D&D 5E Preferred way to build your characters:

[Arilyn]

Often background. Sometimes I will have character all figured out except class. Not exclusively, of course. Sometimes, as you said, you just wanna play that axe wielding dwarf wizard.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Caliban]

I do it a couple of different ways, but it usually boils down to mechanics first. Often I will look at spells, feats, and class abilities to find an interesting or effective combination, then ask myself: "What kind of events would cause someone to end up with that combination of abilities?" and come up with a background based around the answers to that question.

 

[FrogReaver]

I'll have a concept and then build around that.

Great thief.
Great ponzi schemer.
Great archer
Great at guerilla warfare
Sometimes it's the boring: great damage dealer or great healer etc.

I then optimize around that cocept and if there's mechanical room left I will add a few more mechanical things to the character.

 

[aco175]

Its mostly the class first. Sometimes based on what others at the table are playing, but also because I tend to play one of the classes. In 5e I seem to play the thief a lot.

I like the backgrounds and I recently looked at some of the others in other sites. I find that it helps expand the idea for the class and help with a history of the PC, but the class does come first.

A new game starting up I wanted to make a halfling thief. Looking at the backgrounds I decided guild agent. So now he is a cartographer sent to Phandalin by one of the noble families of Waterdeep. They hope to find and secure one of the lost keeps and lands around the mines and look to open trade and settle the area.

 

[Tony Vargas]

There's a lot of factors that come into it, but I always prefer the starting point be a concept. Then there's the question, does the concept fit the campaign? If not, find out more about the campaign/setting until it sparks a better concept. Then there's the question if the system can handle the concept, often, in D&D, it can't, so it's back to the beginning. Then there's the question of "what the party needs." In early D&D, that could be a pain, because the party would always need a Cleric or a Thief, because they were so niche-protected, and the former was a less than desirable concept as presented back in the day and the latter so lackluster, but in every edition there's some set of contributions that need to be covered, if the concept can't cover what's left open...

 

[smbakeresq]

I almost always start with class, as I try to form balanced parties (or, at least, not terribly unbalanced). If no one wants to be the healer, I'll step in. If everyone else wants to play martial characters, I'll play the wizard. This also gives other players a chance to try something new, e.g., warlock. I can have fun with any class, so it makes sense to let others choose first and I'll fill in the gap.

Well, I generally build a martial PC, in my group few want to play them, and build it last after seeing what everyone else does. Martial to me is better if you pick type last, seeing what group is. With a rogue or monk, go shield master to get those prone
Crits in, that idea.


Usually I look at a mini and build to fit that.

Otherwise same as above. Generally blasting isn’t a problem, control is for a group. Clerics are good, so someone plays those. If everyone uses a shield, pick 2 handed so you get the big magic weapons. Monk if you have the other spots covered. If everyone has heavy armor proficiency build a DEX based guy to scoop up the light and medium armors laying around. Someone needs to have rituals, so cover that if no one does.

If healing and martial are covered it’s time to think Druid.


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[daimaru42]

I said mix, but somehow or other I keep ending up as the tank. I just created a small, trickster that I'll be trying out Sunday, but he's a very ~dangerous~ small trickster so who knows?

 

[Cornpuff]

I said class first, which comes from one part "Huh, I wonder what it'd be like to play as a _____" and one part party balance, since the last few characters I've made have, to a degree, been made to fill a spot in a party.

 

[Inchoroi]

Most of the time, I don't have a "normal" or "preferred" way to start building a character. Sometimes it'll start with an interesting multiclass idea, or an interesting race/class combo, or sometimes it'll start with a single "What if?" question that pops into my head. It really varies a bit.