NOTE: This assumes you are creating a character at level 1 and simplifies things accordingly.
|
If you're new to the game and this is the first (or even second or third) time you've created a character, it's fair to say that you might have some questions about character creation. The Player's Handbook is great, and laid out in a logical way, but there's a lot of information and a lot of choices for you to look through along the way. You need to skip around and keep track of a lot of things before you can square everything away. For some people, that can make it easy to forget things that you then don't remember until you hit a higher level... which can really have you kicking yourself, especially if you missed out on doing something really cool and cinematic that would have got you an entry in the D&D history books!
This guide is designed so that you can follow it step by step and keep a track of everything. If this isn't your first rodeo, or if you play with more experienced players, you might find that they do things in a different order. This guide follows the recommended process outlined in the Player's Handbook (mostly) but if your DM has a different way of doing things, the best advice is usually to bow to their every whim. Trust me, 1st level characters are squishy, and angry DMs are harmful to their health!
|
|
It's worth mentioning before we dive headfirst into getting your shiny new character created that this guide takes you through the basic process of creating a character only. It offers you no particular descriptions of any classes or races other than minimal information. See the race guides and class guides for more detailed information.
So, make sure you're sitting comfortably. You could do with having a character sheet on hand (you can get hold of one here) and a piece of rough paper or a spare window to type in! Here we go!
Part 1: Choose a Race
Make Your Choice
The very first thing to do is to choose what flavour of D&D being you would like to represent you in game. Many people go with human because it's the easiest for them to identify with, but there is a smorgasbord for you to choose from.
Races are described in detail in the book they appear in. This can often give you some pointers on how to play your character and reading is encouraged.
Here are all of your available choices – you can see where to find them and any restrictions that might apply in the table below:
This lists only where the main rules for the class are found - each individual race guide will have more information on where you can find additional subraces or variant race rules beyond the ones listed in these documents. Where material is available for free, you will see a link in the Source column.
Available Races
Race |
Source |
Race |
Source |
Aarakocra (Humanoid Bird) |
Human |
||
Aasimar (Half-Angel) |
Dungeon Master's Guide / Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Kalashtar (Human Bonded to a Spirit) |
Eberron: Rising from the Last War |
Bugbear (Brutish goblinoid) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Kenku (Humanoid Crow) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Centaur (Half human, half horse) |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica |
Kobold (Small Humanoid Lizard) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Changeling (Morphs into different forms) |
Eberron: Rising from the Last War |
Lizardfolk (Humanoid Lizard) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Dragonborn (Humanoid Dragon) |
Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Locathah (Humanoid Fish) |
Locathah Rising |
Dwarf |
Basic Rules, Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Loxodon (Humanoid Elephant) |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica |
Elf |
Minotaur (Half human, half bull) |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica |
|
Firbolg (Forest-Dwelling Creature) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Orc |
Eberron: Rising from the Last War, Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Genasi (Half-Genie) |
Shifter (Human with Lycanthropy) |
Eberron: Rising from the Last War |
|
Gith (Former Slave of Mindflayers) |
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes |
Simic Hybrid (Test Subject with Genetic Modification) |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica |
Gnome |
Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Tabaxi (Humanoid Cat) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Goblin |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Tiefling (Half-Fiend) |
Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Goliath (Half-Giant) |
Elemental Evil Player's Companion, Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Tortle (Humanoid Tortoise) |
The Tortle Package |
Grung (Humanoid Frog) |
One Grung Above |
Triton (Sea Dweller) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Half-Elf |
Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Vedalken (Blue Skinned Logical Race) |
Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica |
Half-Orc |
Player's Handbook, Systems Reference Document |
Verdan (Underground Shapechanging Goblinoids) |
Acquisitions Incorporated |
Halfling |
Warforged (Mechanical Construct) |
Eberron: Rising from the Last War |
|
Hobgoblin (Militant Goblinoid) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Yuan-Ti (Snake-Like Humanoid) |
Volo's Guide to Monsters |
Update Your Character Sheet
|
You'll see a traits section below the opening description for your race, and these will need to be added to your character sheet. First of all, take a look at the section marked Ability Score Increase. This will become important later. Make a note of which stats increase (e.g. “Your Dexterity score increases by 2”). It's also possible for your choice of race to have penalties (e.g. “Your Strength score decreases by 2”) - keep track of this as well.
Your Age, Size, Alignment and Speed are either already decided now based on the race you have chosen, or guidelines are provided – e.g. a range of ages for you to choose from. You can make a note of these now. There is no space for size or age on the basic character sheet so feel free to write them on the back. Unless you're filling your form out digitally, and then there is no back...
|
Your alignment is recorded at the top of your character sheet, on the right.
Your speed is recorded near the top of your character sheet, in the centre.
|
|
When you choose your alignment, you make two choices. First, decide if your character is Lawful (follows the law of the land or a strict personal code), Chaotic (does what they want when they want) or Neutral (somewhere between the two). Then decide if they are Good, Evil or Neutral. This will give you a two word alignment, such as Chaotic Good or Lawful Evil. If you chose Neutral twice, write True Neutral.
Next, you'll need to add your other traits to your character sheet. You might see things like Darkvision or Dwarven Resilience. So that you don't run out of space on your character sheet, it may be worth jotting down just the titles and the page they appear on, and keeping your books on hand to refer to them as needed when you play. (You may eventually end up remembering them from using them regularly!)
|
The Features & Traits box is on the bottom right of your sheet.
|
Some of the racial traits you can get your hands on will tell you that you gain proficiency in something – skills, weapons, armour, tools or other specific items. They will also tell you which languages you speak. Note those down in the following areas on your character sheet:
Write weapon, armour and tool proficiencies and languages in this box, bottom left.
|
Note down a skill proficiency by colouring in the dot to the left of it.
|
Fill out your proficiency bonus (always +2 for 1st level characters) in this box near the top left of your sheet.
|
When you are proficient with something, you will be able to increase the bonus you get to skill checks. Your proficiency bonus at 1st level is +2. In fact, you can add this to your character sheet now.
Choosing Languages
Some races will offer you a choice of language as well as specifying some you already know. You may also be offered the chance to choose another language during later steps in character creation, so it might be worth making a note of any you find interesting now in case you get the chance to pick them later.
The choices are: Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, Gnomish, Goblin, Halfling, Orc, Abyssal (spoken by Demons), Celestial (spoken by divine beings), Deep Speech (spoken by Mindflayers and Beholders), Draconic (spoken by Dragons), Infernal (spoken by Devils), Primordial (spoken by Elementals and comprised of the sub-languages Terran, Auran, Ignan and Aquan - you understand all of these if you understand Primordial), Sylvan (language of the Fey), Undercommon (spoken by denizens of the Underdark).
Racial Spells
Some races gain access to spells. You will be able to use these irrespective of which class you roll. There is information in the final step of this guide to help you determine some important numbers that will be associated with them. You should make a note of the Spellcasting Ability that the description of your race tells you to use for these spells. If it is a different ability to the one used by your class, you will need to work out numbers for them separately. (This will become more clear when you reach the final step of the guide, so don't worry for now!)
Subrace
Some races have Subrace as one of their traits (goody, more stuff!). This means you can choose between two or more different sets of traits to further add to your list. Dwarves, for example, come in the Mountain or Hill flavours – Hill Dwarves get a 1 point Wisdom increase and Dwarven Toughness, whereas Mountain Dwarves get a 2 point Strength increase and Dwarven Armour Training.
How to choose? Each subrace comes with its own short description, so pick what you like the sound of! Lots of people will give you advice and tell you to start thinking about what class you want to play (and again this is something you can find out about the Race Guides and Class Guides). The reason for this is that sometimes your Ability Score Increases can help to maximise the efficiency of a specific class. However, for your first game, it's better to just go with what you like the idea of until you get used to the way everything works.