Hi everyone,

Looking for advice with this post as I am really not sure how best to go about creating the character that I want to create.

I had an idea of creating a transgender character called *Litten* by her friends. Litten was born a boy but has always called herself a girl and stubbornly refused to accept that she was in fact a boy.

She studied magic and specialised in transmutation, specifically so she could learn spells like *alter self*.

Right now Litten is still quite a low level, so Alter Self is about all she can do but she has her mind set on Polymorph and eventually True Polymorph, so she can permanently change her gender and become the person she most wants to be.

Because Alter Self is the best transmutation spell she knows right now, she can't remain as a girl constantly. So instead she makes herself look like a girl by other means. Wherever possible, she chooses the female version of any clothes, she has grown her hair long and acts in a more feminine, than masculine manner.

Also, because she's a transmutation wizard, she mostly takes a supporting role in combat and this really, really annoys her because she is the kind of person who wants to be up there fighting the orcs, not standing back while her friends risk their lives.

I am really unsure how to build this character. A lot of her character is really going to be more roleplay than mechanics but I would like her ideas and desires to be somehow mechanically represented by the choices she makes.

Like she has chosen to study magic and become a transmutation wizard so she can transmute herself and make herself into the person she wants to be.

Things like that.

Any help or suggestions or thoughts with regards to creating and playing her character would be greatly appreciated

The only mechanical thing I can think of is MAYBE character background, but even then I can't think what would really make a difference. Most of what you are talking about is backstory - as you say, roleplay.

Simple I believe a girdle of femenity/masculinity would do the trick as a cursed item should be rather cheap and be something that work as it changes the sex of the wearer

From a game mechanic standpoint, take the Charlatan background. Gives you disguise kit and deception proficiency, as well as the false identity feature. Non-magical ways to outwardly change appearance until true polymorph is obtained. The wording of the background and scheme/flaw/bond/etc should be adjusted for this though. 

I don't think any mechanics are required for this, because there are literally no mechanics for sex or gender in 5e. Your character can be a transgender person, and you can find ways to play that from a respectful, empathetic point of view, without having to make magical changes or similar.

Yeah, I would home brew a background. Make sure it has proficiency in disguise kit to cover skills gained to present as she chooses and make the other proficiencies fit her personality.

That's interesting, is that something I can do on DDB so.i can then also share it with everyone else who might want to play such a character, because there doesn't seem to be any content focussed around transgender Der characters - or at leadt, not much of it.

Here you go

To-right "Create a Background"

Quote from LeK >>

Here you go

To-right "Create a Background"

TR hanks for.rhat link XD

I think you have the makings of a good character just based off what you wrote in the original post. I like that you show how your character's gender identity shaped the person she ended up, and I like the transmutation-wizard-support-character with a temper angle.

Should fit any background, but if it's that important that you have disguise kit prof, just talk to your DM and see if they'll let you trade something for it.

Good stuff!

You could also go easy mode, and play a changeling, even give the actor feat.

There are explicit transgender, agender, and fluid gender mechanics in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. 

"The rarest of these blessed elves can change their sex whenever they finish a long rest — a miracle celebrated by elves of all sorts except drow. (The DM decides whether an elf can manifest this miracle.) Dark elves find this ability to be terrifying and characterize it as a curse, for it could destabilize their entire society. If Corellon’s blessing manifests in a drow, that elf usually flees to the surface world to seek shelter among those dedicated to Corellon."

So even if your character doesn't have this ability or isn't an elf or half-elf, she may be drawn to an elven deity like Corellon or Hanali that is gender fluid. Though I certainly don't believe that transgender characters are only restricted to elves or their gods, or would be uncommon at all in the Forgotten Realms.

That would make a great plothook for a researcher (swap something for disguise kit) wizard, looking for a way to change.

How about wearing a Belt of Dwarvenkind?

As with all characters, your depth of personality will be driven by your perceived weaknesses and strengths. Most of the time, it's very easy to define what our salient characteristics are: appearance, occupation, tools of trade, etc. But what is more difficult to define, yet broadens the depth of our character, is the intangible: why they do what they do, what makes them who they are.

In your case, it doesn't sound so much that you need to worry about the transgender aspect (so long as the setting and party you're with are accepting). It does sound like, however, that the defined weakness and strength needs work.

Constantly being expected as a support role, they likely have an inclination to put others needs before theirs, and their opinions too. Perhaps what can help give this character a story is learning to accept that, by prioritizing their own personal goals, they can contribute just as much - if not more - to their friends while maintaining their own self-worth.

What do you think?

Hey! I'm a trans DnD player so I can provide some firsthand insight into this.

Mechanically speaking, proficiency in a disguise kit is unnecessary. After all, we don't expect cis female characters to be proficient with that kit in order to put on makeup, right? So why would a trans female character need that proficiency? Obviously that doesn't mean you can't take that proficiency - if it fits your background, go for it. Just don't view it as a requirement for playing a trans character.

Another thing to consider is whether alchemy can figure into your character's transition. In real life, trans folk often use hormone therapy to alter their bodies; this can be translated pretty easily into DnD land with alchemical potions standing in for the hormones. Maybe your character has proficiency in alchemy tools and is able to create a potion that feminizes her features. This might be cheaper and more accessible than the spells she's working towards, but doesn't achieve everything that she wants from her transition.

Finally, from a role-play perspective, there are a couple tropes you should avoid:

• The idea that she's "deceiving" or "tricking" people. She's not. She's a woman, and she wants to be perceived as such by the world. (Hence my note above about the disguise kit.)
• Her family rejecting her for being trans. Obviously this does happen in real life, unfortunately, but us trans folks are really tired of seeing that story played out over and over again.  You can still give her a tragic backstory if you like! Just don't make the tragedy revolve around her trans-ness.
• Please please please don't have the other PCs "discover" her trans identity by walking in on her while she's undressed or something like that. Instead, you can just explain it to the other players OOC in a straightforward fashion during character intros: "I'm playing Lily, a human wizard, and she's also trans." Or, if it would be in character for her to discuss her past with her comrades, your wizard could bring it up in conversation when it's relevant. E.g., if they ask why she decided to study the arcane arts, she could say, "Well, you see, I'm transgender, so I'd like to learn the spells that will allow me to transition."

Good luck! I like that you're already thinking about your character beyond just her trans-ness; I love your description of how she gets frustrated in a support role. That's a great source of conflict: her personality makes her want to get in the thick of things, but she needs to study non-combat stuff to reach her long-term goals. That'll be a fun source of friction to explore. 

Why would it matter? Unless you are going to be playing a game where it matters it wouldn't, just put it in your background and go with it. if the Dm is going to run NPCs that will have prejudice against the character then it might matter, but I am pretty sure the DM will not because it seems people are to afraid to do deep RP like that, afraid of hurting feelings. A characters sex or sexual preference doesn't matter in a game unless your group does things with it, like exploring prejudices and stereotypes. 

A characters sex or sexual preference doesn't matter in a game unless your group does things with it, like exploring prejudices and stereotypes. 

This is not true, gender, gender identity and sexuality can be more than just something that's the subject of prejudice and stereotype. To say someone being trans only matters when there's discrimination to juxtapose it against is very dismissive of the fact that it's a complex thing to experience as a person. Literally someone above, someone with lived experience, gave pointers on how you can make it matter more than just being a source of conflict. It can be a source of motivation to accomplish goals, it can be a framing point for life experiences.

if the Dm is going to run NPCs that will have prejudice against the character then it might matter, but I am pretty sure the DM will not because it seems people are to afraid to do deep RP like that, afraid of hurting feelings.

Prejudice does not, in of itself, make for 'deep RP'. It's really just an easy mode for conflict to cause drama. And as for being 'afraid of hurting feelings', well, oof. That's gonna be a yikes from me. Not wanting to hurt feelings, aka being considerate of others, is not being 'afraid'. It's being empathetic.

Mechanically I would recommend going for a Warlock and taking the "Mask of Many Faces" Eldritch Invocation at lvl 2 to cast Disguise Self at will, then move on to higher-level spells as you progress.

This is an old thread, but I'll agree with the above suggestion for a way to have the ability to alivate their dysphoria without having to use up their combat resourses if you want the character to have not found a way to have completely transitioned before the start of the campaign. It does also create potential for interesting, because while making a deal with a devil to gain the ability to magically transition can very easily lead into some harmful subtext (or plain text), there are so many options for patron which could be run in call ways. Maybe a chance encounter with an archfey or celestial unicorn saw them for the girl they really were, or maybe the hexblade or great old one you met cares only about their own incomprehensable plans and you are just able to use the powers they give you to get what you want in addition. Hell, with Tasha recently coming out, maybe it was the wish you made when you met the genie who would become your patron. 

When I first made my Bard/Warlock Elf I had origonally had her be a fiend pact (because this was before Xanathar came out and it was the only one that made sense for the backstory I had come up with), but the extreme cliff notes version is that her sister basically became a powerful lich who was supposedly destroyed before the campaign started, but one of the few things she had done before her disappearance was to use her magic to perminantly transform my character into being a woman (at the time I wanted her to start out female presenting), while leaving the spark of magical ability in her. Since then my character travelled around, living the bardic lifestyle, but (outside of the one level of bard I started her with) she took pure warlock after that point and I just flavoured all of her abilities to make them seem 'bardic' (my favorate was imagining eldritch blast as a concentrated note of sound), and once other patron options came I swapped the pact to hexblade, with the power being something her sister gave her which she gained more mastery over over time (taking mask of many faces and eventually master of myrad forms to represent her gaining a more fluid control over her form). Obviously I set it up so the DM could have her lich sister reimerge as a potential future villian or dark ally, but then I enjoy having characters have conflicting feelings about antagonists.