I recently
went through the process of helping someone completely new to Dungeons &
Dragons create a character, and it got me thinking about writing up some
guidelines for the part that’s not explicitly described in the books: giving
the character a background and personality. There are loose guidelines and
suggestions for this, but there’s only so much guiding that can be given to
what is very much a personal creative process. Naturally, with no hard and fast
method for doing this, certain stereotypes frequently find their ways into
characters. So, here are a few guidelines (not rules) I’ve come up with – both
from my own experiences and from observing others – about what types of
characters to avoid making.
1. Don’t
make your character a dark and mysterious brooding hero.
This is a very popular character
archetype that a lot of people want to play – I know I’ve made characters like this
before, but there’s a big problem with them. D&D is an interactive,
teamwork-based game. This type of character tends to remain silent and untrusting
of others and, as a result, ends up lurking around, following the group of adventurers,
and only engaging in the combat aspect of the game. When it comes to
roleplaying, all they can do is sit in a corner and sulk, waiting for one of
the other players to convince them to open up – which almost never happens,
because the character is usually abrasive enough that others don’t want to
interact with them. Now, if you want to just observe the game with minimal
interaction, this type of character may be perfect for you – otherwise, I
suggest making your character more interested in interacting with others.
2. Don’t
try to recreate your favourite hero from some other story.
It’s perfectly okay to steal
various characteristics, but taking an entire character never works out. There
are two main reasons for this: the first is that creating your character is
limited by a set of rules, and, as a result, you will invariably end up disappointed
when your character isn’t able to do everything the hero can. The second is
that, however well you know this character, it is unlikely that you’ll be able
to accurately represent them – leading to further disappointment. Borrow and
steal, yes, but make the character your own.
3. Make
a character with energy levels you can play.
Playing a super high-energy character
that is always chatting and bouncing off the wall is loads of fun – but how
long can you keep it up for? You need to make a character that you can actually
play the role of, otherwise they will morph into something else that you may
not be happy with. Similarly, if you make a character who is incredibly witty,
but no one laughs at your own jokes, well... perhaps that’s not a good
character trait to have.
4. Don’t
make a character that’s too much like yourself.
Elements of yourself will always
show up in your character – that’s how you relate to them. It may seem like a
good idea to make a character that is basically you in a fantasy world, but
this can cause all sorts of problems – the main one being that it becomes hard
to not take things personally. D&D is a roleplaying game, and sometimes it
can get pretty intense. If someone (either another character or an NPC) has a
problem with your character, and the character is basically you, it’s pretty
hard to not take that personally. Not to mention, how will you feel if your
character dies? In D&D, that’s a very distinct possibility.
5. Avoid
making a reluctant hero.
Unless the specific D&D game
forces your character into the role of the hero, you’ll end up just like the
brooding hero. Reluctant heroes don’t want to go adventuring – and there is an
assumption in D&D that adventuring is exactly what the players want to do.
A reluctant hero is a lot of work – not just for you, but for the Dungeon
Master, too. Make sure your character wants to be adventuring – or, at the very
least, has a very compelling reason to adventure.
6. Don’t
make a character that is already a great hero.
Most D&D games start off with
lower level heroes, which mean they can’t necessarily to all the great things
you want them to do in their backstory. If you make a character who is famous dragon
slayer, you could very well be bringing them into a story where a baby dragon
could kill them. Make sure that what your character accomplishes in their
backstory fits what they are capable of doing when the game starts – otherwise there
will be a lot of uncomfortable questions about why you can’t perform these
great deeds anymore.
And that’s
all I can think of for now. Again, these are guidelines, not rules – one of the
great things about D&D is that you can play the role of whoever you like.
However, following these guidelines will help you ensure that the role is one
that you’ll actually enjoy playing.
Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
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