Knife Theory | How to Forge a D&D Character Backstory So Good, It Hurts

Your character’s backstory fuels the fire. Knife Theory encourages you to forge a sharp story and sharp consequences.

You’re already taking time in your Session Zero (and beyond, hopefully) to flesh out character backstories.

DMs are always sniffing around for hooks to play off of, and PCs are usually dripping with closely guarded secrets and nuanced personality traits.

Or maybe not so nuanced at all, if that’s your style. Or if you rolled a Bard.

We’re big advocates for basic improv in-game. It’s not uncommon to hear our live plays jump into a “yes, and” mini-game, especially during character creation or when backstory comes into play.

+1 Tip: “Yes, and” keeps things moving and let’s creativity flow. Simply build off of the last person’s ideas - but you can’t simply deny them. Hence the name, “Yes, and…”.

+2 Tip: “Yes, and you suffer for it” is a legit way to allow something to happen, but with a consequence.

Over the years, our table has developed a sort of groove. Even so, we rarely nail our backstory down in ways that perfectly align with the DM’s plot, re-skins/homebrews, or fellow adventurers.

When I ran across Knife Theory, I finally noticed how this happens naturally. Now that I’m DMing my first-ever campaign, I appreciate the insight.

Not only does it offer structure to the chaos of infinite possibilities RPG character building offers, but the metaphor helps balance the DM/PC relationship when it comes to world-building and storytelling.

As DM, I need to control the stakes. And the best way to do that is with the Player’s buy-in.

How Knife Theory Works

Each Player forges “knives” into their backstory. They spend time and effort to lovingly craft them and then present them to the DM as gifts.

Essentially these are plot hooks: name drops, longing memories, past crimes, a lost or secret love… The type of fun stuff you’re already dreaming up for your character. The who/what/why of their life.

The problem with gifting knives, though, is someone’s likely to get cut. You’re handling them, passing them around, carrying them with you all the time like a good murder hobo.

It’s a tad bit dangerous, if not negligent. Then, your pals swing in to “Yes, and,” and now you’re juggling everyone’s blades in the party. Yikes.

Fill Your Knife Block

Thus, your backstory ends up being a “knife block” with all those shiny handles pointed at your DM.

Now in every session, the DM has a very personal way to stab you in the back or use your story to slice up a fellow party member or beloved NPC.

The masterful DM is a surgeon, using finely honed blades to cut through a difficult plot point or carve out unique RP moments for the table to enjoy.

So go out there and start forging your knives. But remember the bigger the blade, the graver the danger.

Check out the authors’ descriptions in more detail below. They suggest adding 7-12 knives to your knife block.

Never forget to account for Player boundaries when building and wielding PC knives. Make sure you’re not bringing a topic to the table, such as sexual assault or racism, that could be taken too far and do real-world harm.