"Wait…My Character Needs a Backstory?!" And Other New Player Surprises

Hey Everyone,

My name is Grace and I run the @DnDingbats twitter account, as well as the online community DnDingbats.com. Em has been kind enough to let me share my thoughts on character creation with you all! Em will also be guest posting on my site if you want to head over to check it out.

It isn’t a secret that I am new to TTRPGs, and have been focusing my energy on Dungeons and Dragons 5e. I waffled around the idea of playing for years, but the isolation that came with COVID-19 was the kick in the pants that I needed to start. 

Since then, I have dove headfirst into the community, which I have found welcoming and exceptionally goofy (my type of people!). 

Even with a community to ask questions and bounce ideas off, I found learning the rules of D&D more difficult than anticipated. I received great advice from my now DM, Sam. He said the best way to get in the game is to start with building a character. It doesn’t matter if you end up playing them, but going through the process helps solidify how the game works and gets the creative juices flowing. 

In comes DnDBeyond’s Character Creator tool. All I can say is that I was over the moon when introduced to this. Not only are all options paired with succinct descriptions, it does the math for you (!!!). This allowed my attention to focus on the interesting and mechanical aspects of the character without getting bogged down in the numbers. 

Rallyre
(Original Content, made by
DnDingbats using Picrew)

Using this friendly platform, Rallyre was born. A Half-Elf Arcane Trickster who is a master at improvised weapons and thinks on her feet. 

She didn’t just appear out of thin air though, at first she was almost a skeletal version of who she is now. Let me explain. 

I began rifling through the race section, trying to find something already familiar. Elves are all over pop culture, so it was a natural choice. I already knew a little elven lore, their general appearance, and demeanor. Done and done!

Next up are the classes. Having almost too many to choose from, I asked for advice. “Sam,” I said. “I know I want to be a little mischievous and nothing too complicated. Help!”

He simply advised I go for a Rouge, which has been perfect. Rogues start off relatively slow, but can quickly develop spell casting abilities and be insanely creative. 

Plugging through the rest of the Character Creator was simple, until I got to backstory development. I met this page with a blank stare. I totally didn’t realize that I needed to essentially create an entire being, not just an avatar like with videogames. This took a few days, but the following prompts (along with the ones built into DnDBeyond) really helped me round out who Rallyre is. 

- Are they a morning or night person?

- Do they prefer to fight with their words or their fists?

- Are they spontaneous or do they prefer to plan? 

- Can they keep a secret?

- How do they feel about death and mortality?

- Are they quick to give second chances?

I’ve been playing Rall for a few months now, and have been surprised to see what direction she has taken along the way. She’s more antisocial than I anticipated, and prefers improvised weapons over traditional combat. It has been a blast to go on this adventure with her, I can’t wait to build out additional characters!

Overall, learning to build characters in the 5e system has helped me understand the game mechanics as a whole. It’s a wonderful first step to take into TTRPGs, and has helped me up my creative game in other ways. 

Interested in hearing more ramblings and ideas? Head over to DnDingbats.com for my blog, community groups and forums, and D&D resource banks.   

- Grace, the OG Dingbat

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ART LINKS

https://picrew.me/image_maker/582810