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I'll admit I hadn't considered that as a factor in chargen.
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D&D 5E [POLL] What drives your inspiration behind char gen?
- Thread starter Sacrosanct
- Start date
I'll admit I hadn't considered that as a factor in chargen.
smbakeresq
Explorer
It shouldn’t bother me, but if the mini doesn’t match the PC I would not stop thinking about it in the game.
There seems to have been some serious necro going on but its a good topic...
I chose other because it varies by character and often - ok always - includes all of those.
Example:
For my current DnD5e game, starting at 1st i was given a list of characters already in and saw "no mages".
So, cuz i did not want to play "book guy" or "mage-shooter-lock" i chose sorc.
i chose halfling as a cool fun thing to play and *also* a charisma bonus (albeit +1 not +2.)
Who the person was shaped as (background next and started) an almost outcase halfling living in a city in the mostly urchin behind the scenes and that led between charlatan, urchin and other ideas as she formed in my mind as a "child-like outcast" who looked like the urchins but took a almost maternal and protective role" being she was actually older.
Decided she loved dragons and considered dragon origin but... didn't feel right and so i switched to wild sorc but good lord i hated those mechanics so when the Gm opened XGtE celestial was right there! So, Divine soul worked great with that concept.
Then as i worked on skills the idea of perform kept growing on me so... eventually that morphed into Entertainer - keeping the "urchin start" but then heading into being "discovered" and moving up but with her roots firmly set in "where she came from" and her protective nature of kids while the entertainer led to more options that way and mechanically some very interesting options.
At each stage, and even now as we advance, those all play into the current choices... like choosing Mirror Image to Replace Shield as her "protect me" spell because it also has a great hook into her singing and dancing act... basically turning for 1 minute "Shayna the entertainer into....
"Ladies and Gentlemen
Boys and girls
creatures of all persuasions"
"We proudly bring to you,
Direct from their off-off-off-off Greayhawk tour."
"The four, the three the two the one and only...
The Shay-na-nas"
Curtain pulls as Shayna and her three duplicat backup singers come through and start the show off with a BANG!!!"
Each of those elements you listed play together hand in hand *and* they fuse with her interactions and events since we started playing which just changed what her metamagic choices were to be.
No one of them would have led me to the place she is now... not even close.
I chose other because it varies by character and often - ok always - includes all of those.
Example:
For my current DnD5e game, starting at 1st i was given a list of characters already in and saw "no mages".
So, cuz i did not want to play "book guy" or "mage-shooter-lock" i chose sorc.
i chose halfling as a cool fun thing to play and *also* a charisma bonus (albeit +1 not +2.)
Who the person was shaped as (background next and started) an almost outcase halfling living in a city in the mostly urchin behind the scenes and that led between charlatan, urchin and other ideas as she formed in my mind as a "child-like outcast" who looked like the urchins but took a almost maternal and protective role" being she was actually older.
Decided she loved dragons and considered dragon origin but... didn't feel right and so i switched to wild sorc but good lord i hated those mechanics so when the Gm opened XGtE celestial was right there! So, Divine soul worked great with that concept.
Then as i worked on skills the idea of perform kept growing on me so... eventually that morphed into Entertainer - keeping the "urchin start" but then heading into being "discovered" and moving up but with her roots firmly set in "where she came from" and her protective nature of kids while the entertainer led to more options that way and mechanically some very interesting options.
At each stage, and even now as we advance, those all play into the current choices... like choosing Mirror Image to Replace Shield as her "protect me" spell because it also has a great hook into her singing and dancing act... basically turning for 1 minute "Shayna the entertainer into....
"Ladies and Gentlemen
Boys and girls
creatures of all persuasions"
"We proudly bring to you,
Direct from their off-off-off-off Greayhawk tour."
"The four, the three the two the one and only...
The Shay-na-nas"
Curtain pulls as Shayna and her three duplicat backup singers come through and start the show off with a BANG!!!"
Each of those elements you listed play together hand in hand *and* they fuse with her interactions and events since we started playing which just changed what her metamagic choices were to be.
No one of them would have led me to the place she is now... not even close.
smbakeresq
Explorer
IMO the very first session should be a PC building session and if possible the 1st level adventure.
By this I literally mean everyone shows up with pad and pencil and start talking through and rolling up PCs right there, with the DM lobbing in ideas. The DM helps with “orc is a helpful language” or “lots of undead incoming” or even “you will be relying on hit dice to recover HP so durable wouldn’t be a bad feat.”
The group can be made right there:
“I always wanted to play an elf monk”
“Sure, so that’s probably got some stealth and combat covered right?”
“Yeah, I want to have fun with pushing and prones.”
“Sounds like I will have a partner in crime on front lines, so I will play a great weapon user so I can use the -5/+10 bonuses from the feat to chop them up after you prone them”
“Team!”
Etc.
You can get the skills and languages covered, figure out who can take Inspiring Leader and/or Healer feats, etc.
By this I literally mean everyone shows up with pad and pencil and start talking through and rolling up PCs right there, with the DM lobbing in ideas. The DM helps with “orc is a helpful language” or “lots of undead incoming” or even “you will be relying on hit dice to recover HP so durable wouldn’t be a bad feat.”
The group can be made right there:
“I always wanted to play an elf monk”
“Sure, so that’s probably got some stealth and combat covered right?”
“Yeah, I want to have fun with pushing and prones.”
“Sounds like I will have a partner in crime on front lines, so I will play a great weapon user so I can use the -5/+10 bonuses from the feat to chop them up after you prone them”
“Team!”
Etc.
You can get the skills and languages covered, figure out who can take Inspiring Leader and/or Healer feats, etc.
Lord Mhoram
Hero
I tend to think of a mechanic of some sort I would like to use - class, feature, weapon, whatnot... then I come up with a concept and theme that will fit that mechanic, and once that is set, everything follows the theme/character. So it's really a back and forth between theme and mechanics. If I can't get a really nice concept to go with the mechanic I end up not being able to finish the character.
I guess it depends (4?)... I look at information at hand, any player material we may have, player group skill and experience, setting. They all have pieces to consider. It wouldn’t due to make a cavalier or a paladin in a pirate campaign... However, I have player in a fully Arcane party - that was lots of fun. Mainly, I try to do something different and interesting. I like background for my character - they didn’t pop forth as 1st level whatevers, they have parents, families, occupations, friends and enemies. All of this will be useful to a GOOD DM. I’ve had DMs tie in my family history for the plot line, the bad guy in the first phase is my arch rival, etc. You get out of it what you put into it...
Sacrosanct
Legend
There have been several times where I paint a mini I really like, and then want to play that representation as a PC exactly as how he or she is depicted in the mini.
I do character generation in two parts.
One is purely mechanical. I have about a thousand and one different "this seems cool" or "these mechanics work really well" builds.
The other is purely fluff, and fluff derived choices. I might take mechanical option #429 because I want to be a rogue sneaking through the night, and #429 works well with that. Then I'd decide on a backstory, choose proficiencies and such, and I'm done.
One is purely mechanical. I have about a thousand and one different "this seems cool" or "these mechanics work really well" builds.
The other is purely fluff, and fluff derived choices. I might take mechanical option #429 because I want to be a rogue sneaking through the night, and #429 works well with that. Then I'd decide on a backstory, choose proficiencies and such, and I'm done.
smbakeresq
Explorer
To me its essential to give your PC a weakness of some sort that the DM can use against you for plot points or even just something as simple as combat. In the example I created above, my dragonborn bard will end up with low AC, so the DM can use that against me. That was a choice on my part, I went with DEX not a priority and no shield.
You need to give the DM something to work with, the DM isn't your enemy, he is the co-writer and co-editor of your story.
You need to give the DM something to work with, the DM isn't your enemy, he is the co-writer and co-editor of your story.
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