Quote from: Ghost Whistler;650628Getting backgrounds out of players, however (even though they do and want to play), is like pulling teeth.
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In my experience if you leave it up to the player all the ills that folks talk about for character background come to pass.

So what I do is talk to my players about their backgrounds starting with "What kind of character you want to play?". I encourage them to use broad stereotypes and I supply them with options for the details that fit the setting.

The result is at most a paragraph or three. The most important thing this does is provide the initial context in which players can make decisions at the start of the campaign.

I will also mention that it is possible that the group may opt to be part of a larger organization and thus place themselves under orders of a higher authority. Typically campaign starts out with them performing missions.

It still a sandbox as the players chose to do this and can opt out at any time if they are willing to face the consequences of doing so, if the circumstance warrant any consequences.

For example a Traveller Mercenary campaign is one that will have a lot of missions but also one where quitting the Mercenary life has little in the way of negatives consequences if done between jobs.

In the two Wilderlands campaigns I am running the characters are freebooter adventurers wandering from place to place. The other the characters started out as mercenaries and went like this.

1) Signed up with an outfit
2) Went out on a couple of patrols
3) On their time off went and explored a dungeon ruin. Got a lot of money
4) Bought out their contract
5) Went north and joined the Royal Army fighting Vikings
6) Went on some patrols
7) Learned whereabouts of  the King of the Vikings
Set a successful ambush and bagged the king
9) Sold the ransom to the King of their country. With their King's blessing left the army.
10) Bought the rights to build an inn
11) Lined up contractors and surveyed the site which is located on a crossroad in the wilderness between several settlements.
12) Discovered the Plain of Cairns to the east
13) Setup the construction of the Inn
14) Exploring the barrows, henges, and cairns of Plain of Cairns

Which is where they are at now. They are currently planning to go around and introduce themselves to the local nobles to let them know about the inn. They also found two dozen cottagers and a wilderness hamlet in the region.

Interesting advice on getting backgrounds, estar; I've got some tough nuts to crack in that department (right beside a fellow who will give you a freaking novel).

Quote from: Phillip;651247Interesting advice on getting backgrounds, estar; I've got some tough nuts to crack in that department (right beside a fellow who will give you a freaking novel).

Some people seem to think that asking for character background is asking them to write a freaking novel. I don't know anyone that would want that!

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;650304I feel I should give them a map to the Screaming Vortex and let them go from there. Although they likely won't know where to start as it's a weird place, never mind the neighbouring zones. 40k is a big place.

Ironically, a lot of what FFG has created for the SV is somewhat bland: the more warp infested worlds are just shitholes with nothing going on except a few fucked up humans being tortured by daemons!

FFG has some weird ideas.

So I have a Renegade former medicae person likely going to end up serving Nurgle (i don't think the player realises how unpleasant that will be!), and a Heretek likely going to follow Tzeentch (both gods hate each other). No Astartes. I ran a heavily modified (ie fucked up) version of the Temple of Lies (I had to edit it because the main antagonist would have chewed them right up otherwise; his single attack does insane damage).

Actually, is you read the background information on the Screaming Cortex, the place is riddled with warp gates and you can literally walk from one planet to the next. Players only really need ships if they plan on raiding Imperial space outside the Vortex.

And if you want to work with the Heretics and get them a ship, you can have them start working towards a ship once their Infamy hits around 40 or so, using the Rogue Trader starship purchase and construction rules.

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;651963Some people seem to think that asking for character background is asking them to write a freaking novel. I don't know anyone that would want that!

The Rogue Trader cgen system is a wonderful place to work that up.  At the beginning of a game, I just ask my players some general details and let them work it up dramatically.