A query about creating pre-generated characters?

[Hopeless]

So I'm looking at developing some pre-generated characters for a 5th edition D&d game but want to ask your views on such characters.

I've developed 5 and tried to give them some background history to explain why they're who they are and why they're together.

So the first is a half elf Fighter whom I'm undecided whether he's just an entertainer or a former gladiator!
Another is a halfling monk from a noble family whose obsessed with keeping their family's alliances strong to maintain his families status!
A Brass Dragon born Paladin and Sage specialising in alchemical research.
A Rock gnome Ranger whose a mite nasty in temperament raised as an urchin their love for gold and hiding when threatened and the token evil character albeit dislikes humans... fortunately none of the pre-gens are human!
A dark elf sorceress the result of 2 half elves and a recessive gene that resulted in her being born an elf instead of a half elf like her parents or as far as she knows... like the monk she's from a noble family but unlike the monk is surprisingly good natured.

The group are travelling together the sage acting as a tutor to the sorceress, the monk thinks he's the leader whilst the fighter is supposed to be their bodyguard whilst the rock gnome is their guide... it's fortunate she hates goblins even more than humans as they head to Phandulin...

So what advise can you give me regarding this?

Is it better to let them create their own or is there another thread that can help me with this?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Is it better to let them create their own

It depends on the players. I've heard it said that pregens are great for newbies, since it lets them get into the game quicker and they don't need to worry about calculating numbers or accidentally making an under-powered character.

I'd be careful about prescribing too many of the interactions between PCs, though. It seems... unnecessarily heavy-handed.

[Gastronomie]

For beginners I would prefer to first ask him what sort of character he would like to create, and then have the experienced player create a build for that, hand it over to the player, and have him fill in his/her personality.

This is based off something said in a thread (I forgot who), but for instance:

Do you want to be a warrior, or do you want to cast spells? Or both?

Warrior: Do you want to be brave on the frontlines or do you wish to be stealthy? Or perhaps an archer?
>Frontline: Do you wanna be a burly angry man who's invincible against damage, or a generic but skilled fighter, or a hunter in the wild, or a blessed and holy warrior?
>>>Burly Man: Barbarian
>>>Generic: Fighter
>>>Hunter: Ranger
>>>Holy Warrior: Paladin
>Stealthy: Do you want to be a kung-fu master or a criminal?
>>>Kung-Fu: Monk
>>>Criminal: Rogue
>Archer: Are you interested in being in nature or no?
>>>Interested: Ranger (Archer)
>>>Not Interested: Fighter (Archer)

Cast Spells: Do you want to mainly attack with firepower or mainly manipulate enemies and help your friends?
>Firepower: Do you want to be a born, gifted spellcaster of a magical bloodline, or do you want to make a contract with a super-powerful being?
>>>Born and gifted: Sorcerer
>>>Contract: Warlock
>Manipulate and help: Do you want to be a travelling musician, or do you want to gain divine blessing from a god, or do you really like nature, or are you interested in reading magical texts and exploring through oceans of knowledge?
>>>Musician: Bard
>>>Blessing: Cleric
>>>Nature: Druid
>>>Magical texts: Wizard

Asking mechanical questions will probably not work anyways. I think this is enough for asking preferences.

Then, after that, the experienced guys build an optimized build, hand the sheet over to the beginner, and the guy fills in the personality. Done. And probably more fun.

[R.Shackleford]

I wouldn't use common races for pregens or standard ASI's unless they fit with the class.

+2 Con, +1 Other (flexible, shown below)

Air Genasi (+1 Wis) Monk
Earth Genasi (+1 Dex) Rogue
Fire Genasi (+1 Cha) Bard
Water Genasi (+1 Str) Barbarian

+2 Wis, +1 Str or +1 Con
Goalith Cleric (Light, Nature, Tempest, or War)

+2 Str, +1Cha
Tiefling Paladin

+2 Cha, +1 Con
Aasimar Warlock

[mgshamster]

My group used premade characters for our first attempt at the system. Quick and easy to use, only last two sessions before we started to make characters on our own.

For us, the key was to play a very deadly module so we could quickly go through characters and try out different mechanics. We played Tomb of Horrors. I went though five PCs.

We printed out level 10 characters of each archetype from here (premade characters for all archetypes at all levels) (http://www.tabletopping.net/dd-5e-pre-made-characters.html), then randomly picked one to play. When it died, we'd remove that sheet from the game and randomly select a new character.

It was a great way to quickly learn the rules before delving into the system a lot deeper.

This way does require your group to have some experiences RPG players at your table (experience with 5e not required).

If everyone at your table is completely new to RPGs entirely, maybe just give them one of those premade characters at level 1 and ease into it.

[MrFahrenheit]

For beginners I would prefer to first ask him what sort of character he would like to create, and then have the experienced player create a build for that, hand it over to the player, and have him fill in his/her personality.

This is based off something said in a thread (I forgot who), but for instance:

Do you want to be a warrior, or do you want to cast spells? Or both?

Warrior: Do you want to be brave on the frontlines or do you wish to be stealthy? Or perhaps an archer?
>Frontline: Do you wanna be a burly angry man who's invincible against damage, or a generic but skilled fighter, or a hunter in the wild, or a blessed and holy warrior?
>>>Burly Man: Barbarian
>>>Generic: Fighter
>>>Hunter: Ranger
>>>Holy Warrior: Paladin
>Stealthy: Do you want to be a kung-fu master or a criminal?
>>>Kung-Fu: Monk
>>>Criminal: Rogue
>Archer: Are you interested in being in nature or no?
>>>Interested: Ranger (Archer)
>>>Not Interested: Fighter (Archer)

Cast Spells: Do you want to mainly attack with firepower or mainly manipulate enemies and help your friends?
>Firepower: Do you want to be a born, gifted spellcaster of a magical bloodline, or do you want to make a contract with a super-powerful being?
>>>Born and gifted: Sorcerer
>>>Contract: Warlock
>Manipulate and help: Do you want to be a travelling musician, or do you want to gain divine blessing from a god, or do you really like nature, or are you interested in reading magical texts and exploring through oceans of knowledge?
>>>Musician: Bard
>>>Blessing: Cleric
>>>Nature: Druid
>>>Magical texts: Wizard

Asking mechanical questions will probably not work anyways. I think this is enough for asking preferences.

Then, after that, the experienced guys build an optimized build, hand the sheet over to the beginner, and the guy fills in the personality. Done. And probably more fun.

This. Give the players some world backstory, and some story leading up to the events of your first session. Then guide them through the creation process. This way they can feel like they truly own their characters. After all, no one I've ever met plays the pre-genned characters in CRPGs for very long, if at all.

[JellyPooga]

I wouldn't use common races for pregens or standard ASI's unless they fit with the class.

+2 Con, +1 Other (flexible, shown below)

Air Genasi (+1 Wis) Monk
Earth Genasi (+1 Dex) Rogue
Fire Genasi (+1 Cha) Bard
Water Genasi (+1 Str) Barbarian

+2 Wis, +1 Str or +1 Con
Goalith Cleric (Light, Nature, Tempest, or War)

+2 Str, +1Cha
Tiefling Paladin

+2 Cha, +1 Con
Aasimar Warlock

Huh? Your introduction to D&D for new players is "You're a bunch of otherworldy weirdos that are likely to inspire fear and mistrust in the first village you come across"? I'd go the other way, myself and make all the pregens Human, Halfling, Dwarf or Elf (maybe a Half-Elf, but definitely no weird variants), knowing that most of the world is inhabited by just those Races.

[Hopeless]

My original example was based on an attempt to randomise the characters didn't expect the gnome ranger to be the only outright evil character mind you!

Waiting to pick up a copy of Storm King's Thunder if I ever get to run 5e it will be set around the idea that the PCs have been sent from one of the last surviving major settlements to a town with a prosperous mining resource.

Rumours of attacks from the North as well as raids on the outskirts of the city which is why some of them was sent to discover what's going on.

It would start with a visit to Phandulin discovering the attack on Triboar and the discovery that various evil forces are in a race to recover and assemble some stolen giant artefacts as part of an attempt to restart the Giant-Dragon war and the rest of the population are caught in the shooting gallery with the PCs being the only means of preventing the coming apocalypse whether at the hands of the Giants, Dragons and whatever else is lurking out there...

[Hollysword]

Do you want to be a warrior, or do you want to cast spells? Or both?

Warrior: Do you want to be brave on the frontlines or do you wish to be stealthy? Or perhaps an archer?
>Frontline: Do you wanna be a burly angry man who's invincible against damage, or a generic but skilled fighter, or a hunter in the wild, or a blessed and holy warrior?
>>>Burly Man: Barbarian
>>>Generic: Fighter
>>>Hunter: Ranger
>>>Holy Warrior: Paladin
>Stealthy: Do you want to be a kung-fu master or a criminal?
>>>Kung-Fu: Monk
>>>Criminal: Rogue
>Archer: Are you interested in being in nature or no?
>>>Interested: Ranger (Archer)
>>>Not Interested: Fighter (Archer)

Cast Spells: Do you want to mainly attack with firepower or mainly manipulate enemies and help your friends?
>Firepower: Do you want to be a born, gifted spellcaster of a magical bloodline, or do you want to make a contract with a super-powerful being?
>>>Born and gifted: Sorcerer
>>>Contract: Warlock
>Manipulate and help: Do you want to be a travelling musician, or do you want to gain divine blessing from a god, or do you really like nature, or are you interested in reading magical texts and exploring through oceans of knowledge?
>>>Musician: Bard
>>>Blessing: Cleric
>>>Nature: Druid
>>>Magical texts: Wizard

Can I take and use this for my group? This is genius.

[R.Shackleford]

Waiting to pick up a copy of Storm King's Thunder if I ever get to run 5e it will be set around the idea that the PCs have been sent from one of the last surviving major settlements to a town with a prosperous mining resource.

Do not buy it at full price. The adventure side of things is severely and laughably lacking.

Just run your own game and make up a name for every NPC and town and make them seem way more important than they are.

Ever had a DM that tried to make the game follow a book or movie even when it doesn't make sense in game? Like, the DM has all these ideas and characters but can't translate that to a roleplaying game? One where your characters aren't allowed to lose and don't really have control of their actions?

Yeah it seems like that DM wrote this adventure.

:smallfrown:

[BW022]

Is it better to let them create their own or is there another thread that can help me with this?

Allow players to make their own characters. Making a character is an important part of any game and players will invest far more heavily in something they created. They only times I have used pre-gens are (a) public game days when (typically new) players arrive late and there simply isn't enough time before the session starts, and (b) 'tournament' modules where players play the same characters and get ranked based on play.

If you are going to use pre-gens (presumably for the first case), then make them as generic as possible and typically the characters are designed for new players in mind -- simple fighter, wizard, cleric, etc., no 'tricks' or concept builds, simple spell selection, etc. Consider limiting it to the SRD rules. The background should be something insanely generic, simple, and no more than two sentences ("The son of a smith.", "An apprentice from a nearby wizard's guild", etc.).

Finally, you can find generic pre-gens in Adventure's League. They have a good sheet such that most skills, abilities, and spells are described on the character sheet -- rather than having to refer to the PHB during play.

[R.Shackleford]

Allow players to make their own characters. Making a character is an important part of any game and players will invest far more heavily in something they created.

I don't think this is really true. Not in the sense of the mechanical side.

Warning: most of this is brainstorming I'm doing on the spot, never really thought of this before.


Maybe for people who know or have made their own characters before but I don't think making characters is really that important to the core of the game.

Don't get me wrong, it is fun and interesting, but you can have the same game without it. People play videogames of characters they don't initially build, but build throughout the game, and that does very well. Even characters with specific backgrounds, as long as they are customizable people really get into it.

Going with new players for the most part as old players "know" they should make their own character.

If you gave people a class/class skill/ability score combo level 1 build and said "give it a race, background, and personality" and then allow them to customize it going further, you could give each person that same starter character and each player would have a separate character at level 1 (because of different backgrounds, personalities, and races).

As long as they could customize the character as they went along it would still be "their" character.

With 5e everyone pretty much makes the same characters (mechanical, ability score/class/race combos) over and over, to the point it is sickening. This is mostly thanks to how very little options there are and racial ability scores. So everyone is already playing the same base, mostly.

What matters more to the core of the game is the player being able to choose the character's personality. Even in games such as 3e where you didn't get a background people still made then and gave their character their own personality and background.

As long as that first level ability score/class combo was the right overall archetype (cleric, fighter, rogue or wizard) and you gave the player the ability to pick backgroud/personality and options moving forward... The game wouldn't be hurt one bit.

Player: My race is half orc, my background is Acolyte, and my personality is XYZ. I want to play a strong and wise Fighter (overall archetype).
DM: Here is a dueling fighter with their starting ability scores (racial bonus already included, +2 Str +1 Wis). Add your racial features and background (skills, personality, feature) and have at it.

Basically... The fluff from the PC (email before the start of a game) and the mechanics from the DM and it wouldn't specifically hurt the game. People who are used to making everything about their character may hate it, but that seems to be more to do with the fact that it brings them out of their comfort zone.

And to heavily invested? I've seen plenty of people not invested at all in a character they make or lose interest in a character they made really fast. This has more to do with how engaged they are in the game and not with their specific character.

Seen people take over others characters and be more invested in that character *shrug*

[Hopeless]

Received the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide today so will be reading up as I wait to find out exactly what went down yesterday at Pax West 2016!

As is stands I'm thinking the Giants were forced by treaty to polymorph into smaller folk or face extinction.
A small number remained behind to maintain some of their refuges, the current situation erupted because somehow the Lords Alliance discovered the identity of the Queen and killed her in a poorly planned attempt to capture her.
The King learning of the event tried to uncover proof so he could legitimately call a council of war, but has disappeared leaving his three daughters in charge aided by a loyal advisor.
They are preparing for the expected conflict by recovering some long lost Giant artefacts which were hidden by the smaller folk as their part of the agreement.

The Cult has received information on the location of certain artefacts they need to restore Tiamat however events in Phandulin may eclipse all of this...

Needs more work I agree but I'll get back to reading!

[Safety Sword]

In my opinion nothing starts teaching you a system better than making your character.

You start learning almost immediately how the stats influence character actions.

I also like to run a "Mechanics tutorial" session so that you can do a mock combat, use skills etc before the campaign starts.

[R.Shackleford]

In my opinion nothing starts teaching you a system better than making your character.

You start learning almost immediately how the stats influence character actions.

I also like to run a "Mechanics tutorial" session so that you can do a mock combat, use skills etc before the campaign starts.

I really don't think making your character teaches you the game.

Just because you pick a bunch of options doesn't mean you know how to use those options, hell, a lot of people still think Action Surge gives you another bonus action.

Playing the game is what teaches you the game.

[Safety Sword]

I really don't think making your character teaches you the game.

Just because you pick a bunch of options doesn't mean you know how to use those options, hell, a lot of people still think Action Surge gives you another bonus action.

Playing the game is what teaches you the game.

It depends on how you create your character. When I make mine I like to read the abilities... the abilities interact with the core system rules, so I learn how they work so I know how to use the abilities.

Maybe that's just me?

It's the start. Of course you learn by playing, but I also have the hope that new players have some interest in knowing the core system principles before rolling the dice.

Also, people have different learning styles, so that influences how they try to learn the system.

[R.Shackleford]

It depends on how you create your character. When I make mine I like to read the abilities... the abilities interact with the core system rules, so I learn how they work so I know how to use the abilities.

Maybe that's just me?

It's the start. Of course you learn by playing, but I also have the hope that new players have some interest in knowing the core system principles before rolling the dice.

Also, people have different learning styles, so that influences how they try to learn the system.

I do too, however many people will read something and not really get it. When they use it wrong that is when they learn the ability.


A lot of other times you may grab something and then not know the best time to use it. You may know what careful spell does, but until you use it with non-Evocation spells you really won't see it shine (many people think it's an Evocation metamagic).

[Gastronomie]

Can I take and use this for my group? This is genius.Well of course! It's actually modeled after something I saw some time ago in this forum, though it's too old for me to search up.

[Safety Sword]

I do too, however many people will read something and not really get it. When they use it wrong that is when they learn the ability.


A lot of other times you may grab something and then not know the best time to use it. You may know what careful spell does, but until you use it with non-Evocation spells you really won't see it shine (many people think it's an Evocation metamagic).

If I don't know how an ability works I ask the DM...

But mostly I am the DM, so I make sure I know how it works so I can answer the questions.

I would never choose an ability without knowing what it's supposed to do or when I use it. Doing that doesn't even make sense to me.