5 Board Game Characters That Need Backstories

5. The Robber - Settlers Of Catan

Catan is a brutal game that can end friendships over a sheaf of wheat. The theme of Catan is that players are meant to be developing settlements on a previously undiscovered island, racing to create the largest trading community.

But if the Island was previously untouched, why is there already one guy chilling on the island by himself? What has he been doing on the island by himself and for how long has he been there alone? Why does he go by "The Robber" and who was he previously robbing off?

Players first encounter The Robber in a desert. Why pick there to live instead of the verdant pasture or woodland? And why the sticky fingers to begin with? Is there a reason that instead offering his thieving services for commodities, he does it pro bono for anyone who rolls a seven? It's a strange relationship to have with people trying to develop an island civilisation for the better.

Perhaps understanding The Robber's past is they key to understanding his flexible moral code and erratic plundering.