Inspiration for Creating Great (New) PCs

Hey folks! As we all start down the path of creating new Level 1 PCs--and, now that we all have at least one campaign under our belts and have a better sense for the mechanics and rhythms of the game--I thought to pass along some videos that a player in our Wednesday night Waterdeep campaign shared for inspiration in crafting PC backstories and personalities. As you all have figured out by now, I think the collaborative storytelling of RPGs are their best aspect and what sets them apart from other games. Good stories need compelling and interesting characters--and good characters have interesting and engaging personalities. D&amp;D 5E goes further than earlier editions in encouraging the development of backstory and personality by assigning skills and proficiencies that are associated with the PC's backstory, but IMHO that's just the beginning of the process. Here are some videos that Peter M., himself a comic book author and no stranger to creating interesting characters, shared for inspiration when creating an interesting and fun PC: Choosing a PC's personality: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPa7HwLkws&amp;ab_channel=GinnyDi" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPa7HwLkws&amp;ab_channel=GinnyDi</a> 50 (quick) questions to answer in character:&nbsp; &nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS2LROYk230&amp;t=194s&amp;ab_channel=GinnyDi" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS2LROYk230&amp;t=194s&amp;ab_channel=GinnyDi</a> Fleshing out a character:&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wNvtmnpdo&amp;ab_channel=GreatGMLive" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wNvtmnpdo&amp;ab_channel=GreatGMLive</a> Backstory questions:&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkYSLOMmTs&amp;ab_channel=GreatGMLive" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkYSLOMmTs&amp;ab_channel=GreatGMLive</a> Peter had a few more, too, including on how to be a helpful party member and assigning roles among the party, but those are likely a good start! I've been watching these and using them to help flesh out my ideas for Twitch, the shifter trickery cleric. Because Twitch was the fourth character concept I had for this game, I appreciated having some external prompts to help me fill in some of the details of her personality. Some of the answers I came up with to the questions for Twitch surprised even me! Looking forward to joining as a player, Koop

So, are we doing a monsters group?&nbsp;&nbsp;

I'm open to both. I have some ideas for a last adventure that can capstone the campaign and end everyone at around level 20. Not sure exactly how long it will take) After that, we can start over at level 1, in Stormreach, a basically lawless city ruled by pirate and criminal families. Or, we can end the campaign and start over at level 1 earlier. I have ideas for both that can be explored.

Mike, FWIW, I like the idea of our L1 group, whenever that comes about, being monsters and outcasts. That's a fun unifying theme. And, BTW, there's a fine precedent laid down in the Internet D&amp;D show Critical Role, which went from a conventional party in their first campaign to a bunch of misfits, outcasts, and monsters in their second campaign.&nbsp; I already have a shifter and KC has a kobold; you were talking about drow or orc/half-orc. I'm pretty sure Noah is up for it, too. My guess is that Ahna is fine with it, too; and it didn't sound like Ben was opposed. Even if someone wanted to play a more "conventional" humanoid, I'm guessing they could fit right in so long as their PC has a story that explains why they are an outcast of some kind--or per Steve C., originate in Stormreach, a remote and lawless city ruled by pirates and criminals: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." (And BTW, Han totally shot first.) For my part--even though it may be more work for Steve C.!--I'm looking forward to both his ideas for a capstone adventure for the Natural Ones, and &nbsp;for the eventual restart. I happen to really like the idea of seeing how someone else sees the story of the Natural Ones concluding. I'm happy to do either or both.