You can't really simplify that without taking away choices from the players. There are really only four pages (11-15) of character creation rules that matter.Įverything else comes down to the choices you have for Race / Class / Background. And be ready to make small in-game tweaks to characters in recognition of the fact that it was you that wrote up the character rather than the player. Those what come back knowing all the rules-encourage them to re-tool their characters on their own time.
You go away with notes on their interests, send them away with the basic rules pdf. If it's acceptable to have a five minute conversation with each, you spend a day filling out some character sheets, then another five-minute conversation discussing how you implemented their intent that'll speed things along a lot. So I'd say you should talk to these players about at what level of detail they want to be involved in character creation. Magic: If you've got a spellcaster, "choose four from this list of twenty-they're all in the following eighty pages."Īnd there are many more pair-interactions than just the Background ones I explicitly pointed out! I've also picked up different equipment, so perhaps need to change those original choices. Starting equipment: weapon, armor, perhaps another weapon, which pack to take, sometimes a fifth bullet-point which is mostly flavor and thus is second to "Name" in how much time it'll takeĪrchetype (Domain/Oath/School/Tradition/Circle/etc.)īackground-and now I've picked up different skill proficiencies and perhaps a language slot, so perhaps need to change original choices. Name (people find this one of the hardest)Ībility score disbursement (go back and find those racial modifiers, too)Ĭhoose some skill proficiencies, languages Remember, the list of decisions to make isn't just race/class/background: it's:
(It did on Wednesday, even with a guy who'd been playing for a few months and I was helping make his second character.) busywork the second instance I find it likely to run a good half-hour.
In the first instance I'd estimate about a five-minute conversation followed by 10min. With others it's been sitting and flipping PHB pages with them, line-iteming the character sheet. With some I've just had the discussion, absent any rulebooks, of what the possibilities are and what they might like to play. It's just a matter of who's holding the pencil, doing all the little maths, and making decisions when the player doesn't yet have a preference.ĭuring the last few months I've had seven or eight opportunities-some in my own campaign, some in Adventurers' League-to walk new and new-ish players through character creation. Your players have ruled out number 1, but I don't think there's anything disingenuous about presenting both options 2 & 3 as "player creation" options. Player builds side-by-side with experienced person. Someone builds the player's character for him or her, or Player uses a pre-generated character-either from "out there" or that you've built, The simplified versions of character creation are: