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Knife Theory

Original post from u/jimbaby on r/DnD 

When writing a character’s backstory, it’s important to include a certain number of “knives”. Knives are essentially anything that the DM can use to raise the stakes of a situation for your character. Anything that can make a conflict personal, like a threatened loved one or the appearance of a sudden enemy. They’re called “knives” because the players lovingly forge them and present them to the DM so that the DM can use them to stab the player over and over again.

The more knives a player has, the easier it is for the DM to involve them in the story. So it’s important to have them! When breaking down a backstory, it kind of goes like this:

Every named person your character cares about, living or dead (i.e. sibling, spouse, childhood friend) +1 knife [EDIT: a large family can be bundled into one big knife]

Every phobia or trauma your character experiences/has experienced +1 knife

Every mystery in your character’s life (i.e. unknown parents, unexplained powers) +1 knife

Every enemy your character has +1 knife

Every ongoing obligation or loyalty your character has +1 knife

Additionally, every obligation your character has failed +1 knife

Every serious crime your character has committed (i.e. murder, arson) +1 knife

Every crime your character is falsely accused of +1 knife

Alternatively if your character is a serial killer or the leader of a thieves guild, those crimes can be bundled under a +1 BIG knife

Any discrimination experienced (i.e. fantasy racism) +1 knife

Every favored item/heirloom +1 knife

Every secret your character is keeping +1 knife

You kind of get the point. Any part of your backstory that could be used against you is considered a knife. A skilled DM will use these knives to get at your character and get you invested in the story. A really good DM can break your knives into smaller, sharper knives with which to stab you. They can bundle different characters’ knives together into one GIANT knife. Because we’re all secretly masochists when it comes to D&D, the more knives you hand out often means the more rewarding the story will be.

On the other hand, you don’t want to be a sad edgelord with too many knives. A buttload of knives just means that everyone in your party will inadvertently get stabbed by your knives, and eventually that gets annoying. Anything over 15 knives seems excessive. The DM will no doubt get more as time goes on, but you don’t want to start out with too many. You also don’t want to be the plain, boring character with only two knives. It means the DM has to work harder to give you a personal stake in the story you’re telling together. Also, knives are cool!! Get more knives!!!

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. Going back into previous characters, I’ve noticed that fewer knives present in my backstory has correlated with fewer direct consequences for my character in game. Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it’s just something that my friends and I have come up with to help with character creation. We like to challenge each other to make surprising and creative knives. If you think of any that should be included, let me know.

EDIT: I feel I should mention it’s important to vary up the type of knives you have. All 7 of your knives shouldn’t be family members, nor should they be crimes that you’ve done in the past. That’s a one-way ticket to repetitive gameplay. Part of the fun is making new and interesting knives that could lead to fun surprises in game.

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It's my new blog guys

lmao did i do it right? 

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emotionally cold character: i don't do relationships

pure cinnamon roll character: *exists*

emotionally cold character: shit

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we all have our fun jokes at Tom Nook’s expense, but real talk: if any land owning real estate developers out there want to just give me a small house with an interest free loan that I never have to pay off if I don’t want to, but if I do pay it off they will give me a bigger home that I also never have to pay off and that loan is also entirely interest free then honestly you will be my hero. please get in touch with me at any time so we can arrange this. 

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My first art tutorial!

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hes so gay…..

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Kirishima Eijirou is, straight up, no holds barred, hands down, my favorite bnha character

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why?

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There are no blacks only bnha servers so I made one!!

- no abuse/pedophilia/invest shippers or apologists

- no endeavor, overhaul, mineta, or Mitsuki stand/apologists

- no one under 15

- mixed people are welcome of course (I’ve had ppl ask in the past)!!

https://discord.gg/BBC7mW8

Nonblacks should rb for us to see!!

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Me when I stutter on the phone during a business call

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What’s so bad about periods

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[Image description: Two people shaking hands. Over the first person it says, “TERFs”, over the second, “Misogynists”. In the middle, it says, “Treating women like walking vaginas”]

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In 7th grade our teacher made us submit an essay into a competition sponsored by a drug-free campaign. The essay basically had to be about how drugs are bad and our pledge to never do drugs. My friend won first place out of the entire district and the reward was a check for $40 to be used towards college. The check was written so that it couldn’t be redeemed until 2017 (the year we graduated) and my friend just now cashed it. She then proceeded to buy 7 grams of weed with her drug-free essay prize money.

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yall hear about fucking hb2796

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Nobuhiko Okamoto your voice acting is,,,,,, its too good its TOO GOOD MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS 

IM WATCHING THE NEW EPISODE AND IM TEARING UP I WAS SO EXCITED BC I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN BUT NOW IT IS AND I’M WEEPING