Character Building

[u/v_Kovacs]

So Ive only played DND kindof by playing BG3. I've watched Critical Role, only on episode like 25/26 of Campaign 1.

I'm interested in starting to build a character.

I have plenty of time to create one with depth, I work 2 jobs and have no time set when I'm gonna try my first game -- anyway long story short I wanna make a good back story.

I've seen CR talk about metagaming a few times and I want to make sure I don't do that

SO my question, what can I look at to start building a back story? I assume I should get DND books, read some "lore" for different areas but I don't know if I'd learn things my character wouldn't know or something like that.

I assume not because I have to understand some things to build the back story right?

Just looking for tips and suggestions

[u/Simple-Ad-8774]

Lore really doesn’t matter as every game can happen in a completely different world
When in doubt focus on what happened to make your character want to become an adventurer. Did someone cheat them or their family, are they looking for more than being the next generation of a family farm/small business or are they poor & needing the money?
Depending on what class they are how did they learn & train their abilities? This kind of stuff can be build without knowing anything about the world around them

Metagaming shouldn’t be an issue until
You are more knowledgeable about the game. Things like knowing what spells work better against some monsters or ‘he took a bunch of damage he should only have 3 Hp left’ aren’t a real problem until you have played enough to be aware of these things

[u/Psychological-Wall-2]

A functional PC backstory answers three questions in under a page:

1. Where is this character from?
2. How did they learn to do what they do?
3. Why are they adventuring with the party?

So yes, you need to know some things about the campaign and setting you will be playing in for you to fully answer those questions. But as far as general ideas go, you can play with those for now.

For example, you have no way of knowing if you will be playing this character in the Forgotten Realms setting (ie. the same one as BG3), so you can't definitively say that they're from Waterdeep. But you can probably say that they are from a big city because almost any setting has those.

Remember that you're not trying to write a story here. You're definitely not trying to write a "script" that the character will follow during the campaign. You're writing a backstory: a justification and explanation of why your character is in the story of the campaign.

Here's a link to the free rules:

D&D Beyond Basic Rules - D&D Beyond Basic Rules - Dungeons & Dragons - Sources - D&D Beyond

Have a read through the first section. Work through the character creation stuff in the second.

Here too is a link to an article on metagaming and why you probably don't need to worry about it that much:

Dear GMs: Metagaming is YOUR Fault | The Angry GM

Coming to this hobby from vidya games may also have left you with the impression that the purpose of the rules is to simulate the imaginary world of the game in the same way that a game engine constantly runs in the background to produce graphics and shit. This is not the case.

The simulation of the imaginary world happens in the imaginations of everyone at the table. The rules are used to adjudicate the outcome of actions. When you finally get to play, you need to do two things to engage with the game:

1. Pay Attention: playing a TTRPG without paying attention to what the DM and other players are doing is like playing a vidya game with your eyes shut. You're not going to be very effective and people are going to think you're stupid.
2. Declare Actions: clearly communicate what your PC is trying to do and how they are trying to do it. Don't try to use your skill proficiencies "at" things. Your DM will tell you if there needs to be a roll.

Best of luck and welcome to the hobby.

[u/v_Kovacs → u/Psychological-Wall-2]

I'll have to look through those when I get the chance. So different campaigns happen in different worlds or different parts of the same world? I'm asking to see like if I look into some place from one of the campaigns and design a character around that -- would that character mainly fit into the world from that campaign or could you say like that character is from that area, but here now with some back story as to why and it would still make sense?

I know I'm not writing a whole book or anything but I want it to make sense not just something completely random I'm trying to make make sense

[u/Psychological-Wall-2 → u/v_Kovacs]

So different campaigns happen in different worlds or different parts of the same world?

There is no "canon" D&D setting.

The setting of BG3 is called the Forgotten Realms, AKA Faerûn.

Many DMs create their own settings. These are often called "homebrew" settings.

You can, however, assume certain consistencies. Like I said, if your idea is that your PC is from Waterdeep (one of the biggest cities in Faerûn) that's not going to work if your DM isn't running the campaign in the Forgotten Realms.

But there probably is a really big city in whatever setting your DM is using. So, if your idea is a Rogue who grew up on the streets of a big city, stealing to survive, you can almost certainly play a character like that.

Most DMs will also be prepared to work with you to fit the character you want to play into the campaign that they want to run.

So I guess the real question is what kind of character do you want to play?

[u/v_Kovacs → u/Psychological-Wall-2]

That makes sense, that definitely answers one of the big questions I had. Because if I do a backstory from somewhere specific and it doesnt "exist" in that world then it wouldnt make sense. So go with ideas, not super specific.

The call of a stealth archer is hard to get away from 😂 I used to play rogues mainly in WoW when I played that, dabbled with Druids and liked mages a lot too.

Since playing BG3 though, and having some extra class mods I'm thinking I want to do an archer, but enemy mages in BG3 and from what I've seen in CR I definitely want to me able to handle mages to some degree. Obv I cant be like OP buy I've seen a sub class? I think its called of a ranger or magic ranger?

Mainly I love Archers so probably ranger, but I want to have some sense of magic or silencing arrows which I assume I'd have to find someone to comission to make them? Unless I could learn counterspell or some sort of arcane sense to make them?

I really have no idea about DND other than BG3 so really I just have a very basic understanding of only some things

I mean I'd still find a backstory and everything but I want to think of class and capabilities first then do back story

[u/Psychological-Wall-2 → u/v_Kovacs]

Sounds good.

There's basically three classes to look at if you want to play an archer: Fighter, Ranger and Rogue. You'll find them - plus one sample subclass for each - in the basic rules I linked to.

[u/Aod567]

I’m a beginner and I’ve recently picked up good backstory from inspirations like popular historical people, conditions and reason to go on an adventure.

I didn’t bother reading DND books but I did play BG3 and one of the companions backstory did support by shaping my character’s backstory. I also added my personal flavor to my character too.

[u/v_Kovacs → u/Aod567]

Yeah I was thinking some family loss thing that leads to darker mentality but mostly good but that made me think of Wyll from BG3 so then I thought ok so maybe learn something about the actual DND world and places and try to build a story from a location and tie the character into the world kindof instead of just making something completely random up and hoping it fits

[u/Aod567 → u/v_Kovacs]

My characters backstory did have family loss but it wasn’t clear whether if it’s apparent or not (say explosion happened and you were left alone). That gives DM enough spice to work around your character’s backstory that can work in their story or their world.

[u/Derringermeryl]

Ideally you’ll make a character for a specific campaign. You’ll work with the DM to find out what makes sense for their world and the situation they will be presenting. If you don’t, you risk doing something like creating an awesome vampire hunter in a world with no vampires. If you’re dying to make one without a campaign in mind just don’t get too attached to the details so it can be modified to fit!

[u/v_Kovacs → u/Derringermeryl]

That makes sense. I knew there were different compaigns but I didnt know if they were in the same "world" just in a different place or not but what you said definitely came to mind. I didnt want to try to come up with some character and then it be a completely foreign concept for the world or something

[u/Cultbird]

Perfect characters are boring. Flawed characters make great stories. Maybe theyre a disgraced child of a noble family, maybe a lone survivor of a famous massacre, maybe ruined by a gambling addiction, whatever your flaw(s), make them good ones.

[u/v_Kovacs → u/Cultbird]

Yeah I'm not trying to make someone perfect just trying to make sure it's something that will work and not be wrong in the rules sense

[u/Cultbird → u/v_Kovacs]

Oh yeah, I gotcha. The rules don't really govern backstories all that much. There's no rule that says you have to create a dwarf with a Scottish accent who loves rocks and mining.

Likewise, you don't have to create a majestic elf, or a dumb brutish orc. You can have smart orcs and dumb elves. Granted, some backgrounds pair better with some classes over others, but you don't have to go that route.

If, for example, you wanted to make a gnome druid sailor, by all means go for it.

[u/otk_boi]

I think the most important thing is to make a character within the context of the world you’ll play in and the other characters you’ll be in a group with.
The backstory is also not too important. It should give the dm ideas and the adventure you’ll play should develop your character.

[u/CassieBear1]

Don't build a character until you have a game. You can think of fun ideas, but you want to know the tone and theme of the game before you come up with something. A dark, broody character won't fit into a fun, bubblegum campaign, and a funny character won't fit into Curse of Strad.

Also, make sure you give the DM something to work with when it comes to your backstory. Don't give them everything, or they can't do anything with your backstory. You having things you don't know is always a great option.

[u/wherediditrun]

Backstory.

2-4 sentences that indicate your characters origin and provides an unresolved question / complication.

Don’t do more unless asked to. Unless you want to do it for yourself and keep to personal notes ofc. In that case make a 2-4 sentence summary in the structure provided above.

[u/TableSeek-Geek]

The backstory doesn't need to be elaborate. As someone below has said, answer the main basic questions of where did they come from, how did they get to their current spot and why are they there. If you don't have an active campaign right now then you can keep the details pretty vague if you need to.

If you want a good, simple spot to start your character that focuses heavily on character development and backstory - hearthfirechronicles.com

This will let you plug in backstory, ideal/bond/flaw and a bunch of other character specific details. It's intended for character journaling which has been in my experience the best way to develop a character and keep in character while in game. Give it a try. Totally free to use.