Better Roleplaying through D…D Character Background Creation
A great way to expand your roleplaying abilities in Dungeons … Dragons, or any other roleplaying game, is to try and make better characters. Developing a background and personality for your character will give you a better guideline on how to play your character and it will also give your Dungeon Master more hooks for their story and opportunities to role-play. We’re going to discuss a few ideas on how to easily create a better D…D character background by using simple plot hooks and personality traits. These methods can be altered to work with other roleplaying games as well.
Choose one thing that your character will die for. This is a focal point to the character. It could be any attack on a religious member of his church causes him to go into a blind rage against the attacker. Or maybe he is fighting to save his people from an evil overlord. Anything that will help his people or hurt the evil overlord is good enough for him to die for.
Pick three things that your character will always fight for. These three things are things that will instantly cause the character to go into fight mode. He may not fight to the death over these, but he will always address them appropriately. Perhaps the player just can’t stand it when people insult him about his short stature. Or maybe he hates it when people make fun of any one of his adventuring comrades.
Decide on one thing that your character fears the most. Perhaps your character has an intense fear of flying and resists any flight or levitation spells that are cast on him. Your character may have an intense fear of snakes, no matter how big or small. Or maybe your character has an intense fear of a specific creature, like werewolves, vampires, liches, or ghosts.
Decide on one characteristic, or trait, that defines how other people see your character. Maybe your character is always calm no matter what the situation is. Or perhaps your character is the comedian. He is always cracking jokes, even while in the court of a king or the lair of a dragon. You can take this character trait and write it at the top of your character sheet, so you will always be subtly reminded to play your character in that way.
Pick one additional character that is important to your character. This character could be another person in the party, or it could be an NPC. Then you need to define the relationship between your character and the other character. This could be a good connection, someone who has always been there to help you in your time of need. Or, it could be someone that always has a negative influence in your life. Maybe when you’re at your worst, this person seems to always show up and makes things even more miserable.
With these seven different characteristics, one thing that you will die for, the three things you will always fight for, and one thing that you are afraid of, and one characteristic that defines your personality, and one character that is important to you, you’ve instantly created a small amount of background, personality, and a play style for the characters. Answering these questions for your character dramatically increases the chance for fun and dramatic roleplaying opportunities in your game, as well as starting the foundation for your D…D character background.