Covering the basics: Making a character

“Covering the basics” is a easy-to-follow set of articles helping players get through the first steps of the game. You found a game to join? Well done, but now what? Think of your favourite characters from either a book, movie or a tv show. Can you form a list of what actually makes them stand out from all the others? Not just what they look like or what their actions were in the story. Most likely, once you stripped those characters of their physical appearances and put aside the plot of what they achieved throughout you are still left with elements that actually made them become memorable. The time you had with that character was most likely a fragment of their entire life. Their actions, beliefs and behaviour was likely derived from something that made them that way.   It was their backstory. A backstory as a structure When creating your character, once you set aside the technical attributes and specifics, it is worth spending more time on figuring out who they are. While it might feel like a waste of time and effort to spend too much time on building their backstory, it is likely to help you out in the long run. Assuming your character will be yours for a longer period (not one that is built for a quick oneshot), understanding them will become invaluable. Not just for the Game Master to know where your character is from and how they ended up as an adventurer - but it will help you stay consistent throughout the campaign. Your character should stay consistent. This isn’t to say that they can’t evolve and grow throughout the adventure - they most definitely should be affected and moulded by their experiences throughout the story. But at their core, they should still be the same person from session to session. And this is why having a thorough backstory is important. Knowing how they would react in a situation should come from understanding why they would act that way. What experience in their previous life set them up to see the world in this way. It will also be a great framework for your Game Master to have and construct around. After all, they dont know your character. But having a reference document (a backstory) will be of great help. Matching the theme Before you start collecting various ideas and concepts for your character be sure to familiarize yourself with the game and it's world you are about to bring them into. Whether the story will focus heavily on the world and the politics or will there be enough "screentime" for the characters to develop their story. Hoping to fully go through your character's backstory in a game that will not give enough time for that will lead to disappointment and potentially disinterested players. All of that should be discussed during your session zero, where the theme and topics are set and agreed upon. The theme of your character should fit both with the world and potentially with other players. Of course the generic tabletop gaming table will include characters of different styles and themes. However, depending on the immersion balance and expectations, you might want to discuss this with other players, without delving too deep into specifics. Agreeing on following a similar theme or storyline will help your party feel more likeminded and in the same genre.  /images/general-media/1779464200_QOr2M7LS.jpg Think big, write small Before you end up with a document, that is stretched over tens of pages (Which most GMs will not bother to read and memorize) try and create a rough overview of their story so far. Limit yourself to a few paragraphs at the most. As an example, let’s create a character alongside this article. Meet Bork… the orc. To start off with, let’s focus on simply creating an outline of who they are. Bork’s life began in tragedy when a brutal bandit raid destroyed his birth-tribe's village. His parents either perished or were forced to flee in the chaos, leaving the infant behind to perish in the smoke. He was saved by a twist of fate when Ningo, an aging gnome hunter drawn by the smoke of the burning huts, discovered the crying orc baby in the ashes and chose to adopt him. Raised in Ningo’s secluded woodland home, Bork’s upbringing was completely upside down for an orc. Instead of being taught bloodlust and brute force, he was raised on gnomish values of curiosity, patience, and meticulous planning. Ningo taught him how to survive using stealth, tracking, and clever traps, resulting in a towering, muscular adult orc who could move with surprising grace and possessed a gentle, analytical mind. Once Bork reached adulthood, Ningo realized his adoptive son was shrinking himself down to fit into a gnome's world. Wanting Bork to forge his own identity rather than just mimic his upbringing, Ningo encouraged him to venture out into the world. Equipped with a heavy pack, a hunting bow, and a mind full of gnomish meals, Bork set off into the wider world to discover who he truly wanted to be. And thats it - this is Bork in a nutshell. But what we have established throughout this brief introduction are multiple key elements we can built upon. What was the tribe like, who were the bandits? Why did they raid the tribe? Who were his biological parents? What is Ningo’s story? What kind of values did he instill in Bork? And many others. But as a brief overview we have much to work with. From here you can fill in the blanks, separate it into various other subsections to dive deeper into. Find answers, more questions and potentially leave things vague. Many elements can be left vague so that your Game Master can pick elements to integrate into the campaign story. Unique. In this version To quote Mark Twain: "There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations." While you can try and work on an uniquely unique concept, it is unlikely that you will be negatively called out for "reskinning" an existing character from a popular franchise. But if your goal is to create an interesting character, borrowing from other creators and slightly modifying them is perfectly acceptable. Just be respectful about it and acknowledge that your character is either an intentional or unintentional between you and someone else. There is no shame in basing different bits of your character off something else.   /images/general-media/1779464798_xLnOlEbn.webpYour GM will thank you for any cutlery you prepare for him Knives and other “cutlery” Knives Years ago a reddit user jimbaby introduced a system called “Knife theory”. A simple system to build plot hooks into your character’s backstory. These “knives” are elements that resonate with your character - and your Game Master can use to “stab” your character with (metaphorically). There are various types of knives you can craft:   Relationships - Bork’s biological parents. Or his adoptive father, Ningo. Debts/Vows - Bork’s somewhat suppressed hatred towards the bandits and his desire to one day avenge his tribe. Unanswered questions - Who were his parents? Why did the bandits assault the tribe? What is the deal with Ningo? Internal conflict - Being part orc, part gnome, he might have found it difficult to fit in with his non-traditional life. A secret - Perhaps Bork has throughout the years ventured back to where he grew up and discovered something that he shouldn’t know. And many others in a similar style. While these knives aim in different directions and are rather vague, pick those that  resonate with you and dive deeper. You don’t have to cover all five themes - a few will suffice. But by creating those knives (and handing them to your Game Master), be aware that you are giving them permission to use those at any point in time. If you don’t want Ningo to be put into any danger - make that explicitly clear and keep any knives pointing away from them. Try and aim for three to five different knives. Some of them might require you to collaborate with your GM to make sure they can find a way to fit it into their story. Spoons In addition to sharp knives, you can create “spoons” - these are minor, everyday character flavor details that bring them to life (Their favourite tavern meal, their distinct posture, or how they sleep). These are not elements that are to replace knives - you can include them to bring more character and personality to your adventurer. These will help you flesh out your character in a more real sense. Connecting these spoons to their backstory, you can discover what makes them tick, what brings them joy and what hobbies or habits they might have. Even a powerful warlord can find enjoyment in knitting. And it makes them less two-dimensional, showing them as more "human". Forks The character's core motivations and prongs of desire. Goals and ambitions that they would like to strive towards throughout their story. These are more proactive elements that you as a player will gravitate towards throughout their journey. Forks should also be shared with your GM, as they could seed the story with situations and possibilities you would like to stick a fork in. Expand and summarize By now you will have a general overview of your character with various plot hooks and ambitions. While preparing those, you can expand your current overview with additional details to connect various bits and pieces. Adding additional characters your character may have had encounters or relationships with is a great way of introducing additional knives and expanding the character’s story.   When collecting your knives, you are bound to discover gaps or missing connections: Bork enjoys reading  - but it is likely that he has exhausted Ningo’s library many times over. This allows you to expand his backstory with a travelling librarian or a salesman who would bring him books to consume. Or a friend who shares a similar passion with whom he used to discuss various stories with. Throughout this process you may want to have a separate section for key takeaways. In addition to describing his book club friend and their encounters, create a short summary: Frank(27), a human farmer, also interested in books - friend, but hasn’t seen him in over two years. These quick summaries will help you to quickly recall various elements from Bork’s backstory. And your Game Master has a handy list to quickly reference, as they will most definitely not be able to remember your entire backstory at all times. /images/general-media/1779465015_mS7MPpFH.gifKeep in mind. You are not writing a book, you are creating a refererence document Done but never completed Make sure to give your Game Master enough time to process your character’s backstory, ask for clarifications and potential changes. You want your character to be part of their world, not have it as a separate entity forced into their story. And feel free to continue expanding your backstory throughout the campaign. Not exactly changing anything overly important (unless the change is explicitly done with the permission of your GM), but instead expanding on elements that already exist in your story. The more different elements your backstory has, the more the other characters’ have to discover and find out about. Understanding and knowing your character will help you make decisions on the spot, that feel in-character for them. Ready to find a dnd group and start working on your character? Post your profile and put yourself out there.

“Covering the basics” is a easy-to-follow set of articles helping players get through the first steps of the game. You found a game to join? Well done, but now what? Do you have what it takes to be a DM (Dungeon Master)? Short answer: yes Long answer: You might’ve spent most of your games on the other side of the DM screen or watching people masterfully direct their games on Youtube. All this might seem like a daunting and difficult role to fill - all the rules, ruling, voices, worldbuilding and keeping track of everything that is going on. Feels a lot for one person to manage. But here is the honest truth - most DMs are mostly just “winging it” as they go. They might not know every rule in the book or have every alleyway and farmhouse carefully plotted with intricate details for the world their players roam around. You don’t have to be a master of the game to be a dungeon master. It’s just a title, it doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. The context effect You may have watched various expert Dungeon Masters on different streams or Youtube actual plays. And thought that this is the minimum skillset you should have to even dare to take up the role of a DM. But keep in mind, context matters. These shows do not represent your average players or DMs. These are professional productions featuring professional actors. Your players are not expecting a cinematic masterpiece with custom miniatures, terrain or orchestral soundtrack. They are your friends, either new or old. And they just want to hang out, eat snacks, tell stupid jokes and see what happens when they push too many buttons. Don’t compare yourself to others, whether they are your last DM, or someone on Youtube. Your style will be your own. And your mistakes will be part of your journey. You are there to react to their actions and tell them what happens next. That’s it. If your players end the game session feeling happy with how they spent their time, you’ve won as a DM. /images/general-media/1777376584_RRnkxK9n.gifIt is your game, as long as your players are enjoying it, you are winning Start small It is easy to fall into the pit trap of building your own epic world for the players to discover and enjoy. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with it, it would be better to start off small. You will reduce the amount of stress and headache you will endure by not preparing a 50-page lore document beforehand. Instead, consider running a oneshot. A self-contained short adventure, that starts and ends within one session. You will gather your bearings during the game, realize what parts of DMing you enjoy and what you would rather not focus too much on. Use a pre-written adventure. For D&D, you could look towards The Delian Tomb or A Most Potent Brew. These include maps, monsters and all the relevant knowledge you need to run your players a game. Or grab one of the starter sets (ex. Heroes of the Borderlands) and run that. Make sure that you understand the whole story beforehand, so you know where the story is supposed to go. If, however, you feel like creating something of your own, you can simply build a oneshot that follows some specific rules. Entrance: A puzzle or a simple monster fight to get the players involved. Cause: A situation to tie the players’ characters to the story. A clear call to action to guide the characters towards the end-goal of the adventure. Problem: With the goal set, present your adventurers with a situation that requires them to overcome it. Whether by brute force, thinking outside the box, or something completely different. Here’s a DMing secret: You can have your players face a situation that needs solving but as a DM, you do not have to know what the right solution to that needs to be. Let your players attempt different approaches and if they come up with something that seems reasonable, take that as the solution. Final encounter: Your oneshot should be leading towards a finale. Whether it is a boss fight, or a grand puzzle or situation that requires effort and teamwork - anything goes. It should be connected to the previous blocks to establish a cohesive narrative story. The ending (optional): Once the final encounter has been resolved, you can offer your adventurers a conclusion, perhaps it is a treasure hoard, public praise or something different. Since it is a oneshot, you don’t really have to worry about consequences, as the story ends there. Keep in mind, that oneshots should be reactive. Players should be forced to react to situations and not given too much time to wander around, chat with Boblin the Goblin at the tavern, or get bogged down with planning.   A good idea would be to have some pre-made NPCs in the background, so you can pull those up at moments notice. These characters should not have intricate backstories that aren’t vital to the story itself. They may have a simple motive or goal, that can support the story at hand, but isn’t a vital piece of information, should your players completely ignore or miss encountering them. You can use a name generator (like Fantasy Name Generators) to prepare a list of various names to make it seem, like you had those characters prepared and planned ahead of time. Pace over rules Nothing kills the vibe of the game than having to spend ten minutes looking for the correct ruling for a situation. As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to spend up to a minute looking up the rules - and if by then you don’t have the correct answer, make a ruling on the spot. Just be transparent about it and let them know that this ruling might be wrong and is temporary, in the future this might get ruled differently. But for now, to keep the story going, you should decide on the spot. If you have a more experienced player at the table, consult them. As a DM you are already managing way more than one single player should be (you are still a player, even though you are a DM). And offloading some of those responsibilities to someone else is the right thing to do. The DM does not have to be the most knowledgeable player at the table - they are the narrative engine, not the wikipedia. /images/general-media/1777376267_EGzmZM7I.webpDon't spend too much time pondering the orb finding the correct ruling, keep the game going A session zero It is highly recommended to have a quick session zero before starting your first game. Whether it is a brief oneshot or the start of a longer campaign - leveling with your group will help you avoid misunderstandings in the future. Recommended reading: Library: Session 0 checklist: How to build a DnD group that lasts Gather your tools Now prepare your adventure. You will most likely spend a lot more time than you should preparing for the first session. But being somewhat overprepared will help you in the long run. Once you start understanding how DMing works, you will get better at preparing for each session, eventually cutting down on the time spent on prep.   A DM trick worth remembering and learning, is called “moving castles”. You may have prepared a location or an encounter for your players to discover or run into. But through the magic of player agency they head in the complete opposite direction to your prepared piece of content (it happens). Instead of scrapping the work you have prepared, you can simply move it, so that the adventurers still run into it. A worn-down castle filled with a tribe of goblins, waiting to ambush anyone entering the front gate? Simply move it, perhaps adjust some elements to fit the new location. Instead of goblins, they are now human mercenaries or bandits. Instead of a castle, it is a small village. This isn’t to say, that you should focus on railroading the players (although for a oneshot it would be highly recommended, that you keep your players on the track you have prepared). But re-using prepared content in a new and appropriate way is the smart play. Other than that, all you need to get started, are your dice (or digital dice, if that is more convenient for you), and some paper, to write down notes, events and questions for you to look up between sessions. Remember, you are a player too. You should be having fun, although it will feel intimidating and stressful at first, it will get better. /images/general-media/1777376172_KgL1adMK.webp Take the leap You are stepping into a very rewarding experience of the game. Even if you are not planning on becoming a recurring DM, you will gain a better understanding of the game and the system. This will, in turn, make you a better player. Guaranteed. If you are ready to give DMing a shot, you can start off by creating a group on Groupfinder and find your players. Be sure to use the “Newbie friendly” tag to indicate the tone of the game. If you have a player in your group who has been interested in DMing, but has not had the courage to get started - “gently” send them this article, to nudge them to get started.

As we step away from the summer months, we find ourselves more at our tables. Tables for playing and also working on features and fixes for Groupfinder. And there have been quite a few additions since our last Update log. We'll go over some of the bigger changes and additions. Supporters /images/general-media/1789388957_fqCygV2e.png Some of you may have noticed in the menu dropdown a little page called Subscribe. Worry not, this does not mean, that Groupfinder is going to be pay to use. No, far from it. We are sticking by what we have been saying since the start - Groupfinder will remain free to use. Becoming a subscriber is your way of supporting our ongoing work on the platform. To make sure the lights stay on, the servers buzzing and the licenses get paid, we have to make sure all those costs don't overwhelm us. What does it mean to be a subscriber? As a thank you, for your help and trust in us, your account will have some ease of life perks: Automatic bumping - you can set up automatic bumping for your posts, helping your post stay refreshed. Once you set it up, every 48 hours, the system will bump your post moving it back to the top of the listings. Customized notifications - want to only receive specific notifications and alerts for games and players in a specific region and game system? You can set your specific rules for custom alerts. Colour themes for your posts - Feel a little red? Green? blue? Customize your posts with the colour theme you prefer, make your post stand out with a little cosmetic tweak.  More cover pictures - Supporters will also find that they have access to a whole new set of cover images to choose from. If you are tired of the ones you have seen so far - you will find more from the selection we present the subscribers. Higher limits - If you have more than two games you are looking players for - you will be able to have up to six different active game posts at once. You will also be allowed to send more messages to new users every day. Attach files - perhaps your games have a world map you'd like to show off to make players more interested in it - you can add some files to your post and make it more informative. And various limit increases and customization options for Group Manager and for those who manage a library entry page. You can read more about the subscription here. And if you don't care about those perks - but you think we are doing a neat job - that can be your motivation as well. Messenger On desktop devices, you will find our messenger in the bottom right corner of the page, allowing you to chat with others in a more intuitive manner, just like you may be used to on various other platforms. We will continue to improve the messaging experience as we go forward, but we are very happy with the way it is now. Ofcourse you can continue using messenger, how it was before, as a full-page view. Tiles for Group Manager /images/general-media/1789389492_W7MfXXwR.png In addition to various improvements for the Group Manager, we are happy to announce tiles.  Tiles are small customizeable and editable dynamic elements, that you can add to your Group Manager dashboard to add various features to them.  Add images, spell, item, skill lookup searches, connect your notes to your Obsidian markdown files and keep them synced with what you have on your computer or just add a slideshow to set the mood for the game. Badges /images/general-media/1789389332_qdibSnHO.png Show off your activity and achievements on Groupfinder with the badges you have earned here. There are various ways to earn badges, some you get for reaching out to users on the platform, some you get for bumping. You may be considered a librarian, if you help us improve the library.  And with higher tier badges, you will also unlock unique perks (such as lower daily bumping cooldown, or additional unique cover images). Posts and listings We also took some time to optimize the filtering options on the posts pages. We added additional features to the search, and with that it slowly started getting out of hand. So it was time to take a step back and look at the whole listings filter as a whole and bring it all together, again. Many of these fixes and tweaks have been things you, the users, have asked for. Just like the option to also exclude tags from your search. Don't want to see games that have a "Horror" theme? Take it out and no spooky season for you. We admit that for some time the "Create a post" flow was.. messy. Again the same deal, as with filters - we added fields, elements, options and much more to it. But it resulted in the pages being overly cluttered and some fields may have been accidentally overlooked. Now the flows have been reworked and should make it a lot easier for you to create your player post or add your games to the listings. Also to all of our multilingual friends - you can now write your post description in multiple languages. I mean.. you could also before - but now it is more reasonably separated and structured. Those with a game post will also have access to more detailed analytics about your post. Knowing and understanding more about those, who open your post, can help you tweak and tailor your post in various ways. A more organized library /images/general-media/1789390627_QjshwGXo.png Don't you just hate it when your local library is a mess. Well ours was a bit messy - so we cleaned it up and made it make more sense. The new library home page now offers you a better overview of what is new, what is popular and which events are upcoming. Speaking of events - if you know of any upcoming tabletop events that might interest others - tell us about them and we'll try to get those added to the library as well. And much, much more In addition to all the topics we've covered here, there have been a vast amount of additional changes - not necessarily smaller and less important. We just have to keep these update logs at a reasonable length. If you have any feedback regarding these changes (or lack of an update you were hoping for) - do let us know. Either use the contact us form, or join our Discord server and let us know there. We are always happy to discuss and learn from you. Till next time.

Virtual Battle Mat is the easiest virtual tabletop for playing D&D, Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, and any tabletop RPG online. Beautiful isometric maps and tokens, drag-and-drop simplicity, and a curated content catalog — no setup headaches, no learning curve. Whether you're a first-time GM or a seasoned grognard, VBM brings back the feel of playing around a real battle mat — without the mess. Works in any browser. No downloads. No installs. Just play. System Overview & Key Features Built-in voice & video No Discord of Zoom needed Runs in your browser No download, no install Super easy to use No technical skills required Huge token & map catalog Free starter + Premium library Links vbm.games - Official website discord.gg - Discord server

OpenFray is a free, open-source combat console for Game Masters running Dungeons and Dragons 5e games. It is an initiative tracker that holds the whole encounter. It opens in a browser tab, needs nothing installed, and works without an account. Signing in is free, and it carries a Game Master's fights between devices. It keeps the parts of an encounter that are easiest to lose track of: initiative order, hit points, conditions and effects, concentration, and monster resources such as legendary actions, recharge abilities and spell slots. Effects have two ends, so OpenFray knows both who has advantage and who is granting it, and works that into the rolls. Every roll goes through one place and is logged with the dice behind it. A whole group can make one saving throw at once, with each creature's resistances and immunities already worked in. The table gets a screen of its own. A shared link lets the players follow the turn order and the game log on their phones, showing only what the Game Master chooses to give away. The built-in compendium ships the 2024 and 2014 rules, with opt-in libraries from Kobold Press and OpenFray's own books. Creatures and spells can be built by hand, pasted in as JSON, or taken from a D&D Beyond stat block with the free browser add-on. Compatible with Dungeons and Dragons 5.5e and 5e.

AmberCon UK 2026 will be our twenty-ninth annual roleplaying convention devoted to the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game and we hope you will join us there from 25th September to 27th September 2026. This year’s Ambercon UK is following the pattern created in 2025 – as such it is being held in apartments rather than a hotel setting and con goers will need to find their own accommodation. A list of variously priced options will be posted in the New Year.. What’s planned? Just as Amber is not an ordinary RPG, AmberCon UK is no ordinary game convention. AmberCon UK 26 will feature events for players of all levels of experience, including new character auctions, stand-alone scenarios, new and continuing mini-campaigns, freeform games and the chance to meet, relax with, and plot hideously against your fellow Amber players in comfort.