D&D 5E Traits

[Arilyn]

With traits, bonds and flaws, do you pick from list, roll, come up with your own or do a mix? I try to create my own as much as possible. The lists can be helpful, but I find it far more satisfactory to create ones especially geared to my character.

 

[ccs]

I guess you'd say I make up my own. Because for me those things are just part & parcel of making a character. And I've been making characters for decades.... So I don't pay much attention to what's listed. Heck, I don't even fill those slots in on the character sheet.

 

[MiraMels]

I almost always make up my own, but the listed stuff has a very consistent formatting that is helpful to follow.


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[cbwjm]

We don't really use them at all. I'm not sure if anyone at my table has entered them into their character sheet (at least one probably has, but I doubt the others have).

 

[Shiroiken]

Unless I'm making a character for a one shot, I always have an idea of the personality and history of a character before I actually start making it. For quick characters (like one-shots), rolling can be fun to test your role-playing skill, but it would likely lose its charm after a few sessions.

 

[Oofta]

A mix of both. I look at existing traits for inspiration. If anything strikes my fancy I use it, otherwise I may tweak something existing. Other times I'll just make up something that makes sense.

 

[Li Shenron]

With traits, bonds and flaws, do you pick from list, roll, come up with your own or do a mix?

All of them!

I think the Traits/Ideals/Bonds/Flaws tables were an awesome addition to the PHB, but keep in mind they are supposed to be suggestions when you don't already have RP ideas for your characters.

So using the tables is especially recommended to beginners, so that they won't have to think too long about their character's personality, when they can just pick a suggestion from the list. But it's also useful to players of any experience when you quickly need to define a character (e.g. for a one-shot game or an improptu session).

Experienced players should probably look into creating their own, at least when planning a PC for a long-term campaign.

When you want to play something different that might surprise you, rolling can be the way to go. But I have used this only once for a PC of mine, and that PC was completely random head-to-toe

 

[Ed Laprade]

I can usually find something that fits the character I'm making, and that's good enough as they are rarely used. But if I want something that isn't listed for that background I'll flip though the others and see if I can find something. If not, I'll make my own.