User blog:Dragokar62/Creating A Hero

Creating A Hero

When players sit down to create a character for an upcoming D&D session, a lot goes through their minds as to what they wish to play, what race they want to portray and what kind of backstory they want to assign this new hero of the realm. To me, this is the hardest part of starting a new campaign, mostly because of the party dynamic, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. For just a moment, forget about the class and race aspect of it and focus on who you want to play. Don’t focus on the “what do you want to play”, focus on the “Who”. I’ll explain.

Classes and races are an important part of the character you are creating, but when it comes to the role play aspect, they aren’t all that important. Personalities, quirks, tag lines, attitudes, like and dislikes and fears are things we all have, and to have those translated into a character makes them more three dimensional for the DM and for the other players. After this, you can then establish the class and race combination you want to assign them to flesh them out fully and now you have a 3D character to play.

As a DM and sometime player, it’s nice to know what other players are going to be like in the role play arena so that we can have those inside jokes later on about our characters. It might be something simple, like being afraid of large bodies of water, and my character having to put them in a Bag of Holding to get them across a lake. Those are good stories to tell later. It might be a severe hatred of orcs and how their character had to hold my character back from murdering an orc chieftain that would’ve clearly wiped the floor with my character. It’s those stories later that tell you how much fun you had with, not only your character, but with the other characters at the table.

I understand that some people struggle with the “who” part of the equation. To them, the character they are rolling up is two dimensional, with stats and abilities they want to optimize so they become the hero in the story. When I first began playing D&D, I had a similar problem with this. After sitting around and watching others roleplay their characters, I began to realize how much of a disservice I did to my character. He would never be the hero in the story just because he could hit with his two handed sword and take a good hit from a monster. He had no personality. When we went to a tavern, he just sat there and drank an ale while the others at the table played out their characters to the fullest. That’s when it really clicked for me. This is a role playing game and to be a part of that, I needed to role play.

With the popularity of Critical Role, there is a common misconception that this is how the game should be played at all times and at every table. This is not true. Those people are trained actors (every one of them has gone to acting classes for years) and they play to the theatrical side of things, which is fine if you really want to do that. I like some of what they do, but honestly, it’s more about watching them do it than me imitating them. I can’t pull that off anyway. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t role play your character. That does not mean your character, the hero in the story, shouldn’t be more three dimensional.

So what I’d like to do is offer some tips to help those who really want to be the hero of the story develop a character who can be three dimensional and still maximize their abilities so as not to hamstring them when push comes to shove.

Personality. This isn’t the same as personality traits that is on the first page of your character sheet. That personality trait should have something to do with your background, as per the Player’s Handbook suggestions, but what I mean is, what kind of personality does your character have? There are quite a few options here and you don’t have to choose just one of them. They can be happy-go-lucky, dour, morose, even-tempered, hot headed, casual, romantic, hateful, just to name a few. Those are personalities, not just traits. If you go online and do a search for personality types, you’ll find a ton of information on them.

Quirks. Everyone has quirks. I have them. I have to have the meat in my meal on my left. Don’t ask me why, because I couldn’t tell you, but I knew that I will turn the plate until the meat is on the left every single time. This is a quirk I have. Characters should have quirks, also. It might be that they won’t enter a room without checking behind the door. Quirks are those little things that we do that most don’t understand unless they do it, too. Think of it that way and you’ll find all kinds of quirks for a character. And those quirks don’t make those things disadvantages, just something that adds flavor to your character.

Fears, Hatreds and Likes. We all have these, too. There are things that we fear, we hate and we like. This is what makes us human. Why wouldn’t a character have these? There are just too many of these to mention, so choose anything you think would make for some interesting moments in-game. There is one thing everyone needs to remember in this and that is, just because you have a fear or a hatred of something, that doesn’t mean it will be used against you in the game. It might come up, but I would never use this as a disadvantage to the player, unless it was such a powerful fear or hatred that I had no other choice. It doesn’t have to be powerful, just something you can react to should it come up. And like all the things you want! These can be very interesting role play tools. All too often, I’ve seen someone playing a wizard and when books are mentioned, they perk up like I said “free beer”. Problem is, it’s not written down on their character sheet that their wizard is a book fiend. So put it on there.

Being able to act without embarrassment. This is the hardest part of role playing a character for anyone who suffers from performance anxiety. You’ve given your character a personality, some quirks and fears, hatred and likes, but now you have to pretend to be this character in front of other people. I’ll admit, it’s hard. I’ve never been an actor and I struggle at times to let myself pretend that the two dimensional character sheet holds a three dimensional character. I have to stop and really focus on what my character would say or do in a given situation that the DM has presented to me. I would hope that those who sit at my table understand that I will not judge them or ridicule them when they try to role play their characters. In fact, I will not tolerate anyone ridiculing a player for role playing their character to the fullest. 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons has a motto they use to advertise their products and that is “the world’s greatest role playing game”. D&D is a role playing game and when you play a character, you should do what you can to be that character.

When it comes to role playing your character, it’s not an all-immersive thing. You don’t have to come up with a separate voice for them and puff up like you really are them, but when creating a hero, you should have an idea what that hero is like and play to that. Speak for them when it’s their turn to speak up. Use of facial expression that your character would use when certain things happen. Play to those quirks, those fears, hatreds and likes. Think like that hero when the times are right. And in-between those times, be you.

When I created Bartholomew, my half-orc barbarian, I had an idea in my mind what he would be like. Gruff at times, kind at times, angry with injustice and full of bravery. I didn’t develop a special voice for him, but I did give him a personality and I played to that. Clara was his weak spot, because he found her after her parents were murdered and he felt responsible for her safety and well being. For Clara, he was her gentle giant, a big pushover. But for others, he did the pushing. All too often during that campaign, I remember her calling him “Barf” and I would roll my eyes, but I was doing that as Bartholomew, not as myself. When someone angered him, he would bellow at them, but after the scene was over, I was myself again. It wasn’t all-immersive, but I did role play him the way I felt I wanted to. And he became the hero I wanted him to be.

As a DM, I prefer role play much more than I do combat oriented campaigns. I see the cinematic side of the game, where it is that epic adventure, much like Lord of the Rings, where the party has an important mission and they all have to band together to defeat the common evil. The interactions, the combat, the dialogue, the humorous parts, the intrigue, and the history, all of it rolled into one long and enjoyable package. And all of this is nothing more than dice rolling for a two dimensional character sheet and some banter back and forth unless the player sits down and really brings their character to life.

So when you need to roll up another character for a campaign or a mini-adventure or even a one shot, don’t short yourself and the other people at the table by just focusing on stats on a page and maximizing your character to avoid being the weakest link. Give that character a life and bring them to life. Create a true hero.