Backstory Connection

Consider your hero’s backstory, and pick the one entry that you feel is most important to them. This is their key connection: the one thing above all else that gives meaning to their life. Mark it with a star or underline it on the pulp hero sheet. This connection can aid your hero in regaining Sanity points (see Self Help, Chapter 9: Sanity, Call of Cthulhu Rulebook).