New to D&D, and RPGs in General.

[Mags]

So, my boyfriend and his friends have been playing D&D for years together. They recently asked me to start playing, too. I'm new to this whole fantasy world altogether (the closest thing I have to any experience is reading the Harry Potter series, and one Lord of the Rings book in Middle School). We've had two encounters so far, but I'm just not really connecting with my character. I'm playing a human fighter and keep catching myself making decisions that seem more like things I would do than what my character would do. I don't even have much backstory.

Do y'all have any pointers for a noob? I'll take whatever I can get.

Thanks :smallsmile:

[Aleolus]

My advice is simple. Look at the character you are playing and ask the following questions.
1. Where did you come from? (Type of family they came from)
2. How did you become what you are? (Where/how/why did they become a fighter)
3. How did you get from where you were to where you are?

Sometimes it helps to imagine they are physically there and answering the questions themselves.

[ngilop]

That's basically the gist of it.

In any character there is a small piece of who you are a person. that is how we connect with and effectively, intelligently and realisticly roleplay a particular character.

Roleplaying is acting, and the overwhelming majority of the time I find that new comers to the genre genrally make 'themselves' as their characters with one or two exaggerated attributes.

That's fine.

TO get better in touch with your character sit down one day you have 4 or 5 free minutes to do things. and write down a dozen or question about how your character is, what they believe, stand for, any family and such FOr example here is a couple from my one of my own characters

What is your greatest love? Kevgretor would sacrifice himself for
friends and family, and never ask of anybody to do the same for him. Also
would sacrifice himself to stop evil.

What are your habits? Do you have any patterns in your life? Kevgretor
tends to talk to himself often, mostly asking a question to himself or laughing
over some funny thought that just popped into his head.

How strong is your faith? Kevgretor is not to strong in faith, not
that he is agnostic or even atheist, its just with the plethora of dieties out
in existence he has yet to find one that shares his viewpoints on life.

How self-confident are you? Kevgretor is a mountain of will power,
something that others find both endearing and detestable.


see now I have a base line on how I want to play this character, So I might take the Iron Will feat to keep in with my idea of his strong willpower. and I will do odd things like in the middle of tense negotiations laugh at some funny thought and generally make the deal a bit more difficult due to the innocent, but not taken as outburst.

there is going to be a huge movement on here in the next few posts about how my advice isbad because its not optimizing your character.. DO not listen to them though, that just the Ngilop FalllacyTM

which to sum up is
You see, just because a person says play what gives you the most enjoyment they do not mean that anybody who says 'thats not optimized at all' cannot roleplay, they just mean literally, play however and whatever gives you the most enjoyable experience out of D&D, or any other RPG ever in existance.

[sovin_ndore]

Well, responding in ways that you might is actually not necessarily a bad starting point. If you are not used to acting a role much devoid from your real life persona, I would definitely start with your own experience then tweak from there.

First, I would think about different roles that you play in real life. Maybe you dress more straight laced, watch your language, and sit up a bit more straight when going to church with your grandmother. It is probably quite different when you go out with your boyfriend on a Friday night. You probably are open with friends and sly with frienemies. All these different personas you project in real life can just as easily be the basis for a characterization when roleplaying.

If you want to have more structure, you may want to look up TV characters or personalities you might want to emulate. You could even look at the TV Tropes website as a good resource for breaking down steriotypes to keep in the back of your mind.

I would figure out what 'mask' you wear that might be a good default for your character, apply some applicable steriotypes, and let them develop naturally from there. A basis like "this character is basically me without filters" as a "brooding anti-hero" can lead to all kinds of in game shenanigans without the same fear of recourse you might have in real life. And if talking breaks down, you can always punch someone... with your sword. You are a fighter and sometimes the direct approach is how you win arguments.

In the end, though, just remember... it is all about having fun. Don't be afraid to get creative or just suggest your character does whatever might come naturally to you.

Do you have any idea where you want to take the character that we might be able to provide some more specific advice?

[Afgncaap5]

It took about two and a half characters before I started being able to make characters that were more "them" and less "me" from level one. It's a skill that takes time to develop.

In addition to everything that's been said in this thread already, I'd look at how you act in the game for inspiration. You might like, say, oranges in real life, and notice your character taking oranges... do they like them more than you? Less than you? About the same? And why? Basically, look at the similarities and figure out what makes those similarities different.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about forcing yourself to do things differently than you would unless they really feel like things that conflict how you've been acting so far. The game's meant to be a relaxing flight of imagination, so dipping into how you would do things in real life is definitely fine, especially if you're still trying to get used to the game itself.

(Oh, and if you need a last bit of inspiration: some of the feat names suggest roleplaying keys beyond their mechanical benefits. The Athletic and Tough feats, for instance, while not really taken very often that I'm aware of, both suggest different kinds of physicality that might suggest how a person might act when they're not adventuring.)

[torrasque666]

It just takes practice roleplaying before you get into it. One thing I've found to help is saying "I" rather than "[Character Name]" when describing actions.

"I attack the [monster]."
"I try to do [Skill]"
"I cast [spell]"

[Aetol]

You could take a hint from 5E's background rules to flesh out your character's personality. You need to give your character :

A few personality traits (what quirks make them stand out ?)
An ideal (what do they believe in, what do they strive for ?)
A bond (what person, place, event connects them to the world ?)
A flaw (what could someone else exploit to triumph over you ?)


For example, a veteran soldier might have the following personality :
"I face problems head on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success." (Trait)
"I enjoy being strong and like breaking things." (Trait)
"In life as in war, the stronger force wins." (Ideal)
"I'll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it." (Bond)
"I'd rather eat my armor than admit when I'm wrong." (Flaw)

This is a rather simple exercise, but it'll give you a personality that's well-defined enough to act out a character who isn't you.

[killem2]

Have you considered switching to a character you feel best matches what you would do? Nothing wrong with that in the slightest!

[BowStreetRunner]

If you want to role-play a character who makes decisions differently than you do, it helps to think of yourself as a writer/actor. First you are the author of this character's story and get to decide what actions the character takes. Then you move into the role of the actor, taking the actions you just decided the character will perform and acting them out. It is okay to take it a bit slowly at first, taking a moment to ask yourself 'what do I want this character to do here?' before switching into the role of the actor and acting out the scene. Over time, the transition will come more quickly and automatic.

[Fawkes]

You can also start by picking out a singular quirk or gimmick. One of my favorite characters collected weapons - his character sheet was loaded with weapons I knew he'd probably never use. From that, I decided that he was taking these weapons as trophies, and every weapon had a story behind it. From that, I decided that he would never buy weapons, only take them and only if the story was good. I also decided he would tell these stories any chance he got.

Working from that gimmick gave me one of the most fleshed out, three dimensional characters I've ever played.

[Telonius]

So, my boyfriend and his friends have been playing D&D for years together. They recently asked me to start playing, too. I'm new to this whole fantasy world altogether (the closest thing I have to any experience is reading the Harry Potter series, and one Lord of the Rings book in Middle School). We've had two encounters so far, but I'm just not really connecting with my character. I'm playing a human fighter and keep catching myself making decisions that seem more like things I would do than what my character would do. I don't even have much backstory.

Do y'all have any pointers for a noob? I'll take whatever I can get.

Thanks :smallsmile:

Welcome to the forums, and congratulations on being accepted into your boyfriend's tribe! :smallbiggrin:

Lots of good advice so far. I'd like to mention a few things about one of the things that you were worried about: the fantasy thing. D&D is generally set in a fantasy world, but it might help if you forget about all the elves and dwarves and spells and stuff for a second. Think about some other story or movie you really like - doesn't matter what genre it's in. It could be a thriller, a mystery, a superhero story, romance novel, horror, period drama, modern-day romantic comedy, whatever. Imagine being in that story along with the other characters there. You know what you'd do, right?

Now, think of some side character that's in the story. Somebody they showed, and you were interested in, but the story never really focused on. Maybe it was the cab driver, or the butler, or the best friend. They're interesting, but they're not you. Get a clear picture of that character in your head. Ask yourself what they would do, if it was them, and not you, in whatever situation you imagined in the last paragraph. If you could think of a few things that were different - then congratulations, you got into the role! It's the same thing when if the setting is a fantasy world. Yes, there's elves and centaurs and goblins, but it's still figuring out what a character would do in a particular instance.

It is a little tougher when you're making the character up from scratch. If you don't know who the character is, it's a lot harder to get into their head. Don't worry if you're playing a stereotype to start with, or if you don't know their entire life history. When you're just starting out, it's really not uncommon at all to have almost no idea about that sort of thing, especially while you're frantically searching through your character sheet trying to figure out where your Armor Class is, or what to add to which roll.

Sometimes it's helpful to start with a single basic quality that's the heart of the character. A one-word descriptor is fine to start with; something like brave, sneaky, proud, determined, or ashamed. If you have that one quality, that's something to hang onto when you're trying to figure out what they'd do. When you get more experienced at it, you can think of things like: what's the character's goal, what would the character never do, who do they love, what do they hate, what do they fear, what disgusts them, what do they desire more than anything.

I hope that's helpful!

[NomGarret]

Welcome to gaming! My advice is to keep it simple. You can certainly take time to build an elaborate backstory for your character and a list of epic goals for them to overcome. It can be a lot of fun, and if you want to, go nuts. It's not really going to be that much help, though, unless the DM integrates that into the adventure. Sure, you want to beat your old rival from the fencing academy, but what motivates you when that person isn't around?

What I've found works well is the Like/But System*. Pick either an archetype or a specific character of fiction you know and play them. Trust me, no one will care if you play a dwarf who is basically Gimli.

Then add one personality trait. Something broad like 'worrisome' "I don't know, guys, this seems like a trap" will often have reason to come up and may occasionally be helpful. 'Allergic to coconut' is a one-off joke that is unlikely to come into play.

*patent pending

[Theodred theOld]

It can sometimes take a few games before a character starts to reveal itself to me. In game situations and interractions can reveal alot about more about a character than out of game reflection ever could. Let the NPC encounters and party chatter come naturally and you'll be suprised to see how far you can get with just a few moral guidelines based on your alignment. It also pays to remember that D&D, like many rpgs, rewards creativity. With some simple craft checks, a few minor spells and a large dead fish a party I was in managed to trap and kill a creature that was way beyond our current level. A well thought out plan is any parties best weapon.

[PaucaTerrorem]

I've been playing for years and it still takes me 1-2 sessions with a new character to fully feel him out. I usually start with an idea in mind but need some time to get into his head.

[Troacctid]

I find it helps a lot if you don't try to plan out every aspect of your character's personality in advance. Instead, I like to get a feel for the kind of decisions they naturally want to make during gameplay, and let that shape their personality instead.

For example, if you find yourself starting every fight by charging directly at the enemy, you probably aren't cautious or cowardly, and if you find yourself wanting to rest after every battle rather than press on, you're probably not a risk-taker.

[Senshi Akai]

Here is my advice:

Whenever I want to try a new character, until I can really "connect" and roleplay well, I keep a piece of paper with some notes as guidelines. These are basically "key-thoughts" of how my character would react to simple things. For example, my initial notes for last character Terhirr:

Terhirr is emotional, likes to collect things that remind him of good moments and is afraid of undead.

That is it. Three simple things to start with. As the game is flowing, I often look into my notes and add something I like or find interesting. After a few (2-3) sessions, roleplaying comes naturally and I rarely need to look into the notes anymore, except to tweak something.

Maybe you could try something similar: start making guidelines to how you character would react and keep it there to remind you. If you write something and don't like later, there is no problem changing it.

Hope this is helpful enough, and welcome to the gaming world! :smallsmile:

[ekarney]

I'm playing a human fighter and keep catching myself making decisions that seem more like things I would do than what my character would do.

That was the mistake I made with my first character, I was projecting my personality onto him. I've noticed heaps of new players doing it, it seems like it's one of those things that just happens.

However, there's a few pointers I can give you, some that I've seen put into play by my own or other people's players, and some that I've figured out for myself.

Backstory: You did in fact pick yourself up on this, but this is the where your characters core personality stems from. It's something you can reference when you find yourself making decisions. If your character grew up in a small, isolated village, they'd be used to a sense of community and probably quite trusting. If your character's father was a necromancer maybe your character might absent-mindedly poke around cemeteries while they're supposed to be looking for something, kind of like how when you look for something you always end up in a particular room of the house.

Depth, depth depth!: I've found this to be a massive problem for a lot of players, myself included, we find a character concept, get excited to play it and then forget about the character. It's all well and good to be able to say "That's what my character would do!" But can you really justify it? Yeah, at first glance a Chaotic Neutral Rogue might attempt to steal from the Lawful Good Paladin's purse when he's not looking. But let's expand on that, what if we establish that the CN Rogue is also cautious after being caught a couple of times, maybe Rogue won't swipe from the Paladin's purse but instead try to con him out of the money because the Rogue is more charismatic so he'll play to his strengths. Let's expand even more We have a cautious CN Rogue who's charismatic, and a real social fellow so instead of stealing from the Paladin at all, he teams up with him, fully. The rogues social, and charismatic, the Paladin is pretty charismatic too so they both have good social skills and pretty easily find some common ground and become friends, the Rogue values and respects the Paladin, yet because he's cautious he keeps the Paladin at arms length yet still gets along with him, the Rogues chaotic nature is merely an example of the fact that he's incredibly free willed, which leads me into my next point...

Alignment =/= Personality: Another really common mistake. I'll continue using CN for this one because it tends to have a more infamous reputation here, and well, with anyone who's ever had to play with a Tiefling Rogue. I'd argue that instead of Alignment affecting your Personality, that it's the other way around. This again adds depth.
A character who's personality is Chaotic Neutral tend to just come across as reckless, careless, and annoying. However, a character who is CN because of their personality would more likely be played as spontaneous, passionate with wild emotions. As opposed to "Morally ambiguous murder hobo with no real goal other than to break/steal things". Let's do a side-by-side.
-Mike, the CN Rogue: Mikes player just took the two individual meanings of chaotic and neutral as many people with alignment. Mike tends to just steal things and annoy the party with pranks such as setting the camp on fire whilst everyone sleeps. Why? "Because he's chaotic and doesn't care about other people or laws!"
-Melvin, the Rogue who is CN: Melvin's player decided to use the WotC descriptions for alignments and really put some thought into it. This means Melvin is passionate, he doesn't hide his emotions, on the field he uses wild and creative tactics, he may sacrifice the traditional "Hide and shoot" rogue tactic in exchange for using his mobility and less than threatening looks to distract the enemy while he waits for the Paladin and Fighter, who were hiding to flank the enemy.

Maturity at the table: Mainly regarding the other characters. Yes, the over-zealous Paladin is annoying and you want to ditch him ASAP. But would your character really do that? Maybe your fighter grew up watching noble Paladins march through his town on their holy missions to vanquish evil, so whilst you may see the over-zealous Paladin as annoying and in the way, your Fighter might see the Paladin as dedicated and upholding their code. The reason I mention this under maturity is because I'v been in a few situations, even as a DM where I have hated a player's character, either the concept or the execution and I'd found myself having the character/world react to them in a biased fashion that they wouldn't normally react in. If you find this happening, go home after the game, and seriously think about your character and how they'd act there's a real feeling of satisfaction that comes from figuring out how your character would act. Obviously if it becomes a real problem you should talk to the player, but hopefully you won't need this paragraph at all.

Expose your character to yourself: It sounds a little third eye, meta-physical awakening I know, but it's late here and I'm writing a writing a surrealist cyberpunk game. Gimme a break.
What I mean by this is gather as much info about your character as you can. What do they look like? That's kind of vague isn't it? try drawing them. Draw their sentimental items, if you're really struggling try keeping a diary form your characters point of view, you don't have to show anyone, they're just there for personal reference.

Ability Scores: Your ability scores probably have all different numbers in them. Is your Fighter's high strength a result of training or is it natural? If it's trained do they enjoy being able to use it? Do you relish the opportunity to flex your muscles? What's your intelligence like? If you're meaty and dumb think about how those two would affect your characters perception. Is your character sick of being used as little more than a battering ram? Or are you content in simplicity, happy that the party doesn't relegate to much to you? I'm not saying that that's your fighter, but it was an example.


If anyone tl;dr's this for me I'd greatly appreciate it. I tend to ramble and not realise I'm rambling/making redundant points.

Also apologies for any grammatical irregularities/inconsistencies and whatsuch. As I said it's late, but I tried.

[Ayrynthyn]

Over in the Gaming section, Rich has a villain workshop (here http://www.giantitp.com/articles/rTKEivnsYuZrh94H1Sn.html). Ages ago we re purposed that as part of our gaming group, and called it the PC worksheet... Looks something like this. Sometimes some of the answers below may make you rethink the answers above, so use pencil ;) ... also there are really no wrong answers here, and this may very well help you to answer "why" your character is even participating. (Love for another PC? Greed for treasure? for fame? Guilt for some individual wrong, some family wrong? Pride for self, family? Self Loathing? Hubris? Charity? Generosity? Simply because i'm awesome! etc... etc). If i'd add one more piece of advice, being an existing character... think about and include, some kind of hook to keep you with the party. You don't want to go thorough this process and wind up with the answer "There's no way i'd even be associated with these asshats" :)

PC Worksheet
----------------------------------

Step 1: Start with two emotions…

Driving Emotion… what causes the character to roll out of bed and hit the road of adventure?

Emotion he Inspires in those he comes across (Others first impression of him... Fear? Envy? Humility? Pity? Respect? Dismissive? Ambivalence? Abhorrence? ...)


Step 2: What events in the Characters past brought about this emotion?


Step 3: What is the characters scale (Neighborhood, City, Global)?


Step 4: What is the characters goal?


Step 5: What does the Character need in order to be able to achieve this goal?


Step 6: What obstacles must the Character overcome (Shyness? Bully? Reputation? Gender? Pride? Distance?)


Step 7: What is the characters primary means of projecting influence (Coin? Charm? Reputation?)


Step 8: What are the Character's resources (not just money, friends, family name, wits)?


Step 9: If no heroes/villains were to interfere, what would the characters plan to achieve this goal be?


Step 10: What are the hero’s boundaries (would never steal from the Temple of Banjo)?


Step 11: What is the hero's personal threat level (is he badass or are his undyingly loyal henchmen?)


Step 12: How does the hero treat his minions/companions?


Step 13: What are the hero’s visual quirks? What would the hero’s theme music sound like?


Step 14: What is the hero’s escape plan (Save the damsels or i just need to be faster than that guy?)


Step 15: What is the hero’s name?

[Ayrynthyn]

sorry for the double post... you know i think all 4 articles in the gaming section (http://www.giantitp.com/Gaming.html) are worth a read now that i mention it. And if you're going to walk through that PC worksheet i provided, it may be worth while to plug some existing characters in there to kinda give you the vibe/feel of what we're going for. Having read harry potter, perhaps ..Snape? Ron? Dumbledore? Dobby? Aunt Petunia?

[Mags]

Y'all! This has been more helpful than I can convey here. A lot of what y'all said has really stuck, and I'm in the process of creating a really badass backstory for my character right now! Thank you so much for all the advice, and for the kind words 😆

[Ayrynthyn]

with a response like that, you know you're now required (moral imperative) to share what you came up with :smallcool:.

[Warrnan]

I find myself doing the same thing many tkmes. But it's still great. I imagine if I was from a different place and time. Sometimes I'm a powerful wizard human. Or Halfling druid or a powerful Illumian Paladin knight.

My characters all Play off of certain aspects of my personality. It's not 100% needed for them to be completely different as long as you enjoy exploring different powers and different adventuring situations.

Fabricating a new personality for every hero/heroine might be fun for some people and not for others. This is a game. However you go about it make sure that your strategies increase fun for yourself and your teammates. :)

[Crake]

Y'all! This has been more helpful than I can convey here. A lot of what y'all said has really stuck, and I'm in the process of creating a really badass backstory for my character right now! Thank you so much for all the advice, and for the kind words 😆

Try not to go too far with your backstory though, remember, the real story is unfolding at the table. The backstory is good for defining your character initially, but don't try and make a long epic backstory, only to have your character's current actions be completely overshadowed by their past. I've seen it happen to a few players, which is why I always insist players have simple backstories. The way I word it in my player document is "The events of your backstory can, and are encouraged, to be significant, at least to your character, but not something that the bards will sing about." The backstory itself will live in people's memories for as long as you remind them about it, but the actions at the table can stay with them forever.

I always feel like a bit of a downer when I say that kind of stuff to people, but I feel like it's necessary, otherwise people's expectations can get ruined.

[Fawkes]

Building off of what Crake said, the best epic backstories are the ones that cause problems for the group during gameplay. The past coming back to haunt you is always a great character hook. Of course, this is something you have to work out with the DM.

Most of my characters have some sort of deadly secret they keep that I tell the DM and only the DM. Then, if he introduces some piece of my characters past to complicate things, I'll do a dramatic reveal. If he doesn't, then I keep that secret to myself, but remember that it weighs heavily on my character, and colors everything they do.

[Crake]

Building off of what Crake said, the best epic backstories are the ones that cause problems for the group during gameplay. The past coming back to haunt you is always a great character hook. Of course, this is something you have to work out with the DM.

Most of my characters have some sort of deadly secret they keep that I tell the DM and only the DM. Then, if he introduces some piece of my characters past to complicate things, I'll do a dramatic reveal. If he doesn't, then I keep that secret to myself, but remember that it weighs heavily on my character, and colors everything they do.

Man, I wish I had you as a player :smalltongue: that sounds like a DM's dream. I have only 1 player that actually does all that, and it makes my life so much easier and really improves the quality of the game. As a DM, I always try to include, to a degree, something of the player's backstory, but that's not necessarily going to be the case with all DMs.

[Fawkes]

Man, I wish I had you as a player :smalltongue: that sounds like a DM's dream. I have only 1 player that actually does all that, and it makes my life so much easier and really improves the quality of the game. As a DM, I always try to include, to a degree, something of the player's backstory, but that's not necessarily going to be the case with all DMs.

I make it sound good, but usually the secret is just 'secret murderer'. :smalltongue:

[Crake]

I make it sound good, but usually the secret is just 'secret murderer'. :smalltongue:

Shh, I can dream :smalltongue:

[AuthorGirl]

So, my boyfriend and his friends have been playing D&D for years together. They recently asked me to start playing, too. I'm new to this whole fantasy world altogether (the closest thing I have to any experience is reading the Harry Potter series, and one Lord of the Rings book in Middle School). We've had two encounters so far, but I'm just not really connecting with my character. I'm playing a human fighter and keep catching myself making decisions that seem more like things I would do than what my character would do. I don't even have much backstory.

Do y'all have any pointers for a noob? I'll take whatever I can get.

Thanks :smallsmile:

Well, a backstory is always the first step. It outlines the formative moments that will be affecting your character. Plus, read and think about your alignment description. Even if you're not playing in D&D Next/5e, find a Player's Handbook for that version and peruse the Flaws, Traits, Bonds, etc. section (under character creation).
I didn't connect with my character much in the beginning, it's kind of something that grows. Think of it as getting to know a real person, because your character is not fully formed yet and will become so as you play.
Hey, to sponge up some fantasy, finish Lord of the Rings. Read The Hobbit, too. You could try some FRPG-based fiction, like the Dark Elf series. I hear Greyhawk has some nice books too. Even if you aren't playing in the Forgotten Realms or World of Greyhawk, it should help. I think I learned the game quickly because I was a total fantasy addict already.
Keep playing!

[Lagren]

Y'all! This has been more helpful than I can convey here. A lot of what y'all said has really stuck, and I'm in the process of creating a really badass backstory for my character right now! Thank you so much for all the advice, and for the kind words 😆

While everybody here has already buried you under advice, I figure there's not much harm in adding to the pile.

Once I have a solid idea of the basics of my character's personality, I tend to start asking 'category questions.' One of these that's obviously applicable to D&D is "What alignment is this character", but you can ask the same sort of question with any set of mutually-exclusive groups. Do they prefer cats or dogs? What hogwarts house would they belong to? Horoscope sign? Think about every 'personality quiz' you've ever seen on the internet: many of them are good tools for character-building!

Personally, I generally use Magic Colors as a first step: here's a summary by Lord_Gareth on how they work. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?174163-Alignment-Replacement-The-Color-Wheel-Now-With-More-Green!&highlight=color+wheel)

[Crake]

Well, a backstory is always the first step. It outlines the formative moments that will be affecting your character. Plus, read and think about your alignment description. Even if you're not playing in D&D Next/5e, find a Player's Handbook for that version and peruse the Flaws, Traits, Bonds, etc. section (under character creation).
I didn't connect with my character much in the beginning, it's kind of something that grows. Think of it as getting to know a real person, because your character is not fully formed yet and will become so as you play.
Hey, to sponge up some fantasy, finish Lord of the Rings. Read The Hobbit, too. You could try some FRPG-based fiction, like the Dark Elf series. I hear Greyhawk has some nice books too. Even if you aren't playing in the Forgotten Realms or World of Greyhawk, it should help. I think I learned the game quickly because I was a total fantasy addict already.
Keep playing!


While everybody here has already buried you under advice, I figure there's not much harm in adding to the pile.

Once I have a solid idea of the basics of my character's personality, I tend to start asking 'category questions.' One of these that's obviously applicable to D&D is "What alignment is this character", but you can ask the same sort of question with any set of mutually-exclusive groups. Do they prefer cats or dogs? What hogwarts house would they belong to? Horoscope sign? Think about every 'personality quiz' you've ever seen on the internet: many of them are good tools for character-building!

Personally, I generally use Magic Colors as a first step: here's a summary by Lord_Gareth on how they work. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?174163-Alignment-Replacement-The-Color-Wheel-Now-With-More-Green!&highlight=color+wheel)

you two realise you're posting in a 3 month old thread that the OP likely will never see again?

[Lagren]

you two realise you're posting in a 3 month old thread that the OP likely will never see again?

This is why we don't practice thread necromancy. :smallannoyed: