4. Describe Your Character

Once you know the basic game aspects of your character, it's time to flesh him or her out as a person. Your character needs a name. Spend a few minutes thinking about what he or she looks like and how he or she behaves in general terms.

Using the information in the Personality and Background chapter, you can flesh out your character's physical appearance and personality traits. Choose your character's alignment (the moral compass that guides his or her decisions) and ideals. The Personality and Background chapter also helps you identify the things your character holds most dear, called bonds, and the flaws that could one day undermine him or her.

Your character's background describes where he or she came from, his or her original occupation, and the character's place in the D&D world. Your GM might offer additional backgrounds beyond the ones included in the Personality and Background section, and might be willing to work with you to craft a background that's a more precise fit for your character concept.

A background gives your character a background feature (a general benefit) and proficiency in two skills, and it might also give you additional languages or proficiency with certain kinds of tools. Record this information, along with the personality information you develop, on your character sheet.

Ability Scores and Modifiers

Building Han Solo, Step 4

We then fill in some of Han's basic details: his name, his sex (male), his height and weight, and his alignment (chaotic light). His high Dexterity and Charisma represent his capability and power of presence, and his low Strength represent an unexceptional burliness. Han is a notorious scoundrel, so we choose the scoundrel background. Make a note of the proficiencies and special feature this background gives. We choose the Silver-Tongued feat for Han's background feat, adding the bonus to Han's Charisma, bring the total to 16, and the modifier to +3. We know that Han is both daring and rash, and has a propensity to gamble, so we choose the fourth and sixth personality traits. We choose the ideal of independence from the list in the background, noting that Han recognizes no one as his master. Han's bond is his flight from Jabba the Hutt, so we choose the first option. His flaw is that he often chooses himself and his ship over others, so we choose the sixth option.

Your Character's Abilities

Take your character's ability scores and species into account as you flesh out his or her appearance and personality. A very strong character with low Intelligence might think and behave very differently from a very smart character with low Strength.

For example, high Strength usually corresponds with a burly or athletic body, while a character with low Strength might be scrawny or plump.

A character with high Dexterity is probably lithe and slim, while a character with low Dexterity might be either gangly and awkward or heavy and thick-fingered.

A character with high Constitution usually looks healthy, with bright eyes and abundant energy. A character with low Constitution might be sickly or frail.

A character with high Intelligence might be highly inquisitive and studious, while a character with low Intelligence might speak simply or easily forget details.

A character with high Wisdom has good judgment, empathy, and a general awareness of what's going on. A character with low Wisdom might be absent-minded, foolhardy, or oblivious.

A character with high Charisma exudes confidence, which is usually mixed with a graceful or intimidating presence. A character with a low Charisma might come across as abrasive, inarticulate, or timid.