Why you should build your D&D character "wrong"

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In this video, I give you a very spicy hot take. That's right... I want you to create a Dungeons and Dragons character that isn't optimized. (I can hear the screams or horror from here!) But "wrong" D&D characters can offer some really valuable lessons in creativity and storytelling.
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► Music from Epidemic Sound
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[@GinnyDi]

Oh hey! I think I was wrong about this! Here's my updated thoughts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooWclWqQZtRko80

[@soup8315]

darn. I was getting really exited to make a counterpoint there.

[@spaz_taz4910]

The only wrong character is one who takes the fun out of the game for everyone else. play whatever you like, just dont be a arse.

[@barbnoren]

hard agree

[@seriousthree6071]

Agree but that would probably be the wrong player.

[@bossked1563]

Exactly. And it works both (all) ways. Don't be the militant power-gamer in a group of people who want their unoptimized characters, don't be the incompetent in a group of power gamers, don't be the blood-splattered edgelord in a Teletubbies game, so on and so forth. Be considerate of what everyone else wants to do.

[@NorinnRichard]

Slight edit to you. "takes the fun out of the game for *anyone*." I once had a Bothan trader in a Star Wars game I grew to hate playing. But the partly loved him and pushed me to keep him. They had fun, I didn't.

[@nickwilliams8302]

@@bossked1563 As a general rule of thumb, don't build a character who sucks at what they are supposed to be doing in the party.

[@featherflame1962]

Make a rogue and pour all possible points in intimidation "YOU DONT SEE ME" "OKAY OKAY!"

[@notjeckup]

I did this to my character lol

[@redstorm8373]

I was never here, right? It'd be a shame if something.... Tragic happened to your family.

[@gelbadayah.sneach579]

My room mate had a minotar rogue like this!

[@chiepah2]

Had an orc do this, the guard pissed himself and couldn't remember why.

[@DvirPick]

I suggest you search the story of Krod the half-orc rogue. It is absolutely hilarious.

[@Bonovasitch]

One of my friends made a character whose self-declared occupation was "party wizard" but could only cast magic missile. Turns out he was actually a monk and his magic missile was actually a staff of returning. I think that qualifies as the right way to build a character wrong.

[@Spiceodog]

How did he pull that off without people noticing?

[@Bonovasitch]

@@Spiceodog We all just thought he was really bad at his job lmao

[@Kntrytnt]

What a freaking champ.

[@dhyrim604]

Would that not take away the fun of the other players tho?

[@Spiceodog]

@@dhyrim604 how? He not doing anything wrong

[@ameliagryffon7097]

Me: *Looks at my poorly planned characters* Me: Y-yes this was my plan all along!

[@cara3566]

My low con sorcerer: yeah, yeah this was my creative plan and not a mistake

[@lagg1e]

I sketched up a character that's just following the subclass fantasy. The nonviolent diplomacy paladin for the redemption oath. Social skills, 5 languages that make sense and a disposition towards problem solving, negotiating and trade. I plan to summon a 6 intelligence mastiff with "find steed" that I just keep as a pet and for tracking. You know, a paladin is a knight that keeps the peace and order. I'm excited to catch criminals, listen to their problems and get them honest jobs at the sawmill the holy order of knights keeps running on their grounds. Because Paladins live in a society.

[@bobcat.cosplay7935]

this makes me think of one of the poeple in the class where i do badmintoon he says whenever you accidantally makes a perfect move *its not accidental anymore*

[@FlatOnHisFace]

@@cara3566 Pshh! Sorcerers don't need high Constitution. They already have it as a favored save, they don't necessarily rely on concentration in combat, War Caster is kinda a gimme (which, incidentally grants advantage on those concentration checks), Dragon Sorcerers have the same hit points as rogues, druids, warlocks, clerics, bards, and monks, and (most importantly) they are glass cannons. Sure, you could spend effort into patching their one weakness, or you can accept it, rely on your tank and your healer, and spend your effort doing your job -- so they can rely on you!

[@ourabouras]

I just joined my first campaign and came up with a Dragonborn Barbarian/Rogue. She’s terrible at Stealth, learned Celestial so she could flirt with Aarakocras, and has Wild Magic. I play her as a shembo tank, it’s utter chaos but my party is cool with it😂

[@LopaRB]

My friend made a Eldritch Knight Gnome that his purpose is to learn the enlarge spell to became a medium size!

[@chrispoznich]

If his whole purpose is to get big, show him the Rune Knight subclass for fighter. It may be a better fit for the concept.

[@LopaRB]

@@chrispoznich nope, in the history he wanted to be a mage and joined a class. But after some months they expelled him because he wasn't able to do magic. Then, in the middle of the adventure he unlocks his true powers

[@Shakiahjprod]

Sounds like Frieza in DBS broly

[@RichardA7XTovim]

This comment matches your picture.

[@shepardren8006]

@@Shakiahjprod I "had" a sip of Dr pepper. Thanks👌

[@SerenityM16]

There are so many people who think D&D is “too smart for them” and I can’t help but think it’s partly due to these “optimized only” people

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

Probably. Totally randomized characters can be just as fun as purposefully-chosen "wrong" builds. My friend did that and got "Aang, but Dwarf".

[@AVspectre]

I was worried to start playing and find a group because of this concern. There is a heck of a lot to learn! And character creation is overwhelming if you go in assuming you will bring down the group if you don’t do it ‘right’. I didn’t dive in until there was a local group specifically running a series for beginners. I’ve kept playing with the same people and it’s a blast! People are welcoming, respectful, playful, and open to new ways of doing things. It’s really great when you have a group to play with where everyone is there with a similar purpose. I’m sure there are combat-focused optimizer groups that love that style and that’s great for them. But that is not the right group for me. :)

[@DeathnoteBB]

Definitely. Before I got into DnD shows, I was convinced it was way too number crunchy for me

[@DuckHunterVideos]

DnD is literally the easiest, most accessible tabletop game out there. I think something Ginny D said here made me think. "If I wanto to play a narrative character, then maybe I shouldn't play DnD." I dont doubt people have told her that, but I do believe these people are super wrong. Guys,if you wanna play a game where people need to have super optimized builds and need to think about how to build their characters effectively, then maybe YOU shouldn't play DnD. Have you looked at Pathfinder? Icon? Lancer? Theres perfectly good wargame player-friendly rpgs out there, but you're instead toying with the "Party of 5 rogues murder god" game instead

[@AlexanderMartinez-kd7cz]

@@DuckHunterVideos okay, this is way late but I can't let that slide. DnD isn't even on the easiest TTRPG top list. not when EZD6, ICRPG and the like exist. You can learn those in the time it takes to read the fighter class.

[@Faint366]

I once played a character who’s fear of messing up would cause her to close her eyes every time she tried to fire a bow and thus had to roll with disadvantage. It was a lot of fun, especially the time she really needed to make the shot to save the day and managed to do it even with her eyes closed. After that word got out about an “amazing archer who could make trick shots under pressure even with her eyes closed.” Needless to say that confidence boost meant she could keep her eyes open when firing, or at least take a peek.

[@neebling]

this is so fun

[@jamesjoy7547]

Whoa! Now, that is a "character arc" for the ages! Well done!

[@Sansyr]

ik this is a year old comment but that is so cool!!!!

[@Naikerym]

The first dnd character I ever created was a half-orc druid named Gug. She didn't speak Orcish or understand orc culture because she was adopted as an infant and raised by wood elves, and despite being huge and muscled she was an absolute flower child who just wanted to vibe in the forest lmao. So much fun, I adore her.

[@jamesjoy7547]

Too cool! I'm imagining a "Kung Fu" (the TV show) vibe: "Why . . . ? Do you . . . ? Hurt . . . ? Them?"

[@shaymininfernape7088]

Matt Mercer: It’s ridiculous to call someone’s fun wrong. Enthusiastic Torturer: Too true! *wipes a tear*

[@alexhulea2735]

fun is one thing, purposely building an unviable character and decreasing their viability as they SOMEHOW level up is another

[@g0oberdm417]

@@alexhulea2735 True but imagine the challenge, you live session to session, abusing every form of cover, every gold piece stretched to its very limit. I'd say it really depends on the character though (thinking puffin forest's abserd lol)

[@zachperkins4092]

@@alexhulea2735 oh wow, it's like you completely missed the point of the comment. Viable is relative. You of course mean viable in the sense of the best synergy between all the character options chosen, but synergy isn't always the most creative, or the funniest, or the coolest look If your build style is fun for you and your players, great! But who the f are you to tell us what is viable at our table?

[@elijahwilliams6977]

@@alexhulea2735 ...No, those two things aren't necessarily different. If you play for a DM (or you are the DM) that makes players count XP, be optimized, be strategic, etc., that's great! Assuming everyone's enjoying it, sounds like a success to me. But I've met DMs that tailor the challenge to the player. The game might not be about the combat, but about the story and RPing you do along the way. Combat takes a huge backseat as encounter (social included) and milestone exp takes the forefront. You might even have a DM that does combat encounters that are exciting and difficult for a given power level. Might take a little extra work to and experience to balance since CR may not line up as neatly, but hey! Players are still challenged. Personally, when playing, I value playing a person as best I can. I'm no professional actor, but the thing about people is we don't get to control our starting stats. All of us just play with the hands we're dealt. A person does the best with the talents, resources, and opportunities they are granted- not min-max themselves from conception to be the best xyz in the land. Now I'm not trying to say whatever way you play/DM is wrong! I'm a big fan of elements of virtually every style of D&D, and I typically don't go all in on unoptimized characters (usually I prefer high flavor builds with big strengths and equally big weaknesses), but it's all personal. If it doesn't work with you and your group, probably warn others who want to join, but no need to stick your nose into the way other people play.

[@WellManNerd]

@@elijahwilliams6977 "Personally, when playing, I value playing a person as best I can. I'm no professional actor, but the thing about people is we don't get to control our starting stats. All of us just play with the hands we're dealt. A person does the best with the talents, resources, and opportunities they are granted- not min-max themselves from conception to be the best xyz in the land. " You play a fantasy game to give you something to aspire to, unless you are dealing with something for catharsis. So being an out of shape, bad with money, pajamas out to the whale mart, obnoxious fool is not endearing for very long... The original comment was highlighting that some choices are wrong, but if that choice doesn't actually hurt or hinder anyone(self included!!) then there should be no issue. I would say that a person willing to hobble themselves for narrative purposes is not hindering but actually challenging themselves. Although that speaks to motive and we can't even know our own thoughts and actions at times, sooo...

[@OrDuneStudios]

Hey thats illegal you cant be roleplaying in my roleplaying game. Yeah I see the problem here.

[@thenerdlored]

*Man they really should have written a label for that*

[@irishawthorne7784]

The DnD equivalent of “no fighting in the War Room”

[@Montyandrew45]

That sounds like the logic of game developers now

[@adamrandolph4003]

D&D is a very gatekeepable game. It has all the necessary ingredients unfortunately

[@Pistol-ve6ji]

It sounds like a bad idea everybody goes along with....lol

[@pixlh3art523]

One of the coolest """"suboptimal""" characters that I've seen in my party is our most recent addition, a Necromancy wizard. In his backstory, his whole family were artisans who used Animate Dead and similar spells to have zombies do things like farm, clean, etc. while they pursued their various crafts (the zombies are his ancestors and therefore were actually expecting to become zombies once they died, because that's just how his family traditions are, which is also really neat). He learned to be a wizard basically *only* for the purpose of enhancing his craftsmanship, and fell into the whole "adventurer" thing totally by accident. So his spellbook has (for a level 10 wizard) THREE spells which can actually be used to deal damage in combat: Toll the Dead, Magic Missile, and Enervation. That's IT. *Everything* else on his list is about flavor - he has stuff like Creation, Fabricate, Tenser's Floating Disk, Spider Climb, Telekinesis, and all sorts of spells that make perfect sense for a guy who builds boats for a living, but very little sense for a guy who fights people every day. As a result, in combat, he's usually running around and doing *really* creative stuff that I would just never think to do during a fight. He also usually has a few animated corpses around, and THEY fight to protect him and the other PCs, but a lot of the time he's doing stuff like casting Telekinesis to flip over an archmage's cauldron of Evil Liquid, preventing it from shooting out a Flameskull each turn, like it has been, and stuff like that. He was *extremely* creative both during character creation and then consistently so in every single fight his character has been a part of, and it honestly blows me away with how much of a bold, and *super* interesting choice it was and continues to be. Playing """suboptimal""" characters is, in my mind, the actual hardest/most interesting way to play, and I think everybody should do it.

[@natashasurvivallady8021]

This is my kind of suboptimal; someone who is really good at SOMETHING, and really terrible at other things. That something definitely doesn't have to be combat, and can totally be something cool like your character. (P.S, Telekinesis is my favorite spell, because of all of the awesome environment stuff you can do!)

[@DA-nk6gx]

I absolutely love characters like this. Thanks for sharing!

[@Anvandiel]

Yo I can't express how much I LOVE this concept

[@pixlh3art523]

@@Anvandiel I agree and my friend is a mad genius for just ambushing us with this character concept, but I also just *had* to say how much I love your username. 800/10 thank you

[@Spiceodog]

The only thing I consider when choosing spells for my bard is how awesome they could look in her signature violin+dance+ magic display performances . From silent image depicting legendary heroes and there feats to a color spray fairy fire thunder-RAVE PARTY! She is so fricking fun to play, and her spell list is still somewhat ok for combat by pure coincidence, sure she’s still the weakest character in the party , but do to some luck and good stat rolls, it’s just barely noticeable, well if I didn’t blow all my slots as soon as I see a potential audience that is.

[@WillowTheLacera]

I had an unoptomized character once! He was a Kobold barbarian. He died session 1. I'd love to play him again.

[@Mduenisch]

Oh, I'd love to play a campaign where the party plays as Kobolds

[@FlatOnHisFace]

@@Mduenisch You need the Beer & Pretzels Role-playing game: Kobolds Ate My Baby!. (The period is to conclude my sentence. The exclamation mark is part of the game's title.)

[@kev_whatev]

Say his name

[@skippy9273]

Why did he die?

[@sgoorhuis]

So make a Kobold necromancer and make it his mission to bring him back. When it succeeds you can have an emotional breakdown because you love them both

[@garrondumont]

I'm a minmaxer, I love finding the best way to do things, but the absolute best ways of building each class has already been solved a long time ago, so I find it much more fun to limit myself with a set of boundaries, and then find what the "best" character is within those boundaries. For example, Kobolds don't make the best barbarians, but I absolutely love the idea of an Ancestral Guardian Kobold who summons the ancient spirit of an ancestor (most likely his grandfather) as this gigantic ethereal dragon head made of pure draconic rage. I love the image of a small harmless looking Kobold approaching a group of people who laugh at his stature, only to be terrified when they see the dragon spirit hovering over him. Creating perfect characters is boring. It's the minutiae of characters that make them fun. If the character is already perfect, how can they improve?

[@UberMangaka]

I had a kobold barbarian in my Pathfinder game who multiclassed to Oracle and then Rage Prophet (which needs both of those classes to meet its prereqs). He quit for various reasons but one of them was the Ninja/Magus/Dragon Disciple in the party outperformed him in every aspect of combat. That said I wholly agree with the "best solution within the boundaries." I often think up a character concept and then look how to optimize that concept not necessarily for combat but for _realizing the concept_. One of my character ideas was a conjurer halfling who _always_ would have the perfect item for the situation either at her disposal or conjure it through creation spells. I found various character options that would allow me to set aside an amount of wealth which I can then spontaneously spend for items up to a certain value, representing my character just being _that_ intuitive and well prepared. I have yet to use this character in a game but I am eager to do so.

[@carjis]

so you made a DND Stand?

[@lagg1e]

@@carjis Oh god, you made me excited to play monk now. My stand, "another one bites the dust" has already taken effect the moment you coughed! I need nonsensicalspirit karate.

[@somegoodsoup7008]

Did you just give your Kobold a Persona/Stand?

[@ajh3461]

I do a similar thing but I try to minmax with unusual goals in mind. Most attacks per turn, longest range, highest vertical jump, etc.

[@ASMRtisan]

Hi Ginny. We're a bunch of 50 year old's who've been playing RPGs for forty years and still do twice a week. You play the damn game anyway you want . You're doing it right when everyone around that table is having fun. It's lovely, hearing about you discover this great hobby and hear some new ideas from you that remind me what we need to be doing with our games. Thanks for doing what you're doing. Any time you find yourself in Blighty, you can come game with us any time :)

[@sonicspoondriver210]

Ginny: build your characters wrong! Me, who played a wizard that used a set of cards against humanity instead of standard spells: you don’t need to tell me twice!

[@IceFire1800]

"this isnt the deck of many things i was expecting"

[@sannebov7935]

How did that work?

[@a.hendblade5291]

I would like to hear how that would even work.

[@Styx2749]

My inspiration for the day.

[@botchamaniajeezus]

you cant just say this then refuse to elaborate

[@0opsie]

I have a wizard necromancer who I roleplay as a healer, using his power to stave off Death from his allies and bring it to his foes. The whole character is based around the balance of life and death and the "cost" of magical healing. I have things like vampiric touch, grim harvest, and life transference. When I commit to a heal it costs me HP, which as a wizard is pretty valuable!

[@skippy9273]

So you use life transference?

[@professionalyusukesimp]

100% how necromancers should work. Most healing spells like cure wounds and healing word should be necromancy anyway, since it’s manipulating another creature’s life force

[@TheBestSam42]

I have a Spore Druid who is a plant after being cursed (long story), this curse also gives him the maturity of an 8 year old, and for those who’d it’s know children are psychos. So he acts like a little soft boy Druid child but he also has an extreme fascination with death and collects heads because he doesn’t care about currencies. So the party knows him as a psycho but the outside world thinks he’s adorable. He’s also a carnivore because he cares more about plant life than animal life

[@mareklwhip4590]

That's actually really cool! I've never heard of something like that. Super unique character design

[@briancollis1809]

My frail little sorcerer who has a feat in tavern brawler to reflect her time as a barmaid in a rough waterside tavern approves of this message :D

[@calebsmith4530]

I played a dwarven bartender who has grappler and tavern brawler. He loves throwing and pinning while saying “You’re cut off, Pal!”

[@cara3566]

My sorcerer has the actor feat, which is pretty useless, but it makes sense for her backstory and forces me to think creatively about who I could pretend to be to improve a situation.

[@JackXombi]

@David Bunge CHEF OP! The party never lacks housing or friends ... or pets... or....

[@JackXombi]

Actor's amazing if you have access to the Change Self spell.

[@JackXombi]

@David Bunge I totally know the rules, but being a master chef opens up so may role play encounters that it's a blast :)

[@brifox]

"If Eldritch Blast was necessary for a Warlock, it wouldn't be an option. It would just be a class feature." *holds up crown* You dropped this, queen.

[@aWinterCrow]

Meanwhile, one thing that often prevents me from playing clerics and paladins is that they absolutely *have* to impose hands and punish undead and the sort. I want options dammit!

[@brifox]

@@aWinterCrow I mean... I dunno about Paladins, but clerics are far and away the most versatile class in the game. Name any character you want to play and there’s a subclass that can perform it.

[@aWinterCrow]

@@brifox when you get into the meat of it, they are, but the way the base classes are flavored in the players handbook has always turned me off. They do read very similar thematically and they get the same starting toolbox, while other classes feel very different in their subclass branching. It's hard for me to get away from that first impression.

[@theramendutchman]

Okay unpopular opinion, since so many class feats depend on Eldritch Blast... IT SHOULD BE A CLASS FEATURE!! If an experienced player wants to tell their DM "I want to play a Warlock... That doesn't understand how to cast Eldritch Blast!" then that's great! (it would be like Ginny's character!) But new players shouldn't accidentally be making a Warlock without Eldritch Blast because they didn't know how integral it is to their class

[@aWinterCrow]

@@theramendutchman Fair point, but maybe it should be the other way around, maybe class features shouldn't depend on particular spells and be more versatile instead. I find such railroading kinda boring. Sure, it may help you make your first character, but it may also make every subsequent character too samey :/

[@hadrienpoudevigne2269]

In the words of Sam Riegel: "What is the worst character ? I want to be the worst character...." ;)

[@Galastan]

Which is ironic, because Scanlan is probably the strongest member of Vox Machina. And Nott isn't far behind either.

[@johnmerkl8744]

Not is only second to Jester, who is a Cleric from a "useless" domain. (As I've heard it mentioned before.)

[@Dicefinity]

@@johnmerkl8744 I just looked at trickery domain spells and modify memory , pass without a trace. the party would be dead without it

[@preacherjohn]

Abserd! XD

[@Enazel]

@@johnmerkl8744 I love Jester Character, she isn't a standard cleric but boy she does good with what she wants to do :)

[@LetholdusKaspyr]

I optimize within concept, and I help other players do so. I put the story first, then try to make it work mechanically. I find it a lot more fun than playing the best build for the class.

[@xxTifaxForeverxx]

I made a Druid who absolutely, *completely* hates the outdoors. I love Evelyn.

[@tomroberts1105]

Ah, yes, Phyton, the 'Parking Lot Druid' god.

[@RBelmont007]

A druid that shunned society, and retreated to the wilderness because he had a gambling problem, and becoming one with nature sounded more appealing than getting kneecapped over debts.

[@mr.preston1632]

Thats insane ( but awesome ), thats like making a fighter who can’t fight

[@eyflfla]

@@mr.preston1632 Spider Robinson had a character that was HUGE so no one ever dared mess with him, consequently he knew very little about actual fighting.

[@joshphillips5238]

Druid who only likes potted plants, or becomes a Druid to give them power over nature only so they can become a better lumberjack

[@bmscd]

I can see a protest now, be all, "You would dare make a character built for role play, in a role play game? You monster!"

[@starshinewindlord2716]

🧡

[@ovbrook3057]

Here's the thing, and is why I, respectfully, disagree with this video - you can make any character, optimized or not, interesting for roleplay. But combat is a part of the game, one that people belittle and downplay the importance of all the time - it is a *pillar* of the game, equal in importance to roleplay and exploration. A game lacking a pillar is, in my experience, unsatisfying. Ginny seems to be speaking from the perspective of an extremely combat light campaign, and while its perfectly valid to enjoy those sorts of campaigns, play the game how you want, I have found that they make a lot of your decision points with your character largely irrelevant. Roleplay heavy campaigns tend to come down to "can you cast spells, especially illusion and enchantment? Are you a rogue? If not, none of the traits and features your character gets are relevant to the game, sorry." And that feels really bad if you wanna play a fighter or a monk or something. But, whats the problem with playing a character that's built "wrong" in a more traditional campaign? You are a part of a team, and if your character misses all their attacks and/or does a miniscule amount of damage, as a rogue or another class where that's the entire point, then that's also just not going to be fun. Its not generally fun to have everything make their saving throws against your spells because you thought you would be quirky and make a 12 intelligence evocation wizard. And it won't often be fun for your teammates who have to play protect-the-useless-person all combat. Generally DnD characters are built to fill a role. And by all means, make that an unconventional role, but just make sure you can fill it. And, mind you, in spite of all of this, I still won't say that it's wrong to build a character wrong, if your table is on board with it and you find it satisfying. But its equally wrong to say that building a character wrong is a) right, or b) necessary for roleplay.

[@starshinewindlord2716]

@@ovbrook3057 I disagree with the entire trope, cliche, meme, whatever you wanna call it, that tries to claim if you wanna be good at fighting you have to be a complete brick at all other things. I created a (4th edition) ardent, not monk, not fighter, not multiclass, who was just a guy looking for some way to get home. He's just a guy, until it's combat, then on the one hand he's deeply disturbed that dead's on the list of things that can happen, and on the other hand, thinking is OVER, he's done with this shit. Combat is OVER when his people come out the other end of it. Also his elven upbringing. Turns out he knows which end of a sword is stabby and which edge of a sword is sharp at a good solid instinctive level. I mean, I coulda said "elf fighter" and just played this same guy. All his maneuvers would be that instinct though. I could have said "elf barbarian" and read it out as .... um, Survival, it's a thing I could have said "elf wizard" and made sure it's all force magic. (this one IMO is a stretch, but as RP it does work)

[@twelvefootnine]

@@ovbrook3057 - "But combat is a part of the game..." First things first, saying "but X is part of the game" is a meaningless argument against something else that is *ALSO* "part of the game". Secondly, *Having a DM* balance the diverse elements of the game to accommodate player preferences, party composition, and the challenges of given modules is "part of the game" too. Thirdly, *support characters* are a thing, *kit bag* characters are a thing, having different and varied roles in combat is a thing. Adapting and overcoming challenges in spite of one's weaknesses is a thing... not only that, but it is a central theme to the fantasy genre and ALL roleplaying games. Finally, creating characters with good characterful flaws is absolutely true to the source material of fantasy literature and mythology that D&D is based on. Making "optimized" protagonists is decidedly NOT in-keeping with that source material. So... No. You could not be more incorrect. Ginny is absolutely on the right track with this advice. Make the game whatever you want. Build flaws into your character. Cut against the established 'meta' all you want. Just have fun!

[@Stolanis]

@@twelvefootnine You didn't read everything ovBri wrote before you replied, did you? Let's fast forward to the last part: 'And, mind you, in spite of all of this, I still won't say that it's wrong to build a character wrong, if your table is on board with it and you find it satisfying. But its equally wrong to say that building a character wrong is a) right, or b) necessary for roleplay.' Essentially what ovBri is saying is that there is no 'one right way' to play the game: combat and roleplay are equally important and ultimately it's up to your DM and your party to decide what kind of campaign you want to play. You hurried to write a comment disagreeing with someone that you... actually agree with. IMO you can do whatever you want - but the important thing is that you don't throw caution to the wind designing your character to be as WACKY as possible if it makes the game less fun for others - or, to put it another way, you don't get to put your own fun before the group's fun. If you've agreed to be part of a combat-focused campaign, I feel it's only polite to at least try to make a combat-effective character - vice-versa if it's a RP-focused campaign. If you don't want to play that kind of campaign you can always say 'sounds cool but sorry it ain't for me'. I don't see why we have to go around trying to force our preferred playstyle on others.

[@felipeuseche332]

After playing 15 years and learning so much of Ginny's advice the hard way, I'm really happy new folk starting their journey with ttrpgs, be them D&D or not, have this kind of videos to help them navigate the really confusing, and even hostile, rpg culture.

[@WaywardSon5]

4:32 "For example, combining a race with no intelligence bonus with an intelligence-based class." You guessed one of my favorite characters from years past! I played a half-orc wizard in a campaign, and the biases it exposed lead him to disdain physical solutions when a magical one was available. It was so fun to have him run out of spell slots in a big fight (3rd ed D&D, btw) and have to resort to his staff as a weapon . . . then get a critical hit and utterly demolish his opponent, to his own annoyance. :)

[@jamesjoy7547]

*the party:* "You did it! You deaded the guy!" *half-orc:* "Yes. But with a stick. It lacked intellectual engagement. (sigh)

[@jessicakavin4178]

I made a rogue. She's a human. That means the sneak of the party is the only member who can't see in the dark... I love her so much; her story is getting so good thanks to our DM being awesome. The twist? She's not edgy! She's a shy but friendly runaway from a noble house.

[@MykeDiemart]

what crazyness is this! :P

[@kalvaithion]

This actually sounds really cool, I always 'disliked' the 'edgy' rogue, i feel they've been done to death.

[@bibliophilecb]

The party I’m DMing has two rogues. One is a halfling, one is a human. Neither has night vision. And then one time they were sneaking down a dungeon and they were like “hey let’s extinguish our torches so we can sneak better!” I had traps in that dungeon. It was...interesting. 😂

[@bibliophilecb]

@Shinobi One haha I mean there wasn’t even any indication that there was a need for them to sneak! I think they just forgot that neither of them had dark vision lol.

[@bibliophilecb]

@Shinobi One haha I think they’re both so experienced that they were shaking it up, otherwise they’re great rogues but they were just sharing one braincell that night 😂

[@ParadoxNerdHLM]

"I'm not saying you should make a character who's bad at everything" My Dice Roles: Too late

[@jeremypace249]

At Level 11, I'm still failing DC saves because I roll 2-5 80% of the time. Optimization, stat-boosting items, and spells to boost my saves are the only thing between my character living through a game and the sound of paper ripping apart.

[@cooperton4949]

Halfling diviner with the luck feat bud. Makes the die rolls more suggestions than anything lol

[@matthiasmortier3627]

@@cooperton4949 the DM and your fellow players might just hate you if you just reroll everything. Erasing the option of failure (at least to me) sounds boring as all hell. Not to mention how long your turns could take. 1? I'm a Halfling. Immune to 1s. 3? Too low. Lucky feat! 5? Fuck it. Using a divination roll This every other combat turn might get annoying.

[@MasterPoppers]

@@jeremypace249 Did your dice get Wheaton-cursed or something?

[@jeremypace249]

@@MasterPoppers It's not just my dice. I play on Fantasy Grounds now, and I missed two Save vs. Death with a "5" and a "4". (Of course, the Circle of Death was from an epic-level lich, but still.) It happens on electronic dice too!

I'm currently playing a Kenku trickster cleric with an Int of 5. He's so breathtakingly stupid that he does not realise he is a cleric. I've never had so much fun.

[@lilchristuten7568]

How can he not realize he's a cleric? That's not something that you can do without realizing it.

@@lilchristuten7568 He‘s a charlatan. He thinks he‘s running a fantastically long con. Meanwhile a number of trickster divinities are competing for his soul. His spells are somewhat accidental. Because he‘s a Kenku, he‘s mimicking what another charlatan was doing, bilking the faithful out of tithes. The medium term plan is to look into switching to warlock just as soon as he signs his little book of „scripture.“ It‘s my way of turning a set of decidedly middling ability scores - with one very low score - into something playable. The DM and the rest of the party are enjoying their „mascot bird“ very much.

[@robertmccracken3763]

I once made a Kenku Monk for a one shot and I've never laughed so much at a game of dnd

@@robertmccracken3763 kenkus are so underrated even for serious role playing.

[@chaerodactyl]

@ I love this whole character premise so goddamn much. bless you, fellow kenku shenaniganer

[@MultiSkyron]

I play a Half-Orc Paladin that didn't realize for the first few levels that he was a Paladin. It is still my favourite character ever. Every time we get in a fight, I love playing him as a brute fighter, going for things he isn't specialized in like grappling, throwing random stuff, headbutting people and going for unarmed combat. This certainly doesn't put out the raw amount of damage that I could be doing, it makes for far more interesting combat and roleplay. I am a DM, and urge my players to play what they think is cool, and to stop focussing on numbers and optimisation.

[@joseda3rd354]

This is hilarious and fantastic!

[@superanni97able]

Sometimes we all (or maybe just me) need a person, who says: "So do it! Pick any cupcake! You are allowed!" in similar kind of situations)

[@Catarinasunnergren]

"You forgot to pick offensive spells." "Nope. Didn't forget. Don't want 'em."

[@Vinemaple]

I'm told this is actually an optimized (gasp!) wizard build. For keeping the party alive. Sounds like a lot of fun, too.

[@Catarinasunnergren]

@@Vinemaple I was actually a bard, traveling the world in search of great stories to tell at home.

[@loconius]

@@Catarinasunnergren that sounds like a fun bard to play

[@2GoatsInATrenchCoat]

any chance you were inspired by Dandelion from the Witcher?

[@Catarinasunnergren]

@@2GoatsInATrenchCoat Nope. Had yet to read Witcher at the time. Ths character was much more naive and kind hearted than Dandelion.

[@JeremiahMcCoy]

I have always hated the "you're doing it wrong" refrains on mechanical decisions in D&D. Let me enjoy my character.

[@colinsmith1495]

If you and your friends are having fun, you're not doing it wrong. At the same time, there are a myriad of different types of players who enjoy different types of play. Ginny Di seems to be more of a Roleplayer than a Powergamer, which is perfectly fine as long as everyone else is good with that kind of play.

[@DeathnoteBB]

I hate it on anything creative, like art and writing. I get learning the basics is good but fuck, even when you try your best to be accurate, shit’s never perfect. When you do creative stuff on purpose, it’s never perfect. Let creativity be fun dammit!

[@jonathanwessner3456]

Heck, people think that if you build a specific class killer, then that other class is OP. They believe in a "one best build" mentality

[@acarnivorouslizardfolk1033]

I agree. I think a lizard folk paladin would be pretty awesome, and I don’t care of some people say they can’t do that.

[@sapphiremochi6431]

I know exactly what you mean. I have a DM that I frequently play with and when I show her the roughs for my character sheet, she often tells me to change things simply because it's "not the right choice for my class" even if I have picked it for narrative reasons. :(( It's gotten to the point where she often just ends up making the character for me so it's built the way she wants it to be built. I still always mange to have fun but... I wish she'd give me more freedom ^_^"

[@twelvefootnine]

I could hear the Ferengi influence oozing from Ginny's utterance of "feeeee-males!" and I'm 100% here for it!

[@PTGumby]

"That sh*t is a gift!!" -Matthew Mercer (regarding really low stats)

[@majomaheriose]

Fav Mercer Quote ever I believe he was talking about Grogg's Int stat at that point

[@calasurien]

If you are rolling for stats, getting 3 is 21 times less likely than getting 18 If you get it, you are chosen by the dice gods to carry it

[@PTGumby]

"I have an intelligence of six. I know what I'm doing."

[@AdamLindgrenComposer]

He said it again two or three episodes ago, I think, regarding Caduces

[@ismileusmileforever8879]

My next campaigns character has a 9 for charisma and 8 for strength. She is a caster who is weak, small and very socially awkward. It's based off her background as well. I love her so much too!

[@justsomeguy0873]

One of my favorite characters EVER was a kobold barbarian "meh" stats and delusions of grandeur. He was so fun that I still think about bringing him back occasionally.

[@kylejacques8577]

Mine was a bumbling sorcerer that I wrote as comic relief

[@mathiasnizlie8206]

Mine is a rogue/warlock that is adorable bundle of joy for the team but a menace for the enemy. Idk how but my actrobatics multiplier is +13 without any magic items

[@Spiceodog]

I pretty much optimized everything about my character that doesn’t go against my backstory, with one BIG EXCEPTION. The only thing I consider when choosing my spells is how awesome they would be in her performances. Color spray fairy fire thunder-RAVE PARTY!

[@daikage]

I loved my kobold bard. He was proficient in slide whistle and kazoo.

[@Trumpster05]

I had a kobold stormlord of Talos. It was basically an epic level one-shot challenge to create a crazy character from an overlooked race. He became literally untouchable as he was too small to hit while flying around in a storm and throwing a returning lightning javelin.

[@InTheNickofTime]

Damn, this kinda takes some pressure off my back. Maybe I need to find another group because I would love to roleplay more.

[@Squeekysquid]

It's been a month, but I have an idea. It may come off as condescending, but try actually talking to the table to see what they think. If you have then find a table that suits what you want out of the game.

[@illumANark]

Then you might like to jump into my Sci-Fi universe with a home brew ruleset that enhances player agency.. would love to have you

[@morgangriffiths2843]

I also have a couple 5e games going on. We don't do serious campaigns, my elderly necromancer is clinically insane, he has problems with his memory but is super charismatic. Like the other people who commented, you're welcome to join the mess that my group call a campaign (I'd have to ask, but that's never stopped me before).

[@Soundwave._]

@@illumANark Homebrew sci-fi with an emphasis on agency? That sounds awesome...

[@illumANark]

@@Soundwave._ if you have a discord account you could participate in the playtests

[@jemtaylor3738]

This video inspired me to create a tiefling wizard named Lestat Stormebrooke. complex backstory aside he has NO damage spells (aside from hellish rebuke) but instead, entirely illusion spells that prevent enemies from hitting him. He is a wizard who is a tank who has low hp, a little known combo. He gets up in the enemies face and with his fleet of mirror images and illusions keeps the enemies eyes on him, or rather hims.

[@swordsman111982]

Ginny Di: “You should play what you want” Me, a lover of Purple Dragon Knight: “this woman is very wise”

[@Spiceodog]

Is it as bad as people say?

[@FinchesFables]

Banneret isn't the worst subclass out there, especially considering how strong the base fighter chassis is, personally I adore the idea of a noble knight being the party face instead of it always being a bard or sorcerer.

[@ryuuseiferretSP]

Hi, I am Battlerager and I would like to shake your hand.

[@ChartreuseDan]

"I love you, you love me, we're a happy fa-mi-ly"

[@andromedastormcrow3288]

Love is love!

[@byrd6973]

Ginny: I write for D&D, and if you're watching this so do you! Me, crying: Please, I want to! I just need one of these "parties" I have heard so much about!

[@acarnivorouslizardfolk1033]

Me too!

[@MrBizteck]

It took me a long time too. Join a bunch of dnd discords from people like mr ripper and I looked on 'meet up' found a large rpg groups and tried a bunch of 1 shots.

[@acarnivorouslizardfolk1033]

@@MrBizteck that sounds like a good idea. I might have to try that.

[@SyaShim]

My party consists of me... and single friend that finally failed her charisma check and agreed to play. Sooo yeah, tell me where to hunt for players

[@matnovak]

I assembled a full party (including a DM) through r/lfg in less than 2hrs (we had our Session 0 today). You can too!

[@ashleyhallgrimson3696]

Our "flawed" "wrong" character is the only one who hasn't died in our dungeon crawl...so maybe we're the wrong ones for even trying to optimize lol

[@sushiamg5767]

There are plenty of features from the lowest levels that allow to a degree to bypass a lot of the rng and allow for a well-structured party to escape with minimal casualties from most combats if they are being strategic and careful. Needless to say that it is a rare way of playing the game, due to it being perceived as boring by a majority of the players. Rightfully so.

[@pilkkimies]

@Ashley Nachbar could you tell us more?

[@TheTrunks340]

I've been there done that, being the only survivor...

[@ashleyhallgrimson3696]

@@pilkkimies I posted more in a comment to someone else but I'll repost it here. "Us, "Fire would be really helpful right now!" Our wizard, "oh, right!" Pulls out a torch. Us: 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️🤦 He also accidentally established in game that he doesn't actually transcribe spells, they just appear in his book and he learns them from there...so now the DM gets to pick his spells OR he can roll for them."

[@pilkkimies]

@@ashleyhallgrimson3696 this sounds like something I would do ngl

[@emilylynch8360]

I just want to say thank you! I ran across one of your videos today and the way you explain characters in d&d has helped me tremendously. I am really new to d&d and I’m already in 3 different campaigns so its a lot to keep up with. It feels amazing to see that other girls are just as passionate about playing d&d as I am. In my group I am the only girl who plays d&d so it felt like the other guys didn’t really accept me. They don’t let me talk much and I’m not the type of person to interrupt someone else while they are talking. I just had a session last night and the dm didn’t give me a big role because i didn’t have a big backstory. Its like they just expect me to know everything they know and none of them really taught me anything. They are also not into experimenting races with different classes and when i do something unusual they tell me that its not a good idea. Its hard being the only girl because they put you into a stereotype of “you don’t know anything and you should just quit.” i’ve already had an encounter like that where one of the dm’s told another player that if i don’t start talking during session then i should just quit. I really don’t want to quit and i’m doing my best to study and understand the game but I think they don’t understand that its just a game.

[@dgendm2736]

Emily - they are right, you should quit. But not because you are new, or bad at D&D, or a girl. You should quit because they suck. I've been a DM for over 25 years. New players are the BEST. I love getting players who have never played D&D. I can use old tropes again, and see them through new eyes. I can have people get really excited because they defeated a goblin ambush, instead of making it look like they solved a boring math problem. Anyone who doesn't encourage a new player is missing out on some real joy. There are good DMs and groups out there. Spend the time to find one, and you will enjoy D&D so much better. Good luck!

[@emilymartin5418]

Quitting a table that toxic isn't capitulating, it's self-preservation. Sorry your first experience was full of jerks, I hope you've had better luck in the time since that comment.

[@darkprincessdragon]

I tried to build a half-orc transmutation only wizard, but my table didn't like that. Took it out on character in game. So now my character has anger issues and fireball.

[@BuchananBrandon]

"Good. Good. Your hate has made you powerful." - Democratically Elected Chancellor Palpatine

[@andromedastormcrow3288]

I'm sorry about that backlash from your group, transmutation only is a supper dope idea. Most of my fave spells are transmutation

[@DragonsFae]

my first ever dm didnt like my wizard so he gave her 3 madnesses and she never lost any of them even thought there was a short term and long term.

[@druid_zephyrus]

While I am saddened by the dickery, I applaud the RP response.

[@DooDooSpaghetti]

u should throw your fireballs as close to your party members (near enemies of course) as well as indoors so that everything catches fire! throw fireballs at ANY and EVERY chance especially when a party member loses a diplomacy check! and keep doing it. try to see if another character is willing to roleplay an apology. if not... try this, always go first on guard duty when everyone sleeps, and secretly tell the gm that you want to role perception with disadvantage on purpose (because you're focusing on your anger than keeping a lookout) and whenever the GM says you hear something... WHAM! FIREBALL! and try to catch fire in or near your immediate camp site ruining their sleep!

[@StoryModeGames101]

Nothing like a Goliath barbarian who took levels in wizard just so he can be call the librabarian

[@impish_snake3526]

😝

[@JC_R8MEOW]

Sooooo using this idea sometime, LOL

[@StoryModeGames101]

@@JC_R8MEOW I built it with int and str being the two top stats and I dumped dex. Lv 5 before you multi class tho least that how I did it

[@Salt_discriminater]

@@gerardomena4250 👏

[@rhysconoley-marsh9327]

That's awesome

[@jerseyhammer1951]

Non dexterous rouge with the Lucky feat makes for many, "better lucky than good" moments.

[@JWLuiza]

Nice!

[@TsarofScars]

Variant human rogue, take Lucky at level 1, drop a +2 or even a +1 in Dex, enjoy

[@lowgun5149]

Rogue

[@jerseyhammer1951]

@@TsarofScars mine was actually a halfling, to get the automatic refills on a Nat 1, then took lucky, when I was able to get a second feat, took sharp shooter as my first feat, and during battles hid behind one of my allies which were all medium sized.

[@NotYourAverageNothing]

Strength-based instead of dex-based rogues are perfectly viable in terms of power. I’m eventually going to play one that announces all of their sneak attacks like a Shonen character.

[@jlinus7251]

I played a gnome who was forced to be a garden gnome as a slave in the past. And he was a wild magic mage who basically screwed up every spell he did. I think that's what made him fun to play. The fact that he was a nervous wreck and slowly learning to be more confident and that reflecting on how his spells got less terribly destructive over time with his confidence.

[@BlackCoyote66]

I knew I'd like this from the title, and loved it from the first 10 seconds. I want to give this more likes.

[@archerbommer4816]

same

[@acarnivorouslizardfolk1033]

Me too.

[@kennymahan9354]

Just going to say, Warforged Druid cause Transformers are cool.

[@danku1122]

If you go Circle of the Forged, then BEAST WARS!!!!!

[@CapitanaGabs]

In my current party of DnD we have one PC like this and I love them with all my heart. And it's freaking useful.

[@BattleKing00]

That is brilliant!

[@kennethmahan5527]

@@danku1122 Indeed!

[@ivanupton6586]

my current group has a Warforged Grave domain Cleric

[@DannyboyO1]

Why *wouldn't* someone want to play a Tiefling Paladin? They join the order in their rebellious teens to get away from one or two bad parents, and... lesse... resistant to fire, free thaumaturgy cantrip... (free megaphone and mood lighting!) and a rebuke. And charisma's the casting stat for a paladin. Plus, you get out of a lot of family reunions! Win-win, really. :D (dammit, now you've given me a whole new character I want to play.)

[@GinnyDi]

Ha!! I was trying to reference the idea of a an infernal creature being a holy warrior (especially since so much of D&D's literature points out that Tieflings are often treated with prejudice and suspicion for their heritage), but as I hope this video made clear, I agree that it would be awesome!! I just know there are some tables where you'd get flack for the choice.

[@ZeldaRoseSongbook]

One of my best friends has a Tiefling Paladin and it's amazing to watch her play!

[@H9092-2]

@@ZeldaRoseSongbook I played a Tiefling Swordcerer who was a demon hunter because she was... well... had an Adventurer's Family Life

[@slashermas]

I have a tiefling Paladin of the Crown in a game I'm playing, his best friend is a dwarf cleric that is actively hostile against ANY fiends despite my Paladin's constant "don't be racist" jives to him...and we're the parents of our crazy kids...they just adopted a baby hydra, help me.

[@rohwynn]

I've got a tall, buff, minty skinned teifling paladin named Uriel. A strong moral compass who is determined to outlive her mothers toxic legacy. She's not the most social but she has a soft spot for animals

[@arianypronouns290]

i love this advice!! i'm partially doing this for my first dnd character because it's a very casual campaign with a full table. they're a bard whose instrument is the washboard and whose weapon is the boomerang, but they're also a changeling and usually appear about 6 y/o. i chose the washboard and boomerang to help emphasize that they are less mature than their peers. i'm in love with them thematically, and it's led to some really funny moments for the whole table. can't agree with her advice enough!

[@beardlessdragon]

"Take any cupcake. You're allowed." Me: *takes entire tray*

[@doxicfilms]

I take the whole room my dude

[@BordrKing]

Abserd would like to know your location

[@hawkerm8419]

Taste the rainbow.

[@Taricus]

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" **makes giant eyes while trying to fit another cupcake in**

[@brendankearney3929]

I made a druid who could only wild shape into bugs. She was fun

[@yinnyari]

My warforged druid (after chatting with the DM) didn't wildshape, they possessed animals instead.

[@godofzombi]

Thats pretty cool, stealth due to being small, and well a bug. Flight. Depending on species, deal poison damage. Maybe even ignore AC when you crawll under their armor. Also: Could you wild shape into one bug or a swarm? Man, I'd totally play a druid who could shape into a swarm of killer bees.

[@brendankearney3929]

@@godofzombi we checked the rules and you can only wild shape into a single creature, can't swarm unfortunately. However, giant centipede has some terrifying damage output at low levels. We were hunting a coven of sea hags. We were level 2 and we came up with a plan. The hag had tried to kidnap an infant and we had managed to fend her off. We sent the mother and her child to shelter at a church while we set a trap. The wizard cast minor illusion in the crib in the shape of the infant. The ranger and barbarian stood by the door in the shadows. I wild shaped into a giant centipede, holding a glass jar of smaller centipedes and hid within the illusion. When the hag reached over, I jumped up, smashed the jar of centipedes on her and and critical hit with a venomous bite.

[@alitaher003]

@@yinnyari What I'm hearing is that you could've been a Transformer but you didn't. BEAST WARS!

[@Spiceodog]

I could see why that would “Bug” people 😂😂😂 I’ll show myself out now

[@MinimalxEffort]

Them: You're playing D&D WRONG. Me: *Laughs in Tiefling Cleric/Barbarian multicalss.* Edit: Heck I never got this many likes on a comment before, thanks yall! And my Tiefling girl Smile says thank you too!

[@sparkusclark6176]

*chuckles in STR-based Tiefling Monk*

[@MinimalxEffort]

@@sparkusclark6176 Str tieflings will rule the world

[@sparkusclark6176]

@@MinimalxEffort For sure! Best part of High STR monk is how you only need Dex for two abilities. It's great when your big gorl lumbers up with her kensai warhammer and the 8 INT knowledge that she can headbutt this troll twice as an unarmed bonus action!

[@Nimbus_The_Slut]

*Laughs in STR-based Kobold fighter*

[@sparkusclark6176]

*also chortles in high Dex Barbarian halfling*

[@aris3054]

I love mixing races with not-so cliche classes they're combined with. I have a Fire Genasi Fighter-Samurai, a Half-Orc Monk, a Half-Elf Barbarian, a Changeling Artificer. It all makes sense how they got to those classes through their personality and/or backstory, and I love them all so much.

[@mgifford]

I'm sure that Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is driving these people nuts.

[@ARTEMISXIX]

I love Tasha's since you can finally make a fun character that doesn't die in combat. Sure you'll have encounters with minmaxers but you can usually sit them down and tell them to relax for once. 5E has never been better.

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

Tasha's wants the MinMaxers to plan something cute and fun too.

[@tompadfoot3065]

dude I've already seen so much gnashing of teeth over Tasha's for providing "too many options". Like wtf?

[@N7P2R2]

FACTS!

[@charliebohnsack3461]

​@@ARTEMISXIX Lol as a min/maxer it isn't that I'm not relaxed or anything I am just super passionate about the game and I really want my character to mechanically fit with the way I see them in my head. Plus I'm really happy about tasha's new rules for stats and stuff because now I can see which raical traits combine really well with class abilities and stuff. Also I feel like min/maxers and power gamers get a really bad reputation. I get that there are a few vocal ones out there who want to tell other people how to play, but most of us just really enjoy the challenge of building a strong character.

[@JT_Lich]

"Edgy flower princess" is a descriptor I never thought I'd hear. Nice.

[@julyol119]

Isn't that a pastel goth? :D

[@grendl74]

I just built a deep gnome barbarian who uses boomerangs. COME AT ME, INTERNET.

[@andrewwalton6236]

Jamm the Giant Lizard riding Halfling Barbarian/Beatmaster Ranger is happy with this

[@Jairden]

I will not come at you, you have boomerang gnome defending you.

[@MedievalMary]

I think that's freaking genius, and my gardening grandma halfling beast master of carnivorous plants applauds you.

[@42grath]

Get you a ridable Half-orc and you have yourself an adventure for the legends my friend.

[@tomisabum]

Oh god, it's because they come from A LAND DOWN UNDER, I both hate and adore you.

[@AshtonGaymoore]

I'm just getting into D&D, I've played a one shot and now I'm in my first ongoing game w/ my bf DM'ing and other friends. I am obsessed with your channel because I am STILL so nervous when it comes to playing and role playing. This video really made me so happy. I have so many ideas for my current and future characters and I've been afraid I wasn't making the right choices, but it just sounded fun. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

[@bast713]

I hope your D&D playing is going well!

[@Taljer6174]

Okay, so I'm one of the people who LOVES optimizing characters, and I still agree with everything said in this video. I learned very quickly that just making a character powerful doesn't make them fun to play. Nowadays when I make new characters I think about more than just how high their average damage per round is, or whatever it is I'm trying to optimize. I think about weaknesses that are a fun counterpart to their strengths, and abilities that give me options in roleplay or fun ways to interact with my party. Optimizing works in both directions, and it's equally fun for me to attempt to give my Loxodon max-athletics grappler Echo Knight the LOWEST possible stealth bonus I can, which sets me up to have hilarious moments of utter failure trying to sneak literally anywhere, as well as epic moments of decimating anyone within grappling distance. Optimizing fun is MUCH harder (and MUCH more rewarding) than optimizing mechanics. That being said, I think it's important that people that fall in my camp recognize that its not how everyone enjoys the game, and to take responsibility for ensuring that everyone we're playing with is having fun. As people with (usually) more time sunk into examining all the options at our disposal than your average player, we are well equipped to guide people through the options they have, so long as we remember that guiding does not include giving advice. I strive to be the person at the table who can bring us back to "but what would your character do" when we stray to far into trying to figure out what the optimal action to take would be.

[@TheCrimsonCat89]

I feel the same way amigo

[@williamcanavan3318]

You are 100% correct. and as for any cries of "foul" from the "old Guard" they clearly never rolled a character 3d6 in order...

[@Captaincrazy36]

William Canavan or even better, 1d20 in order

[@grant0013]

Yep! Anyone who’s tried the Red Box knows what it’s like to play a weak, unoptimized character! 5e’s actually more power gamer friendly than older editions. The old guard is with you

[@XCrawlFan]

As a member of the 'I've been playing a long time' demographic, it took a while to see this point, but the story is now more important than anything else, so I get it.

[@eldardrakeson]

@@grant0013 hahahah... fistbump for redbox. I grew up on that sht.

[@PghArch]

Exactly! I miss when characters were just those rolled values, a class, and a story that evolved through play. The whole notion of planned builds still rubs me the wrong way.

[@stevenklinden]

"If you want to play something focused on story, D&D is the wrong game for you" is something I hear all the time, sadly. And my response is usually, "Look, I've been playing D&D this way since the early '90s, and it seems to be working so far." D&D has always been about a lot more than killing monsters.

[@Babseth]

So much this. Also.... did they miss the ways that 5E slants more toward character-driven role-play than previous editions?

[@SolomonQuinn2024]

People will apparently say anything to feel right, even if what they are saying is so inherently wrong by every basis. It's called braindead self- interest propaganda. The sickness of ballon ego's ready to pop at the first sign of a needle. Anything can be balanced and everything can be made to work, as long as the group and the DM are willing to/are capable of it. On the other hand, if people don't want to put in the work and the effort, plus communicate...you will find that those poeple think everything is broken, that there is only one way of doing things and all others are wrong etc. You have to know what you all want at your table, you should all agree to the compromise or unanimously with each other and let the DM guide you through things while playing the game your way...some like to be simply efficient, some like to RP more and be less efficient. When you know your players, and you know the game, nothing is a problem and there can only be good times whatever happens.

[@sassyviking6003]

Anyone who says that fails to understand the most fundamental rule of and RPG, which is to have fun. Everything else, and I mean everything, is optional. I mean hell, the rulebook even explicitly states all rules contained within are suggestions and guidelines that are intended to be altered to taste. This also means you can have an entirely story driven game where you never once even make an attack if you really wanted to and there is nothing wrong with that.

[@benjaminlabarge4899]

regardless what WotC says, they designed a game that rewards killing monsters almost exclusively, with character abilities keying in with that theme. Role playing in a fantasy setting never has to be that pidgeon-holed, but 5e is literally designed with killing as the focus. A game should be judged by what its mechanics direct you to do. Sure, you dont have to use the rules, but if you ignore the rules of 5e, you arent playing 5e.

[@stevenklinden]

@@benjaminlabarge4899 1) I'm not talking specifically about 5E; I'm talking about D&D in general. I play 2E, for instance, and I've often been told that it's "not the right system" for the kind of game I like to run. And yet, I've been successfully running this kind of game with it for thirty years. Now, if someone wants to claim that I'm "not playing D&D", I'd certainly argue that I am - but more importantly, that any such argument is purely one of semantics. Moreover, I'm familiar with the kind of game that people tend to argue I _should_ be using to run combat-light games with a heavy focus on story (Dungeon World, or FATE, or something along those lines), and I can definitely say that they are not for me. 2) I think that the idea of declaring that this or that part of the game is what one "should" focus on based on the page count devoted to it in the rules is misguided. I'd argue, on the contrary, that D&D's rules have historically placed more emphasis on combat than on, say, social interaction not so much because the designers wanted people to spend most of their time with combat, but rather because combat is the part that the designers felt players _needed_ rules for. Now, obviously, there are people who enjoy games with lots of social mechanics, and that's fine. But there are also still those of us who very much enjoy that aspect of roleplaying, but would prefer that the rules "get out of the way" at that point.

[@DanielBirrell]

I always love your ideas about roleplaying according to stats and class, it actually makes it so much easier to roleplay that way.

[@liebneraj]

To paraphrase a sign I once saw: D&D and sex have at least one thing in common; as long as you're having fun, you're doing it right.

[@rarazalproductions519]

Slight adjustment: As long as *everyone involved* is having fun. But yeah, I agree.

[@ink7761]

@@rarazalproductions519 The pain of the english language, inclusive and exclusive sound the same.

[@liebneraj]

@@rarazalproductions519 I would agree with that edit.

[@liebneraj]

@@ink7761 Ironic, isn't it, at how often inclusion leads to an exclusion?

[@n3v3rm0r3]

@Riley Harper it's doesn't matter what flavor of cake you get as long as you enjoy it.

[@Ironoclasty]

Next upcoming character: Poindexter, a wizard with an average intelligence who became a wizard because his mother told him to, but he has anger issues and gets frustrated when he runs out of spells and just starts punching the enemy; becomes a multi-classed barbarian

[@yinnyari]

I played a Human(veriant) Fighter in a 'Wizard Academy’ game, he did take the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat. He was the son of a wizard rich family, that just didn’t have that spark, I did multi-class into a wizard at 3rd level.

[@TheGaboom]

Funny you mention this, ive been trying to optimize / build a Barbarian/Wizard for a while Its notable that while you cannot cast or concentrate on spells, you can take actions related to spells I.E. If you have animated undead, you can still give them orders with bonus action. Not a lot of spells let you gain value like this while in a rage, but they do exist. And there is Glyph of Warding as well to avoid casting/concentrating Mostly though, its just a fun character concept

[@primeemperor9196]

"Imagine a dragonborn druid." I feel personally called out, given Dragonborn Druid is my favorite race/class combo.

[@SumnerHomeVideos]

Dragonborn Druid is the character I’m playing in a new campaign that starts tomorrow night and I’m really looking forward to it.

[@primeemperor9196]

@@SumnerHomeVideos I like to go moon druid with mine. And having a free resistance isn't anything to sneeze at.

[@TBoring]

Dragonborn Druids are fun. You still get to use your breath weapon while wildshaped. “Oh look an adorable chipmunk.” Then suddenly it breathes a cone of fire. It’s hysterical 🤣

[@SketchPaige]

same! That was my first character combo I ever made. Her name is Talyn and she's a sweetheart who loves animals and nature. Because of this, dragonborn druids hold a special place in my heart.

[@itzplant3196]

I like the sound of a Black Dragonborn Spores Druid or a Gold Dragonborn Desert Druid

[@scottmcgraw3749]

I've been playing D&D since the early 1980s, through almost all of its incarnations and I can tell you that some of the greatest fun we had as a group was when we made "broken' characters on purpose and cut loose. I once had a sorcerer with an Intelligence of 5. His backstory was that he was once an aspiring magic user that had a really bad encounter with an Intellect Devourer and got cracked in the head by the tail of a White Dragon that left him a shell of his former self. I played him like "Aunt Clara" from the old TV show Bewitched - always acting on top of his game but bumbling and screwing up things badly when needed. There was no pressure to outsmart anything. The roleplay was hella fun and hilarious. Good video!

[@cassandragidney7682]

"Hello friends... and FOES!" You've already earned that like. 🤣

[@oliverholm21]

DO NOT EAT THE CUPCAKE! Otherwise, you might find yourself being besties with a blue Tiefling with a gap in your memory...

[@johnny4560]

yeah I don't see the problem

[@joshuadixon8510]

Did you insinuate I'm a hag?

[@davidbeppler3032]

Everyone loves Laura.

[@oliverholm21]

@@joshuadixon8510 Those are your words not mine..

[@PaPaCrazy87]

Best moment in the whole campaign!!

[@beeplk7290]

Ginny: "imagine a lizardfolk monk!" Me: SHE MENTIONED MY BOY AAAAAA! Great video and points. People need to take fun less seriously.

[@allisonhomiak2336]

My friend has played a lizardfolk shadow monk since the beginning of our campaign. He has a reputation as our party's resident boss-killer. I'm starting to think that some of these "suboptimal builds" aren't even really that suboptimal.

[@zachperkins4092]

@@allisonhomiak2336 Monk Damage on my bite is what made my Barbarian Lizardfolk consider the multiclass. I haven't done it yet but I'm still considering it

[@allisonhomiak2336]

@@zachperkins4092 I can testify that biting people is a highly effective strategy. Edit: In the game, I mean.

[@allisonhomiak2336]

@ Agreed. I'd go so far as to say that between ASIs, magic items, and other means of increasing ability scores, the absence of a racial +2 to a class-relevant ability can be compensated for within the first few levels of play.

[@bme3317]

Halfling Monk -- hit 'em in the kneecaps

[@badassfood5713]

Damn straight! This is how the game used to be played when there were three books and a dozen modules to pull all of your fantasy from. This is how it used to be. There weren’t 200 books and 50 years of experiences. It was real and raw the way it should be! Don’t let anyone play your game for you. If you want a broken player that’s a blast to play then by all means do it. If people complain, chalk it up to inexperience and stupidity.

[@CarterDeLeo]

When you say it was "the way it should be" you're doing the exact same thing.

[@badassfood5713]

@@CarterDeLeo Your comment make no real sense to me. 35+ years ago when I was a hot blooded teenager, the internet as we know it didn’t exist. The content that you are used to, didn’t exist. KZbin didn’t exist. The movies, tv series, etc they didn’t exist either. But it all exist now because of the games that we played then. You may not get that, I understand. I don’t understand 5e! So we can draw an impasse, and agree to disagree. As I stated above, don’t let anyone play your game for you. By all means draw from the boundless content that us old fogeys thought up, instead of coming up with the content yourself. And by all means if you don’t like the current system, build your own. Write a book, publish a novel. Go live your life. But hey, 30 years from now when d&d is in its 20th iteration, you may look back and have a similar outlook. I bet the comment jockeys won’t be nearly as kind as I am. Cheers!

[@CarterDeLeo]

@@badassfood5713 no, I'm aware KZbin didn't exist 35 years ago. I "get" that, and also that you're being condescending. I also don't know what that had to do with you saying people should play the game however they want and not tell you the right way, but then also saying that the game as you played it is "how it should be". Edit: my response was overly sharp, but come on, yes I know these things. I was in college when KZbin came out.

[@badassfood5713]

I get that surprisingly often. Good gaming

[@kinchlmi]

The first DND group I was in, the DM literally told everyone what characters to roll so that there would be a “well made balanced group”. I promptly left the group.

[@gabrielrognon6238]

honnestly that can be a good starting point for a game if the DM want to initiate people to TTRPG and isn't that experimented either. New player can love the idea of weird caracter but then lake the inpiration to make them live and new DM (or even more experienced) can have a hard time to do less combat oriented missions. So if the first thing the group does is being kill or beaten by any encounter that can take a lot off of the experience. (that's why initiation pack often include pre roll caracters). If the players were well versed in the game then yes that's sad.

[@jean-baptiste1834]

You did crit on your reflex save roll

[@robertrosenthal7264]

I was in a werewolf group where the GM wouldn't let me do anything or flat out ignore me, would take control of my character and do really stupid things, and then penalize me for not "participating". Yeah, that didn't last long. It was actually the group griping at him for that b.s. that caused him to quit. Lol, no loss.

[@ForTheGoldenOak]

Strong power thank you

[@stormledbetter6070]

Yeah I'd have dipped too

[@rcwheeler34]

I hate that this video is necessary. Who cares what/how other people are playing at their tables? Let them have fun.

[@eldardrakeson]

I too hate that it is necessary... but I remember the days when dnd and other rpgs were 'strictly' the domain of 'nerds, geeks and dweebs, no girls allowed!' so.. for a long long time, it was way way worse. I'm glad to see more of /everybody/ joining in to play.

[@BelegaerTheGreat]

EXACTLY I too just exactly hate this video's necessarity!

[@donaldking5791]

How do you make people grow other than challenging them? It is not bad that people are challenge to think outside of the box other than the min/max of "winning". You also have to understand that you need a special type of DM who will make this fun and be creative. Instead of being as judgmental of other who may need this push, encourage them. So instead of commenting of "how sad" maybe we need to say what a great idea for people who need this idea or push to try something new.

[@GnomeGninja]

@@donaldking5791 TY, saved me from saying it! we have always had a "diverse" group when it came to gender and the steriotype of the "Incel NeckBeard Gamer" is both insulting to those of us that never were that way and shoves those that are into a box they may not know how to get out of on their own. And while a % of people are jerks ( not just gamers but every group on the planet) but by alienating them your doing exactly what your complaining about. remember pre Critical Role D&D was not a "popular game" and playing it openly could get you kicked out of school when i was a kid! Did you know the federal government cassifies D&D as a "gang related activity" and as such is Not allowed in any prison? think about that for a second before you complain about the "old guard" when it comes to TTRPGs. Yes we needed a huge dose of gender equality in gameing, No doubt and im damn glad to see it happening (Props to Ginny!!!) but maybe instead of hating... Help like Ginny is by joining a less diverse group to add diversity! because TBH (I could be wrong) Kazik and eldardrakson you sound like your virtue signaling.

[@donaldking5791]

@@GnomeGninja I would say most of what you see is the change in society and the wide reach that this game has now. It was not popularly accept as it is today with the large fan support from Critical Roll and KZbin channels. When I started to play D&D back in 79/80, quite honestly, there was such a small group of people who played. I tell you you though a bunch of 13 year old boys would have been jazzed to have a girl or two who played and if there were more POC who were interested, we would have taken them in because we were taught better than to be gigots

[@mikemartinell]

There is no such thing as a "wrong" character. One of my daughters played a dragonborn bard, and another played a pet housecat that had been awakened. Some of the most fun characters we have played.

[@stonethered]

What class did she go with for the housecat, I've always wanted to play an animal at some point

[@mikemartinell]

@@stonethered She was a monk way of shadow. The wizard who awakened her also gave her the ability to cast mage hand, basically so she could do things like open doors by herself. She couldn't use any weapons or tools, but could use the mage hand to give the help action if she wanted to. Usually on the front line though, so that didn't come up to often. Her attacks were all slashing. Eventually she found enchanted claw tips that gave her a +1 to her attacks. Also a +1 to AC collar at some point. Other than that she didn't really have any equipment other than a few odds/ends that other characters carried for her.

[@stonethered]

@@mikemartinell that sounds awesome! I was thinking of a Velociraptor ranger personally

[@Rabijeel]

Well, to be honest: There is. If little Shitheat wants to play a Charismatic and Ambidexerous Scoundrel and puts all his skills in it that - but not the Abilitys, that will go bad. There are "Wrong" Chars in terms of "Fail-Fit"-Chars. But, not every Char who is not Created after Pattern XYZ or MinMaxed is a Failfit.

[@NinjaxPrime]

I think that, as with a lot of things, group composition is key. If you have outside-the-box people and optimizers in the same group it will cause tension, which I've seen first hand. There is no "wrong" way to play, just make sure everybody's on the same page.

[@blacksoulmage]

I just created a Charlotan Tiefling Warlock sworn to a Celestial, who is their patrons newest outreach project. I can not wait!!

[@sillyking1991]

tbf though, none of that sounds sub-optimal lol. i mean, im not saying that you were trying to optimize in any way. Im just saying that this doesn't really fit the theme of 'building a character wrong'.

[@pilkkimies]

Interesting

[@nobledonkey17]

I hope you have fun with it! One of my characters is along those lines and he's been a blast to play

[@kacistrickland5646]

I love this I play a druid who is socially awkward who acts more like a warlock type at times.

[@bloopert735]

I'm playing a dryid who would have made an amazing arcane trickster, or trickster domain cleric.

[@annebeach6630]

My druid is also socially awkward. She's a teifling/aasimar (aasimar racially and Teifling in appearance) and she is just a lil devil who loves to garden

[@fantasywolf3074]

We have a Moon Fey, Druid who doesn't beast shape most of the time, because she has a curse that if she touches someone they die instantly, so she wears gloves. But she has not clothes in beast shape

[@Spiceodog]

The only thing I consider when choosing spells for my bard is how awesome they would look in her performances. I’m talking fairy fire rave parties with color spray and finishing it with thunder wave, pyrotechnics and control flames to make Phoenixs, control water for epic spouts of water and kraken tentacles while playing in the town fountain ( like master of tides by Lindsey stirling ). So much fun, and the character is still strong enough that she doesn’t suck in combat cuz I rolled pretty good stats.

[@MJFSIXTEEN]

my druid is a hyperactive gnome with a pension for fire.

[@MrLinkjt]

It depresses me that people actually messaged you just to say you're playing a game wrong. It's a game, if you're having fun then you're doing it right.

[@draakgast]

@JustDev 100% this. So many people ignore this, it comes up way more then you'd think

[@Rabijeel]

That are just People which are like "I am offended, so I have to scream at someone!". And, to be honest, with this Comments, we are alike them, even though we do it more PC.

[@DeathEatsCurry]

The problem is that some bad players justify making the game less fun for other players by saying "my character isnt useless, Im just roleplaying". If *your group* is having fun, you're doing it right. But building your character 'wrong' can be just as detrimental to a table as excessive munchkinism is.

[@heikesiegl2640]

@JustDev everyone is the protagonist of his own story. And sometimes we don't want to see Legolas 300. Look at the dark eye. Heroes are more grounded there. Group constellation was not a question of this video. You could ALWAYS argue about fitting into the group/campagne etc. This is not exclusevly an important point of this topic. Talking to the DM beforehand is always important you know? You cant possibly be THAT incompetent anyway.. only If you are trying to be a dick. And: Not min maxed is not equal to incompetent. Just because you have a competent character doesnt mean fun is guaranteed. Or that fitting into the group ist guaranteed.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

@@DeathEatsCurry you just need to be in the right group.

[@metalgeardull8279]

Can't help but remember that there was a time in my current party where our Wizard had a greater strength score than our Barbarian, and essentially ignored magic in favour of shanking everyone with a dagger. Our Wizard has killed more people with her dagger than casted spells, and it's brilliantly entertaining!

[@slayazes3925]

I made Goldi Lokkes, a halfing bear totem barbarian, who specialized in bear hunting.

[@ZeldaRoseSongbook]

That sound straight up glorious.

[@siph0r154]

I concur ^.^

[@Wysperr]

That sounds awesome af xD

[@lucybee5600]

I adore this

[@acarnivorouslizardfolk1033]

That sounds epic!

[@ellegilfillan2883]

Me, who apparently builds all of my characters “wrong”: 👁👄👁

[@addiec9878]

I wish I could like this comment again. Actually, I wish I could give it 10 likes! I had the exact same thought!

[@bramcasey5979]

BAHAHHA me

[@onyxcitaro2012]

Same. Most of my characters so far have been creatuvely twisted and developed with the story of the campaign. My current played character is a Barbarian (Storm Herald) and I’m going to multiclass into Warlock next level, with her former girlfriend’s Quori as her Patron. I’m viewing this as the acceptance of her death as well as a way of keeping her memory well and truly alive in the world. The table already know as players she has the Quori in her protection currently; plus she has quite a big secret when it comes to her ‘rogueish’ ways in recent sessions, which hasn’t been multiclassed into. And this is the same character who planned her own death and reincarnation without telling her best friend in game what she was truly doing, and add to this that she only Rages when strategy suits it, meaning she may go lower than 100 hp at level 12 before raging in combat. Then a character I’ve just created and made changes to is a Bard that doesn’t perform in the traditional way. I have no instrument, no background in performing or combat as such, just a young elf forging her own path to the dismay of her noble father (backstory still kinda in progress). And for another campaign, I have a mystery-junkie Fallen Aasimar Illusion Wizard who is ‘fallen’ due to his backstory rather than alignment. They are also androgynous and are more focused on practical studies than looking at a book, meaning they are more likely to sketch a monster they come across if not in combat with it and will reject spells they deem unnecessary, such as Comprehend Languages as this kinda feels like cheating when it comes to translating a mystery message they’re trying to decode. Like, they knkw the language but only on a beginner level at this stage and no where nearly enough to translate a half-faded and ripped letter.

[@lenlaegrim]

I totally get this, so so much. I'm a person who will not pick a spell if it doesn't go with my character's backstory or personality because I like playing like that and think it's cool. I like to build my characters around a story, certain themes that I want to explore with them, and I don't care if they're optimized or not since I also really enjoy the opportunities you get when you fail and you have to improvise a new plan. I'm very lucky I mainly play with people who also love that more narrative-oriented style of playing, but I've also played with minmaxers who've luckily been very respectful of the fact that not everyone likes their playstyle, as well as DMs that do their best to make sure we can all have fun and tell cool stories together, no matter how we like to play and build our characters. Some examples if anyone's interested: I have a Grave Cleric who has some serious ptsd around necrotic damage, so with her I'd never deal any necrotic damage (no matter how great Toll the Dead can be) and only take necromancy spells that are utility-oriented. I have my Paladins only take smites that make sense for their story so, for example, my Paladin of Ra that's very fire-oriented takes Searing Smite but not Thunderous Smite (and also I made her a Tabaxi in reference to the Egyptian cat/lion goddesses because I think it's cool). I re-skinned the Totem Barbarian to fit my Earth Genasi character so we changed out the classic animals for thematically appropriate things (like an Earth Elemental instead of a bear and an Earth Glider instead of the elk). I like mixing half-races to make cool shit like a Tiefling Firbolg. I like playing Int-based classes as a Half-Orc. I just...like making choices I think are cool and fun, and playing D&D with my friends because it makes me happy.

[@crepusculedawn8776]

I’m about to play me first session in two weeks. And this was real an inspiration to me. It really helped me. Thank you Ginny.

[@PanAndScanBuddy]

"I'm not saying you should have a character who's bad at everything." For a character that's bad at everything, check out Puffin Forest's video on his one shot character, Abserd.

[@limeproductions7873]

Honestly I've been dreaming about making my very own Abserd

[@hannahtaylor301]

oh my gosh yesssssss!

[@cheshiregrin1714]

saved me from having to look it up to recommend it!! my son shared that with me. I am still laughing at the accent.

[@danieltilson4053]

The funny thing is that... because of how 5e multiclassing works, he would actually be decent at a lot of things. I've seen a breakdown from 1-20 about a good order to take all of the classes, with the rule that they couldn't take a second level of a class until they'd gotten a level in all of them. The main weakness of the build is the lack of ASIs.

[@jj_the_ent]

TRUTH

[@ShadowedZen]

""Hello friends... and FOES" I feel so threatened for some reason

[@Telerian3]

Well she did spend a lot of time addressing some really mean things that others have said to her over her decisions for things.

[@CrownRock1]

My wife and I played a gnome barbarian and a goliath wizard. We had been switched at birth by a blind old midwife, and we genuinely thought we were a short goliath barbarian and a tall gnome wizard.

[@kristieackerman904]

This sounds epic

[@CrownRock1]

@@kristieackerman904 We found out it was even possible for her, the two foot tall "goliath," to fastball special me, the eight foot tall "gnome." Not consistently, because she had to roll a natural 18 or higher, but it was possible.

[@pondrthis1]

DM here: Goliath wizard was actually one of the archenemies in my longest campaign, I love the burly af wizard trope.

[@RandomHamsterLaughin]

@@CrownRock1 I may steal this concept for my campaign. It's a genius idea and absolutely hilarious. Thank you for this!

[@CrownRock1]

@@RandomHamsterLaughin You're welcome to it! I'm glad you like it!

[@TheBeastCH]

I've heard stories about player characters that are a talking slice of bread, a demon posessing an eel who swimms in a fish bowl that is carried by a robot spider that is controlled by the demon/eel via a psycic link, or a sentient sword that takes over the body of a warrior that wields it... The rules say the DM is in charge, not the rules. If the DM allows it, it is correct even if the rule book states otherwise. Even if the rules said that a Warlock must have high CHA and Eldritch Blast, if your DM allows a Warlock with no Eldritch Blast and low CHA, you can play that. I am looking to DM a group myself as soon as I get something set up. And about what Characters are going to be played there, I place two restrictions: One: it has to be compatible with the setting. If there's elves and swords in the setting, an elf with a sword works, while a cyborg with laser hands may not. In a different setting, that would be the other way around. The second one is that I have to be able to work with the character, meaning I have to understand who the character is, what motivates them and how to set up NPCs and enemies and story parts that will actually affect the character. Wanting to please your god is a common one, but not so much a useful one if I know little or nothing about that god, nor how much you know about that god, in that case, we're going to have a long conversation, but if your mother got abducted and you're on a quest to find her, I can place your mother somewhere in the world and let you find clues on where she might be.

[@drchicken2477]

Those are fantastic character ideas, and I will most definitely be stealing them.

[@rachelpederson9688]

yess! characters don’t have to be optimized to be fun.

[@kennymahan9354]

Or, optimized for fun! Yes, I speak all the languages, no I don't know magic missile.

[@rachelpederson9688]

@@kennymahan9354 exactly!!!

[@brochtree]

non-optimised characters can be and mostly are more fun than optimised ones.

[@charliebohnsack3461]

​@@brochtree I think it depends on the player, I have a lot more fun playing optimized characters. That doesn't always mean for combat though.

[@RasmusVJS]

@@brochtree I think you are missing the difference between an optimized character and a generic character. Optimized characters can be just as fun, if you actually think about the character part too.

[@-Sere-]

from an "Old Gaurd" who was born the same year when Gygax first published D&D, people who "optimise" thier characters were called "Munchkins". (Hence the SJG game of the same name)

[@ferrous719]

Which is a fun game, but definitely not designed to make deep and meaningful characters

[@andrewjohnson6716]

I guess that's a universal becuse we used to call them "munchkins" too! My understanding is that the Brits call it "being beardy".

[@alisontibbens2155]

So that's where that came from.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

That's all fun untill you realize you know a living person whose personal qualities recalculated into stats are higher, than those of the character you minmaxed with standard array and race bonuses, and it's unreachable with point buy. Yeah, and pro figure pair skaters are just unbelievably imbalanced inhumanly strong guys. I know one, so i know the requirements to fit the role... It's 18 (+4) strength according to PhB rules of lifting weights to begin with... They are also highly charismatic artistic performers, dexterous and flexible dancers (enough dexterous to do triples and quadruples and do balley classes, and intricate steps, the control of their bodies overall is just insanely precise), and have good endurance and high pain tolerance, which is a lot of Hp. Wis is slightly positive, int slightly negative.

[@lydiabresette8279]

When it’s literally a fantasy game and people still tell you what to do.

[@ilenastarbreeze4978]

People will always try ti tell you what to do

[@benjaminlabarge4899]

I think its rude to tell people how to enjoy themselves, but i think its fair to criticize statements like "dnd isnt about killing monsters or optimization". A game IS its rules and how they direct play. There are 100s of great games out there that are about other things, I wish folks would break out of the fallacy that DnD is the only rpg and that all experiences can be equally found within it.

[@lydiabresette8279]

@@benjaminlabarge4899 oh for sure that’s what makes it a game but the creativity part gets patrolled way too often

[@lydiabresette8279]

@@ilenastarbreeze4978 sadly true lmao

[@juriaan13]

As a dm I don't tell players what to do, I react to what they want to do. I'm all about bending rules,home brew and house rules

[@tigamaki1345]

One of my favourite party members, build-wise, is a halfling barbarian-turned-cavalier. When mounted, he's as big as his teammates. And yet he's the most intimidating presence in the group at times

[@zeejay5842]

Me: Decides to make a Tiefling Paladin with a wholesome backstory. Ginny Di: Make that Tiefling Paladin, play what you want! Me: how did you Know?

[@hugmonger]

Dude I just read the Tieflings entry for 5e and like aren't they REALLY GOOD paladins? Like that bonus Charisma and those Cantrip abilities are really really good. Like I have my sword and shield in hand and then WHAM the door opens in front of me my eyes are blazing with fire the ground trembles as I walk and a voice booms out "Who dares to worship the darkness before me". Like I imagine the response from your enemies would be to shit bricks and run.

[@bayangannaga]

i had played a levistus tiefling paladin/sorcerer with an ice/frost theme, apart from healing and smites, i used lots of cold based spells, she was great. Maybe not the best optimized, but damn she as fun to play.

[@AliceWhimsicott]

I have a Tiefling Monk as a backup character.

[@kemarisite]

I had a thiefling fighter running around in heavy armor who kind of assigned himself as the illusionist's bodyguard, blocking attacks on the illusionist with his shield and taking the feat that reduces damage by 3 points for each hit when he's wearing heavy armor.

[@ocramot]

@@hugmonger that has the inverse problem, IMHO, because the stereotypical paladin is seen as lawful good and the stereotypical tiefling is seen as caothic evil.

[@alex4251]

Ginny facing the camera while pretending to type in the sponsor should be a gif.

[@SawyerRockey]

I played a changeling wild magic sorcerer who couldnt change his "look" at will, but whenever their wildmagic went off, they randomly changed races.

[@1manApocalypse_CP]

Neat idea.

[@UrbanJackal]

Love it👍

[@cara3566]

My sorcerer has the actor feat, which is pretty useless, but it makes sense for her backstory and forces me to think creatively about who or what I could pretend to be to improve a situation. It has lead to some really cool moments from scaring someone into giving us intel by pretending to be a necromancer and even luring people over to me with fake voices.

[@magesrpg2793]

this is facts though. all my players love making 'broken' characters, either in backstory or in stats. one of them once played a druid/cleric that had 10 wisdom, it made it really funny when he was bad at his own spells, but his nat 20s were amazing.

[@grimgreycastle5141]

Whenever I make a broken character there is usually a reason for example a coffeelock that is lazy guy who gets lots a spell slots due to him taking many naps but chooses not to use them cause he’s lazy he also dislikes long rests since that’s when he gets his nightmares of realizing that his reality is pointless cause it’s not real it’s just a game to the gods above the gods

[@josuanygren]

Hey, I assume you don't know that there is a prerequisite for multiclassing. For cleric and druid you need at least 13 wisdom. It is on page 163 of the PHB. Of course you can do it however you want if you are the DM, just thought I'd share the info.

[@magesrpg2793]

@@josuanygren I do know this, and he wanted it to be a backstory thing for his character, the party was 5th level and I didnt think it would matter. I've been a DM for 4 years. Thanks

[@josuanygren]

@@magesrpg2793 Ok, cool. I'm a DM of 2 years and I had a similar thing at my table recently. A fighter character with 8 charisma wanted to multiclass warlock. I let him and also added a thing where he could sacrifice sanity (wis) or knowledge and memories (int) to his patreon in exchange for confidence and magic (cha). It worked out great and after one ASI and some sacrificing he is currently at 14 charisma.

[@grimgreycastle5141]

@@magesrpg2793 You know you could have chosen nature cleric not saying that you shouldn't do what you did Im just mentioning that there is a subclass that works to what you might of wanted

[@lupinelp9226]

Ginny D: says something reasonable. Reasonable people on the internet: I agree/that makes sense/I never thought about it that way/etc. The rest of the internet: optimizes their rage!

[@goodstormsgames9744]

The internet is full of barbarians! It makes sense now. Bar bar barbarian

[@g0oberdm417]

@@goodstormsgames9744 Bard-barians*** they have to be able to joke about their rage

[@lenodas3567]

Just found this video after having made a Muscle Wizard. I feel validated lol

[@thomasstang5020]

As a forever DM, two of my favorite NPCs I've introduced in a campaign were my well muscled half orc wizard who almost beat the party barbarian in a wrestling match, and the red haired mow-hawk wearing, owlbear riding, halfling barbarian. The half-orc was super well received by the party and seemed to become fast friends with the party barbarian (who typically didnt like anyone). Meanwhile, the halfling was one of those, what the !@#% did we just run into moments. He was meant to be a recurring character, but the group fell apart soon after.

[@Rabijeel]

"I cast Fist!"

[@lenodas3567]

@@Rabijeel Yeah, I've said that more than once already in this campaign lol. I took Tavern Brawler and booming blade, half of the fun is hitting things with random objects like a stick

[@StabYourBrain]

Oooh yisss.. poomp the moosklés

[@kippakip836]

i recently made a halfling barbarian character and was worried i’d get looked down on by pros for the poor combination - this video makes me feel a lot better about it, so thank you for making it!

[@manicbee2530]

Well if they're a halfling, they're probably be looked down on by a lot of people. (I have a kobold barbar, and short and angry beings are the best imo.)

[@bast713]

I love this idea! One of my favorite lines from a sci-fi show involved a smaller than average being staring down a huge dude. She looked up at him like he was nothing and said something like "Yes, I'm standing in your way. That means I'm either very dumb or very dangerous. Do you really wanna find out which one?" The MOST badass of moments.

[@Dovakiin51]

Wise words. My favorite character I’ve ever played was a Half-Orc Wizard with high strength and con. Beefcake Wizard with the Abjuration subclass was a total blast.

[@WeeHobbit87]

*if i wanna make a little goblin wizard, let me make a little goblin wizard*

[@majinkaitain]

I have a goblin Necro Wizard

[@batmanboy9794]

Goblin wizard that thinks hes a sorcerer with a great great grand dragon.

[@hiush1]

goblin wizard ain't a bad combo even without Tasha's optional rules to change your ability score increases, dex and con are great for wizards, plus hide and disengage as bonus actions is pretty darn good at lower levels and you can live with starting at 14/15 int, lot's of great wizard spells, like sleep, are awesome even without maxing out your int (seriously there are wizard-warlock optimized builds that have just 13 int and they still get a lot from wizard spells from lvl 1 to 20)

[@MedievalMary]

Goblins are awesome! Mines a Bard painter!

[@hiush1]

@@MedievalMary They indeed are, great abilities, great lore in forgotten realms (the default setting), fun character concepts and even if your DM doesn't let you use Tasha optional rules dex and con are super useful increases for almost everyone so it is pretty rare that the goblin is a mechanically horrible racial choice

[@rowanmurray2842]

For my current party, we have: Tiefling Warlock (but Archfey patron) Half-Elf Wizard Changeling Druid It's been awesome!

[@jerrymajors8132]

My halfling warlock has an archfey patron as well