Creating Your Character!
So, you've decided to take the plunge, have you? You've decided that YOU want to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons! You've got tons of ideas about how you want to have adventures, kill monsters, save the princess, and unite the world! First, though, you need to actually make your character.
As simple as the idea sounds, creating a character in Dungeons and Dragons isn't as straightforward as it could be. There are a lot of unfamiliar terms and components involved that could overwhelm someone not familiar with video game character creation or other forms of the process. That's why I'm here. I want to simplify the process as much as I can, so I've created a step-by-step process to help eliminate as much confusion as possible. We'll begin with a basic character, and get more in-depth as interest is judged. Believe me, after you create your first character, everything else moves much faster.
Step One: Get a copy of the Basic Rules from Wizards, available for free at the link above. This will give you everything you need to start playing D&D either as a player or a Dungeon Master. I recommend you read through this and experiment with playing with just it before making the full commitment to buying a Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide. Nobody likes buyer's remorse, right?
Step Two: Get a character sheet set. These officially-licensed products from Wizards of the Coast are available on their website to download for free, so there's no reason not to use them. For now, just focus on the set that says "Fifth Edition Character Sheets". This will download a .zip file, and from there you can start using them! If you prefer to start with a pre-generated character from the starter set, those are also available on this same page. Once you have the file downloaded and extracted, find the file listed as "CharacterSheet_3Pgs_Complete". This is the sheet set we will be using for this tutorial.
Step Three: Choose a Race. In the world of Dungeons and Dragons, there are many Races available for you to play as-even monsters! However, in the Basic Rules, you have a limited selection, which can be a good thing if you suffer from choice paralysis. The Basic Rules limit you to picking a Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling. Each of these races have bonuses and drawbacks which are detailed somewhat in the Basic Rules, but ultimately you should choose the one that sounds like fun! For the purposes of this, we will choose an Elf. Specifically, a Wood Elf. We'll call him Gary. Being a Wood Elf means that we get a faster walking speed, higher Dexterity, Darkvision, proficiency in Perception, and a host of other benefits we will explore soon.
Step Four: Choose a Class. Classes are sort of like professions for adventurers. Do you sing songs and entertain people? You're a bard. Are you a devout follower of a god and focus more on healing people? You're a cleric. Do you enjoy hunting, tracking, and taking down your prey from a distance? You're a Ranger. You get the idea. For our demonstration, our Wood Elf will be a Rogue. Pretty easy so far, right? Well, this is where character creation can start to get a bit tricky. Some classes impart extra bonuses onto their character. As a Rogue, for example, at level one, you gain double proficiency in two skills, or one skill and thieves' tools. You also gain Sneak Attack, which is explained in the Basic Rules. This can be extremely helpful when you surprise an enemy by getting the drop on them.
Step Five: Determine your ability scores. On the left-hand side of the character sheet's first page, there is a column of six boxes. They are outlined in red in the example picture.
These are listed as "Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma" They have a larger box and a smaller bubble for you to fill in, which we will do in the next couple of steps. There are many ways to determine ability scores, and they are largely dependent on your Dungeon Master, but the most interesting to me is to roll for them. Simply roll four six-sided die (4d6), take the lowest number away and add the results. For example, if I roll 4d6 and get: 3, 6, 1, 4, I would take the 1 away, leaving me with a total of 13. This number then gets recorded, and you roll the dice 5 more times, one for each ability score. Remember, we're not writing on our character sheet yet! These numbers should be recorded on a scratch sheet of paper. Once you have your list of six numbers, you're ready to start adding up scores and what are called "modifiers", which we will go over in the next couple of steps.
Step Six: Writing ability scores. Ability scores are, ultimately, simply expressions of how well your character does something. If you have a 17 in Strength, for example, your character is much stronger than an average person. With a Wisdom of 8, though, they are not very perceptive and fail to pick up on subtle social cues. A score of 10 is about average, and a 20 is considered peak performance.
So, now you can decide what your character is good at! If you're a Rogue, you need good Dexterity for sneaking around, and as a Wood Elf, we get a bonus to that! So, we know that we want to take our highest score from our rolls and put it in Dexterity. Add your racial bonus that is denoted under your Race's description in the Basic Rules or the Player's Handbook, and you have your ability score for Dexterity. We'll work on modifiers after we have all of the main scores down. A lot of people like to put their Score in the smaller bubble and their modifier in the larger box, since the modifier is used far more often than the actual score, but do whatever you think makes more sense. I like both ways, personally. After you have determined all of your ability scores, checking your racial bonuses and class bonuses to make sure that you add all appropriate modifiers and/or penalties, you can place those scores into the corresponding boxes on your character sheet. These are your base ability scores, and from them, we can figure out modifiers.
Step Seven: After calculating your ability scores, you are ready to determine your modifiers. In the Basic Rules and in the Player's Handbook, there is a chart called "Ability Scores and Modifiers", which lists the modifier for each range of ability score. Based on this, determine what your modifier for each score is. For example, for an ability score of 8, I can see that my modifier is -1. For an ability score of 20, my modifier is +5. Write these modifiers down in either the bubble or box, whichever you did not put your ability score into. Once this is done, you will have a much more complete look at what your character is good at and what they should avoid doing!
Step Eight: Proficiency Bonus. At first level, all characters begin with a +2 Proficiency Bonus. You can find a chart detailing when and how this increases as you level up in the Basic Rules and/or Player's Handbook, but for now, just put a big ol' "+2" in that "Proficiency Bonus" circle!
Step Nine: Saving Throws!
In Dungeons and Dragons, there are situations where your character may make a misstep, need to dodge a spell, or resist a poison. For all of these circumstances, your DM may call for a "saving throw", and will tell you which type. For these, you simply roll a 20-sided die and add your saving throw modifier. To determine what these modifiers are, you will need to figure out what your character is proficient in. In the Basic Rules and/or Player's Handbook, find your race and class, and, following the descriptions for each of those, find if any proficiencies are listed. Keep in mind, though, that only one bonus to a proficiency can be used at a time, so if your race and class both offer a bonus to Dexterity, you can only use one of those bonuses. Once you have a list of proficiencies (either those granted to you by your race and class, or chosen by you as a result of your race or class choices), you can bubble in those proficiencies next to your saving throw modifiers. For every saving throw and skill you are proficient in, you can add your Proficiency Bonus to that modifier. For example, if you are proficient in Dexterity and have a Dexterity modifier of +2, you would add your modifier and your Proficiency Bonus together to get +4. This is your saving throw modifier. However, if you are a Rogue, you could have chosen to double your Dexterity modifier when you picked the proficiencies earlier. If you did, your proficiency bonus is doubled, and so your modifier becomes +6 (+2 from ability score, +4 from proficiency bonus). Confused? Take your time and refer to the Basic Rules walkthrough as well. If you're truly stuck, feel free to email me, and I'll help you out! It gets easier from here, trust me.
Step Ten: Skills! What are you good at? Look at your proficiencies you've chosen so far. Depending on your class, you may have extras, as well as any granted by your race. Bubble those in next to the blanks in the "Skills" box.
This means that you get to add your Proficiency Bonus to those skills. Now, it gets much easier to figure out what numbers go where. You see the parentheses next to each skill? Those tell you which number to put in the blanks. For example, "Acrobatics" uses your Dexterity modifier. So, if you have a +2 to your Dexterity, you'd put +2 next to Acrobatics. However, if you have the skill bubbled in as one you are proficient in, you can also add your Proficiency Bonus! Additionally, as a Rogue, you can add your doubled Proficiency Bonus to skills you chose to do that with. So, for our Rogue, we chose "Acrobatics" and "Sleight of Hand", since we're a shifty sort of fellow and might want to steal some shiny stuff! Go down the list, using the modifier denoted in the parentheses next to each skill to determine the appropriate number to enter. We're almost done with the math portion! Grab a drink, smoke a smoke (if that's your thing) and get ready for the really fun part!
Step Eleven: Passive Wisdom. How good are you at noticing things around you? This skill is essentially measuring how much of your surroundings you take in without actively looking for something. It is found by adding the number 10 and your Perception score (found in the Skills list you just filled out). So, if your Perception skill is +2, you would add 10+2 and get 12. So, your Passive Wisdom (Perception) is 12.
Step Twelve: Initiative! How quick to jump into action are you? Initiative is simply determined by your Dexterity modifier. If it's +2, you get a +2 in Initiative. It can be higher or lower, depending on you chose your proficiencies, but whatever your Dexterity Skill says, put that in the Initiative box.
Step Thirteen: Speed. How far can you travel in a round? Your base walking speed is determined by your race. As a Wood Elf, we have a Speed of 35, which means that we can travel 35 feet in a round of combat.
Step Fourteen: Armor Class and Hit Points! How hearty are you, and how hard are you to hit? Hit points are again determined by your class choice. In your class description in the Basic Rules and/or Player's Handbook, you will find something that looks like this: "Hit Points at 1st Level: 8+ your Constitution modifier". This simply means that you add your Constitution modifier (which you determined earlier) to the number 8. This is your base HP. Hit dice are the number of dice you can roll during a short rest to heal yourself if you sustain damage. These are increased when you level up, but you start with one generally. The type of die and number are shown under "Hit Points at 1st Level".
Armor Class is determined by adding 10 + Dexterity modifier. If you wear armor, this might go up, and if you carry a shield, it might go up, but the base Armor Class is easy to determine. If your Dexterity modifier (determined earlier in step Seven) is +4, then your Armor Class is 10+4, which equals to 14. If you wear armor, it goes up, and if you carry a shield, it goes up. Your Equipment will determine this later. For now, keep your base Armor Class written on your scratch paper for reference when you choose your armor and/or shield.
Step Fifteen: Attacks and Spellcasting. What can you do in combat? This section and the section below it "Equipment" go hand in hand, and we won't go over these in great detail. Talk with your Dungeon Master about your starting equipment, and depending on the type of world they are constructing or using, they may decide that you can start with awesome magical weapons, or a stick. Generally, you may choose a type of kit depending on your class choice, basic weapon(s), and a few choice items from a predetermined list in the Player's Handbook. Again, though, this is ultimately up to the DM. I prefer to let my players choose a higher-level magical weapon to start with to make them feel a cut above the rest of the population. Otherwise, what sets them apart from the farmer next to them?
Step Sixteen: Other Proficiencies and Languages. What else can you do? Depending on your class and race, you will have certain languages that you can automatically read, write, and speak. Certain classes will give you an option to choose one or more additional languages to learn, and/or to have a proficiency with a certain toolkit. As a Rogue, for example, you would probably have proficiency in a Thieves' Kit and know the Thieves' Cant language. This is ultimately at the DM's discretion, though, since their world might not have a cohesive Thieves' Guild type of society, and an established language between cutpurses wouldn't make sense. These are the meaty bits that help evolve your character's backstory, personality, and goals, and should be openly discussed with your Dungeon Master and even other players. Also noted here would be any racial traits your character has. For example, the Wood Elf has Darkvision, which allows them to see in total darkness for up to 60 feet in black and white. You can note this trait here.
Step Seventeen: Spells and Cantrips. Do you do magic? Certain classes give you access to magical spells and abilities, and these are further broken down into tiers, called "Levels". These magical Levels should not be confused with your character level, however. Just because your character is level 2 doesn't mean they can cast a Level Two spell. It can get very confusing, and there are YouTube videos and tutorials that go into much better, detailed explanation than I possibly could here. This is long enough already. If there is enough interest, I can make a tutorial specifically for creating a spellcasting class, but for now, look to other sources. Sorry.
Step Eighteen: Backstory! Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you adventuring? If you already had a character in mind when you sat down, good for you! That's awesome! If you're still trying to figure it out, look at your ability scores. What are you good at? What do you suck at? If you're playing a Dwarven Barbarian, you're probably proficient in strength and not super bright. So, you could have been exiled from your clan because you lost your temper one drunken night, and now you're trying to redeem yourself in the eyes of your chief. If you rolled up an Elven Wizard with a low intelligence score, you might have been the slowest student in your classes growing up and decided that real-world experience would teach you better than stuffy classrooms and books. Embrace your weaknesses and make them part of your character! These can make for some of the most memorable moments around the table, trust me.
The last and most important step of all in this very long post is this: Have fun! Whatever you decide to roll up, ultimately your goal is to have fun with your friends or some strangers on the Internet! If you have problems with figuring out how ability scores get calculated, or how your proficiency bonus works, or what you roll to attack, just ask someone who knows! Literally every person who has ever played D&D has sat at a character sheet and gone, "Now what?". Don't be afraid to ask questions! Send me an email, talk to your Dungeon Master, ask your buddy who used to play back in the day, or try to find the answer yourself via YouTube or other tutorials. There are a multitude of resources out there, and you can learn everything you'd ever want to know about D&D if you have a notion. I hope this breakdown is helpful, and if you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to me! I'm always happy to respond!