New Character Inspiration
New Year, New Character? If you feel stuck while coming up with a character for a new Campaign or a One-Shot, you’re not alone. There are times when you know exactly which race and class(es) you want to go with, but other times, you may look at the continuously growing list of Subclasses and not know where to start. Here are some helpful tips on where to begin.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR DUNGEON MASTER
To make a character that fits into the adventure, the first step is to get the important information from your DM. This obviously doesn’t mean they have to divulge all their secrets, but there will always be some common info that they’ll want every player to know at the start:
Tier of Play (AKA, what Level are you starting at?): It’s good to know early which Level you will be starting. Being a Level 1-4 character means you’re just getting started in your adventuring life, but if you’re at Level 11, that means you’re mastering your skills and have earned a good deal of prowess. This vital piece of information could influence your thoughts on starting equipment, and opportunities for Multi-Classing. 11 Levels gives you a lot of wiggle room to play in that space versus a lower level Character.
Adventure Genre & Setting: The Dungeon Master’s Guide refers to this as Flavors of Fantasy, and it can be a huge factor in your choices. A Warforged Artificer would be perfect for a Heroic Fantasy story set in Eberron, but may not be as great of a fit in a Sword and Sorcery type campaign. In the same vein, someone you might put together for a Dark Fantasy full of Vampires and Werewolves in Ravenloft might not find a home in a Swashbuckling campaign that takes place wholly on a ship.
Restrictions: Finally, make sure your DM lets you know of any restrictions or limitations they have in mind. Those decisions could fall in line with the genre and setting. If it’s a home-brew world, they would be the expert on whether a particular species or class is available. Their reasoning could have to do with the level of Magic in the world, or its history. I’m running a campaign where the last of the Goliath species was just wiped out due to a war.
PROMPTS TO ASK YOURSELF
Sometimes just knowing the answer to ONE of these questions would be a great way to start your build. You can start by knowing how you want to play in combat or what alignment you want. Is there a way you ALWAYS play, and if so, are you looking to stick with that because you enjoy it or are you looking to mix things up?
Is there a particular Species or Class Build you’ve been wanting to play? And if so, would this adventure be a good fit for it?
How do you see your character in combat? Do you want to be up on the front line hacking away at things, or would you rather hurl arrows or spells from across the battlefield?
What is your character like? What is their Alignment? What is their personality? You might find it decide on how your player thinks and what their motivations are first. For example, if you decide you want a revenge arc because your town was slaughtered due to racial tensions, an Orc Paladin/Oath of Vengeance could be a way to go. Or if you like the idea of coming from a military background until one day you starting shooting fire from your hands and you’re on a quest to understand why, then you’d enjoy multi-classing in Fighter and Wild Magic Sorcerer. If you want to start with personality, I suggest browsing this article of Free Lists to Help Develop a Character’s Personality.
Think about your favorite iconic characters in Pop Culture. This is one of my favorite ways to start my inspiration. Think about your favorite characters in Movies, TV, Comics, Anime, Real Life, etc. You might decide to have the mind of Sherlock Holmes, or a fighting style like Batman. How about powers like Scarlett Witch or the quick wit of Deadpool. It’s okay to pull one trait from a popular character or two.
GROUP DYNAMICS
One final topic to keep in mind is how you and your character work with the rest of your party in and out of combat. There are some groups that are traditionalists in the sense that they collectively want a team with traditional roles - the Fighter, the Healer, the Spellcaster, the Thief, etc. But that most certainly doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, you all could choose to do the exact opposite and be all subclasses of the same Class. Imagine an adventuring Rock Band where everyone has at least one level in Bard. Or you can all be Wizards from the same school at Strixhaven with your own specialties.
Either way, make sure all the players in your group are aligned. After all, the whole idea is to have fun and kick butt as a team.
CONCLUSION
I hope this article sparked some inspiration for your next character build. Knowing all the parameters you have to work with, and drawing some ideas from other sources should certainly help. Have fun!
