How To Build a D&D Character for One D&D
D&D is an incredible game of fantasy, adventure, and role playing, but it can definitely be complicated to get into as creating a character is a whole process in itself! If you’re confused on how to create your own character, you’ve come to the right place! We’ll go through each phase of the process, step by step, so you can start enjoying the magic of D&D as soon as possible!
As a general rule of thumb, not everything linked here will be your whole breadth of options. For the full list of resources, you will have to purchase the official D&D books.
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Character Sheets
The character sheet is where you’re going to keep all the information on your character. You could use an online sheet from D&D Beyond, or if you’re doing an online campaign, Roll20 or similar services, but paper is most common if you’re playing in person. To get a paper character sheet, you can click the link below.
https://media.wizards.com/2022/dnd/downloads/DnD_5E_CharacterSheet_FormFillable.pdf
While that is the 5th edition sheet, that will still work for One D&D characters.
A Full Breakdown of The Character Sheet
It would be really hard to fill out a character sheet if you don’t know what the terms mean! I’ll break down every single term, and if they still don’t make full sense, please reference the rest of this article which should hopefully answer your question.
Character Name – Literally your character’s name!
Class and Level – The Class you decide to pick (the next section elaborates on this) and the level you are! In D&D, players can be anywhere from level 1 to level 20, and for most campaigns, characters start at level 1. That being said, make sure you ask your DM the level you’re supposed to start at.
Background – The background is a part of the character’s backstory you choose that will give you bonuses to your ability scores, a feat, skill proficiencies, a tool proficiency, and equipment! All of these will be outlined in the Player’s Handbook.
Player Name – I hope you know this one!
Race – Now referred to as species, every character has a species they have to pick. This will be elaborated on later in the guide.
Alignment – Alignments are how your character acts on a Chaotic/Neutral/Lawful and Evil/Neutral/Good scale. If your character is truly go with the flow, they can be Neutral/Neutral, also known as True Neutral. Are you a do-gooder who believes in upholding Law and Justice? You would be Lawful Good. Do you kick puppies and children for fun? Sounds like you’re Chaotic Evil (as a note, a lot of DMs won’t allow Evil characters at their table, or they’ll be reserved for more experienced players). To get an idea of what each alignment looks like, here is a helpful table courtesy of Reddit.
Experience Points – Not every DM will track EXP, but if they do, you would write the value here.
Inspiration – Now referred to as Heroic Inspiration, this is an ability that allows you to reroll any d20 roll if you spend it. This can be granted by some species (Human) or a feat (Musician), but it’s also something your DM can reward to you.
Proficiency Bonus – The number you add to any roll that you are “proficient” in. This number will be on your class chart in the Player’s Handbook so this isn’t something you have to memorize. Proficiency can range from Saving Throws, Skill Checks, or attacks. You will know if you have to add this number as you’ll be proficient in that thing. Writing down a list of all your proficiencies somewhere on your character sheet will make it easier to remember.
Strength–Charisma – Those boxes on the left are your Attributes, and they will be further explained in the article, but they dictate how good you are at tasks involving that attribute.
Saving Throws – Saving throws are a type of roll you’ll only have to do if your DM asks you to do it. They consist of that attribute’s modifier plus any proficiencies or effects that may increase that number (from class or items)
Skills – There’s a wide range of things you can attempt in D&D and a lot of those boil down to your Skills. Skills each have an attribute attached to them so the bonus you get to them are your Attribute Modifier + Proficiency (or Expertise if you have it) + any other effect that may boost these skills.
Passive Wisdom (Perception) – Passive Perception is 10+Wisdom+any modifiers that would be added to perception usually. Not every DM uses this, but they can if they want to see if an enemy can potentially sneak up on you or in similar situations.
Other Proficiencies and Languages – This one is pretty self explanatory, additional things that say your character is proficient in as well as the Languages they can speak (in the new edition, it seems every character can speak up to 3 languages with one of them always being common).
Armor Class – The number somebody has to roll with a normal attack to hit your character. This is determined by 10 + DEX modifier (if wearing Medium Armor, you only count up to +2, Heavy Armor you get no amount of DEX added) + Armor (if any) + Shield (if any).
Initiative – When combat starts, every character has to roll initiative to determine the order in which players and enemies go in. The only thing you put in this box is generally your DEX modifier that you’ll add to your roll when asked to roll for initiative. However, there are some abilities or feats that can add to Initiative, so it may be higher than just your DEX modifier.
Speed – How fast you can move! In D&D, each square on a grid acts as 5 feet, so for the vast majority of characters with a movement speed of 30 feet, they can move 6 squares in a normal movement.
Hit Point Maximum/Current Hit Points – You will have Hit points based off your Class and your Constitution modifier. Follow your class sheet to see how many hit points you should have for your max, and any damage you take during an adventure is tracked separately.
Temporary Hit Points – There are some effects that grant temporary hit points for a certain duration. If you get hurt while you have these, you always subtract these first.
Hit Dice – Hit Dice is a die you get that matches your level (level 4 characters have 4). Whenever you take a short rest, you can expend any number of hit dice you want in order to regain health. The health you regain is equal to your classes’ Hit Die plus their Constitution (for example, Barbarians would roll a 1d12 and add their Constitution modifier to each Hit Die they roll and add that to their current HP).
Death Saves (Success/Failure) – Whenever you hit 0 (or less) HP, you are unconscious (barring you didn’t get hit for double your HP maximum which is instant death). While unconscious and unaided, on your turn, you have to roll a d20 with no modifiers. On any value 2-9, that’s a failure. On a 10-19, that’s a success. Rolling a 1 counts as two failures (getting hit also counts as “failing” a saving throw and get critically hit counts as two) where rolling a 20 means you regain 1 HP, thus regaining consciousness. On three failures, your character dies, but on 3 successes, your character stabilizes, but doesn’t wake up unless healed or the duration of a short rest has passed (for most DMs this will be an hour in game, but some DMs do shorter or longer short rests).
Attacks and Spellcasting – This is a helpful column to keep track of the attacks you can do, the modifier associated with it, and the damage dice you’ll have to roll when you do hit. For a normal weapon attack with a Greatclub, you would roll a d20 + Strength modifier + your Proficiency Bonus. On a hit, you would roll the 1d8 from the Greatclub + your Strength modifier for damage. For spells, the spell itself will explain how you attack with it, and if it’s successful, how much damage it deals.
Equipment (CP-PP) – As it states, this is the column you can put equipment. The five boxes on the left of this section are different denominations of currency which are Copper pieces, Silver pieces, Electrum pieces (most DMs likely won’t use this), Gold pieces (the standard currency in DnD), and Platinum pieces. Beyond Electrum, all these go up in values of ten (10 Copper equal a Silver, 10 Silver equal a Gold, etc.) where Electrum equals 5 Silver instead.
Personality Traits – Flaws – These are just notes so you can better RP when playing. These don’t have to be filled out necessarily, but it could be a good way to keep track of how you’re trying to play your character.
Features & Traits – This can also be used for more reminders on how to RP, but is a good place to put your Feats or special abilities in.
The Second page of the Character sheet is dedicated almost solely to backstory and things that can help enhance your RP experience. You don’t have to put anything here.
For spellcasting classes (which is all beyond Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue), this is where you can keep track of your spells!
Spellcasting Class – The class you are that allows you to spellcast
Spellcasting Ability – The Attribute you use in spellcasting. Some classes care about INT, others care about WIS, and some care about CHA. These will be shown in the next section.
Spell Save DC – The number enemies have to exceed in order to not take the ill effect of any spells that call for a saving throw. This number is calculated by 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Spellcasting Ability Modifier.
Spell Attack Bonus – If a spell asks you to make a touch or ranged spell attack, this is a modifier you add onto your d20 roll that is your Proficiency Bonus + Spellcasting Ability Modifier.
Cantrips – Cantrips are a type of spell you can cast as many times per day as you want. The amount of cantrips you have will generally be determined by class, but can also be determined by other factors like Species.
1-9 – This is where you would put your “leveled spells”. Your class will tell you how many leveled spells you know (if applicable) as well as how many spell slots you have per day. Spell slots are the number of times you can cast a spell of that level. Some spells can be cast at higher levels which is known as “upcasting”. If spells can be cast at higher level, you can use a higher level spell slot to cast it for a stronger effect.
Picking Your Class
The very first thing you want to do when building a character is deciding what class you want to be! A class is how your character operates, what skills they’ll learn, and can largely dictate how they present themselves to the world! This may feel intimidating, but there’s no wrong answers! To help with the next few sections, I’ll also put the classes primary attribute. Pick a class that’s interesting to you, and to help, here’s a small tidbit on each class:
Barbarian (STR) – An unparalleled warrior. Barbarian’s shirk the art of fighting in lieu of complete savagery in combat.
Bard (CHA) – Someone who weaves their magic through song, Bards help support their party through their defensive, CC, and buffing magic.
Cleric (WIS) – A conduit of a god’s will. Clerics can be instruments of defense and healing or power and destruction depending on the god they revere.
Druid (WIS)- Gaining their magic through nature, Druids use their magic to support their allies in battle or shapeshift and fight as animals themselves!
Fighter (STR or DEX) – Students in the art of combat, Fighters have a really wide range in how they engage in combat from tank frontline to shooting arrows from the backline.
Monk (DEX/WIS) – A pacifist who’s mastered the art of combat, they focus on unarmed combat as well as using their Ki to mimic the effects of magic and strengthen themselves
Paladin (STR/CHA) – A holy warrior. A Paladin’s power comes from an Oath they make that infuses them with magic that bolsters their extensive combat training
Ranger (DEX/WIS) – Natural hunters, Ranger’s have a reverence for nature through creating a bond with an animal companion, but also understand that in nature, strength and intelligence prevail
Rogue (DEX) – A master of stealth, Rogues have a wide array of skills that can be helpful in nearly any situation as well as devastating combat potential
Sorcerer (CHA) – Whether it’s an ancestor or magical event, Sorcerers are blessed with magic that they can wield in nearly any form they choose
Warlock (CHA) – Unlike the reverence of a Cleric or the oath of a Paladin, Warlocks strike deals with nefarious entities in order to gain power…for a price.
Wizard (INT) – While magic generally has to be borrowed from a greater entity, Wizards devote their lives to the study of magic in order to harness that power for themselves, making them unparalleled in the breadth of knowledge they hold
I really want to emphasize there are no wrong answers, pick the class that’s most interesting to you! If you need help choosing the exact class you want to play, be sure to check out this full breakdown of each subclass.
Picking Who Your Character Is
The very next thing you have to do, after picking your character, is crafting who that character is! From a game play perspective, you need to pick a species. You can choose a race from an “optimized” point of view, mainly that the race offers benefits that work with your class or you can pick a race based on a roleplaying perspective (that’s entirely up to you). If you’re unsure, this post may be able to help.
You species is going to determine not just physical appearance, but some abilities your character might have as well (which will all be outlined in the Player’s Handbook).
After you have chosen your race, the next thing you want to pick after your race is your ability scores. Ability scores are an important part of your character that dictates a lot of the skills your character will have, which will be further broken down into specific skills. Before you decide, here are what the abilities stand for:
STR – Strength – Allows you to hit with melee weapons more accurately and harder, gives you a better chance to shove or grapple people, and makes you a bit more athletic
DEX – Dexterity – Makes you more nimble, gives you a higher AC, and can make you better with finesse weapons
CON – Constitution – Defines how hardy you are, giving you more hit points and more resistance to disease and poisons
INT – Intelligence – Makes you better at knowing things. Unfortunately for base classes, only Wizards will care at all about this
WIS – Wisdom – Makes you more resilient against charm effects and can make you a better spellcaster for certain classes
CHA – Charisma – Makes you more likeable in general and can make you a better spellcaster for certain classes
No matter the class, you’re not going to care about every single ability score. In general, you’ll have one primary score you’ll care about, and a few secondary abilities you’re interested in. For example, nearly every class is going to be relatively interested Dexterity for better AC and Constitution for more hit points. Wisdom is an alright stat as well since a lot of spellcasting asks you to resist with Wisdom. As mentioned, Intelligence is probably the worst ability score as it really only matters for Wizards.
To decide ability scores, the most popular systems are either point buy or standard array (which is you have a 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 to assign to abilities). For point buy, be aware that you can’t “buy” beyond 15 in any stat (before any racial bonus).
While this isn’t necessarily intuitive, the number you have correlates to the bonus you roll with as the number itself is not added to the roll. Here’s a table to understand what I mean.
| Score | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 1 | −5 |
| 2–3 | −4 |
| 4–5 | −3 |
| 6–7 | −2 |
| 8–9 | −1 |
| 10–11 | +0 |
| 12–13 | +1 |
| 14–15 | +2 |
| 16–17 | +3 |
| 18–19 | +4 |
| 20–21 | +5 |
| 22–23 | +6 |
| 24–25 | +7 |
| 26–27 | +8 |
| 28–29 | +9 |
| 30 | +10 |
Choosing Your Background
Once you have your class, race, and ability scores, you can decide your background and your starting equipment.
Your background is going to determine what ability scores you can boost (it will be a choice of 3 where you can give +1 to each of them or +2 to one and +1 to one), your starting feat, some proficiencies, and some equipment. This is very important for rounding out your build, so make sure you choose carefully! If you aren’t sure which one to pick, this post may help (it refers to just the feats, but find the intersection of the best feat and the ability scores you want to improve the most).
Spells (If Needed)
If you’re a class that can start spell casting immediately, you’ll need to compile a spell list. While you may want to base your spells based on your exact build or class, you can get a pretty good base from looking at the spell list or spell tier list. I’ll link each one below for all the spellcasting classes.
Finishing Up (The Backstory)
The very last thing you have to do to finish your character is to breathe life into them with a backstory! A backstory is a biography (it can be very short) on who your character is and what they’ve been up to prior to the beginning of the adventure. As long as the DM allows it, this can be anything you want! Flex your creativity and write an awesome character!
Still Struggling?
Making a character for the first time can be intimidating, but if you need help on what a strong character build looks like, take a look at the post below and check out the builds there!
