Creating a new Dungeons & Dragons character is one of the most exciting parts of the game. It’s a chance to step into another world, embody a hero (or anti-hero!), and weave a story alongside your friends. But moving beyond a collection of stats and abilities to create someone truly memorable and engaging can be challenging.

Too often, characters end up feeling inconsistent, paper-thin, or like walking contradictions. How do you build someone with depth who is also fun and functional to play?

I’ve come up with this 5-step framework for you to use, so… enjoy!

Guideline 1: The Primal Urge - Prioritize Self-Preservation

This might sound obvious, but it’s foundational and often overlooked, especially when crafting characters outside the “heroic good” archetype. Your character, regardless of alignment or sanity, should fundamentally want to survive.

• Why it Matters: Survival is the most basic instinct. A character who constantly throws themselves into suicidal situations without a very compelling, established reason breaks believability. This isn’t about cowardice; it’s about pragmatism.
• Even for the “Bad Guys”: Think about the great villains of fiction. They rarely seek martyrdom. They have plans, contingencies, escape routes. A truly menacing evil character values their own existence above all else – it’s necessary to enact their schemes! A chaotic evil character might be reckless, but they aren’t typically suicidal unless cornered or it serves a specific, desperate goal. They lash out, they flee, they bargain – they try to live to cause more chaos another day.
• In Practice:
  • When faced with overwhelming odds, does your character look for an escape or a tactical retreat, or just charge blindly?
  • Do they take unnecessary risks that jeopardize their life for trivial gains?
  • Even a “crazy” character can have a warped sense of self-preservation. Perhaps they believe they’re immortal, leading to reckless actions, but they still react negatively to pain or perceived “death”.

Guideline 2: Walk the Talk - Consistency is Key

“My chaotic good character just murdered the surrendered goblins for fun!” Does that sound right? One of the biggest pitfalls in roleplaying is inconsistency between a character’s described personality/alignment and their actions. Often, this stems from the “videogame paradox”—acting out because the game system allows it, rather than because the character would choose it.

• The Alignment Question: Alignment is a guideline, not a straitjacket, but actions should generally reflect the character’s core values. Ask yourself: Why would my good-aligned character execute a prisoner? Why would my lawful character steal from the party? There needs to be a strong, justifiable (in-character) reason, or it signals a potential character shift (which is fine, if intentional!).
• Think Like Your Character: Before taking a significant action, pause and consider:
  • Is this consistent with how I’ve portrayed my character so far?
  • What is their motivation for this action? Is it fear, greed, compassion, duty?
  • Would a rational person (within the context of their personality and experiences) make this choice? A “good” person, by most definitions, wouldn’t find joy or casual justification in needless killing.
• Avoid “Player Knowledge” Bleed: Don’t let your knowledge of game mechanics or optimal strategies dictate actions that contradict your character’s beliefs or personality.

Guideline 3: Seeds of Personality - Realistic Good & Bad Traits

Characters defined by single, overwhelming traits (the “always grumpy” dwarf, the “permanently cheerful” cleric) can become one-note. Real people are more complex. Start simple but allow for nuance.

• The “One Virtue, One Flaw” Start: Begin by defining one core positive trait (their Virtue) and one core negative trait (their Flaw). Crucially, these shouldn’t be extreme or constantly on display.
  • Examples:
    • Virtue: Secretly Generous (Might donate anonymously, but haggle fiercely in public).
    • Flaw: Crippling Fear of Failure (Leads to over-preparation or avoidance of responsibility).
    • Virtue: Fiercely Loyal to Friends (But suspicious of everyone else).
    • Flaw: Prone to Holding Grudges (Never forgets a slight, even a minor one).
• Situational Emergence: These core traits shouldn’t dominate every interaction. Instead, they should pop up in specific, relevant situations. The character afraid of failure might seem confident most of the time, but crumble when assigned leadership. The secretly generous one might surprise everyone with an unexpected act of kindness when no one is looking.
• Subtlety Over Spectacle: Avoid traits like “Always tells the truth” or “Compulsively steals”. These are hard to play realistically and consistently. Focus on internal struggles, tendencies, and values that manifest situationally.

Guideline 4: Less is More - Depth Through a Simple Story

Resist the urge to write a sprawling epic for your character’s backstory. While it seems counter-intuitive, a simpler foundation often leads to greater depth during actual gameplay.

• The Problem with Overly Complex Backstories:
  • Too Many NPCs: Listing dozens of family members, rivals, and old mentors often means you (and your DM) will forget most of them. They become clutter rather than meaningful connections.
  • Pre-Solved Mysteries: If your backstory explains every motivation and resolves major personal conflicts, what’s left for your character to discover or strive for during the campaign?
  • DM Disengagement: A convoluted backstory can be difficult for a Dungeon Master to integrate into the ongoing campaign. A simpler core is much easier to weave into the narrative.
• Focus on the Core: What are the essential elements?
  • A defining event or relationship.
  • A clear motivation for adventuring.
  • An unresolved question or goal.
  • Example: “My character was a street urchin who was taken in by a retired soldier. The soldier vanished mysteriously a year ago. My character is searching for clues, using the survival skills the soldier taught them”. (NPC: 1 key mentor. Motivation: Find mentor. Unresolved Question: What happened?)
• Leave Room for Growth: A simpler backstory provides a strong starting point but leaves ample space for development during the game. Discovering new facets of your character through play is incredibly rewarding. Your DM can use the hooks you provide to create personal plotlines.

Guideline 5: The Personal Touch - Pen, Paper, and You

In an age of digital tools and generative AI, there’s immense value in crafting your initial character concept the old-fashioned way: with your own thoughts, maybe a pen, and some paper.

• Ownership and Connection: When you wrestle with the concept yourself, sketching out ideas, crossing things out, and letting the character form organically in your mind, you build a stronger personal connection. This character is yours, born from your imagination, not assembled from prompts.
• Mindful Creation: The act of writing or thinking without digital assistance encourages slower, more deliberate consideration. It helps you focus on the why behind your choices, rather than just filling in blanks on a digital sheet or accepting the first suggestion an AI gives.
• Avoiding Trope Traps: AI often pulls from vast datasets, which can sometimes lead to generic or trope-heavy suggestions. Starting analog helps ensure your initial spark is unique to your creative process.
• Tools Have Their Place: This isn’t about rejecting technology entirely. Character sheets, VTTs, and even AI for brainstorming later details (like naming a forgotten third cousin) can be useful. But the core concept, the personality, the initial spark – try letting that come purely from you.