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.
Decide on one thing that your character would lay down his life for. It may be something noble, or it may be more self-serving. But pick something that your character would, under any circumstances, fight to the death over. It could be that anytime someone steals something from him, he will go to the ends of the earth to track them down and make them pay at any cost. Or, it could be that whenever his homeland is disrespected in conversation, he just cannot let it go. Whatever it is, choose this one carefully as it will turn out to be an extremely important part of your character.
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.
Choose one thing that your character absolutely fears. This fear is something that will drastically alter how you play the character when he encounters this fear. It could be that the character has a fear of the open sea and will absolutely not travel on boats. Or, maybe he has a fear of fighting in high areas, like on a large bridge or in an open tower.
Choose one characteristic that defines your character to other people. Perhaps the primary characteristic you choose is benevolent. This character gives money to the poor when he can. He also lets defeated enemies leave the battlefield without dying if they fought honorably. A character with a vengeful characteristic would be more inclined to remember those that have defeated him and plot their demise for a later date. A vengeful character rarely ever lets acts of transgression towards him pass.
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, then one thing that you would die for under any circumstances, picking three reasons you will always fight for, and one thing that you are deathly afraid of, and one characteristic that defines your character personality to other players and NPCs, and designed one character that is important to you, you've instantly created a good start for a D&D character background. It includes your personality and helps with your character's play style. Answering these questions increases the chance for fun and dramatic roleplaying opportunities, without spending hours and hours writing a huge D&D character background.
Decide on one thing that your character would lay down his life for. It may be something noble, or it may be more self-serving. But pick something that your character would, under any circumstances, fight to the death over. It could be that anytime someone steals something from him, he will go to the ends of the earth to track them down and make them pay at any cost. Or, it could be that whenever his homeland is disrespected in conversation, he just cannot let it go. Whatever it is, choose this one carefully as it will turn out to be an extremely important part of your character.
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.
Choose one thing that your character absolutely fears. This fear is something that will drastically alter how you play the character when he encounters this fear. It could be that the character has a fear of the open sea and will absolutely not travel on boats. Or, maybe he has a fear of fighting in high areas, like on a large bridge or in an open tower.
Choose one characteristic that defines your character to other people. Perhaps the primary characteristic you choose is benevolent. This character gives money to the poor when he can. He also lets defeated enemies leave the battlefield without dying if they fought honorably. A character with a vengeful characteristic would be more inclined to remember those that have defeated him and plot their demise for a later date. A vengeful character rarely ever lets acts of transgression towards him pass.
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, then one thing that you would die for under any circumstances, picking three reasons you will always fight for, and one thing that you are deathly afraid of, and one characteristic that defines your character personality to other players and NPCs, and designed one character that is important to you, you've instantly created a good start for a D&D character background. It includes your personality and helps with your character's play style. Answering these questions increases the chance for fun and dramatic roleplaying opportunities, without spending hours and hours writing a huge D&D character background.
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