D&D 5E D&D Beyond Releases 2023 Character Creation Data

D&D Beyond released the 2023 Unrolled with data on the most popular character choices for D&D. The full article includes a wide variety of statistics for the beta test of Maps, charity donations, mobile app usage, and more. However, I’m just going to recap the big numbers.

The most common species chosen by players are Human, Elf, Dragonborn, Tiefling, and Half-Elf. This contrasts with the stats from Baldur’s Gate 3 released back in August 2023 where Half-Elves were the most popular with the rest of the top five also shuffling around.

Also, keep an eye on the scale of these charts as they’re not exactly even. It starts with just over 700,000 for Humans and 500,000 for Elf, but the next line down is 200,000 with the other three species taking up space in that range. This means the difference separating the highest line on the graph and the second highest is 200,000, then 300,000 between the next two, 100,000 between the next, and finally 10,000 separating all the others.

Top classes start off with the Fighter then move onto the Rogue, Barbarian, Wizard, and Paladin. The scale on this chart is just as uneven as the last, but the numbers are much closer with what appears to be about 350,000 Fighters at the top to just over 100,000 Monks in next-to-last with under 80,000 Artificers. This contrasts far more from the Baldur’s Gate 3 first weekend data as the top five classes for the game were Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Rogue, and Bard.

And the most important choices for new characters, the names. Bob is still the top choice for names with Link, Saraphina, and Lyra seeing the most growth and Bruno, Eddie, and Rando seeing the biggest declines from last year.

Putting that together, it means the most commonly created character on D&D Beyond is Bob the Human Fighter. A joke going as far back as I can remember in RPGs is, in fact, reality proven by hard statistics.

 

[Oofta]

It might be a Rabbit.

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When it hops away and starts eating all the plants in my wife's garden I'll change my mind. But last time I checked, bunnies don't quack and I don't remember the last time anyone played a class they didn't enjoy because they were forced to do so.

 

[Oofta]

I'm not making excuses.

But if "Make the new player play a fighter" or "5e is too easy so I'm using grittyrules/woundtables/crittfumle" or "NO NEW CLASSES!" are all popular opiions in 5e, a lot of players will be pushed or even forced to play classes they might not have chosen. It won't be a rarty.

If you can't find a class you enjoy playing in D&D, maybe you should be playing a different game or a different edition. The perfect class doesn't exist for everyone, but to say a significant percentage of people feel forced to play something they don't want to play has absolutely nothing to support it.

 

[Minigiant]

If you can't find a class you enjoy playing in D&D, maybe you should be playing a different game or a different edition. The perfect class doesn't exist for everyone, but to say a significant percentage of people feel forced to play something they don't want to play has absolutely nothing to support it.

So straight ignoring what it said.

I've seen a person pressured to play a class in every 5e game I've played in. Sometimes they submit to pressure. Sometimes they don't.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

When it hops away and starts eating all the plants in my wife's garden I'll change my mind. But last time I checked, bunnies don't quack and I don't remember the last time anyone played a class they didn't enjoy because they were forced to do so.

I mean, "forced" is a bit strong. "Influenced" is more correct. But people can feel like they were forced, in particular when they wind up in a situation where they don't find that particular character very satisfying.

And since when does whether or not YOU remember something happening have anything to do with whatever is happening out there in the world? Do you consider your table to be indicative of all games everywhere?

 

[Oofta]

So straight ignoring what it said.

I've seen a person pressured to play a class in every 5e game I've played in. Sometimes they submit to pressure. Sometimes they don't.

Then I probably wouldn't want to play with those people. I've played with a lot of different groups over the years, during the course of 5E I've never seen it.

 

[Maxperson]

People still think you'd want a cleric or priest as revival and restoration was only quick in these classes.

That's not enough to push many people into cleric in 5e. That's nowhere near as important as healing was in 1e-3e, especially when death is so hard to accomplish in the first place and there's not really stat drain or level drain to require restoration.

Your DM had to state that NPC healers who could restore eyes or life to ease that worry.

Not in 5e. I mean they could, but it's no where close to the DM having to state those things.

I played in a party where the wizard was blinded and one of the 2 rogues had to spend actions physically aiming the wizard's arm until we got back to the capital where the only high level clerics lived.

Sounds like great roleplay! And depending on how long to get back to the capital, a DM who made a mistake.

As a DM if you are going to hit someone with a permanent or semi-permanent severe negative, if they aren't anywhere close to an established place to undo it, the DM should put in something for the players to undo it with. You shouldn't have to go more than a few sessions hobbled that badly.

 

[Oofta]

I mean, "forced" is a bit strong. "Influenced" is more correct. But people can feel like they were forced, in particular when they wind up in a situation where they don't find that particular character very satisfying.

And since when does whether or not YOU remember something happening have anything to do with whatever is happening out there in the world? Do you consider your table to be indicative of all games everywhere?

It would have to be a significant number of people being told what to play for it to matter. It would also happen to be influenced to play specific classes you don't personally care for.

But again: dragonborn are quite popular. According to this forum, they're kind of crap. Why on earth would people "influence" people into dragonborn? Why the double standard?

 

[Maxperson]

I'm not making excuses.

But if "Make the new player play a fighter" or "5e is too easy so I'm using grittyrules/woundtables/crittfumle" or "NO NEW CLASSES!" are all popular opiions in 5e, a lot of players will be pushed or even forced to play classes they might not have chosen. It won't be a rarty.

What you are missing I think, is that most campaigns end at fairly low level and those levels are reached fairly quickly in 5e. If the new player who started with the easy fighter didn't like them, they wouldn't make another one. Martials would end up way behind casters, not in front of them.

Martials are enjoyable to play, even if you think they could be better or started with one as a new player.

 

[Maxperson]

So straight ignoring what it said.

I've seen a person pressured to play a class in every 5e game I've played in. Sometimes they submit to pressure. Sometimes they don't.

What do you consider to be pressure, because, "Hey, we have a warlock, cleric and rogue already, why don't you play a fighter, because we think we need one?" isn't pressure. It's a suggestion or request. Pressure is trying to talk him into it after he says, "Nah. I've been looking forward to playing a lore bard, so that's what I'm making."

I haven't seen anyone pressured since 3e.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It would have to be a significant number of people being told what to play for it to matter. It would also happen to be influenced to play specific classes you don't personally care for.

Not really, it's only an example of ONE of potentially MANY reasons other than simply "Because they like fighters" that people could be making fighters. Individually, it's probably not much, sure, but when you add all the other reasons... it's possible that "Liking Fighters" is (while probably the biggest single reason) not Towering Over All Others to the point that it's not worth discussing Any Other Possible Reason.

For examples of other possible reasons: It's FREE on DDB; The party NEEDS a Front Liner; It's easy for Beginners; I just wants something quick and simple; This is a low-magic game; We're starting out Caravan Guards and it Just Makes Sense; ETC.

But again: dragonborn are quite popular. According to this forum, they're kind of crap. Why on earth would people "influence" people into dragonborn? Why the double standard?

They're played because people want to play a guy who's a Dragon. They're crap because the Coolest Thing (the Breath Weapon) is a terrible option for your action, much of the time. It's overshadowed by your Sword, or your Spells nearly ALWAYS. You fix that problem (as they did in Fizban's) and now people's desire to play it becomes matched with their enjoyment when they do, rather than at-odds.

Again, I would say that most of the time people pick anything, they pick it on a whim. It sounds like it will be fun (is certainly a big reason); it fits the story; I want to try this class/race/subclass/combo; etc.

Also: Just because you enjoy playing a character, doesn't mean you enjoy every single part of every single mechanic in every single session. You can rate something low, (and you can ABSOLUTELY complain about it on the forums!) while having enjoyed playing the character in a campaign! Heck, more of THAT, IMO, is on your DM and the Adventure itself, and not on your character at all.

It's complicated, that's for sure.