Character Creation

One of the most important parts of starting any TTRPG campaign is creating your character! RPG character creation is often an enjoyable and rewarding experience. You get the chance to try new things and express yourself in numerous ways. When you begin thinking about your character, think about what kind of story you’d like to have. What personality traits do you want to explore, and how do you want to see your character grow throughout your adventures?

It’s great to start thinking about these questions before the first session. Let’s break it down further to give you some ideas to play with when putting your character sheet together.

Personality & Backstory

The very first thing you want to ask yourself when coming up with a character is, “what do you want to play?” Do you have any initial character concepts in mind? Perhaps you want to play a particular class like a Mage, or maybe have a personality like that of a charming silver-tongued con-man. You might even want a specific backstory like the boy who grew up on a pirate ship and has never stepped foot onshore. Whatever it is, having a central idea to build off of can make your RPG character creation that much easier.

If you can’t think of anything right away, that’s perfectly fine! Part of the adventure is being creative and trying new things. Look for inspiration in movies, books, or video games. See what your friends are playing and what role you could help fill in the party. If you feel like it, you could even ask if someone would want to share some history with you, such as growing up in the same town or working in the same guild. There are plenty of ways to find inspiration for a character – you just have to find something that speaks to you.

Traits

Whether you already have a core concept in mind or are still trying to figure out what kind of character you’d like to play, you can start thinking about what traits your character might possess. This can help you flesh out your character’s personality a bit further and can inspire new ideas that you may want to explore. A few questions you can start asking yourself are:

• What kind of talents, skills, or abilities do they have?
• What do they look like?
• How do they act?
• How do they view the world?
• What kind of moral code do they have, if any?
• What makes them unique?

A great place to start is by looking at your character sheet. Often character sheets will have a list of abilities and skills that your character can learn. This can be a good home base for deciding what your character is capable of doing. Are there any skills that would fit well with your backstory? If there is a map of your world, you can use that to decide where your character comes from.

If you have an idea for what species you’d like to play, ask your dungeon master if there are certain areas where that species might live. That can help you figure out what kind of environment your character grew up in. Different species and character classes generally come with presupposed dispositions or skills which you can also incorporate into your character. Be creative with it, and try experimenting with different concepts.

Flaws

Flaws may seem bad at first glance, and sure they can sometimes carry statistical negatives, but there are many benefits to giving your character a few weaknesses. Firstly, they give your character even more depth and realism. Remember, nobody is perfect, and playing a “Marry Sue” can become boring very quickly.

Throughout our adventures, your character will face many challenges and choices along the way. By giving your character flaws, you open up many possibilities for personal growth and development. And when your character faces a problem that they are not well equipped for, it allows both you and your party to be more creative and work together to solve their problems.

Motivations

Every adventure begins with a question: “why?” The most crucial part of the RPG character creation process is determining why your character became an adventurer. Was it out of necessity? Do they have something they want to prove or gain? Have they been tasked with a quest of some sort? Or do they simply want to see the world?

Your character can have multiple motivations, not all of which need to revolve around adventuring. Let’s say your character decided they want to explore the world and meet new people. Their secondary motivation may be a desire to one day settle down in a cozy village and make a family. This motivation doesn’t prompt immediate adventuring, but it can be an end goal that guides them throughout their adventures.

Bonds

Creating bonds for your character can further develop their backstory and define certain character traits they may possess. If they grew up with ten younger siblings then they might be good with kids. Maybe they were friends with the local priest, and now they hold higher regard for other holy figures. Those bonds can give them new motivations too, like wanting to protect and provide for their family back home. Figuring out what kind of family and community your character had – along with where they grew up and what they did for a living – can give you plenty of material to use when defining their personality.

There is also the option to include a few enemies in your backstory as well. These can be individuals, groups, or even entire species. As long as there is a good reason for why your character does not like a particular person, then you can use that conflict as a point of reference during roleplay or character creation.

A New Character Is Born

When you go to your first session, you do not need a fully-fledged out backstory. All you need are a few ideas to get started. Think about what traits, flaws, bonds, and motivations your character might have. Talk to your group members and find out what kinds of backstories they’re making. See if you can make any connections with them. And once you have your core concept defined, you will have created a living, breathing character in your RPG world.

The RPG character creation process is truly never finished, as your character’s personality is continuously defined and redefined by the decisions they make throughout their adventures. All you need to worry about when getting started is choosing something that you will enjoy playing. Because in the end, all that matters is that the experience you had was a memorable one.