D&D 5E [POLL] What drives your inspiration behind char gen?

[Dausuul]

It mostly depends on how fleshed-out the campaign world is. If all I know going in is, "We're gonna play some D&D," then I'm likely to start with a class/race combination and build a concept around it. If I have a clear sense of the world and what the PCs are going to be doing, I'm more likely to start with a concept, list off class/race combinations that fit, and pick one that appeals to me. (Though I do keep the mechanics in the back of my head when picking concept - for instance, I know I'm not likely to have fun playing a straight-up fighter, so I won't pick a concept that locks me into that class.)

The last campaign I played in started off as a one-shot adventure, so I just picked "elf cleric" and made a character. Eventually that character had to leave the party for, um, reasons, by which point the one-shot had evolved into a full-fledged campaign. I made a new character with the concept of "ex-pirate admiral of a besieged port city." I made a list of options for class and race, and settled on half-elf arcane trickster.

 

[Minigiant]

4
Other

I design characters "4 Da Lulz" or "Johnny-like powergamers spite".

DM: You went through this whole adventure.. built this character... saved those people...just so you can get enough xp to point blank fireball people and survive.
Me: Melee pyromancy.

I make crazy unoptimized ideas and powergamers them to heck. Don't ever mention dumb or silly characters around me.

 

[NotActuallyTim]

I have no real jumping off point for character building. I've done theme, mechanics and copies of characters from media. I've just made stuff up and run with it mechanically. I've shown up with a bundle of random stats and mechanics and made up the character during the session. Hell, once I actually just played a pre gen.

I think I've gotten used to treating PCs as interchangeable and disposable. Too much Call of Cthulu, man.

 

[Lanliss]

I went with other. My mind wanders when I am bored, and I wind up with a character backstory by the end of these trips. I generally only keep it if I feel like it is original, and not copying anything in media. Of course, this requires that I know something about the game world, because I like putting thing like "from far away village x, where things are like this".

 

[TwoSix]

I try to build characters around an interesting mechanical concept, prioritizing ideas that fill holes in the party. Then I create some roleplaying hooks to weave everything together.

 

[Shendorion]

I usually start with a concept, then open the books up to see how to make it powerful within the theme. I'd like to think I weave them out of whole cloth, but I was raised in large part by my friend and mentor the television, so anything I do is going to be derivative to some extent.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Part of me wants to make Prince Oberyn. But that would be a Dex based greatspear fighter and not sure D&D supports that. Maybe a a Str/Dex/Cha? (I know, according to several other threads I'm an idiot. )

But that fight with The Mountain was just so cool!

 

[Sacrosanct]

Part of me wants to make Prince Oberyn. But that would be a Dex based greatspear fighter and not sure D&D supports that. Maybe a a Str/Dex/Cha? (I know, according to several other threads I'm an idiot. )

But that fight with The Mountain was just so cool!

Why wouldn't it support it? All he really is, is a high DEX and CHA fighter. D&D supports just about everything. Remember, not optimized =/= not supported or emulated.

 

[KahlessNestor]

I meant more that spears are a Str weapon in 5e but Oberyn seems more like a finesse fighter. I would have to get all kinds of DM permission to restat the weapon (maybe drop the damage by one die?), but considering my play option is only AL right now, that isn't doable.

 

[Huntsman57]

A combo of mechanical and thematic. I wouldn't put together a character that is subpar any more than I would want to run a character that doesn't fit the kind of character I'm envisioning. It's a synergy between the two.

Something interesting to consider however...stats optimizing as a tool for creating character concepts you may not have thought of before. You build some monstrosity of a class combo that on the surface doesn't make sense. Now you can work your brain to think of a reason why this being is who he is which may give you creative ideas for a character you would never have thought of previously.