Do you build your character to be a part of the fantasy world, or to run a diablo-esque combat hack & slash? I only ask because a lot of advise for builds come from a heavy combat perspective.
The reason why most builds will focus on combat is because combat is (usually) both the most stat/feature dependant and the most group dependant part of D&D.
Most characters can be role played however you want regardless of features. You don't have to build a well spoken noble. Also role play/social encounters can usually be lead by just 1 or 2 characters that are best suited to socialising.
Also, when people go looking for builds, they are not looking for fit into the world, designed around a personal story builds. They are looking for does well when features matter most (which is combat) builds.
It all depends on the type/flavor of game you're playing. The DM's guidelines will help clear this up. If your dungeon crawling then combat focus is higher then character backstory. But doing something closer to a political spy game will mean your backstory will play a greater role. It all depends on the game.
Of course you can be going into a "spy" game and start by thinking about how your evocation wizard or hunter ranger can be shoe-horned in... As always, ask the DM.
In my opinion, it depends on how your DM runs his/her campaigns.
Personally, I find a picture I like and come up with a concept based on the picture. I tend to combine combat and non-combat aspects to my characters instead of fully optimizing for one or the other. I love roleplaying my characters.
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Watch your back, conserve your ammo, and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I am not asking for myself, was just curious if the majority of people build for combat, roleplay or a mix of both.
I generally make my race and class level decisions based on features useful for combat (since that is what is most likely to kill the character if I ignore it). I then choose a background based on role play preferences and build a backstory to explain my class, etc. I always play spellcasters and only half (or less) of my spells will be for combat, the rest will be for utility, exploration, and role play.
I start off with class and figure out the concept I want to do from there (usually).
For example, in my most recent campaign I wanted to play a Druid as I hadn't before. I wanted to do something different from the trope of "elven druid village in the woods" so I decided she came from a prairie village on the edge of the mountains (and adjusted a little to fit my DM's map). From there I decided I wanted her to have had some sort of experience with some mysterious creature that left her with magic, so I chose variant human for the feat for Warlock Initiate. Then I started building the character in the creator and she fleshed herself out from there. When picking her background, I decided to go with Inheritor - and now she has this mysterious tattoo across the back of her shoulder that she keeps hidden because the creature told her to, which comes from her background feature. I knew from the beginning I wanted to go Moon druid to really focus on Wildshape.
In some other instances, I have a specific character idea in mind and figure out what mechanical features would fit them best from there. So I focus more on roleplay as a rule, but I try to pick the best features available insofar as they fit the character concept. I won't choose something that doesn't make sense for a character for the sake of min-maxing/combat, but I try to make sure I'm not choosing utterly useless things.
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Do you build your character to be a part of the fantasy world, or to run a diablo-esque combat hack & slash? I only ask because a lot of advise for builds come from a heavy combat perspective.
The reason why most builds will focus on combat is because combat is (usually) both the most stat/feature dependant and the most group dependant part of D&D.
Most characters can be role played however you want regardless of features. You don't have to build a well spoken noble. Also role play/social encounters can usually be lead by just 1 or 2 characters that are best suited to socialising.
Also, when people go looking for builds, they are not looking for fit into the world, designed around a personal story builds. They are looking for does well when features matter most (which is combat) builds.
It all depends on the type/flavor of game you're playing. The DM's guidelines will help clear this up. If your dungeon crawling then combat focus is higher then character backstory. But doing something closer to a political spy game will mean your backstory will play a greater role. It all depends on the game.
Of course you can be going into a "spy" game and start by thinking about how your evocation wizard or hunter ranger can be shoe-horned in... As always, ask the DM.
I am not asking for myself, was just curious if the majority of people build for combat, roleplay or a mix of both.
In my opinion, it depends on how your DM runs his/her campaigns.
Personally, I find a picture I like and come up with a concept based on the picture. I tend to combine combat and non-combat aspects to my characters instead of fully optimizing for one or the other. I love roleplaying my characters.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I generally make my race and class level decisions based on features useful for combat (since that is what is most likely to kill the character if I ignore it). I then choose a background based on role play preferences and build a backstory to explain my class, etc. I always play spellcasters and only half (or less) of my spells will be for combat, the rest will be for utility, exploration, and role play.
I start off with class and figure out the concept I want to do from there (usually).
For example, in my most recent campaign I wanted to play a Druid as I hadn't before. I wanted to do something different from the trope of "elven druid village in the woods" so I decided she came from a prairie village on the edge of the mountains (and adjusted a little to fit my DM's map). From there I decided I wanted her to have had some sort of experience with some mysterious creature that left her with magic, so I chose variant human for the feat for Warlock Initiate. Then I started building the character in the creator and she fleshed herself out from there. When picking her background, I decided to go with Inheritor - and now she has this mysterious tattoo across the back of her shoulder that she keeps hidden because the creature told her to, which comes from her background feature. I knew from the beginning I wanted to go Moon druid to really focus on Wildshape.
In some other instances, I have a specific character idea in mind and figure out what mechanical features would fit them best from there. So I focus more on roleplay as a rule, but I try to pick the best features available insofar as they fit the character concept. I won't choose something that doesn't make sense for a character for the sake of min-maxing/combat, but I try to make sure I'm not choosing utterly useless things.