version 1.1.2
What is this?
This is a Character Generator for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, aimed at generating characters that will keep the player and group happily engaged for as long as possible.
There is a lot of experience with D&D embedded in the code, which results in giving the player meaningful choices and advice, rather than a nihilistic "freedom".
It is also my personal coding project. If you care about that, you can read more in the end of this document.
Further List Of Obscure Criteria
- If the character has one of the two lowest allowed Stat Totals (72 or 73), it cannot also have the lowest allowed best Ability Score (15).
- Since CON is not the main Ability Score of any class, it shall not count as the required 15 or 16 with regards to keeping the character.
- On that same note, CON will never start out as negative. Low CON would often force players to make a the swap with the intent to not suck, rather than make a swap deciding where be strong.
- The total value of the Ability Scores plus the amount of odd valued Ability Scores cannot surpass 78, nor be less than 75. If this was the case, peculiar characters would appear from time to time, where picking the Human race would completely break the boundaries for total Modifiers.
- If a character has more than 2 Ability Scores under 10, it will be re-rolled.
- If a character has more than 2 Modifiers of 0, it will be re-rolled.
- The highest Ability Score cannot have a duplicate.
The Goal Of The Generator
The point of this generator is - as stated above - to create Inspiring, Balanced and Interesting characters for D&D 5e.
In particular, it should be a helping hand to newer or more "otherwise preoccupied" players (you've probably heard of those weirdos who can go for weeks without even opening the PHB...). Hopefully, this will ease the job of bringing new and experienced players together.
- This is NOT the prophesied Vorpal MinMaxer2000 AI.
It is Inspiring in the sense that you can't always get everything you want, but will have to adapt a bit to fit with the Ability Scores you get. Also, not starting with 20 in any Ability Score (or at least extremely rarely) gives your character something to strive for throughout the adventures.
Balanced in the sense that... Well, there are a lot of criteria for a satisfying character for this tool, as you can see. But a group with too great a power-gap between the characters can really lower the fun for some of the players whenever there's combat. Balanced characters takes away potential headaches for the DM, be the master fresh or venerable.
And finally Interesting in the sense that the Ability Scores will have a nice distribution. You will always have a weak spot - this is actually good, it is more fun to play! - and there are very few duplicate values. This gives your character... Character!
The Tradeoff
Honestly, I (Eupolemos) dislike these online character generators. I like rolling for characters. For me the 3d6 is part of the D&D magic - it seems a misunderstanding to take that away.
But the lack of balanced characters can be a real problem as a DM, and equally as much for fellow players. If somebody can't help themselves and happen to fudge the dice a little bit, they don't mean to be wangrods; they just want to live out a fantasy! And dice are fickle; perverse even. You've seen it, you know what I'm talking about!
Following the D&D communities on places like Reddit, it seems to me like there's a shift towards point-buy (PHB p. 13), to keep the basics even between players. In my opinion, that holds maladies as well, with knowledge of optimal distributions for races and classes, always getting what you want rather than let the rolls inspire etc.
Well, between pointbuy and rolling with a hundred house-rules, I thought some of you might find this to be a good third alternative.
F.A.Q.
Q: How does the generator work?
A: The generator simulates a roll of 3d6 for each Ability Score. It then matches the complete character with a set of criteria. If the character fails to meet these, it will get re-rolled without you noticing it.
Q: Can I get a character with an Ability Score of 17 or 18?
A: Yes, absolutely. They are rare, however. If the character rolled does not also have a 15 or 16 as an ability score, it will get re-rolled out of existence. If 17 and 18 counted as a positive criteria along with 16 and 15 for keeping a character, they'd be much too common. Now they are rare, balanced and precious - just like they should be!
Q: Why is the generator so infuriatingly slow?
A: Well, presentation is a part of design. The point of this generator is to make the player look at the stats and think hard about what character can be made with them - and NOT to simply obey the player's preconceived idea of a character. Point-buy or house-rules will do that quite well, and this generator would be a waste of time.
If characters could be re-rolled instantaneously, we'd be lured to click away like a slot-machine addict rather than use our brain and imagination. Also, it gives the reveal more gravitas - this will be the skin of your fantasy's avatar for the next hundreds of hours being. Give it some respect.
Q: Where's my Drow!?
A: Drizzt is... Ah, I mean Drow are of course super cool, but this tool tries to keep things simple and not suggest a race that has disadvantages in daylight. But much more importantly, since Drow have the exact same stats as Lightfoot Halflings, it would be a mess to code.
If you want a Drow, just pick the Lightfoot Halfling.
Q: How do I start over on the character creation?
A: Reload the page.
Q: Will you include more races in the future?
A: No, I don't think so - not in the foreseeable future, at least. It can be difficult to code (this is my first project using JavaScript, so it is a bit messy behind the scenes) and I do prefer keeping things classic. Maybe if I rewrite it all one day, but it is not a priority to me and there would probably be other things I'd rather attempt.
What I Might Add In The Future
- Suggestions for what the defining Ability Scores could mean for the character, e.g. low DEX and high STR could mean a strong fighter who took an arrow to the knee but kept adventuring etc.
- What each Ability Score is important for when it comes to saves and skills
- Blurbs on what is important for different classes and where certain Ability Scores lose importance, e.g. a Fighter doesn't always benefit from good DEX, since heavy armor overrides this etc.
- Make this double as an NPC generator with instant re-rolls and endless swaps.