I totally agree. I like to weave my characters into the group, so when they interact with the world it seems more natural. I always write down the names of all the other characters so I can refer to them by name instead of "Greg's paladin elf".
I totally agree. I like to weave my characters into the group, so when they interact with the world it seems more natural. I always write down the names of all the other characters so I can refer to them by name instead of "Greg's paladin elf".
I do this too. I hate meta gaming, and asking "What's your characters name again?" I always use a characters name when talking about them, never the players. I also like to have the proper spelling of those names, because I'm a nerd like that.
I am obsessed with creating characters! I have stories for them all. I just started playing with a group of friends and my character almost died so that's what started me on it. I've since created 6 characters all with backstories and some links together. I'm the same with so many games too! I think I have 20 WoW characters all of which I have given a more intricate back story to as well lol
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Current Character~ Anastael Lasselom, Druid of the Moon Lvl 3
As the DM for a number of campaigns over the last couple years I've started them off in the the following manner, and most everyone has really enjoyed the process. I usually let everyone know prior that we won't be using the typical methods for creating a character to ensure they are ok/open to the process, no one has said "not interested" yet.
I start with having each character roll the following prior to the first gaming session (I provide a single sheet to have them note their rolls):
Race (usually use d20 and have certain races more heavily influenced then others). They can then pick gender & name...
A few tables with family history (parents, siblings and family social class)
Motivation (things like Justice, Religion, Revenge with I can use as seeds to future stories)
Relationship to fellow PC (examples include business associate, fellow war vet, contractor/employer, etc.)
Background (these are all written hooks to the campaign)
Personality traits, bonds, flaws (either lifted from PHB or written by myself)
The first session starts with everyone coming together under some emergency (my last was the city was being attacked) and everyone gets a few minutes to tell a little bit about their character (with not a lot of time) and then get things into roleplaying mode to start getting the group immersed in the story. At this point, if they haven't created a character with me this way they are starting to get antsy about stats, classes, armor, weapons or whatever, and maybe you're saying the same thing to yourself. I don't have the characters rolls for a stat until they are going to "use" it. The first part of this gaming session is meant to "test" the characters in each stat so they are ranked best to worst (it's an initial score that can be adjusted, within reason) in each of them but with focus on telling some of what is going on, filling in some each characters backstory and having each player start to think about who their character is and where they want to take them.
Long story short, by the end of that first session the characters know enough to fill out a character sheet and picking a class that will, hopefully, fit into the overall adventuring party. They still don't have any weapons or armor but that comes next when they get "hired" (or maybe recruited, or whatever) into the first story and given some money & provisions. I keep things slim at first, rewarding the PCs with weapons, armor and more monies as things are rolling.
Anyways, I hope that gives a general idea from a DM perspective on ways to influence having characters brought to life.
Anyone else do something similar? I would be interested in hearing of other DM methods to get the players interested in investing in their characters & their story.
Anyone do anything physically visual for their characters. All of the stuff I do is theater of the mind whether as DM or player. I've sometimes felt the need to draw portraits for characters but I'm not much of a talent in that department. I know a lot of people are fans of mini's and battlemaps but I've never been able to get the resources and put in the leg work to create battle maps. What do you guys do to get battlemaps together and how do you physically represent your characters?
I try to keep what I put into a character before beginning to actually play the character to as little as possible - primarily because I dislike the feeling of having done work that will never pay-off or be appreciated, so I have a philosophy for gaming that is basically summed up thus: Minimal effort for Maximum result.
For character personalities to make them start unique, and grow more detail as they are played, I come up with a short-list of the following traits:
Something people appreciate about the character (i.e. loyalty)
Something people, even those that like the character overall, dislike about the character (i.e. makes rash decisions)
Something the character desires to gain or better (i.e. wants to be the heroic figure later generations will be told bedtime stories of)
Something the character wants to keep unknown about them self (i.e. that his fierce loyalty is a compensation for effectively abandoning his family, rather than take over the family business as his parents intended, and running away to become an adventurer)
Everything else I do during the campaign building from these points so that I never come up with some bit or detail and then find it not getting revealed/incorporated because of turns the campaign has taken. And I always make sure to include these few traits that I settle on in my depictions of the character as often as is possible, including finding ways to hint at the "secret" so that maybe it eventually dawns on another player what the secret is, or the DM brings in a story-arc where the secret becomes known and then the other players have that "That explains everything" moment.
I'm sure this thread is kinda dead but I really wanted to contribute!
Some of my favorite characters have different ways of speaking than I do, so my eastern european, irish, arabic, or etc accent gets to come out and play. There is a wonderful database online you can listen to different accent samples and learn to pick it up. I wish I was an artist but sadly I'm not, so I'll use dollmaker games online to give myself some visual of how I want the character to appear. Then I use minis I paint to flesh that out even further.
Our DM asks for us to provide her with a backstory but I'll also include a thorough physical description, motivations, personality, and anything notable things my character may NOT know (like who her father was, if her brother is alive, where she came from, etc) so that our DM can craft a lot of character arch opportunities in the campaign.
I also have props, my Dnd stuff is all in a cheap wooden chest looking box from a thrift store, I made a rolling tray that looks like an old book, all my dice are specific to certain characters, and I keep any props our DM makes like maps and notes and such in my chest or binder. Next project, a spellbook for my arcane trickster's spellcards!
If you have a character that you want to play, but have a way to detailed backstory, how do you go about scaling it back ot where it's vague enough to actually work with?
i'm a terrible actor, so i sometimes invent traits to cause mischief. this is an NPC which is party of a 3 character party, i use it as support/ full party member companion to the 2 players who are a human paladin and a gnome wizard
i currently have a cleric, grew up as an urchin on the streets of the capitol city after becoming an orphan when he was 6, He used to sleep close to the city graveyard in the slums and his friend was taken by ghouls when he was 9, thus he hates undead. at the age of 14 he was caught and sentenced to death by the city after attempting to pick the pockets of the leader of his current religions temple. The high priest interrogated him, discerned he was at heart a good person forced into life as a thief by circumstance and decided to take him in as a ward and trainee in the temple. Thus he considers that he owes the high priest everything. (this works his background into a story and gives him motivations going forward as life as a cleric of kelemvor will give him opportunity to hunt undead in the long run) the temple is in my homebrew world but i have a slight modification to FR Kelemvor as the god, the temple itself is similar to the edificant library in that it is also the local center of knowledge has 5 orders within it the orders include worshippers of 3 other gods beside kelemvor. the rogue/ cleric is a member of one order, the paladin a member of another order and the wizard a sort of member of the third, worships oghma (another change to the FR version as he's also the god of magic in one of his aspects as well as being the god of knowledge).
Now for the fun bit,
the flaw, due to growing up on the streets he's a 6 stone weakling and he has been traumatised by his childhood experiences to the point that he is a subconscious thief when he is around food, (mechanics, make a will save if he fails he must make a sleight of hand check in order to steal small food items). he doesn't know he's done it simply absent mindedly picks things up and pockets them.
they've only hit 3rd level so far, but the other 2 have already had to diffuse a couple of awkward situations one for him stealing an apple from a stall holder and another while staying in an inn stood in the bar area and he pocketed a dwarven fighters lovely sticky bun which was on his table while he ate his evening meal. i play it that while he searches through his pockets looking for whatever he's stolen and looking bemused, the other 2 get to try to diffuse the situation and keep me out of jail :), then you get the situation where while sat on the back of a cart with the paladin and the gnome driving, i offer him an apple, cue outraged paladin who thinks i've nicked it.
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All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
Anyone do anything physically visual for their characters. All of the stuff I do is theater of the mind whether as DM or player. I've sometimes felt the need to draw portraits for characters but I'm not much of a talent in that department. I know a lot of people are fans of mini's and battlemaps but I've never been able to get the resources and put in the leg work to create battle maps. What do you guys do to get battlemaps together and how do you physically represent your characters?
I'm not an artist, but I do Photoshop a lot... so, I acquire images of people, weapons, other's illustrations, and try to stitch them together that suits me.
Probably steps on copyright rules, but I'm not doing any of this for profit, so...
Play against type, my favorite, I have a lot of fire genasi characters made when I can find a group to play in and to be a class the group needs, all my fire genasi are the opposite of cocky which most fire genasi are, makes the character memorable.
I've got a PC that has a magic item that grants her Disguise Self. As a part of her backstory, there's several people from her town who have vanished, and since she's young, she uses that item to make here look older, or like a boy, and she uses their faces (and personalities) to disguise herself. She doesn't really have multiple personalities, or anything...
In Avrae, on Discord, I change my nickname to be whomever she looks like. It helps everyone else I'm playing with communicate with her. I also Pinned an image showing her real face, and the 4 others she usually looks like.
Don't be afraid to give your character a flaw/quirk that will negatively effect their ability to do something. I love giving my characters a few quirks and flaws that they really have to stick with unless they slowly kick the habit through character growth. I'm not just talking about things like “this character is a compulsive liar/kleptomaniac/easily enraged, ect" Its usually something more specific and quickly and more likely to make certain encounters harder for them.
Its also always fun to give them one big secret that can turn the groups view of them on its head if you can.
Some of the quirks/flaws I have used are:
-obsessed with shiny things and trinkets. Not just gold and jewels, but things like buttons, polished nails and bits of bone too. They will hoard the stuff even if its cursed and will risk their neck for a button just as easily as a golden chalice. This led to many ridiculous situations.
-an ancient character who has mastered all know languages but forgot them due to lack of use. Refuses to cast comprehend languages because “they already mastered that language the old fashioned way.” Will still insist on translating things for you. All translation are ridiculously inaccurate.
-An elf ranger who lost his family to orc raiders. Now he lives a nomadic lifestyle, too ashamed to return home to the place where he failed to save his parents.....except in reality he is just a teenager who made the whole thing up in an attempt to impress the local adventures he saw in the tavern. He was banking on the agelessness of elves and the elves-are-good-with-bow trope to carry his lie. His parents are still alive and hes had a good childhood. Hes avoiding his hometown because they will rat him out to the party and also his parents are sooo embarrassing!
- a Friendly tiefling who was sent on a mission by her rich merchant father. After knowing the party for a few levels she dies and is secretly replaced by her friend, the oblex assassin employed by her father. He was the only one with her when she died and her last wish was that he took on her appearance to finish her quest so her father would finally be proud of her. How long will it take the party to realize their friend is dead and an ooze is wearing her bones?
I really like the tables in Xanathar's. I've designed a couple characters starting with nothing but race, and then rolling on those tables for a backstory, and then choosing a class that fits with those things. I now have, for instance, an entire family of urban-based mercenary/bounty hunter half-elves. I never would have come up with that on my own.
I think insecurity is an overlooked part of character creation. They get somewhere with the background flaws but those are more of suggested starting points. No one who's comfortable with where they're at in life becomes an adventurer. Even given the cliche tragic backstory--which can totally work, it's a cliche for a reason--insecurity kinda dictates more of a character's behavior and drives than a lot of the backstory. This can be backstory, or it can come out in front story. Combined with the usual hero stuff, it fleshes out the character a lot.
First, I begin with a concept of a character who I think would be fun to role play--because, like one post above mentioned, changing your accent is *the bomb* in D&D!
Second, I think of why they're adventuring--and from whence they came is a big part of this. Ergo, it is the background that I pick next.
Third, I select a race, based on my idea of what would best fit the character I had in mind.
Fourth, the class. So, knowing their background, I could decide "what class would they choose? Why a Wizard, and not a Druid? Why magical, and not martial?" This method ensures there are no hiccups in logic between class and background choices.
Fifth, the stats. Rolling the numbers and arranging them as needed.
Sixth, I either (a) go with included equipment, or (b) purchase it from scratch, a handy way to tweak the gear to my character's needs.
Seventh: character art!!!!!! Sometimes nicely detailed, sometimes a lighthearted cartoon.
That covers the basics of how I create my characters, but it does not answer how I bring them to life during game play. So often a player can slip into answering the DM's questions, rolling dice, and announcing damage dealt during a game, and it ends there; no rich descriptions, no funny moments besides the odd critical fail, the only evidence of their class choice being what list their spells come from. So, here's some tips that I and many other players use to enrich a role playing experience!
First: YOU ARE NOT YOUR CHARACTER! Don't get me wrong, we insert a bit of ourselves into every character we create, but in the end this can be a very empowering statement for socially anxious players. So often, a friend of mine will say during a dungeon investigation, "Okay--I know I would be scared to death and have someone else go first, but I feel like Judith (character name) would be worried about what the group would think if she backed down; so she's going to try to open the door with her thieve's tools". Even without a change of accent, or incredible skill in creativity, the player has given us all a glimpse into Judith as a "living" character; a plan of action, her motive behind it, and her subsequent decision. This example can also be performed in the comical flip side; a player who's character is far less daring, far more afraid and needy, than the actual player. This can, in moderation, be hilariously funny and an asset to the gaming experience!
Second: Accents. As long as grotesque, insensitive racial stereotypes are ruled out as options, anything goes with changing your voice to express your character's manner of speech! But don't stop there; add some flair to your character's terminology they use when they talk, or throw in some other jargon fitting for your character. This can be really nice with a character who maybe is enough like yourself, that you don't know if option one listed above is applicable; but it's a cool addition to add to any gaming experience!
Third: Habits. Stressing on the opening line of option one, just because you remember to take your shoes off entering your friend's house, or forget where you left your phone charger, doesn't mean your character would have the same issue! Though they certainly could if you chose. Give your character, if applicable, one or two habits-as obvious as yelling when frightened, or as subtle as stroking their beard and staring into their half-finished mug of ale as they listen to someone else talking-that will become a hallmark staple of your character's personality. This will actually go a very long way in breathing life into your character during gameplay, and it can be amazing to realize how often other players will remark of your character "And I bet they're doing their pacing thing as their thinking on what to do, now that we found two maps!" in anticipation, sometimes even remembering your character's habits better than you do!
Finally: If all else fails, have a pet. Have a mount? Or a familiar? Name it and claim it! You'll have way more fun playing an inseparable duo than as the Elf Ranger who came with a +1.
Perhaps? If your questions deal with the title/theme of the thread, I would *think* so; but playing D&D for the first time may help it "all come together".
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💙🤍~*Ravenclaw*~ 🔮
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I love that idea of the elf who thinks she is a dwarf. There are some awesome RP moments in that. Nice!
JT " You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
I totally agree. I like to weave my characters into the group, so when they interact with the world it seems more natural. I always write down the names of all the other characters so I can refer to them by name instead of "Greg's paladin elf".
geek dad with 3 geek kids
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
I am obsessed with creating characters! I have stories for them all. I just started playing with a group of friends and my character almost died so that's what started me on it. I've since created 6 characters all with backstories and some links together. I'm the same with so many games too! I think I have 20 WoW characters all of which I have given a more intricate back story to as well lol
Current Character~ Anastael Lasselom, Druid of the Moon Lvl 3
Dimitris of Waterdeep, Champion Fighter Lvl 3
As the DM for a number of campaigns over the last couple years I've started them off in the the following manner, and most everyone has really enjoyed the process. I usually let everyone know prior that we won't be using the typical methods for creating a character to ensure they are ok/open to the process, no one has said "not interested" yet.
I start with having each character roll the following prior to the first gaming session (I provide a single sheet to have them note their rolls):
The first session starts with everyone coming together under some emergency (my last was the city was being attacked) and everyone gets a few minutes to tell a little bit about their character (with not a lot of time) and then get things into roleplaying mode to start getting the group immersed in the story. At this point, if they haven't created a character with me this way they are starting to get antsy about stats, classes, armor, weapons or whatever, and maybe you're saying the same thing to yourself. I don't have the characters rolls for a stat until they are going to "use" it. The first part of this gaming session is meant to "test" the characters in each stat so they are ranked best to worst (it's an initial score that can be adjusted, within reason) in each of them but with focus on telling some of what is going on, filling in some each characters backstory and having each player start to think about who their character is and where they want to take them.
Long story short, by the end of that first session the characters know enough to fill out a character sheet and picking a class that will, hopefully, fit into the overall adventuring party. They still don't have any weapons or armor but that comes next when they get "hired" (or maybe recruited, or whatever) into the first story and given some money & provisions. I keep things slim at first, rewarding the PCs with weapons, armor and more monies as things are rolling.
Anyways, I hope that gives a general idea from a DM perspective on ways to influence having characters brought to life.
Anyone else do something similar? I would be interested in hearing of other DM methods to get the players interested in investing in their characters & their story.
Anyone do anything physically visual for their characters. All of the stuff I do is theater of the mind whether as DM or player. I've sometimes felt the need to draw portraits for characters but I'm not much of a talent in that department. I know a lot of people are fans of mini's and battlemaps but I've never been able to get the resources and put in the leg work to create battle maps. What do you guys do to get battlemaps together and how do you physically represent your characters?
I decided to give all my characters a catchphrase
I try to keep what I put into a character before beginning to actually play the character to as little as possible - primarily because I dislike the feeling of having done work that will never pay-off or be appreciated, so I have a philosophy for gaming that is basically summed up thus: Minimal effort for Maximum result.
For character personalities to make them start unique, and grow more detail as they are played, I come up with a short-list of the following traits:
Everything else I do during the campaign building from these points so that I never come up with some bit or detail and then find it not getting revealed/incorporated because of turns the campaign has taken. And I always make sure to include these few traits that I settle on in my depictions of the character as often as is possible, including finding ways to hint at the "secret" so that maybe it eventually dawns on another player what the secret is, or the DM brings in a story-arc where the secret becomes known and then the other players have that "That explains everything" moment.
I'm sure this thread is kinda dead but I really wanted to contribute!
Some of my favorite characters have different ways of speaking than I do, so my eastern european, irish, arabic, or etc accent gets to come out and play. There is a wonderful database online you can listen to different accent samples and learn to pick it up. I wish I was an artist but sadly I'm not, so I'll use dollmaker games online to give myself some visual of how I want the character to appear. Then I use minis I paint to flesh that out even further.
Our DM asks for us to provide her with a backstory but I'll also include a thorough physical description, motivations, personality, and anything notable things my character may NOT know (like who her father was, if her brother is alive, where she came from, etc) so that our DM can craft a lot of character arch opportunities in the campaign.
I also have props, my Dnd stuff is all in a cheap wooden chest looking box from a thrift store, I made a rolling tray that looks like an old book, all my dice are specific to certain characters, and I keep any props our DM makes like maps and notes and such in my chest or binder. Next project, a spellbook for my arcane trickster's spellcards!
If you have a character that you want to play, but have a way to detailed backstory, how do you go about scaling it back ot where it's vague enough to actually work with?
i'm a terrible actor, so i sometimes invent traits to cause mischief. this is an NPC which is party of a 3 character party, i use it as support/ full party member companion to the 2 players who are a human paladin and a gnome wizard
i currently have a cleric, grew up as an urchin on the streets of the capitol city after becoming an orphan when he was 6, He used to sleep close to the city graveyard in the slums and his friend was taken by ghouls when he was 9, thus he hates undead. at the age of 14 he was caught and sentenced to death by the city after attempting to pick the pockets of the leader of his current religions temple.
The high priest interrogated him, discerned he was at heart a good person forced into life as a thief by circumstance and decided to take him in as a ward and trainee in the temple. Thus he considers that he owes the high priest everything. (this works his background into a story and gives him motivations going forward as life as a cleric of kelemvor will give him opportunity to hunt undead in the long run)
the temple is in my homebrew world but i have a slight modification to FR Kelemvor as the god, the temple itself is similar to the edificant library in that it is also the local center of knowledge has 5 orders within it the orders include worshippers of 3 other gods beside kelemvor. the rogue/ cleric is a member of one order, the paladin a member of another order and the wizard a sort of member of the third, worships oghma (another change to the FR version as he's also the god of magic in one of his aspects as well as being the god of knowledge).
Now for the fun bit,
the flaw, due to growing up on the streets he's a 6 stone weakling and he has been traumatised by his childhood experiences to the point that he is a subconscious thief when he is around food, (mechanics, make a will save if he fails he must make a sleight of hand check in order to steal small food items). he doesn't know he's done it simply absent mindedly picks things up and pockets them.
they've only hit 3rd level so far, but the other 2 have already had to diffuse a couple of awkward situations one for him stealing an apple from a stall holder and another while staying in an inn stood in the bar area and he pocketed a dwarven fighters lovely sticky bun which was on his table while he ate his evening meal. i play it that while he searches through his pockets looking for whatever he's stolen and looking bemused, the other 2 get to try to diffuse the situation and keep me out of jail :),
then you get the situation where while sat on the back of a cart with the paladin and the gnome driving, i offer him an apple, cue outraged paladin who thinks i've nicked it.
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
I'm not an artist, but I do Photoshop a lot... so, I acquire images of people, weapons, other's illustrations, and try to stitch them together that suits me.
Probably steps on copyright rules, but I'm not doing any of this for profit, so...
Play against type, my favorite, I have a lot of fire genasi characters made when I can find a group to play in and to be a class the group needs, all my fire genasi are the opposite of cocky which most fire genasi are, makes the character memorable.
I've got a PC that has a magic item that grants her Disguise Self. As a part of her backstory, there's several people from her town who have vanished, and since she's young, she uses that item to make here look older, or like a boy, and she uses their faces (and personalities) to disguise herself. She doesn't really have multiple personalities, or anything...
In Avrae, on Discord, I change my nickname to be whomever she looks like. It helps everyone else I'm playing with communicate with her. I also Pinned an image showing her real face, and the 4 others she usually looks like.
Don't be afraid to give your character a flaw/quirk that will negatively effect their ability to do something. I love giving my characters a few quirks and flaws that they really have to stick with unless they slowly kick the habit through character growth. I'm not just talking about things like “this character is a compulsive liar/kleptomaniac/easily enraged, ect" Its usually something more specific and quickly and more likely to make certain encounters harder for them.
Its also always fun to give them one big secret that can turn the groups view of them on its head if you can.
Some of the quirks/flaws I have used are:
-obsessed with shiny things and trinkets. Not just gold and jewels, but things like buttons, polished nails and bits of bone too. They will hoard the stuff even if its cursed and will risk their neck for a button just as easily as a golden chalice. This led to many ridiculous situations.
-an ancient character who has mastered all know languages but forgot them due to lack of use. Refuses to cast comprehend languages because “they already mastered that language the old fashioned way.” Will still insist on translating things for you. All translation are ridiculously inaccurate.
-An elf ranger who lost his family to orc raiders. Now he lives a nomadic lifestyle, too ashamed to return home to the place where he failed to save his parents.....except in reality he is just a teenager who made the whole thing up in an attempt to impress the local adventures he saw in the tavern. He was banking on the agelessness of elves and the elves-are-good-with-bow trope to carry his lie. His parents are still alive and hes had a good childhood. Hes avoiding his hometown because they will rat him out to the party and also his parents are sooo embarrassing!
- a Friendly tiefling who was sent on a mission by her rich merchant father. After knowing the party for a few levels she dies and is secretly replaced by her friend, the oblex assassin employed by her father. He was the only one with her when she died and her last wish was that he took on her appearance to finish her quest so her father would finally be proud of her. How long will it take the party to realize their friend is dead and an ooze is wearing her bones?
I really like the tables in Xanathar's. I've designed a couple characters starting with nothing but race, and then rolling on those tables for a backstory, and then choosing a class that fits with those things. I now have, for instance, an entire family of urban-based mercenary/bounty hunter half-elves. I never would have come up with that on my own.
I always make my character with something sad that had happen in their past. maybe it just me in real life.
I think insecurity is an overlooked part of character creation. They get somewhere with the background flaws but those are more of suggested starting points. No one who's comfortable with where they're at in life becomes an adventurer. Even given the cliche tragic backstory--which can totally work, it's a cliche for a reason--insecurity kinda dictates more of a character's behavior and drives than a lot of the backstory. This can be backstory, or it can come out in front story. Combined with the usual hero stuff, it fleshes out the character a lot.
First, I begin with a concept of a character who I think would be fun to role play--because, like one post above mentioned, changing your accent is *the bomb* in D&D!
Second, I think of why they're adventuring--and from whence they came is a big part of this. Ergo, it is the background that I pick next.
Third, I select a race, based on my idea of what would best fit the character I had in mind.
Fourth, the class. So, knowing their background, I could decide "what class would they choose? Why a Wizard, and not a Druid? Why magical, and not martial?" This method ensures there are no hiccups in logic between class and background choices.
Fifth, the stats. Rolling the numbers and arranging them as needed.
Sixth, I either (a) go with included equipment, or (b) purchase it from scratch, a handy way to tweak the gear to my character's needs.
Seventh: character art!!!!!! Sometimes nicely detailed, sometimes a lighthearted cartoon.
That covers the basics of how I create my characters, but it does not answer how I bring them to life during game play. So often a player can slip into answering the DM's questions, rolling dice, and announcing damage dealt during a game, and it ends there; no rich descriptions, no funny moments besides the odd critical fail, the only evidence of their class choice being what list their spells come from. So, here's some tips that I and many other players use to enrich a role playing experience!
First: YOU ARE NOT YOUR CHARACTER! Don't get me wrong, we insert a bit of ourselves into every character we create, but in the end this can be a very empowering statement for socially anxious players. So often, a friend of mine will say during a dungeon investigation, "Okay--I know I would be scared to death and have someone else go first, but I feel like Judith (character name) would be worried about what the group would think if she backed down; so she's going to try to open the door with her thieve's tools". Even without a change of accent, or incredible skill in creativity, the player has given us all a glimpse into Judith as a "living" character; a plan of action, her motive behind it, and her subsequent decision. This example can also be performed in the comical flip side; a player who's character is far less daring, far more afraid and needy, than the actual player. This can, in moderation, be hilariously funny and an asset to the gaming experience!
Second: Accents. As long as grotesque, insensitive racial stereotypes are ruled out as options, anything goes with changing your voice to express your character's manner of speech! But don't stop there; add some flair to your character's terminology they use when they talk, or throw in some other jargon fitting for your character. This can be really nice with a character who maybe is enough like yourself, that you don't know if option one listed above is applicable; but it's a cool addition to add to any gaming experience!
Third: Habits. Stressing on the opening line of option one, just because you remember to take your shoes off entering your friend's house, or forget where you left your phone charger, doesn't mean your character would have the same issue! Though they certainly could if you chose. Give your character, if applicable, one or two habits-as obvious as yelling when frightened, or as subtle as stroking their beard and staring into their half-finished mug of ale as they listen to someone else talking-that will become a hallmark staple of your character's personality. This will actually go a very long way in breathing life into your character during gameplay, and it can be amazing to realize how often other players will remark of your character "And I bet they're doing their pacing thing as their thinking on what to do, now that we found two maps!" in anticipation, sometimes even remembering your character's habits better than you do!
Finally: If all else fails, have a pet. Have a mount? Or a familiar? Name it and claim it! You'll have way more fun playing an inseparable duo than as the Elf Ranger who came with a +1.
💙🤍~*Ravenclaw*~ 🔮
Perhaps? If your questions deal with the title/theme of the thread, I would *think* so; but playing D&D for the first time may help it "all come together".
💙🤍~*Ravenclaw*~ 🔮