These Fears We Share

06 Jun, 2025

I'm not a fan of long, detailed backstories for PCs. My favourite types of backgrounds are ones that prompt the character, not pigeonhole them.

There are generally only two things I'd like to know—what a character seeks, and what they fear. I don't need details, just generalities.

I wanted to codify this as a pair of tables to roll when creating a new character, so I looked at a couple of popular real-world frameworks: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and Dr Albrecht's Five Types of Fears. I used these as a starting point and then added in a few more entries.

Put into a D10 table, we end up with the following:

Before all glories, I seek :

1. Fame
2. Friendship
3. Knowledge
4. Love
5. Meaning
6. Power
7. Respect
8. Safety
9. Vengeance
10. Wealth

Above all terrors, I fear:

1. Abandonment
2. Death
3. Failure
4. Humiliation
5. Imprisonment
6. Loneliness
7. Monster (roll on wilderness encounter table)
   1. Animal
   2. Dragon
   3. Flyer
   4. Humanoid
   5. Insect
   6. Undead
8. Mutilation
9. Phobia
   1. Bathing
   2. Crowds
   3. Darkness
   4. Deep water
   5. Enclosed spaces
   6. Heights
10. Weakness

Some quick examples:

Gogg the Barbarian, seeks meaning, fears bathing.

Braggidash the Wizard, seeks vengeance, fears camels.

Rollo the Warrior, seeks fame, fears mutilation.

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