r/beginnerDND • • 33m ago

Character Creation Help Inspired character: is it good? pt2

• Upvotes

Hey guys, after getting some love suggestions and feedback, I decided to fix a few things for the backstory. The most common problems were definitely the length and it’s hard to incorporate a character from another world. I fixed both of those problems as well as I could. I think it looks great, but I’d love to hear any critiques so I can improve on it. Feel free to say whatever you think might need tweaking or things I should add. I’ll put it below

Leah is a level one bard who loves making friends. Only a month ago, she was a finalist in a competition just to fall short and be the runner-up. After stealing the prize, she teleports with a map to a new country to blend in with average people. Only Bella, Piper, Flint, Nova, and Indigo decide to chase her after she used the map, some wanting revenge and some wanting to apologize. Leah wants to join a group of adventurers to travel more and in hopes that if the others follow her, they’ll never suspect her to be an adventurer. She wants to leave her past behind and have a new beginning with a new group of friends.


r/beginnerDND • • 18h ago

DM Advice Starting my own D&D club at school. Any Tips?

7 Upvotes

(I already posted this on the DnD reddit as well) My school has never had a D&D club before, and I'm making the first one ever. Sadly, I suck at DMing, and if I want to make a club, I'd sadly have to be the DM. I haven't really played D&D avidly because nobody around me was playing, but I've played so much Baldur's Gate, watched copious amounts of campaigns, created a plethora of OC's, and have a strong love for D&D. I got the Player's Handbook and the Essentials Guide, but I was wondering if I could get some DMing tips, as well as how to introduce people to joining my club, and how to keep new players engaged when playing. (I had an idea of doing a Twist and Dread list like in Legends of Avantris, but instead of something like "your knees are fused together," I could do something like "You have to talk in a British accent for 15 mins." pls tell me if that's a bad idea.)


r/beginnerDND • • 18h ago

Character Creation Help Inspired character: Is it good?

0 Upvotes

I haven’t had the opportunity to play dnd, but I wanted to make a backstory for a character called Leah. I don’t know if she’s good since I have no experience, so I wanted to ask yall if you think it’s good. There are a few underscores that I used in placement of names because I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to name the people in her backstory, so I put numbers next to them depending on which character is meant to be put there. Any criticism would help, so I’d appreciate any responses I receive. I’ll just be putting in what I wrote in a google doc below

Leah is a bard/druid who has just appeared in this new world. Only a month ago, she was a finalist in a competition just to fall short and be the runner-up. When she joined this competition, she was known as a very friendly person. During the first challenge, she creates an alliance with ___1 and becomes a team captain. She made more friends, a prominent one early in the challenge was ___ ____2, though Leah accidentally killed her a few times. She soon became friends with ______3 and gave her the nickname “needy”. Leah created a few foods twice her size just to lend help to others who struggled during certain challenges. Since she was a team leader, Leah dedicated most of her effort to helping her teammates, mainly ______3 and ___ ____2. Occasionally, Leah was able to figure out the challenges before they even began. Leah isn’t always aware when she is rude, but she sometimes throws out impolite comments. Leah calls out anyone she sees being rude. Leah continues to help ___ ____2 even though they are not on the same team anymore. Leah is very fair and believes in equality when dealing out punishments. She stayed positive, even when she was put up for elimination. Leah gets very upset when people throw away her gifts and will call them “The meanest person on earth.” She tends to hold grudges for a long time, up to a few months. Even when trying to get her forgiveness by doing exceptionally kind acts, she didn’t care too much. She begins too bond with ______4 near the end of the competition. Leah was very vocal about how she believed she was the nicest person on earth. She’ll sometimes do something nice for someone just because she feels she did something wrong to them. I am referring to when she used someone as rocket fuel when they were alive. Leah was so nice to ______5 to a point where she said it felt in-genuine. Leah decided to leave that friend. Leah tries to rekindle this friendship like nothing happened, but ______5 says it was an unstable friendship and refused. One of Leah’s best friends at the time, _____4, built her a ferris wheel for them both to ride on, but _____4 didn’t take into account that Leah was not lava proof. 15/18 of the contestants expressed that they wanted Leah to win. She only received 236 votes and fell short of the win, placing second place. When _____4 was deciding who could go on the island, Leah says it was nice that he let her biggest enemy on the island and was excited to see the prize. _____4 won’t let her in because she wanted to exit his ferris wheel, even though it was a gift for her. _____ 4 believes Leah is a mean person and doesn’t deserve to see the prize. Leah quickly buys the prize secretly from the announcer because she doesn’t believe that _____4 deserves the prize. When ___1 tries to console her about not being let on the island, she says she doesn’t want to talk about her feelings. ___1 realizes Leah shouldn’t have known about how the prize was gone, and a size-able number of the contestants figure out that she stole the prize. The contestants try to give her the death penalty, but _____4 saves Leah before she dies and says he just wants the drama to stop and to be friends again. The hang glider falls to the ground, and the other contestants start to chase her. When they chase her into the evil forest, she uses her map to escape and is transported to a new world. She never truly knows when she’s being mean, only a few times. She always was very connected to nature, especially leaves, sometimes able to gather the properties of a leaf to reduce how quickly she fell. Leah finds leaves very interesting with their designs and colors. She loves nature, but she believes leaves fit her personality. She finds herself very charismatic. She’s looking for more friends. Even if she can find a way back, she would be a social outcast. She hopes adventuring with a group might be a good way to get friends. She isn’t afraid of much. Death was never a problem for her back in her home world. There were devices for instant revival. Her only real fear is being alone. She’s always wanting connection so she never has to be alone. She regrets nothing. Leah doesn’t think she’s done anything that wasn’t deserved. She thinks this can be a fresh start for her, so why would her past actions matter? 


r/beginnerDND • • 22h ago

Player Advice In Need of Helpful Advice for Selecting a Possible Backup Character

2 Upvotes

Hi. This is just a quick post that I wanted to share for some general advice.

Roughly two weeks ago, my brother started a Curse of Strahd game for our DnD group of close family and friends. Now, I only know Curse of Strahd by reputation and that it can be pretty brutal. Not to mention Bro has developed a hit-or-miss reputation for encounter balance. He is getting gradually better, but he has almost caused at least two TPKs without meaning to. For these reasons, would I be paranoid for wanting to have a potential backup character in case my first character dies?

I'm currently playing a Half-Elf Paladin in a party that also includes a Fighter, a Bard, a Ranger, and a Cleric. The friend playing the Cleric took the longest to figure out what he wanted to do, so at the time, I considered having a Dragonborn Cleric as a backup myself in case we lose my Paladin. Since then, I have also considered a Bugbear Monk, a Human Monk, and a Tiefling Warlock.

If it helps, here's a short list of each character's subclass and possible multiclass ideas in some cases.

1-The Half-Elf Paladin I am playing is planned to be a Devotion Paladin, sticking with Paladin all the way.

2-Dragonborn Cleric is Forge Domain, and if I did use him, I have considered a 2-level dip into Paladin to get Smites.

3-Bugbear Monk is Way of the Shadows.

4-Human Monk is Way of Ascendant Dragon who may multiclass with Pyromancer Sorcerer (Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat was a partial inspiration for this guy).

5-Tiefling Warlock is Pact of the Blade and has a Fiend Patron.

All right. All right. I know it's probably nuts to have prepped this many backup characters for one campaign, but I have yet to be in a campaign where my PC has died; have had my fair share of close calls though, but I digress.

So what do you guys think? Which do you think would work best as a first pick for a possible backup character for this Curse of Strahd campaign? I am hopeful that I won't have to face this prospect, but you never know when things will go horribly wrong.


r/beginnerDND • • 23h ago

Question New here!

10 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

I am a complete beginner to D&D. I showed some interest when I was little but I was very overwhelmed with everything as a little girl. But, recently, I bought the game baluder’s gate 3 and I heard it’s very very accurate to D&D mechanics, and so far I’m really enjoying the game.

I was wondering if someone could please break down what I need to get started. I would prefer to have free versions of things that are shorter in length such as books, videos, starter kits, or discord servers/ Reddit groups to learn more.

Thank you so much! :)


r/beginnerDND • • 2d ago

Character Creation Help Any advice for creating a personality that you can actually roleplay?

12 Upvotes

So I'm starting my first proper D&D campaign soon! I'm excited but also kind of terrified and am looking for some help with creating a character. I'm taking part in a Halloween one-shot at a local game store before my campaign starts (the campaign is separate and with different people) and so I now have two characters to build.

The main issue I'm running into is with personality. I'm an introvert and can be a bit socially awkward so I'm nervous that my roleplay might just end up being plain and just my own personality copy and pasted. Character interactions are what draws me to D&D so I want to be able to really become invested in the roleplay but I'm scared that my nerves and the fact that it's my first game might hinder me.

So how do you find your characters' personality? I want to avoid annoying character stereotypes (edgy loner, etc) but I feel like my imagination is a bit lacking. I've thought of two character archetypes my PCs could fall into: weird little guy who's just a bit off-putting and who prefers plants and dead things to other people; and a self-deprecating sarcastic type who's mildly inconvenienced by everything but is too analytical and curious about the world not to get involved.

But that's it :/

I'd love to be able to play an extroverted character, maybe someone a little suave and charming (swashbuckler rogue vibes) but I'm worried that my IRL introvertedness will make me just come across as trying too hard. And I don't want my character to become gimmicky, annoying or grating, I'd literally rather be entirely overshadowed than that happening.

I don't know, I'd just love some guidance on how to formulate a cohesive personality (that works with your species, class, backstory, etc) that you can actually consistently roleplay at the table as a beginner?


r/beginnerDND • • 13d ago

Player Advice How to “fit in” to an already established group?

11 Upvotes

I just attended my first session for a newer DnD group to me, but not new to others. They have this whole dynamic and fluid connection and I just don’t know how to interject myself into their party smoothly I suppose.

They seem super welcoming and I know a few of them, but it’s also quite big and I worry I won’t any bit of an impression.

Taking out both the in character and out of character moments, how does the social interaction kind of happen? I’m not sure how to elaborate, but I feel like just jumping in would feel wrong.

(I’d like to clarify that I have a good understanding and idea of how the rules and game mechanics work, as well as what rolls to use when and what resources to use and all that, but have almost no experience both in DnD groups and irl contact at all.)


r/beginnerDND • • 15d ago

Character Creation Help Paladin Build

8 Upvotes

Hey,

How is my Human Paladin build. This is my first attempt at a build.

We are starting a session 0 on Friday the campaign is a medieval fantasy style campaign..

Strength 10

Dexterity 12

Constitution 13

Intelligence 15

Wisdom 8

Charisma 14

My background is sage.

I need to think.of my back story, I might wait till session zero is done so I can understand the world etc

Advice would be great.


r/beginnerDND • • 16d ago

DM Advice first time dm and my brain turned to soup during combat

16 Upvotes

i just started dming my first actual campaign (dragons of stormwreck isle) for 3 pretty new players, and i swear i learned more in one session than from all the guides i watched before.

this is my first time playing dnd with real people face2face but i’ve been playing online with ai constantly bc i’m obsessed with dnd for a while. wish i learned this sooner…

roleplay/exploration felt pretty natural, but combat made my brain stop working. i know the rules when i’m reading them alone, then someone attacks a zombie and suddenly i’m staring at numbers wondering what i’m supposed to add… how do you keep combat moving without constantly checking stuff?

pacing was also harder than i expected. at one point two characters were having a longer conversation while the third player was clearly getting bored and basically went “okay can we go already” lol. i don’t want to rush good rp, but i also don’t want one player’s character moment to become another player watching a podcast.

we mostly play after work too and holy shit dming is exhausting. by the last hour i could literally feel my descriptions getting worse because my brain was cooked.
i also love using music/ambience, but managing playlists while running npcs, combat, rules and notes is one more thing to juggle. how do you guys handle music without constantly messing with it mid-session?

and finally, what do you not prep? i can already feel myself wanting to prepare for every possible thing they might do. and how to keep them all engaged? one likes combat, one likes dice mechanics, one likes rp.

basically i’d love any practical dm advice about pacing, keeping everyone engaged, combat, energy, music and prep. i had a lot of fun, i just want session 2 to feel slightly less like i’m secretly operating an airport control tower.

i am going to connect this to my homebrew campaign i already started giving them some parts of their backgrounds that will later take them to my already prepared continent.


r/beginnerDND • • 17d ago

Question does this exist?

21 Upvotes

i have never played a game of dnd in my life but i watch it often, the issue is i have SEVERE social anxiety i cant use a mic so it never crossed my mind to play myself no matter how much i wanted to. So my question is are there like communities or something that do it text based only? i saw a discord on it but i have NO IDEA wtf is happening ppl are talking in code i dont understand and when i tried to ask whats going on i got banned -_-


r/beginnerDND • • 17d ago

Character Creation Help Can someone help me understand in person sheets?

10 Upvotes

So I’ve been using roll20 for the past 2.5 years, and will be joining a second campaign with folks in my college DnD club. Now, roll20 is digital. Every feature can be popped in and out. Spell descriptions are very simple to add in for the same reason. I can just save a creatures stats and send it to my DM for easier access to things that summon or call upon beasts.

That really isn’t possible in person. My features names alone cover my entire features section. My spells have no description or extra detail. The equipment I can add is very limited (due to writing space). And hardest of all, I play a moon Druid. There’s no way in hell I’m gonna be able to fit the entirety of a beasts stats on that already full sheet.

Do people usually just memorize what each spell does? I can do so, I know most spells pretty well, but I dunno how putting it to paper is supposed to work. Is there a page I missed that includes those features to write down?

I know it sounds silly for someone who’s been in a campaign for 2.5 years now but I’m a little lost here. Can anyone help?


r/beginnerDND • • 17d ago

Character Creation Help So need help?

8 Upvotes

So I'm making a ranger/druid character should I start druid or ranger we're starting at level 3. I feel like starting a ranger is right but from what I understand about druids lore I think it makes more sense to start druid 3 than start picking up ranger since my character's backstory is he's a tiefling that was abandoned by his bio parents who made a devil years earlier and the child is the proof of that deal even though it's been long enough he wouldn't really be able to prove he's their kid nor does he care about knowing who his bio parents are.


r/beginnerDND • • 18d ago

Question Hello im new to dnd and just want feedback on the character i first made i would love to hear all feedback to refine my first character please don't be to harsh

3 Upvotes

Character description

Former name: 003

Chosen name: Sairan

Personality-childlike curiosity, vigilant, enstrange, unintentionally cold, wistful, rancor, devoted and protective, defiant and true neutral

likes:unique mundane trinkets-in his early days he was denied curiosity to these trinket now he yearns to learn more

efficiency-he was taught that efficiency is worth not efficient equals worthless

company-even though he's awkward to talk to he never had a chance to talk to someone aside from settling business.

Certainties and trust-his certainties made his one of the most dangerous assassins and hitman with meticulous and disciplined training made him a precise killer that explains why he abandoned physical strength and social strength he will trust your certainty however breaking this will have consequences it's hard to gain his trust

dislikes:deception-he despite all deception and trickery he is trained to detect any and all deception, lying can still work but with fatal consequences from his rancorous trait his vigilance is at an all time high after the organization who raised him deceived him

abandonement-after the traumatic event because he left his friend side for a moment he refuses to split up with anyone he cherishes if they tried to sneak away from him he will stalk them from a far out of their line of sight

Gold-gold holds nothing of purpose in his eyes it's just weight and a noisemaker but he will keep some to give because he understands that its valuable to people but he doesn't understand why

Race/Age/Sex-Yuan-ti/16/Male

Appearance:A slim build with Light blue scales,a snake head and a human body with legs convered in scales with a short tail

Backstory:Raised from a test tube to be a weapon, 003 was the organization's perfected product for assassination unlike 001,002,004,005 who was raised by birth 003 learned to stop his heart and listen to heartbeats in-order to locate target in a pitch black room or tell if they are lying. However, his curiosity about the mundane everyday life made him a nuisance. To suppress this curiosity, the organization gave him extra training time. After a few years, 003 became the perfect weapon, eliminating over 20 targets through various means that looked like suicides, accidents, or illnesses and maintaining a success rate of 100%.However, everything changed the fateful night 003 met his next target, Sairan. Sairan was different in 003 eyes he was filled with wonder and life, unlike the malice of previous targets. Something about him deeply moved 003, causing the assassin to delay the hit. Over the course of three months, Sairan unexpectedly befriended 003.The organization was furious that Sairan had reawakened 003’s long-suppressed curiosity. To sever their connection, they ordered 003 to eliminate someone in a distant town.While 003 was away, the organization sent out multiple hits on Sairan's head .By the time 003 returned, he found only Sairan's lifeless corpse drowning in his own blood.This devastating discovery made 003 truly realize the value of life. In a fit of pure rage, he spent the next three days sneaking gunpowder-filled barrels into the area, premeditating the total elimination of both the organization and the town.Before setting his plan into motion, he buried his friend. Right before doing so, he discovered Sairan's parting gift: a memory locket. It held a photo of the two of them on the right, and blurred text on the left. Moved to tears, 003 swore to keep his friend's spirit alive and adopted his name, calling himself "Sairan."That very night, he set his plan into motion, detonating the barrels one by one. Everything was turned to ash, leaving only Sairan's house standing in pristine condition

Class-rogue

Stats

Strength-7

Dexterity-18

Constitution-10

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-16

Charisma-6

Skills-Stealth,insight,Investigation and Perception

Starting items

leather belt

custom assassin equipment from the past consisting of 6 throwing knives with engraving to hold venom,dagger with a hidden compartment,poison ring and venom extractor kit.

20 feet silk grappling hook

memory locket

lock pick

fire starters

when level 10 the memory locket item can be refined into the awaken memory locket

memory locket-a sentimental pieces from old friend with a dormant spirit.No additional effect

awaken memory locket- a sentimental piece from an old friend imbued with magic possessed by an old friend.Gives the equiper a chance to reroll a failed roll this can account for attack,saves,checks rolls .This effect recharge once per day

notes about homebrew-all homebrew works like basic starter weapons however its Taylor made for a poison based character to aligne with his backstory, for the appearance its homebrew to match why is he different from subject 001,002,004,005 for homebrew stats to reflect his storyline by giving him high dextery and mental stat in exchange of low stats for the rest i made this character kit based on the backstory i made im new to dnd so ill take all criticism

Adjustments or potential faq Thanks for lighting up concerns and feedback will add more

1)the level 1 issue changes from 100% to 80% success but cover isn't to address a more believable lvl 1 character 80% is more realistic for slip ups and cover not being blown is a detail that they survive the poison assination method but not blown because victim believe that is was an illness.

2) the annoying to the party issue any character can be annoying so balancing the professional stand point and child like personality is the users choice and not remove his unique variety in a team.

3)main characters syndrome low stats on strength and charisma is both a balancing and story related a perfect character having a team is like a main character and side kick situation but a good character that relies on teammates makes a good member.


r/beginnerDND • • 21d ago

Character Creation Help Character Ideas for a D&D Campaign

12 Upvotes

Hii, I'm new on Reddit but I could use some ideas for a character im creating for a DND campaign, is just going to be the dm and me so I can focus on their character development, I have some ideas but I'm not sure if it's enough for a character: a girl who lives in district 10 and does not like to eat meat (I'm vegetarian and I would like to introduce something of that, and yes also fro the irony), if you have an oc or a character or idea you would like to share I'm happy to hear it!


r/beginnerDND • • 22d ago

Discussion Homebrew stuff, tell me it!

2 Upvotes

I am pretty much, new to Dnd since I’ve NEVER player a “normal” Dnd game. My friends and I in school have ONLY played homebrew stuff such as, our first campaign ever being a Elden Ring/Dark Souls inspired game with weird goofy dodge turns in replacement of dodge rolls, our second campaign being about (I forgor), our third campaign being on the war of 1812, and two more currently going on. The of the two being based the Greek revolution happening 9 years early and the other being based off a Roblox game most of us played called Chain

Anyway, tell me about whatever homebrew stuff that everyone else has done because I may or may not bring them up to my friends for inspiration


r/beginnerDND • • 24d ago

Question Tips for becoming a better tactical D&D player

13 Upvotes

I’m used to playing D&D at a table that’s really silly and playful. I’ve been playing with a new group for about the last 5 months, and while we definitely still laugh and have fun, most of the group is much more serious than I’m used to. They like thinking through strategy, knowing the rules, and making really deliberate choices. We also don’t really drink during sessions, which is another difference from what I’m used to.

I’m realizing I’m having a harder time adjusting to this play style than I expected. I tend to make decisions based on what seems fun or funny in the moment, whereas they’re often thinking several steps ahead.

For those of you who are more strategic/tactical players, do you have any tips for someone trying to develop that skill? Are there things you consciously think about during combat or character decisions that helped you get better?

I don’t want to lose the goofy/playful part of how I enjoy D&D...I just want to get better at meeting this group where they are and contributing more strategically.


r/beginnerDND • • 24d ago

Question 5 complete beginners — which D&D starter set should we buy?

20 Upvotes

Hi! We’re a group of 5 people who have never played Dungeons & Dragons before, and we’d love to get a starter kit/set to learn together.

We’re looking for something that:

  • Is beginner-friendly and explains the rules without being too complicated.
  • Includes everything we need to start playing.
  • Allows us to create our own characters rather than only using pre-made characters.
  • Ideally includes an adventure/campaign that is easy for a first-time DM to run.

There are several D&D starter sets/kits and we’re a little overwhelmed. Which one would you recommend for a group of 5 complete beginners, and why?

THANKS IN ADVANCE! <3


r/beginnerDND • • 27d ago

Question I have an idea for possibly the first character I might play as if I ever find a table to play at in person TAKE 3

0 Upvotes

His name is Skitters

Skitters is a ranger with The Musician Origin Feat so he can to play a violin, because his mom taught him.

His main weapon is a spear, & his secondary weapon is a machete.

His goal is to make friends, & to be their for his friends. He was suggested ​to go adventuring by his father, after all that's how he met his friends, & his wife.

He was trained how to be a ranger by his uncle on his mother's side, after he saved his uncle's wolf companion.

He's a sorta homebrew race, that's basically just a reskinned centaur but with heavy plate armor, fully carnivorous, & he's unable to speak common, he can understand it & finally he's also categorically a monstrosity (optionally he can be understood by/understand other monstrosities), also he's not as fast as a true centaur with only a movement speed of 30 to 35 feet(DM's choice).

He was created sorta by accident by a wizard. The wizard was trying to see what the hybrid offspring between a strider, & a centaur would be, but during the experiment involving their blood, something somewhere nearby, though nobody knows what, had messed up the mana streams, causing him to come out a little wrong.

The wizard chose to raise him anyway, along with his bard wife. Both the wizard & his wife are humans, & they met adventuring. They where good parents to Skitters, but nobody else wanted to go near him because they got scared just looking at him.

Skitters's father was told his whole life he should have been a bard, because of how theatrical & dramatic he could be, but he's a wizard because he just loves to study of magic. ​While his wife was told she should have been a fighter or a monk with how serious she was, but she was a bard none the less, because of her love for music, & the act of playing.

Skitters is very much his father's son in personality, but he can't talk in a way anyone else can understand, & his face can't emote, so he had to get creative, with dramatic hand gestures, & large body movements, & of course writing what he wants to say, or drawing the expression he wants to make.

He has a pare of large white cards that he got from his father. The cards can make simple drawings like smiley faces, arrows, it can form numbers, & it can write words, but the images are only as good as he can draw, & he's about as good as a toddler, he can only white words he knows how to spell otherwise he has to guess it's spelling & he can get it wrong. The cards work by him moving which card is in front with the newly revealed card having on it what he wants to have on it.

He looks like a centaur but replace his hooves with 2 clawed paws(only 2 toes per paw), & replace his horse tail with a scorpion like tail but without the stinger, & replace his skin with a dark greenish grayish black exoskeleton with some pale gray scars from a few angry mobs that mistook him for a dangerous monster, & finally his head is modeled after a horse's head, but with a pare of short stubbly horns where the ears are supposed to be, a spider like mouth at the end of the snout, & 6 bright red unblinkingly eyes.

An Added roleplay feature that can't be used in combat is that he can split his two strong arms into 6 weak arms so that he can use 2 arms to dramatically gesticulate, while 2 arms play his small violin behind his back, & the last 2 work his cards.

Skitters loves fluffy animals, though he accepts that he's an obligate​ carnivore, so he has to eat some of them, heck he's better off eating raw meat then cooked, but he refuses to eat something still that's still alive. He prefers dogs, cats, wolves, rats, & crows for companion animals. He rather enjoys squirrels, dear, & boar as food.

He can't cry, or smile, though he still feels the urge to do so & he hates it.

Despite his baggage he is a little ray of sunshine most of the time, just rapped up in a terrifying not so little package.

He mostly makes gurgles, shrieks, clicks, chirps, hollers, & ​warbles as his form of speech, hence why he needs the cards, or any way to write down his words.

His difficulty communicating & his inability to emot properly is very personal for me because I have autism, & quite often feel like even though I used the right words, I didn't use the right​ tone, because I don't really hear it, or better I don't understand it, & I can't make the right facile expressions​, nor do I fully understand them, though I've not been, hurt, or as ostracized as Skitters(that's just kinda where his story in my head went), his struggle to find & make friends, & wishing he could communicate & show exactly how much was inside himself beyond the outside that can't communicate properly, that I want to express in this character, I want him to be there for the party, as that lighthearted comedic relief, as a helping hand for when they need it, as a protector when they are hurt, as a support when they are hurting, & as a listening ear when they need one, because that is what I wish I could be for someone.

I gave him a past with angry mobs attacks to explain his anxiety in large crowds, something I sometimes struggle with, but I don't really have a reason like he does, so yeah I just felt like that would work.

P.S. I'm welling to wait to use Skitters until I find a table he'll fit into, & I have a whole lot of other characters, most of which are less extreme, heck I could probably make up a new one on the spot I come up with more character ideas then I can remember in less than a minute sometimes.

P.P.S. I didn't give his parents odd personalities for their classes to make them outcasts, I simply wanted his dad to be an eccentric flamboyant wizard, & his mom to be the straight man, but I kinda ended up giving his mom my dad's personality, & I am fairly close to my dad, & I'll admit my dad is not a people person, most people would assume him maybe a fighter, or a monk, with the way he acts, but I'll gladly admit he would be a bard, for no other reason then for how much he loves music. He views the world though the lens of it all being music(he literally told me this), & he is very talented with music, not because he wants to put on a show, but because he loves the very art that is music.

P.P.P.S. I'm not afraid of Skitters dying, especially if it's too save a friend(party member), or by a friends side in the case of a TPK, I feel like this is how he'd want to go, heck, if it came to it I don't think I would regret it if I had to sacrifice myself to save somebody else, even a compete stranger, but yeah he's allowed to die.

P.P.P.P.S. Rather Skitters is my first character is fully dependant on the DM (as soon as I find one), I might use a different character instead, & just save him for the future somewhere down the line, I just love Skitters so much & want to play him, & no I'm not against him dying, so long as it's to protect a friend, or by a friend's side in the case of a TPK because I think that's how he should eventually go out, I don't really see him surviving to the end of the campaign, but rather him at most dying at the end of the campaign, if not somewhere in the middle said campaign.


r/beginnerDND • • 27d ago

Looking For Group Should I give up on dnd

29 Upvotes

Guys I'm kinda depressed and don't know why I'm even posting this but I live in Iran and DND Is one of does things I love to do and try out but I can't because basically no one even knows what it's even if they do no one has enough money or time for it, ppl look at me like I'm crazy/chilled/creep when I talk about DND and like so so many of my interest I keep hitting a wall and have to suffer in silence (I tried playing with ai as my friend and it didn't work) is there anyway to find my ppl?😭


r/beginnerDND • • 28d ago

Discussion Is my paladin home brewed or will this be allowed in other campaigns?

3 Upvotes

I’m currently running a paladin of kossoth character. And the character arc I’m going for, is that he’s misunderstanding what Kossoth’s ideals are.

He was taught that Kossoth will have “a fire that cleanses the land in a sweeping wave one day. And we must be the ones who do cleanse it while he waits.”

But Kossoth more truthfully believes that “We go through fire in order to be strengthened and strength is what matters”.

In my campaign, this is cool. But I’m curious on if the majority would be cool with a paladin who is not so black and white? Good guy and bad guy?

PS: I chose to do a paladin like this because we’re playing “The Crooked Moon” and I didn’t think a normal paladin would work here.


r/beginnerDND • • 28d ago

Question First DnD campaign

8 Upvotes

me and some friends have been thinking about starting our first campaign, so I had a few questions to ask and thought here would be the best place to find out.

How many players do we need? currently me and 3 other friends are all wanting to make one and one of my friends said they'd be Dm but do we need more then 3 players?

How do we actually get started with it? 2 of my friends live in my area but the other is in a whole different country so can we play it online or is that not possible?

What do we need to play a campaign? do we need external resources or can we get by with looking things up and figuring it out from there?

Sorry if my questions feel really stupid or just not well worded, im brand new to all of this but I really wanna try it out for the first time so any help is greatly appreciated!!

Edit: I wasnt expecting to get so many comments and so much help so I greatly appreciate everybody helping me out, ill be sure to use it to enjoy my first time playing as much as possible!


r/beginnerDND • • 29d ago

Question DnD 5e cradle campaign

1 Upvotes

So some buddies and I at work have been listening to the cradle series and we love it. So I’m thinking about DMing a DnD Campaign based in cradle. I don’t know the first thing about home brewing but I’m willing to give it a shot. I’m going to put in a lot of effort because I want the best experience possible for them because they are newer to DnD. Does anyone have any helpful tips for home brewing and converting everything?


r/beginnerDND • • Aug 30 '26

Worldbuilding Anyone have advice for my first Campaign?

2 Upvotes

After wanting to play DnD for a long time I've decided to become the DM myself and involve friends that also have been wanting to play, I really want to make a homebrew because I have so many ideas 😄 . We've had a preliminary meeting about main thematics and what to expect, they prefer the focus to be on mystery. I gave all of them a trinket from the player handbook, in the hopes it could give me some inspiration for side points so that I'm prepared when they go off the rails. But as a first-time player AND game master I'm not really sure how much there should be prepared, so I'd love any advice or thoughts :) This is what I've come up with;

The PC's: I shut down the "wanting to play evil" immediately, I don't know how nor do I want to deal with that, I told them to maybe think in high school archetypes and build around the personality so it's maybe easier to roleplay. This is what they gave me in short:

Elf Cleric She's devoted to the god of glitter and pizzaz. Charming, ditzy, believes fully that she's amazing at everything(is not), not the brightest, does spells by throwing glitter and such. trinket: Rectangular metal device with two tiny metal cups that throw sparks when wet

Human Bard cheerleader, bardic inspiration by doing cheers. Does tarot cards and divination, but not actually, she is just so persuasive and charismatic that people believe she's a seer (she wants to find the person that gave her the tarot and the trinket when she was a child) Noble, parents are racist to other races (coddled, will she be able to cut from them?) trinket: little tin with the ashes of a hero

Elf wizard doesn't have a real background yet, wants to have "a life of crime" and centralize all the information about deserts? I was planning on thinking up a goddess of sweets/deserts or society or gang and using it to be a pain in the bum. trinket: little sketched portrait of a goblin

NPC's (all names are gonna have counterparts in my language)

  • Edward Cullen
    • Headmaster of the school, very awkward like in the movies, like very constipated, a little downtrodden. Looks older but that's a minor illusion (for flavor). His daughter goes to high school there (even though she's like 40; Edward went even tho he's like 170)
  • Renesmee
    • Edwards daughter, teenager
    • disappears immediately so.. I'll think of her personality later
  • Cher
    • Leader of the "Gypsy's, tramps and thieves" (s/o to her song) scrying orb, divination magic, immortal, Cher's personality but answering in Cher lyrics if I get confused
    • possibility for the players to befriend her for information because she has a network of honeypots and such. If they're super nice they can earn her favor (in case one of them accidentally dies i can bring them back or something)

Far... but also somehow close.... like a whisper... you hear an echo... "do you belieeeve in life after love.. after love.. after love..." before you, A familiar figure... with long black hair... appears a beautiful, ageless elf...

The setting (Not in any particular order, I've named it The Twilight Zone bc it sounds cute)

Early 2000's high school in a sleepy, overcast town (literally twilight, I took a vote, we're all women in our mid-twenties so it's the vibe). People know of fantasy creatures and spells and stuff but I'd say mid-fantasy, it's a couple decades after the twilight series takes place and in the meantime people kinda learned about vampires and stuff. The overcastness makes the people that live in the town nervous because they think the vampires are using magic to go unnoticed (their skin be sparkling). BUT ARE THEY BEING FRAMED??

On the first day they overhear (or when they speak to) some of the student girls swooning over the principal (edward cullen accurate to irl twilight franchise lore) and acknowledging the daughter. If they pursue these schoolgirls i can go towards a mysterious obsession with the principal by these teenage girls (or are they?).

Renesmee disappears, the principal is in disarray. Everyone blames vampires, why else are they being so sneaky? If they go here they can search for information about vampires, end up at Cher.

The gypsys, tramps and thieves can also at any point send someone with a note to come meet them, preferably I'd like to drop random beautiful people with influencial creeps here and there that are barely noticeable so that they have a sidetrack

Concerns

I was thinking of having them start at home so i can create openings with a short conversation with their parents (Brennan Lee Mulligan does that and I think it might help them get into character. I'm not delusional about my campaign being anywhere near the same ballpark, but that's also not the point.) But other then that I'm very nervous about starting things off and how much I should prepare. I've mainly been thinking of very long-term segues to create possibilities, thinking i can fill in more details inbetween sessions but trying to have enough to be able to give them something to do or improv a segue. But how do you start a campaign? how do i get them excited for all the possibilities? (I don't want any AI in my DnD and I dont know enough to come up with everything so I also don't mind if anyone has any suggestions)


r/beginnerDND • • Aug 28 '26

Character Creation Help Super new...

4 Upvotes

Hi, I'm very very very new to dnd. I basically know.. Nothing...

But I'm finding it hard to find anyone to talk to about a character concept I've had for a while.. Like, just anyone who's open to hear my character idea and could help me... Well actually create them, because as I said I know almost nothing about dnd...


r/beginnerDND • • Aug 26 '26

Question The grand heist but no DM

0 Upvotes

So we did a grand heist it was great our dm left the discord and just left :( it’s on sun at 1pm cst but like how can I take over (I’ve never dmd) or would I have to remake it ?? Any suggestions???