D&D (2024) Oh Ye of Little FAITB

[payn]

They removed them, effectively, years ago, and they weren't in the playtest for the new rules. They never had any mechanical impact aside from suggestions for DM rulings.

There wasnt anything about playing to your BIFTs to get inspiration in the original rules set and/or the playtest? I certainly could be wrong, but I thought I read some rules on them.

 

[pointofyou]

We've never used BIFTs in our games nor have we ever used Inspiration. We treat alignment as an optional vague descriptor with no mechanical effects.

 

[Parmandur]

There wasnt anything about playing to your BIFTs to get inspiration in the original rules set and/or the playtest? I certainly could be wrong, but I thought I read some rules on them.

Playing in character is something that a DM can use to dole out Inspiration as a ruling: the BIFTs are a framework to come up with a character to play, not the rules themselves. You could always ignore the. and write a 200 page backstory instead that the DM could key off of. Moreover, WotC has cut the slots in character sheets for them in recent years, and they do not feature in the current Starter Set pregens, nor have new Backgroinds since 2020 included them at all. They were absent from the new core rules playtest.

 

[Gorck]

I have no problem with BIFTs. I find them useful for players who aren't good at, or just struggle at, roleplaying. Some players make choices when they create their character as to how that character will behave. But once the campaign starts, they inadvertently revert back to their own personalities. We're not all professional actors (or voice actors like on Critical Role), so it's not always easy to "stay in character," and it can be nice to have a reminder jotted down on the sheet to jog one's memory. And, like a lot of things in D&D, people who don't want or need them can simply ignore them.

And as for them being too narrow and restrictive, the listed BIFTs are just examples. If you choose to utilize them, you are free to roll on the provided tables, pick the ones you like, alter the listed ones, or create new ones of your own. It even says as much in the PHB on the righthand side of page 123 in the section titled Personal Characteristics.

I don't understand why people keep wanting the get rid of aspects of D&D that aren't mandatory, but are just tools to help people who need them. Unless it comes down to freeing up page count in the 2024 PHB for other things they want to include, I see no harm in leaving them in.

The upcoming Planescape book mentions 2 new player backgrounds, so it will be interesting to see if they include the BIFTs in those. Strixhaven had Personality Traits, but it replaced the Bonds, Ideals, and Flaws with Trinkets.

 

[Ondath]

I like BIFTs as a concept, and even attempted to add back the "push" aspect to them via houserule, but admittedly they are hardly used in most games. When I'm creating characters, I like having them as seeds to give me an idea about what to play. I like them as a DM since they give me plot hooks from the PC's backstory.

I think A5E's implementation through Destinies for motivating your character/giving mechanics to the character arc and Connections and Mementos in Backgrounds is superior, though. It doesn't fall into vague questions like whether a Bond has to be a person or if it can be a past event, or what counts as Personality Trait or a Flaw. The background gives you two concrete plot hooks (an NPC and an item), the Destiny gives you an option to choose your character arc and suggests one Motivation/Ideal that could be indicative of your personality. The rest is up to however you want to portray your character.

 

[Parmandur]

The upcoming Planescape book mentions 2 new player backgrounds, so it will be interesting to see if they include the BIFTs in those. Strixhaven had Personality Traits, but it replaced the Bonds, Ideals, and Flaws with Trinkets.

So, I double checked: the Backgrounds in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft had BIFT tables, but Strixhaven, Spelljammer and Dragonlance have dropped them. So, the changeover was somewhere in 2021...probably the time they made the call to begin planning the 2024 rules.

 

[GMMichael]

So, I double checked: the Backgrounds in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft had BIFT tables, but Strixhaven, Spelljammer and Dragonlance have dropped them. So, the changeover was somewhere in 2021...probably the time they made the call to begin planning the 2024 rules.

Good eye. D&D players can't be bothered with little things like character backgrounds! Especially if they don't provide damage over time. I imagine there's still some demand for the 2 proficiencies that Backgrounds (capital B) provide, though.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Good eye. D&D players can't be bothered with little things like character backgrounds! Especially if they don't provide damage over time. I imagine there's still some demand for the 2 proficiencies that Backgrounds (capital B) provide, though.

Well, to be fair, there are also those of us who don't think that our characters can (or should) be summed up in 4-6 pithy one-liners.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, to be fair, there are also those of us who don't think that our characters can (or should) be summed up in 4-6 pithy one-liners.

I have had players who used a randomly rolled Ideal to be their catchphrase that they will repeat in character ("there is nothing that I love so much as a good mystery!"). But yeah, thry were always easy to just replace with some personally thought out backstory.

 

[CrashFiend82]

While I agree that BIFTs could help players as short hand for a roleplaying aid I feel like they missed their mark. I think it should be mentioned as an option in the PHB at the end of character creation. They should reframe them to fit some the more the format fiction writers use. Yes, I am aware there is a great deal the differentiates writing from TTRPGs but why reinvent the wheel. Also not every fiction writer uses the same format or terms but they should be clearer. Start with a motivation or two, something besides getting rich or gaining levels. But explain that a character shouldn't be one note or inflexible to other goals, and even if they obtain a goal there motivation should remain. Drop flaws for quirks, most people don't really want to play to a flaw, and it too easily gets used by some as a means to be a jerk. A quirk feels easier to roleplay and doesn't need to come up often. A bond should be a session zero thing that ties your backstory to at least one other party member via proxy or gives the character a reason to work with the party. Lastly, leave them as options maybe even just Session Zero suggestions in the DMG.