- I want you to think of your D&D character.
Just pick one, if you have a few.
Since they started adventuring, how have they changed?
I don't mean their ability score improvements
or new spells or magic items.
I'm not talking about leveling up, becoming more powerful.
I'm not even talking about their achievements:
the respect they've earned, or the riches they've amassed,
or the allies they've gained.
I'm talking about personal growth.
How has the way your character thinks and acts
changed since session one?
Some of you have a ready answer for this,
but I'm willing to bet that a lot of you don't.
And that's because character growth like this
isn't built into D&D the way that growth of skills
and resources are.
It's not a mechanical part of the game,
and if it doesn't interest you, you can totally ignore it!
But if you're watching my channel,
I suspect that you really enjoy roleplay
and storytelling and character.
And in that case, you might be missing out on something
that brings complexity and realism to your characters,
and can make you feel more connected to your PC,
more invested in the game overall,
and more satisfied by its eventual conclusion.
(bright music)
Most characters have their own individual plot arc.
This is usually related to why they began adventuring.
Maybe they're determined to find their true father,
or avenge their wife's murder,
or prove themselves worthy of leadership.
But in many cases, it's possible to complete that quest
and still have a flat character arc.
By flat, I just mean their arc isn't positive or negative.
They don't become a better person.
They don't become a worse one.
They just don't change.
Imagine that you have a character whose personal quest
is to pay off a long-standing family debt,
freeing themselves and their relations from servitude.
Now, they're not a perfect person.
Maybe they're impulsive.
They have a tendency to act before thinking.
It is entirely possible for this character
to pay off their debt or otherwise erase it
and complete that quest
without ever experiencing any character growth.
Their mindset and personality could remain exactly the same.
They might even experience consequences during roleplay
for their snap decisions,
but that doesn't affect their ability
to gain levels and grow stronger.
This character could be the same reckless person at level 20
as they were at level 1,
just more powerful.
I say all this because a character's personal growth
might be tied to their quest,
but it's not the same thing.
For your character to grow,
you have to be intentional about it.
In most games, it doesn't happen by accident.
- [Teacher] I'm sure everyone completed the reading
and is ready to discuss World Anvil.
Who can remind us what it is? (pop sound)
Wisteria?
- World...
World...
Ah! Evil!
- [Teacher] Anvil.
- Uh, Anvil, yeah.
World Anvil is a
(book thumps)
...book?
- [Teacher] It can be used if you're writing one.
It's a worldbuilding platform used to organize
and keep track of everything you've created
for your fictional world.
- Yeah, I totally knew that. (chuckles nervously)
- [Teacher] Then I'm sure you'll be able to list
three World Anvil features (wisteria yelps)
for the class.
- Well, there's, um...
(Wisteria gasps)
Nope!
- [Teacher] That's right, notes.
You can use World Anvil to organize your notes
about your world.
Articles can be crosslinked easily,
and there's even a mobile-friendly notebook
to jot down thoughts on the go.
What else?
- Cool it!
You're trapped!
- [Teacher] Correct, maps!
World Anvil allows you to not just upload maps,
but make them interactive with pins,
layers, and even embedded maps for more detail.
One more.
- Shit, shit, shit. Shit!
- [Teacher] Sheets, yes.
Character sheets, stat blocks,
all compatible with dozens
of different game systems. (Wisteria mutters arcane words)
- [Teacher] And that's just few
of the features World Anvil offers.
Make sure to check out the link in the description
and use the code Ginny for 40% off any annual membership.
- Great class today, professor.
I take my hat off to you. (chuckles nervously)
(coughs) - Well, thank you, Wisteria.
I'm sure you'll have no trouble with the test tomorrow.
- Wait, test?
(bright music)
- If you want your character to grow,
they need to have room for growth.
That is, they must be flawed.
Obviously, D&D's Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws system
means you should already have at least one flaw identified.
But not everybody fills that section out,
because let's be honest, you don't actually need it to play.
And roleplayers who don't use the rolling tables
to come up with their character backstory,
who create in a more freeform way,
might actually be less likely
to specify a character flaw like this.
But even if you do have a flaw in mind for your character,
that doesn't necessarily mean that you're thinking
about it much when you're actually playing.
Take a moment to refresh your memory
on your character's flaw.
Did you have to check?
Do you find this trait coming up in your roleplay much,
or do you tend to forget it?
Or do you have one at all?
If you haven't done it yet,
this is a good time to make sure
you can articulate your character's main weakness
in a few words.
Even if you think you have a good grasp on the concept,
writing it out as a specific statement
can make it a more useful point of reference
during the game.
This is also a good time
to consider your character's motivations and goals.
Something must be standing
between your character and their goal,
otherwise, it wouldn't be very compelling for the game.
Often in D&D, the obstacle your character is facing
is external, not internal.
Your goal is to recover an important artifact
that was stolen from your temple.
Or, your goal is to rescue your sister, who was kidnapped.
But if you can make your flaw and your goal related,
it'll be way easier to roleplay meaningful character growth
during the course of that arc.
Plus, choosing a flaw that compromises their ability
to achieve their goals is a great way to make sure
that it comes into play during the game.
Maybe the journey to recover the stolen artifact
is particularly difficult for your character,
because they're full of self doubt,
and afraid that they're not good enough
to serve their god in this way.
Maybe your character's motivation
to rescue their kidnapped sister is complicated
by their guilt over the competitive relationship
they have with their sister.
There are rolling tables in the Player's Handbook
where you can randomly generate flaws
for your character if you want.
But if you don't like those
or are having trouble factoring your flaw
into your character,
then make sure to check out my video all about flaws,
which I will link in the cards.
Once you've identified your character's flaw,
the next step is to use it as a guide
for how your character interacts with the world.
Of course, you'll want to use your bonds
and ideals in the same way,
but I want to focus on the flaw here,
because that's really where the opportunity
for growth comes in.
The more you incorporate those flaws into your roleplay,
the more opportunities your character gets
to learn from them, and change as a result.
For example, if your character's carelessness
has a negative effect on a party member,
they might feel guilty about that,
and consider the possible consequences
of their choices more in the future.
Or, if your wizard meets an NPC who is a powerful caster,
but they come off as entitled, vain,
and unwilling to work to improve their skills,
the NPC might refuse to do them any favors
or give them access to their resources
until they demonstrate respect for their craft.
Just like in real life,
mistakes and failures are opportunities
for D&D characters to learn.
If your character never does anything wrong,
there isn't really a good reason to change.
But if they make the wrong choice or do the wrong thing
because of their weaknesses,
they have an opportunity to recognize that weakness,
and work on it.
Only by messing things up
can we learn how to do better in the future.
In turn, this allows you to turn those character flaws
into character strengths.
A character making careless mistakes
and dealing with the fallout of those mistakes
can change them into a person who is careful and thoughtful
once they've seen the consequences firsthand.
A character losing access or opportunities
over their self-absorbed attitude can be humbled
by their experiences over time.
You might notice that in this video,
I'm talking pretty much exclusively
about positive character arcs,
where a character becomes a better person, they improve.
That's because at most tables,
that's what's gonna be fun for everyone.
It is possible to have a negative character arc,
in which your character becomes a worse person,
but you should only explore that
if your whole table agrees that it would be enjoyable.
At the vast majority of tables,
the adventuring party is made up of heroes
who are trying to do good.
A negative character arc could cause a lot of problems
in a game like that.
Now, change happens slowly over time,
and thankfully D&D gives us plenty of space to do that.
Nobody changes overnight, and that includes your character.
Don't feel pressure to orchestrate a complete arc
during one or two sessions,
and certainly don't feel like
every single roleplay decision you make at the table
has to be carefully guided by deep,
introspective character work.
All you have to do to make personal growth part of your game
is to occasionally touch base with your character's flaws,
and pay attention to how their experiences
throughout the game might change the way
they approach the world in the future.
It's okay if you only think about this stuff
every two or three sessions.
In fact, if all of this sounds a little overwhelming,
you can even just make it part of your level up process.
Whenever your character gains new abilities and skills,
just take a moment to reflect
on everything that's happened to them
since their last level,
and ask yourself how those experiences
would change their outlook and their actions.
(bright music)
When you're intentionally invoking your character's flaws,
you have to be careful
that you're not making the game less fun.
I have three warnings to keep in mind
when you're focusing on character growth.
First, your character's flaws
shouldn't make the game less fun,
for you or for others at your table.
If your flaw makes your behavior at the table annoying
or constantly creates problems for the party,
it might not be a good choice
for a group roleplaying experience!
The easiest way to make sure you're not stepping on any toes
is to just communicate with your party about it.
Some groups would be fine
with your character's flaws occasionally
disadvantaging the group during combat,
or creating conflict with NPCs.
But other groups might find that really frustrating.
Roleplaying your flaws can be funny,
interesting, complex, and engaging,
but it can also go too far
and become annoying and obstructive.
Try to be aware of when you're risking
moving into that zone.
Second, remember that you can't control
what happens to your character.
I think a lot of us make the mistake of coming to the table
with our character's entire future arc
mapped out already in our heads.
But if we fall into this trap,
actual gameplay can become pretty frustrating.
Without knowing what your character is going to experience,
you can't decide in advance
how those experiences will affect them.
Instead of thinking "I want my character
to go through these changes
and become this kind of person,"
try to focus on grasping their current personality,
so you can better understand
how their experiences will reshape it.
This is more about navigating the game with intention,
rather than forcing the game to fit your plans.
It's normal for a character
to experience setbacks on their arc,
so don't be afraid to let events
naturally guide your character's growth.
And finally, make sure that you don't create a character
who is only fun to play or play with
once they've already experienced their growth.
I see this all the time in tabletop communities.
People will say that they created an antisocial character,
so that over time, they can learn to trust their party
and connect with their found family.
But while this kind of plotline
might sound like a meaningful emotional journey
when you summarize it,
in the end, you're still creating a character
who is gonna be antisocial for dozens
or maybe hundreds of hours
before enough time can pass in game
for them to really start to change.
In a movie or a book,
a character might start off pretty insufferable
and still be fun to watch.
But at the D&D table, some personality traits just suck
for everyone else at the table to interact with
while you're all waiting for that growth to happen.
Be careful of creating a character who starts off selfish,
or mean, or unfriendly,
and then relying on time passing
for that character to become palatable.
You want everybody at the table
to be having a good time from the first session.
In short, if you want
to explore character growth at the table,
just make sure you're doing it in a way
that isn't going to be frustrating for you
or for your party.
In the end, it's still a game,
and the primary goal is to have fun.
Getting deep with your character's emotions
and experiencing a meaningful journey with them over time
can make the game more fun, as long as you read the room.
It's a lot easier to experience character growth
at the table with players who are also interested
in that kind of game,
and committed to creating a roleplay-focused environment.
If you feel like your party is open to this,
but not quite there yet, watch this video next.
It's all about how you can encourage inter-party roleplay
at your D&D table.
This kind of gameplay works best
if the other players are trying
to roleplay character growth as well.
Oh my god.
My roots are so bad.