Dungeon and Dragons - Knife Theory

Ever heard about knife theory. The Idea is simple, when you write a backstory you give the dungeon master a tool against your character. A good backstory is actually defined by having enough "Knifes" in the backstory for the dungeon master to use.

So if you actually want the dungeon master to use your backstory, you should think about adding "Knifes" to your backstory.

What are those knifes?

Basically everything that can be used against your character. Tho it needs some creativity to make a good one.

The original post of jimbaby lists following definitions:

• Every named person your character cares about, living or dead (i.e. sibling, spouse, childhood friend)
• Every phobia or trauma your character experiences/has experienced
• Every mystery in your character's life (i.e. unknown parents, unexplained powers)
• Every enemy your character has
• Every ongoing obligation or loyalty your character has
• Additionally, every obligation your character has failed
• Every serious crime your character has committed (i.e. murder, arson)
• Every crime your character is falsely accused of
• Alternatively if your character is a serial killer or the leader of a thieves guild
• Any discrimination experienced (i.e. fantasy racism)
• Every favored item/heirloom
• Every secret your character is keeping

Of course the would be more, maybe I add my own to the list at some point. It is also important to have some variation in there, don't just have 7 family members trying to hunt you down.

How many knives would be good?

Depends on how important you find that a dungeon master can actually use that "knife" against you. Around 7 are more than enough. That doesn't come from nowhere tho, as the reddit post can be quoted for it.

I always try to incorporate at least 7 knives into my character's backstory, and so far the return has been a stab-ity good time. [...] I've noticed that fewer knives present in my backstory has correlated with fewer direct consequences for my character in game. [...] We like to challenge each other to make surprising and creative knives.

So the likelihood of a knife being used against your character increases by the amount that are actually there, as they open more opportunities. Therefore you should get your own metric if you want to use that knowledge to create your character.

Source

• Original Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/775caq/my_friends_and_i_have_something_called_knife/