@icedquinn fuckin hell that sounds like a nightmare >_> i don't go super ham with character's backstories working into the main story, but i try to work in stuff for them as much as possible. i LOVED when one of my first players had this awesome story with orcs who had wronged him and such, who eventually became warlords who he hunted down and then in the campaign there was pretty much a whole entire arc dedicated to that. he had a little squad he ran with and everything.

most players don't give me even half of that. it's usually "oh i have no parents and no family and i'm just out here all alone as an adventurer" which is cool, but you better not expect me to do actually have any meaningful interactions with your character's history. because there is none lol.

i do like to make characters WITH my players though so that we can work in their backstory with the history of my world. that way, they feel like they're a part of it even if their backstory is super simple.