diaboleite

[diaboleite]

so it’s one of those ‘I Don’t Want Your Voice To Move Me’ - Laura Gibson nights, huh?

[diaboleite]

D&D as “cooperative character development”.

I want to talk about character design not in terms of stat choices and class selection, but in terms of personality, motivation, and characterisation. Making an interesting, fun character in a story is not the same as making an interesting, fun character in D&D; the total control that a writer has over their own story is completely at odds with the chaotic clusterfuck of D&D campaigns. Here is how to create and develop a character in a way that facilitates cooperation between you, other players, and most importantly your DM: 1) Make a character that can "play D&D". This one is pretty simple, but fundamental enough to warrant inclusion in this list. Even narrative focused 5e, with its heavy emphasis on plot, roleplay and character customisation, is still a bunch of PCs going on adventures. (If you’re not interested in exploring and combat, D&D is not the game for you! Plenty of other RPGs will cater to you better.) It is essential that some aspect of your character’s personality or backstory or environment drives them towards a risky lifestyle of adventuring. There are plenty of unique potential motivations, both in the PHB, and of your own devising. Just be sure you’re motivating your character towards the gameplay of D&D.

3) If your character’s goal is to stop "playing D&D" and settle down, at some point they may be in a position to achieve their goal and there's nothing the DM or other players can do about it. Closely linked with number 2 on the list-- if the character you have created wants nothing more than to settle down and sell homemade jam, a couple of levels into your campaign, they will likely be in a position to do exactly that. Either be prepared to retire and reroll a new character at this point (talk to your DM, if this is on the table!!!!!), or have character development over the campaign that has them change their goals. They could become aware of how much good they are doing in their role as an adventurer, become too attached to the party to leave, or develop a personal vendetta against wrongdoers; whatever this growth manifests as, the onus is on you as a player to ensure your character continues on with the campaign.

4) Create a character with flaws. If your character does not need the other characters in the campaign, you have created a boring character to play alongside.

From a writing perspective, there’s no practical problem with creating a badass, self-sufficient protagonist, especially if you want to tell a gritty, survivalist story. In D&D, there are practical problems with trying to have a character that is entirely self-reliant and rounded: you are not the single protagonist of this story, and you shouldn’t try to be. Sure, with the right character stat finessing, feats, and playstyle, you can make a character without too many in-game, or in-character weaknesses-- but don’t! This is bad manners in the same way that a munchkin-y character build is bad manners: you are feeling good about your character at the cost of other players’ fun. D&D is cooperative, so cooperate. (Specialised characters will ultimately be more powerful, anyway!) If you feel a little useless in melee combat, but have a ball navigating through social encounters with your +7 persuasion, you’re playing the game right. Someone at the table is on the other side of the coin, smashing skulls effortlessly and then barely able to order a beer without offending someone with their poor social graces. (This does not mean your character should not have “self-sufficient” as a character trait, especially if you’re selecting something like the “hermit” background. There’s a difference between being a character being practical and slow-to-trust, and trying to make a character so self-reliant and well-rounded that there’s no situation you wouldn’t feel your character could handle better alone than with the help of the rest of the party.) The space on your sheet for character flaws should not just say ‘has trouble trusting others’. Spend some time balancing your character’s good qualities with the bad, and consider how stats may play into this in more complex ways than ‘my character with a low intelligence modifier makes stupid decisions under pressure’. If your strength is high, consider making your character unwittingly bullying, because nobody dares stand up to them. If your character’s charisma is off the charts, consider making them a little too deft at manipulation, even amongst friends. Flaws are the startpoint for character growth, and without them you will find yourself reluctant to change your character as the story unfolds.

5) If your character does not want to share backstory at all costs, they might never end up sharing backstory, and you're going to have to deal with never getting to show off your creative writing. Keep in mind that if your character is too secretive, even if the DM tries to shove you face-first into plot related to your own backstory, you may feel obliged to play your character weaselling out of it. This is related closely with my next point:

8) If it's unrealistic for your character to forge connections with other people in the party, then you have created a bad D&D character. Remember when I said it’s fine to have a character trait that is “slow-to-trust”? There’s a difference between slow, and flat out unwilling. Maybe your session one character is instantly chummy, maybe your session one character holds the rest of the party at arm’s length and keeps secrets. Whatever the case is, you will need to reach a point of investment in other PCs, or you will not be able to participate in cooperative character growth. One of the most important traits of a good D&D player is investing in PCs that aren’t your own. Try to compare, relate, and contrast other PCs with your own. Try to understand their goals, their relationship with your PC, and with the rest of the party.

9) Your new character is at the start of their most important arc: their adventure with their new companions. Create backstory accordingly. As someone beginning a D&D campaign, is important for you to understand that your character is about to go through the most incredible, dangerous, vivid experience of their life. This is reflected both in experience points, and also an immutable truth of the D&D universe: people with the skills and power of PCs are rare and special. There are very few people in the world who will ever achieve the power of high player class levels; the campaign that gets your PC there will accordingly be legendary in scale. (On the other hand, don’t be scared to give your character some epic or heart-wrenching backstory, just be mindful that their ‘character arc’ isn’t yet complete. There’s a world between “I was just sitting in a room on a chair eating saltines for, like, 28 years” and the sort of well-told, unresolved backstory that comes out over the course of a Critical Role campaign. Also, consider the purely in-game, mechanical reason: even if your barbarian’s backstory involves slaying an entire horde of murderous dragons and becoming a renowned folk-hero, you’re going to be at the same starting point as the rogue whose backstory is ‘I cheat at cards to make enough money to eat’. Your level 1 character will not be up to fighting dragons for at least a couple of dungeons. Well-written backstories are about intensity of character motivation, richness of detail, not about the epic deeds accomplished off-screen like a low budget superhero TV show.

10) The show game must go on. Cooperate and be willing to compromise your characterisation to make that happen. D&D is a hobby that you and your group are going to voluntarily participate in. Make a character that facilitates that. I’ve already covered a few ways in which your characterisation may end up sabotaging your own ability to get involved in the plot; there are untold ways in which you can sabotage the plot or the enjoyment of your fellow players. Above all else, being a good player means having a capacity to compromise and cooperate. Is your character such an asshole that nobody in the party will want to play alongside them? Retire your character, or be prepared to do a supersonic heel-face turn. Is your character so morally puritanical that they cannot remain in the company of anyone who isn’t unfalteringly lawful good? Retire your character, or find a way for your character’s stance to soften. Is your character going to be so boring to play that RP will feel like a chore? Retire or change your character. (A sticking point in the game is not necessarily your fault. If you’re finding another PC impossible to play with, talk to your DM about it. Their player might not have even noticed the ideological/motivational divide.) It’s important to be “on your character’s side” so you can play them convincingly, but on a meta-level try to take a more objective stance in disputes, with an explicit goal to resolve tension in a timely manner. If your fellow players aren’t on the same wavelength, talk to your DM who can clear it up with them.