Games Expand Your Dungeons And Dragons Character With These Accessories Rob Wieland Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I am an author and game designer writing about tabletop RPGs. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 30, 2022, 08:54pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dungeons & Dragons players and their Dungeon Masters can benefit from writing prompts in books like . . . [+] these to take their stories in unusual places. Roll And Play Press If there’s one truth across every edition of Dungeons & Dragons it is that people love their characters. Players memorialize them with art commissions, tell stories about their adventures to friends and mourn them if they fall in battle. They also love to delve into their past and think about their future to make them seem real. I’ve been sent review copies of a few accessories to help players dig into the backgrounds of their beloved characters. There’s also a book series that extends play beyond the normal 20-level end game. Knowing where a character has been or where it’s going can make play experiences feel as deep as an epic novel series. Roll & Play Writing prompts focus creativity during those moments when the blank page is looming. They help flesh out details of a character that can influence the story. How does my character’s favorite food influence how feel about a noble when it is served at the castle? Roll & Play: The Fantasy Character Kit offers prompts like these categorized by D&D classes and races. There are also lists chock full of character inspiration like distinctive features, magic style and even the names of churches and monastic orders. A book like this is super helpful for new players who might find themselves over whelmed with character choices and ideas. There are other offerings in the same style. An upcoming Sci-Fi themed kit looks to dive into space opera and cyberpunk characters. Dungeon Masters can pick up The Game Master Fantasy Toolkit for a similar collection of lists that include everything from why there’s afestival in town to just how critical that hit was. MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Players looking to delve depper into their character’s history should check out The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide by James D’Amato. This book offers dozens of prompts on everything from family to fears and other emotions. A deck of cards can help generate some random ideas that otherwise might not have occured about your character. This version also features multiple genres such as sci-fi, horror, punk games, super heroes and westers. It’s an excellent choice for tables that play in more than one genre. It ends with a series of questions useful for any genre. MORE FROM FORBES Five Things I've Learned Playing Dungeons & Dragons Remotely By Rob Wieland Backstory Cards Building an individual character is fun but setting up a group dynamic can help players move into the story more quickly. The classic setup of “you all meet at a tavern” still works, but players having relationships and rivalries with other players lets tables get to the meatier story bits sooner. It’s a lot more compelling if the person asking your group to go into the dungeon has history with everyone rather than just a mysterious stranger. Backstory Cards bring the players together at the table to ask questions about the setting and each other. They let tables create who the players can trust and who might want them out of the picture. They also can complicate the picture through romances, betrayals and other delicious backstory elements that complcate play. Epic Legacy The current edition of Dungeons & Dragons features 20 levels of play. Many groups don’t make it that far but for those who do, there are a few options to continue the story. Think of these games like the epic sequel to the original movie where the characters are more powerful. . . but so are the enemies. The Epic Legacy series starts with the Core Rulebook which provide not just epic versions of the standard classes but also story hooks on what characters must do to begin their epic journey. Campaign Codex is full of advice for game masters on how to challenge powerful characters without minimizing their accomplishments and also includes the setting of Nexus to allow players to explore worlds beyond their own. For enemies worth of such legendary beings, the Tome of Titans provides challenges worth of epic poetry. All of these books are available online. Rob Wieland Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.