Murder-hobo, Chaotic Stupid, Stupid Evil; these are all pejorative terms that you’d like your characters to avoid being called while playing Dungeons and Dragons. We’ve all played with someone whose character falls into these tropes, amongst dozens of others. We’ve all also made characters that fall into one of these tropes.
Usually, this is a symptom of a much larger issue–a lack of depth and realism. Many players get so wrapped up in the mechanics behind a character build that they forget to make the characters seem like engaging people with real motivations. This can lead to uncomfortable situations down the line when this lack of realism conflicts with the party or causes problems with townsfolk.
Adding depth to characters won’t always solve these issues, but can definitely help. Plus, it can help to add meaningful and genuine interactions with the rest of your party. With that being said, here are a set of questions to help bring clarity and personality to your adventurers.
Personal Info
- What is your character’s name? (Full name, used name, nicknames)
- How old is your character?
- What gender is your character?
- What race is your character? (Include subrace as well.)
- What is your character’s sexual orientation?
Appearance
- Give a brief description of your character. (How tall are they? How are they built? Do they have any distinguishing characteristics? Include things such as hair and eye color.)
- What do they dress like? (Describe their outfit. What clothes do they wear? Is this outfit culturally traditional? Do they have any tattoos? Include things such as general hygiene. Footwear can also be a surprisingly accurate clue as to what someone’s personality is like.)
- Describe your character’s equipment that they carry. (What types of weapons do they carry? What does their spellcasting focus look like? Are they well-prepared or sparse on supplies? Is their bag organized or messy?)
- What emotion does your character usually portray? (Do they look naturally angry? Are they always smiling?)
Background
- Where is your character from? (Be specific. Where were you raised? What is your town like? What are the people from your home like?)
- Do you have parents/siblings? If so, are they alive? (Describe your relationships with them. Are they strained, or are they happy?)
- Is your character religious? If not, why?
- What organization(s), if any, does your character belong to?
- If they do belong to one, why did they join? (Think of your character’s motivations. Did they join because they needed the money? Were they inducted as a child? Perhaps they believe in a cause.)
- Why is your character adventuring? (This is a big one. Happy and content people don’t usually go about killing evil wizards and slaying dragons. This question likely ties into the ones above. Maybe they’re in it for the money. Perhaps they seek revenge, or maybe they’re in service to a god.)
Personal Opinions
- What does your character think of the government? (This includes opinions on nobility, powerful factions, or rival political opponents.)
- What does your character think of the wealthy? (Do they aspire to be wealthy? What do they think of the difference between the classes?)
- What does your character think of religion? If they’re religious, what do they think of other gods?
- What does your character think of other races? (Due to a large number of sentient races in the D&D universe, many are constantly coming into conflict with one another, and have long histories. Consider your character’s home and the common opinions within it to help shape your character’s opinions.
Theme/Party Composition
- Consider the overall tone of the setting. Does your character’s backstory make sense? Does it contribute in meaningful ways to the party’s dynamic?
- Consider your party’s class composition. What role do you want to fill? (While a balanced composition will help in combat, this isn’t always necessarily true. A full party of bards can just as easily get through a campaign as any other, depending on how your DM balances combat and how much combat you plan on getting into.)
- Beyond class composition, what social role would you like to fill? (Are you the face, or are you a loner? Are you a thief, or someone who plays by the rules?)
