I found out my phone can translate Dragons Elvish and Dwarven A translation of Zora's of Blackbriar Mermaid song Sure! Here are the written translations of "Oh my dear unwary sailor, come to my shore, it's way safer than the roaring sea. I need you here with me. Oh my sweet unwary man, follow my voice and take my hand. Let me take you to the promised land" in all the Tolkien-created languages listed above: Quenya: Ála naiwenya hlaruvalyëo, lerya ar i nórë saha, i tultalë nótina. Etya sinya yáve, ála melwa naiwerya, nána linda i laiquessë ar tenya i návë pustaressë. Sindarin: O nin ú-im-mi i-dhúath ú-gauhar, lín i laeg nín ú-guil lín. Neledhi nín naear arwen, ú-guil duathar beriathar. O nin ú-im-mi i-lach en-guir, ú-guil i ven ú-cheniathar.
The only thing I'd change about this challenge is putting the playlist as one of the first days so that when you do all the other things you can listen to it at the same time!
This challenge made me realize that I accidentally made a character that is really, REALLY similar to Moana. In her goals and backstory especially. I think I never realized it because my character is afraid of water and can't swim, and the thing she feels drawn to (and that connects her to her ancestors and especially her recently deceased grandmother) is the stars instead of the ocean.
as a music nerd i LOVE making character playlists. i usually make mine a mix of songs that remind me of their story and things i feel like theyd listen to. really helps me get into their mindset
I do the same. Every character I play I have a “priming song”, an idea I took from combat sports. The song is the characters theme title track, and I listen to it before a session to channel that character’s essence before I play.
“I always wanna share my character playlists and no one ever cares” As someone who really loves a well crafted playlist, that broke me a little 🥺 *immediate follow*
Pretty sure no one cares about my playlist either. We had a little discussion regarding the other exercises, but nothing on the playlist. Well, I had fun putting one together, anyway.
I love that you show yourself with make up and cute outfits as well as no-makeup and comfy clothes. A lot of female youtubers/media gals only show with makeup and lights. (no shade to them, its just helpful for people to see humans online in multiple lights rather than always dolled up. You look super cute both ways.)
I ran a campaign where I would have my players write diary entries or letters (their pick) in between session. This helped them do session recaps and get themselves into character! It also gave me really fun ideas for bringing their backstories further into the game.
In my campaign, one character is assigned to do a recap for each session. They are supposed to be written in character and they're a lot of fun for all of us to to do. Plus, they are super helpful for remembering the sessions lol. We've done it for 3 years at this point!
I did something similar with a group of kids (my own children, nephews, nieces and some of their friends). The campaign concept was loosely based on the Assassin's Creed video games, where the characters lived in a futuristic setting and were using technology to visit earlier time periods on Earth. I incorporated real-world historical figures, places, events and mythology in the adventures, using D&D as a means of teaching history. We were doing this as a substitute for an actual history curriculum for my homeschooled kids, so there was an incentive for the players to engage with the extra requests I was making, as they would have to go back to learning from a book if they didn't. After each session, the players were to either write a diary entry or a letter to their character's family/friends about the things they learned during the adventure. At the start of the next session, one player would be chosen at random to read their "essay" out loud as a recap, after which I would ask the group questions about something that was mentioned or if they had anything to add, which helped jog everyone's memories and get them excited for whatever was coming up next. I also had the players do some kind of research project each time we changed setting that would impact gameplay to some extent. For example, I asked them to research their choice of clothing, tools, instruments, weapons or armor during the Han Dynasty of China, then gave them magic items from the category they had researched that would be helpful during the adventure. In another adventure, I had them research a notable person of their choice from the era and region the adventure would be set in, and they received bonuses to their rolls when interacting with those people based on what the player knew about the person (which they were asked to tell the party about) when they met that person in the game. Their research notes and diary/letter essays were turned in to the charter school to show what they were learning.
Chapters: Day 1 1:22 - write a diary entry from the perspective of your character Day 2 2:40 - make a collage of an important place Day 3 4:32 - which 4 characters describe yours Day 4 7:03 - make a social profile Day 5 8:45 - take a personality quiz in character Day 6 10:07 - write a letter from your character Day 7 11:51 - make a playlist for your character
The fact that you can write in straight lines without rulings is pure black magic. I actually did something similar to this with my previous two characters - nothing as in-depth, but it really made me get in character every session a lot more easily. This also just gives me more ideas!
I joined a D&D campaign that was starting at level 6. However, that begged the question as to just what got my character to that level. So, I embarked on what turned into a two-week exercise writing diary entries to cover my character's backstory. From my perspectives, I had at least four or five adventures to write in addition to what set her into motion as an adventurer. As I did, I had a plan in mind, but while writing, the story went into directions I didn't expect. I just let it go where it needed to. By the time I was done, I had loads of plot hooks available for the DM to use, three different personal goals, her best friend who she needed to protect now, and this great recurring villain in her life that the GM was on board with making a constant pain in my backside in the campaign. I was already inhabiting my character before the first session. I was so excited. Then, three days before the game was going to start, the DM folded the campaign. Go figure.
For my next character for a Pathfinder game I'm going to play, I actually did an 7 card tarot reading that determined his personality, backstory beats, flaws, goals, etc. And I found it was a very interesting way to build a character. It freed me making decisions, but created a challenging character that I may not have ever played otherwise. Amazingly enough, there was even a through line thematically that made me excited to play him. Using this method in the video might help me get more into the mind of this character too.
I’ve done this before! Even for established characters, sometimes it’s fun to pick out which cards encapsulate them or their journey the most. It makes you think more creatively about it. Then, consider how your character would react if they were sitting on the other side of the table, receiving a perfectly accurate reading!
Fantastic! I’ve done Runestone readings for Norse Characters I’ve made for The Palladium Roleplaying Game, and Vampire: The Masquerade. Would you consider giving more detail on the rereading you did and what categories you used? I assume it was a one card pull for these, but I can also see multi-card pulls for some in order to explore where he is coming from, where he is now, and what he needs to consider in plotting his future or where he’s going.
@smlowe5637 Yeah I can share. I used the full deck of major and minor arcana, and I pulled the 7 cards all at once, laying them in a circle and turning them one by one. Starting from the 12 o'clock position and going clockwise I read: Passions, Weakness. Key Event, Vice, Desire, and Obstacle. All of this is very good for knowing my character from before the campaign. In my reading, there was a repetition of the meaning of "decisions" in multiple, and sometimes conflicting positions. I chose to interpret this as a person who wants so deeply to be able to live the way he chooses, but once he finds himself in that position, he freezes up, doesn't make a decision (whether by inaction or letting someone else make it for him) leading to something personally happening that affects him adversely. I'm looking forward to playing this character and trying to walk that line between wanting something so badly but being unable or unwilling to reach for it.
@@brady6723 That’s very cool! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve wanted to use a Tarot Deck to help define what they’re like, and this reading template will help me define what s/he’s like.
Player: I'm am SO ready to play my character Yonlor, the Dragonborn Sorcerer after doing this 7-day Character challenge! Wait until you hear this note I wrote from him to his younger sister back home! DM: Okay, encounter 1, you agreed to help the innkeeper with his rat problem and you find yourselves in the cellar. Roll initiative. Okay, two get the jump on Yonlor who ran down the stairs first for some reason. Player: That's because he's impetuous, and brave! DM: And that's two crits, doing 35 damage, which I believe is double your hp. So, you're dead. Player: Wut? Uh...did you guys still want to read my letter? DM: I'm sure they can deliver it to your sister when they tell her the bad news about her brother. I kid! I kid of course! Another great video Ginny! And a wonderful exercise for sure. My only addition to the already excellent 7 steps would be to caution players to keep their backstory stuff (i.e. the diary entry, letters, etc.) simple! No, "I killed my third dragon today" kinda stuff. I think sometimes people can get a little carried away with the backstory of their 1st level characters if they don't watch their overactive creativity. I've been known to do that myself!! (i.e. my 1st level dwarven cleric wearing a skull cap from a lich that he helped kill...with the rest of his army squad of course!) Again, I always enjoy your videos, and as a "veteran" GM, I still always find some great advice from you. :)
I might try this with my druid; he's only 10 and can't read or write, but him persuading one of the other PCs - or perhaps a friendly NPC - to write a letter that he dictates could make for another fun RP exercise!
I found it really hard to rp a twelve year old who didn’t speak very good common so I ended up asking my dm if I could play his dad, should be switching next session!
@@cindabearr honestly, Kreek has really warped the group dynamic in a way none of us really appreciated 😅 we're all pretty dedicated RPers, and there's a lot of friction between most of the group, but Kreek being 10 means he effectively has 3 self-appointed dads and a mum, and they are all trying. SO hard to protect him. Even though at this point he's actually quite a powerful Spellcaster 😂 He doesn't like battle, and has historically only ever prepped healing and utility spells; we're very rarely fought humanoids, usually monsters and beasts, which he doesn't like hurting. It's been super interesting, and a LOT of pressure as he is increasingly the glue holding group together!! (to be clear, the players are all on good terms, I'm referring to the characters here)
Yet again, Ginny puts out exactly the video I need. Been having a hard time cracking a new character. Sheet's all filled, spells picked, backstory written, but they still don't feel ready. The diary entry alone helped tremendously! Thanks Ginny!
Penelope is exactly the kind of character my wife loves to play. My wife has an 11-year old gnome rogue she has fallen in love with who has almost Penelope’s exact personality. Also, for a Halloween one-shot, she literally played as Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl.
i love the idea of a social media circle with others where everyone is just in character XD. could be with only party but also maybe people outside of it.
Doing silly Buzzfeed quizzes in character is genius! I could tell you all about my characters backstory and traits, but I definitely couldn't tell you she's pumpkin soup before this. And the weird options means you get to learn what things your character is drawn to, like certain colors or their food opinions or what Disney movie would make them cry.
4:33 This method is a struggle for me because as a 14-year old who loves D&D and doesn't have a particular interest in movies and other pop culture, I don't have or know of a large repertoire of fictional characters. Sure, I love reading fantasy and fiction books, but because I haven't lived as long as other D&D players (in this case Ginny Di), I don't have a lot of experience with watching movies or shows and knowing fictional characters, so finding four out of all I know that each nearly exactly resemble my character or have coinciding traits is almost impossible.
This is really fun, I don't think I need to take multiple days to do this but it was neat to think on some aspects of how my ADHD astral monk would interact and think about things. In particular the diary entry and the writing made me laugh a lot because we've already established in game that he can read but he had no patience for learning how to write so he wouldn't really be able to do these. But if he could, he has an interesting dynamic with his parents. His mother's a duergar who is extremely strong willed and very authoritarian so if he wrote to her about his adventures it would be in the context of a war missive explaining actions, damages inflicted and taken, and casualties. His stepfather however is incredibly kind and a renowned chef so he would be updating him on the wild spices and herbs, as well as animals and what recipes he's come up with since leaving home/what the local cuisine is for towns he visits. And in thinking about that realized he would be trying very hard to still mask and present himself in the way people communicate best, still hiding his actual self and not living authentically. Him learning to unmask and be himself is the slow burning roleplay that highlights his entire experience.
I’m running three games currently for the players in my community: one for people who can only play Saturdays, one for people who can only play Sundays, and one for the people who can play Saturdays and Sundays but the other players in those regularly scheduled games are unavailable. I just sent out the link to this video as well as the other components in your tweet, and I’ve offered to award 100 experience ( and now that I think about it, an equal amount of gold ) to those player characters for each day of the challenge their players complete. Thanks for coming up with such a great idea, and putting in all the work to share it with us! ❤ SMFL
For some reason this video makes me think of the Community episode Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in S5 EP10 where David Cross's character asks Abed that surely he should have some notes on the setting and Abed whips out an almost foot thick encyclopedia of the setting he developed for the game session.
I found that having a character diary really helps. It's like taking notes, but in character. Also notes are mostly short important stuff, like "Korren found Ring of Protection and map to some treasure in a trapped room. Zargothrax is a necromancer, might be a lich. Baron knows where heart of nebsef is hidden". But the thing is, I personally often forgot how my PC felt about stuff in the game between sessions, especially when they are rare, so I started a character diary where I write about ingame events and my PC's thoughts about them. So I read it before the new session and recall the mood I should start with, is my character sad, or joyful, or scared etc, and (relevant for my current one) she likes to share her feelings other characters, so I remember what she may talk about, like "I was so angry at him I almost snapped" or "don't do that again I was so afraid you'd die". Just helps with immersion.
It's interesting because I do some of these things (like creating a playlist and doing some personality quizzes) during my initial creation of my characters! I feel like it adds a depth/better understanding to my idea of who I want to play so my characters overlap less.
I do this same thing for my online games, like Fallout or Skyrim. I have an in-game journal and I find that writing in it every play session leaves me with a better understanding of my character. Doing this for D&D also sounds fun, but I am usually DM, so that is a lot of extra work for every NPC... as much as I would love to do it.
One of my players wrote diary entries in our last game and it really helped her think through her character and how the events of the story impacted that character. It also was really useful for me as a DM, because I'd sometimes go back and read her entries if I couldn't remember a detail from the session xD. One thing I really loved doing to help with RP/getting into character is that between games (we play every 2 weeks so, there's a lot of time in between), when they were traveling, or just, not in the middle of a major event, I'd let them RP in Discord between each other or with some of the NPCs. At the end of the game I'd ask who they wanted to talk with, and set up Discord text channels between the characters, and they could just type and respond over the course of the week, and wrap it up before next game. I felt like this really helped create the experience of travel and having some organic conversations along the way, without spending too much in-game time on it. And it's really nice sometimes to RP characters in text, where you can spend more time thinking about your responses and get comfortable with your character in a low-stakes way, which hopefully helps translate over when you're on the spot RPing in game.
I haven't done the personality test, but I highly recommend the music playlist and the letters. I have also written a few short stories about my characters past that either capture a turning point in her development or explore her family connection. It can be very rewarding.
So I've always considered myself more of a roll player than a role player, especially compared to my crew. My most recent character though, because they're so far out of my comfort zone compared to other characters I've done before (which was actually based on some advice you gave about being a better role player! This is my first time playing cross-gender, first time playing a bard, first time playing a half-orc because hell yeah green girls), I've tried putting a lot more work into the characterization so I could better understand how to play them. Oddly enough, I've actually already done some of these! (Including unofficially making a playlist for them because I listen to certain stuff to get in the right mindset.) Definitely makes me feel more confident in how I've gone about things with Zora!
Alright, I'm convinced! I tried the diary entry tip and I think it was very useful for developing how my character speaks. I wasn't expected that but now I'm definitely going to be trying it more!
I think this might be one of my favorite videos I have seen of yours. The idea of splitting up the "big character questions" and spending time thinking about what did home look like, who will this character think about when the go on this journey and just being really down to earth about the whole thing. I am sure setting up shots and recording in different areas, at different times and presumably on some number of day more than 1 (but it might have all been on one because *content creation lol) with a No wig, not a ton of make up down-to-earth Ginny, just talking to us like a friend more than an enterainer. Really comfy *picnic lunch on an early spring day with a good friend* vibes Many blessings for you and your lovely characters, may their Joy's eclipse their worries but have enough of each to appreciate the other.❤
I thought this was really interesting, and could be a helpful exercise. When you were on Day 3, based on your other descriptors, I was relating her to Princess Unikitty. Also, I find your sponsor messages very creative. They're fun, and I don't know if I've ever skipped through them.
These are all good ways to get into your character's headspace! One of the best advice I got as a writer many years ago is to write a short story for all the important characters, even if those short stories never see the light of day. It functions as a character study.
This is a great idea! I feel like it's something you could do with your character several times throughout a campaign to do a deep dive and mentally check in with the character development and growth they've had since the last time you did this. Just actively keeping tabs on them and whatnot.
I've tried this challenge, even though I have already done some of those things to 'get in the mood' for my Pathfinder character (playlist, mood board, personality test, I even wrote letters from her to her parents in game, and sent them to the GM). I was really surprised how I enjoyed writing a diary from her perspective. It really helped to sort out my own thoughts on the latest session and plan out where I want her story to move forward (I had a sort of motivational crisis). And I think I'm going to keep writing diary entries to keep my character consistent, and also not to lose sight of her goals. Maybe not every session, but definitely for major events. Thanks, Ginny!
My role is usually a PDM, but last year I finally got the chance to make a character, and sit in the players seat. And it was very fun, and this video has really made me think about things for him I never thought about before. I’m honestly gonna have a great time doing this tomorrow
13:05 I want nothing more than to listen to your character playlists omfg 😊 I’m making a playlist for my character (my first time ever playing) and it’s been my favorite part of character development so far!
watching the video I realize I have already done all of these things for some my characters without noticing! it seems like a VERY fun challenge to do over the course of a week
I started one of my characters off in a campaign at level 7. So, I went all the way back and started him off at level 0. Since the only real thing I could think of about his relevant backstory that was mentioned at table, was that he was from waterdeep and had an unusual affinity with the Fey, I started off the campaign at Fey day. That gave me a good sturdy foundation for his backstory
This is so fun!!! I also really like looking through voice lines (ex: Genshin Impact Characters where it says “When it snows”, “Ally low hp”, etc.) and making a list of my own for my characters, it helps me get in their mindset and think about what they would say if they found treasure or how they feel about certain weather. :)
Yes this! Also animations! Particularly Ace Attorney style animations (they're so limited it really narrows the scope of what you need to do and forces you to focus on essentials)
One of the absolute best things that helps me really solidify the mindset of my character and connect with them is writing her journal. After every session, I write from her perspective about what happened in the session, how she feels about it, etc. I usually will also play some thematic music and it’s honestly one of my favorite parts about playing. My DM has access to the document and has often implemented things I wrote in the journal but hadn’t talked about into the campaign which has been wonderful. I will also usually read her last few entries before each session to help me recall what happened and also get back into her headspace. I highly recommend keeping a character journal this way! It’s been amazing for connecting deeply with my PC
This looks like a lot of fun! I usually do this list of 100 questions I found years ago, but I haven't really done them for my current characters. Been kind of out of sorts with my writing for the past few years. This might be just the thing to help get me back into writing. I think I'll try this out, see what happens. And Penelope is so cute, lol.
I love this kind of thought exercise and I use something similar. Which is kind of interesting with my long time group, because most of them still kinda play themselves in a different setting with backstory and interests. If you have a group like this, you'll be able to surprise and delight (or annoy if it goes badly) by acting out a plan or a conclusion that you yourself would never do.
This is fun and some really interesting ways of getting into character. In one of my games our session 0 was our existing characters from our OG campaign interviewing the new characters (spin-off campaign) they were hiring for the new franchise location - plus a couple throwaways that didn't make the cut. We got to grill each others' characters about why they wanted to be adventurers and their values and stuff. It turned out to be a great way to get in character beyond the details of their backstory and character sheets and much faster than I've experienced in the past just jumping into game.
Thank you Ginny!!! Your character building exercises are my favorite flavor 😍 this brings me back to the best bits of creative writing courses. and I just joined two new games as a player, so this is right on time for me!
Every time I make a character playlist it ends up so wild because of all the weird genres I listen to and how they fit points in an arc. Like the one I'm currently making has such features as deathgaze to psytrance and then right into atmospheric sludge, and industrial noise and glitchnoise songs followed immediately by a guy squealing into a microphone for a bit then transitioning into neo-classical power metal, metalcore into jazz (chunk jazz, but still mostly jazz), etc.
I am definitely going to do this challenge, my Tiefling Monk has lived through so much and I think it would be fun to see how it branches out in this way
I was about to crash-course this today for tomorrow's session and turns out I've already done two of the seven things already! Nice! I've already taken a few personality quizzes in-character and I'm on my 3rd iteration of her playlist, which I use when I have a hard time getting into character that day. It's interesting to see how she's changed/grown in only a month in-game.
I'm in 2 campaigns right now, so I'm starting this with my first campaign today! I'm so excited! Thank you for sharing this great idea; I'm someone who really love the RP stuff of DnD, since I put so much time and effort into character backstories and such. Can't wait to see more of your videos!
11:51 Day Seven's method is a struggle for me. Although I love D&D, I have little to no knowledge of good music. The list of songs I know of that actually fit the D&D genre is very small. Plus, as a 14-year-old D&D enthusiast without a job or consistent money, I don't have any access to music platform subscriptions. Also, what do you mean by "a playlist for your character?" "For your character" may mean something that represents their personality, achievements, story (which you did for your character playlist specifically), or backstory, or it could mean that it is full of songs that they would like to listen to. I think these techniques are great, but with my insufficient supplies and understanding of them, I can't complete it effectively. I am also unable to do Day Three with most characters, as I explained in a seperate comment.
Love this! I’ve done some of these things before; right now we’re playing Strixhaven, and all my session notes are written like diary entries. It’s interesting what events ‘she’ focuses on and how she feels about them! I find it really helps me know what her goals are for the next session.
Hi!!! Great video and truly a lot of work! I've done many of these exercises just for fun but I love how you made it to help grow your character Be sure I'll be doing some of these over the weekend! ❤
There is one character that always comes back to me since I first heard of dnd. I've played my Paladin in every dnd edition ( not my only PC mind you. He holds a special place in my heart) and video game as a one shot or even a campaign. I've known him for 20 years so as a homage to him. I think I will do this. And build up all the art I've done over the years with him.
Playlists for the Win girl! @ my table we like to pick theme songs for each character & make a playlist. Sometimes a song will become a theme for a campaign. When the Whole table starts singing Holy Diver by Dio when battle begins, you're in the groove!🤘
I’ve done a lot of these for my characters! For personality tests, I like to figure out their MBTI and enneagram types for fun. I actually keep an on going diary as “session recap notes” for my current PC’s thoughts between each session. He writes as if it’s to the friend that he lost recently so it’s really sad, but also it’s a great exercise in unfiltered thoughts from the characters completely biased perspective on the last sessions events! I cannot go without a character playlist tbh! I think it’s a must have for any PC I make!
These are some really good days, or tips to flush out your character. Im a writer, and ive used all these in different ways, another tip i can offer which is one I get asked often is how do you make names? More so for normal fiction but not that it wouldn't work for DnD characters as well, but check out your local obituaries, it feels sort of ghoulish lol, but great source of names and background info you can mix and match. I believe, as I'm starting out new to DnD, there are a list of last names. Look at maps of cities and towns throughout the world, some places have some pretty cool names that easily can be fantasy names like Aaron Oakland, or Nate Sedona, Cella Lafayette, Sandra Bricksbee, Laz Orindy, and they all live in the valley of Walnut Creek lol. I've lived a lot of places in the US and absolutely could go on, but I hope these tips help.
Those are great ideas! I had to make a new character (lawful good cleric) because my previous character (chaotic neutral sorcerer) wasn't jiving with the party, but I've been finding it so hard to think like this new guy. I'm looking forward to completing the personality quizzes from his perspective and understanding him a bit better.
What a great idea! I love that you can get a deeper understanding of your character by just taking the time to get to know them for a little bit each day. And I think GMs could use this for important NPCs too. Are you planning on taking the challenge for any of your other characters? It would be really interesting to see how different the tasks play out for any of your more "villainous" characters such as Augury or Undertow.
That's a really fun idea! One thing I also like about this challenge is that if you don't want to tackle the whole thing, you can pick and choose exercises to try (or just do it all at once, if you're feeling really gung ho!) Maybe I'll go down the list again and pick a different character for each day.
@@GinnyDi This would be a great way to explore a master thief like Al Swearengen from Deadwood, (great series for so many different kinds of character studies--the writing is so good) Any number of characters from Boardwalk Empire or the Godfather series, Tony or Stansfield from the professional--and deciding this, it could well set the tone for the entire thieves guild.
This is something I really needed, I've just started playing a Firbolg grave cleric that I've lightly based on Caduceus Clay from Critical Role but I want to make sure he feels like his own character as well so will definitely be running this challenge with my boy Genlen ^^
Awesome!! A bunch of these are things I've done for one character or another, and the character playlist is a must for any character I create, but like the personality quiz and the social media ones are stuff I hadn't thought about! And of course doing them all after each other seems like a fantastic way to deepen your understanding of your character! Thanks for sharing this! Also, I'm fairly sure I won't be the only one but I for one definitely care about your character playlists! Would love to give them a listen!
I love this! Will absolutely follow this list. I've written the odd diary entry before, like one from the perspective of my peace loving, nurturing druid who killed a young man to keep her disgraced father safe from the world. It was HUGE in helping me understand her varied facets and connect with her. Everything I needed to know about her was all there in that one encounter from her backstory, written from her POV. I highly agree and recommend the journal entry for developing characters.
okay i just have to write this cuz i keep getting distracted- your hand writing is SOO good, like- jesus christ i feel envious. Especially considering you're using a quill!!
THIS IS PERFECT TIMING!! I'm about to play my first ever campaign with my first character that I've only used in a one shot, she's a fairy druid, and I've been having a hard time imagining how to get into her head and her nuances but already just watching this video and briefly thinking about it I have a much much more solid idea of who she is, I love it!!! Thank you thank you
I struggle so hard with developing my characters' personalities & backstories, but you. You've made the prompts so interesting that I feel confident I can develop my characters!
I've been struggling to get into the head of my character for the first 5 sessions i've played her - I've tried journalling as her but I've been struggling to explore her personality but I think these tasks are really going to help me a tonne! thank you Ginny!! :D
Aaaand then the character dies in the 5th session ☹️ Curse of Strahd is a deadly one for putting this much work into a Character unless you do some of the reincarnation options.
@@johnathanrhoades7751 Depending on how much the players like character creation and development, that might be more reason to do it. If the character has a low life expectancy, that's less time in the sessions themselves to flesh the character out before their funeral. 😅 And at least one of them might be able to mine their backstory for a character that went looking for their first PC to also end up trapped in the campaign to become PC #2.
Okay, I don’t play dnd (yet) but I LOVE this for writing. I’m currently writing and episodic fantasy series and I decided to basically create a character for an episode that didn’t exist prior to me starting the episode. I’ve been so lost and struggling but I think I’m gonna try this challenge and see if that helps me figure her out!
As a DM, when I'm helping new characters write a backstory, I tend to have them answer a set of questions based on their intuitions. So if the first adventure starts at a celebration it would work out like this: -Where was your character 10 hours before the party? Did they want to go to the party? Why? -Where was your character 10 days before the party? Describe the situation in some detail. Who/what do you see, hear, feel, say etc. -Where was your character 10 months before the party? -Where was your character 10 years before the party? -Where was your character on the day they were born. By practicing writing a backstory in antichronological order, the task for new players is no longer: "start Fromm the beginning and write a story", but "find out some key things that happened to your character before their real story will start". After answering these questions they already have a lot of prompts to work with, if they want to refine. -
In the campaign I run I recently started doing different snippets that provide more insight on what's going on in the world. I do this in our Discord announcements channel alongside the weekly time/location confirmation post. It does exactly this for me. It gets me thinking about what else is happening in the world. Some have been news articles, some secret correspondence between unknown factions about their group. The most recent was an account of what happened to the spirit of an enemy they had recently dispatched. Idk how much my players get out of the updates, but man it makes a difference in immersing myself.
I'm not even a D&D nerd and I'm currently using this to further develop a Star Wars OC who's originally from earth, but is also an amnesiac due to uh. The Empire. And already at day 2 making the collage of 'home', blending the fuzzy memories of his home on earth compared to the stronger new memories of home on the rebel base, *I'm nearly in damn tears*
I loooove those character development videos but as a forever DM they also kind of give me low key anxiety because I always want to do try them with all my fave NPCs / concept characters and by now there really are too many 😅
The look for day 1 was 5-stars, the color choice was just *chef kiss*. Also, did you almost make yourself cry on day 6? Because that felt rather emotional.
Love the playlist. I’ve tried it for my latest character and it helps me to get into character before playing. I also wrote a character based on a song before, but weirdly I didn’t make a playlist for them yet. Definitely going for the challenge for my three player characters now!
I am having my first session this saturday, but I'm already making too many characters (without even knowing which I can use or how to use them). It's just so much fun to create and give life to future characters you'll get to play. Thanks to your videos of course!
I love the idea of these exercises, I've shared them with my group. I don't really get the chance to do this sort of thing for myself being a DM that's never actually played- but a friend has said she'd DM a oneshot for my birthday in June and already I am really looking forward to it. It'll be her first time DMing and my first time playing. I might have to do this for my one shot character! x
I have character playlists for all of my characters, but the last couple I made in tandem while writing their backstories. They are so much each other that its hard to separate them, and I definitely feel like I "know" them better because of it! I'll have to try out a few more ideas here as well!
Ohh I love this, I'm definitely going to try it with the main character of my book. And I already have a huge playlist with over 80 songs and i did the "16 personalities"-test for him which I really recommend! (He's the entertainer, what fits perfect to him) I love your channel💛
I don’t know if I’d do all do all of these steps (I can’t stand making playlists), but I enjoy the Idea of applying some Method to character building. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea! I'm definitely going to do this with my TTRPG characters too! Thank you! Also, I really enjoyed learning more about Penelope, and your ad skits remain the best on RUclips! You never fail to make me laugh :D
Checking in on the first day! My character Oleander, an owlin barbarian is writing to Jelle- a childhood friend who they killed, mistaking them for an invading hunter in their rage (a whole invasion took place). It's a confession of love. A remembrance. Writing concerns about a dark urge to kill growing inside them. And sharing a desire to leave their homeland. An item I started with, an executioners hood (which previously had no significance) was hers.
Sign up for World Anvil free to start building your world: worldanvil.com/ginny
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I found out my phone can translate Dragons Elvish and Dwarven
A translation of Zora's of Blackbriar
Mermaid song
Sure! Here are the written translations of "Oh my dear unwary sailor, come to my shore, it's way safer than the roaring sea. I need you here with me. Oh my sweet unwary man, follow my voice and take my hand. Let me take you to the promised land" in all the Tolkien-created languages listed above:
Quenya:
Ála naiwenya hlaruvalyëo, lerya ar i nórë saha, i tultalë nótina. Etya sinya yáve, ála melwa naiwerya, nána linda i laiquessë ar tenya i návë pustaressë.
Sindarin:
O nin ú-im-mi i-dhúath ú-gauhar, lín i laeg nín ú-guil lín. Neledhi nín naear arwen, ú-guil duathar beriathar. O nin ú-im-mi i-lach en-guir, ú-guil i ven ú-cheniathar.
Thank you Ginny... I'm building my world now
היי נשמעת שיטה מעולה
Question: what site was used for the fake profile?
Yeah, does anyone know the site name? Or a similar site?
The only thing I'd change about this challenge is putting the playlist as one of the first days so that when you do all the other things you can listen to it at the same time!
Ooooo smart!
Agreed 👍
👍
I often even use the lyrics of the songs to develop my character even more in ways I didn’t think of before
@@fredfullthedreadful I do this too! Throne by Saint Mesa in particular really inspired a lot of backstory for my barbarian character
This challenge made me realize that I accidentally made a character that is really, REALLY similar to Moana. In her goals and backstory especially. I think I never realized it because my character is afraid of water and can't swim, and the thing she feels drawn to (and that connects her to her ancestors and especially her recently deceased grandmother) is the stars instead of the ocean.
Uh oh, I'm about to do all of these in one single day probably
go hard or go home!!!
handshake of solidarity
ultimate challenge!!!
Me too
Same here!
as a music nerd i LOVE making character playlists. i usually make mine a mix of songs that remind me of their story and things i feel like theyd listen to. really helps me get into their mindset
I do the same. Every character I play I have a “priming song”, an idea I took from combat sports. The song is the characters theme title track, and I listen to it before a session to channel that character’s essence before I play.
Same here.
I do this too
I like doing this for Bards in particular.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. It really does give a lot of insight.
“I always wanna share my character playlists and no one ever cares”
As someone who really loves a well crafted playlist, that broke me a little 🥺
*immediate follow*
Pretty sure no one cares about my playlist either. We had a little discussion regarding the other exercises, but nothing on the playlist. Well, I had fun putting one together, anyway.
I love that you show yourself with make up and cute outfits as well as no-makeup and comfy clothes. A lot of female youtubers/media gals only show with makeup and lights. (no shade to them, its just helpful for people to see humans online in multiple lights rather than always dolled up. You look super cute both ways.)
I ran a campaign where I would have my players write diary entries or letters (their pick) in between session. This helped them do session recaps and get themselves into character! It also gave me really fun ideas for bringing their backstories further into the game.
Oh wow neat idea! Can you elaborate more on this concept??
I'd like to hear more.
@@guyman1570 same
In my campaign, one character is assigned to do a recap for each session. They are supposed to be written in character and they're a lot of fun for all of us to to do. Plus, they are super helpful for remembering the sessions lol. We've done it for 3 years at this point!
I did something similar with a group of kids (my own children, nephews, nieces and some of their friends). The campaign concept was loosely based on the Assassin's Creed video games, where the characters lived in a futuristic setting and were using technology to visit earlier time periods on Earth. I incorporated real-world historical figures, places, events and mythology in the adventures, using D&D as a means of teaching history. We were doing this as a substitute for an actual history curriculum for my homeschooled kids, so there was an incentive for the players to engage with the extra requests I was making, as they would have to go back to learning from a book if they didn't.
After each session, the players were to either write a diary entry or a letter to their character's family/friends about the things they learned during the adventure. At the start of the next session, one player would be chosen at random to read their "essay" out loud as a recap, after which I would ask the group questions about something that was mentioned or if they had anything to add, which helped jog everyone's memories and get them excited for whatever was coming up next.
I also had the players do some kind of research project each time we changed setting that would impact gameplay to some extent. For example, I asked them to research their choice of clothing, tools, instruments, weapons or armor during the Han Dynasty of China, then gave them magic items from the category they had researched that would be helpful during the adventure. In another adventure, I had them research a notable person of their choice from the era and region the adventure would be set in, and they received bonuses to their rolls when interacting with those people based on what the player knew about the person (which they were asked to tell the party about) when they met that person in the game. Their research notes and diary/letter essays were turned in to the charter school to show what they were learning.
Having people write adventure summaries in character is a great way to develop, too. You really start to see their perceptions, what they care about.
Chapters:
Day 1 1:22 - write a diary entry from the perspective of your character
Day 2 2:40 - make a collage of an important place
Day 3 4:32 - which 4 characters describe yours
Day 4 7:03 - make a social profile
Day 5 8:45 - take a personality quiz in character
Day 6 10:07 - write a letter from your character
Day 7 11:51 - make a playlist for your character
Folks like you are the champions of the internet, keep being awesome
Thank you! This is extremely helpful! 👍🏻
Thank you both, I try. I know this kind of thing is helpful for me
This is super useful, thank you! :D
Thank you so much for this omg 😭
Ginny Di, the character creator with hair that constantly reminds me of mint chocolate ice cream. Which consequently makes staying to my diet harder.
Great 😢 now thats the only thing I can see. Now I gotta go to Walmart 🍦
I would agree, but I gave up a diet a long time ago.
The fact that you can write in straight lines without rulings is pure black magic.
I actually did something similar to this with my previous two characters - nothing as in-depth, but it really made me get in character every session a lot more easily. This also just gives me more ideas!
She must have taken calligraphy proficiency.
I joined a D&D campaign that was starting at level 6. However, that begged the question as to just what got my character to that level. So, I embarked on what turned into a two-week exercise writing diary entries to cover my character's backstory. From my perspectives, I had at least four or five adventures to write in addition to what set her into motion as an adventurer. As I did, I had a plan in mind, but while writing, the story went into directions I didn't expect. I just let it go where it needed to. By the time I was done, I had loads of plot hooks available for the DM to use, three different personal goals, her best friend who she needed to protect now, and this great recurring villain in her life that the GM was on board with making a constant pain in my backside in the campaign. I was already inhabiting my character before the first session. I was so excited.
Then, three days before the game was going to start, the DM folded the campaign. Go figure.
love that ginny stealthed her way into just being an acting coach. good tips tbqh
For my next character for a Pathfinder game I'm going to play, I actually did an 7 card tarot reading that determined his personality, backstory beats, flaws, goals, etc. And I found it was a very interesting way to build a character. It freed me making decisions, but created a challenging character that I may not have ever played otherwise. Amazingly enough, there was even a through line thematically that made me excited to play him. Using this method in the video might help me get more into the mind of this character too.
Ooh, I love that!! I might have to try that now
I’ve done this before! Even for established characters, sometimes it’s fun to pick out which cards encapsulate them or their journey the most. It makes you think more creatively about it. Then, consider how your character would react if they were sitting on the other side of the table, receiving a perfectly accurate reading!
Fantastic! I’ve done Runestone readings for Norse Characters I’ve made for The Palladium Roleplaying Game, and Vampire: The Masquerade. Would you consider giving more detail on the rereading you did and what categories you used? I assume it was a one card pull for these, but I can also see multi-card pulls for some in order to explore where he is coming from, where he is now, and what he needs to consider in plotting his future or where he’s going.
@smlowe5637 Yeah I can share. I used the full deck of major and minor arcana, and I pulled the 7 cards all at once, laying them in a circle and turning them one by one. Starting from the 12 o'clock position and going clockwise I read: Passions, Weakness. Key Event, Vice, Desire, and Obstacle. All of this is very good for knowing my character from before the campaign. In my reading, there was a repetition of the meaning of "decisions" in multiple, and sometimes conflicting positions. I chose to interpret this as a person who wants so deeply to be able to live the way he chooses, but once he finds himself in that position, he freezes up, doesn't make a decision (whether by inaction or letting someone else make it for him) leading to something personally happening that affects him adversely.
I'm looking forward to playing this character and trying to walk that line between wanting something so badly but being unable or unwilling to reach for it.
@@brady6723 That’s very cool! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve wanted to use a Tarot Deck to help define what they’re like, and this reading template will help me define what s/he’s like.
Player: I'm am SO ready to play my character Yonlor, the Dragonborn Sorcerer after doing this 7-day Character challenge! Wait until you hear this note I wrote from him to his younger sister back home!
DM: Okay, encounter 1, you agreed to help the innkeeper with his rat problem and you find yourselves in the cellar. Roll initiative. Okay, two get the jump on Yonlor who ran down the stairs first for some reason.
Player: That's because he's impetuous, and brave!
DM: And that's two crits, doing 35 damage, which I believe is double your hp. So, you're dead.
Player: Wut? Uh...did you guys still want to read my letter?
DM: I'm sure they can deliver it to your sister when they tell her the bad news about her brother.
I kid! I kid of course! Another great video Ginny! And a wonderful exercise for sure. My only addition to the already excellent 7 steps would be to caution players to keep their backstory stuff (i.e. the diary entry, letters, etc.) simple! No, "I killed my third dragon today" kinda stuff. I think sometimes people can get a little carried away with the backstory of their 1st level characters if they don't watch their overactive creativity. I've been known to do that myself!! (i.e. my 1st level dwarven cleric wearing a skull cap from a lich that he helped kill...with the rest of his army squad of course!)
Again, I always enjoy your videos, and as a "veteran" GM, I still always find some great advice from you. :)
I might try this with my druid; he's only 10 and can't read or write, but him persuading one of the other PCs - or perhaps a friendly NPC - to write a letter that he dictates could make for another fun RP exercise!
That is EXTREMELY cute omg
A drawing journal? Picture journaling?
I found it really hard to rp a twelve year old who didn’t speak very good common so I ended up asking my dm if I could play his dad, should be switching next session!
OMG it never even occurred to me to RP a child!! 🤯
How do they handle the gore of battles? Serious question!
@@cindabearr honestly, Kreek has really warped the group dynamic in a way none of us really appreciated 😅 we're all pretty dedicated RPers, and there's a lot of friction between most of the group, but Kreek being 10 means he effectively has 3 self-appointed dads and a mum, and they are all trying. SO hard to protect him. Even though at this point he's actually quite a powerful Spellcaster 😂
He doesn't like battle, and has historically only ever prepped healing and utility spells; we're very rarely fought humanoids, usually monsters and beasts, which he doesn't like hurting.
It's been super interesting, and a LOT of pressure as he is increasingly the glue holding group together!!
(to be clear, the players are all on good terms, I'm referring to the characters here)
Yet again, Ginny puts out exactly the video I need. Been having a hard time cracking a new character. Sheet's all filled, spells picked, backstory written, but they still don't feel ready. The diary entry alone helped tremendously! Thanks Ginny!
Penelope is exactly the kind of character my wife loves to play.
My wife has an 11-year old gnome rogue she has fallen in love with who has almost Penelope’s exact personality.
Also, for a Halloween one-shot, she literally played as Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl.
i love the idea of a social media circle with others where everyone is just in character XD. could be with only party but also maybe people outside of it.
I feel like one song on the playlist should be your character's boss music if the party ends up in a situation where they have to fight them.
Doing silly Buzzfeed quizzes in character is genius! I could tell you all about my characters backstory and traits, but I definitely couldn't tell you she's pumpkin soup before this. And the weird options means you get to learn what things your character is drawn to, like certain colors or their food opinions or what Disney movie would make them cry.
Love this, and was happy you did Penelope. She's been my favorite so far out of all your alter egos. 😊
4:33 This method is a struggle for me because as a 14-year old who loves D&D and doesn't have a particular interest in movies and other pop culture, I don't have or know of a large repertoire of fictional characters. Sure, I love reading fantasy and fiction books, but because I haven't lived as long as other D&D players (in this case Ginny Di), I don't have a lot of experience with watching movies or shows and knowing fictional characters, so finding four out of all I know that each nearly exactly resemble my character or have coinciding traits is almost impossible.
A) props for doing this and B) props for including one of my favorite characters in the character comparison segment.
This is really fun, I don't think I need to take multiple days to do this but it was neat to think on some aspects of how my ADHD astral monk would interact and think about things. In particular the diary entry and the writing made me laugh a lot because we've already established in game that he can read but he had no patience for learning how to write so he wouldn't really be able to do these. But if he could, he has an interesting dynamic with his parents. His mother's a duergar who is extremely strong willed and very authoritarian so if he wrote to her about his adventures it would be in the context of a war missive explaining actions, damages inflicted and taken, and casualties. His stepfather however is incredibly kind and a renowned chef so he would be updating him on the wild spices and herbs, as well as animals and what recipes he's come up with since leaving home/what the local cuisine is for towns he visits. And in thinking about that realized he would be trying very hard to still mask and present himself in the way people communicate best, still hiding his actual self and not living authentically. Him learning to unmask and be himself is the slow burning roleplay that highlights his entire experience.
I’m running three games currently for the players in my community: one for people who can only play Saturdays, one for people who can only play Sundays, and one for the people who can play Saturdays and Sundays but the other players in those regularly scheduled games are unavailable. I just sent out the link to this video as well as the other components in your tweet, and I’ve offered to award 100 experience ( and now that I think about it, an equal amount of gold ) to those player characters for each day of the challenge their players complete.
Thanks for coming up with such a great idea, and putting in all the work to share it with us! ❤
SMFL
I love the playlist that you created. "Homesick"? "You Don't Have To Be Angry Anymore"?
*chef's kiss*
Absolute perfection
1:43 ain't nobody going to understand this reference, but with the voice and the letter writing, I fully pictured Lucy Hertfelia😄👆
I always have my players keep notes in the form of diary entries. The better they are, the more bonus experience I give them.
For some reason this video makes me think of the Community episode Advanced Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in S5 EP10 where David Cross's character asks Abed that surely he should have some notes on the setting and Abed whips out an almost foot thick encyclopedia of the setting he developed for the game session.
I found that having a character diary really helps. It's like taking notes, but in character. Also notes are mostly short important stuff, like "Korren found Ring of Protection and map to some treasure in a trapped room. Zargothrax is a necromancer, might be a lich. Baron knows where heart of nebsef is hidden". But the thing is, I personally often forgot how my PC felt about stuff in the game between sessions, especially when they are rare, so I started a character diary where I write about ingame events and my PC's thoughts about them. So I read it before the new session and recall the mood I should start with, is my character sad, or joyful, or scared etc, and (relevant for my current one) she likes to share her feelings other characters, so I remember what she may talk about, like "I was so angry at him I almost snapped" or "don't do that again I was so afraid you'd die". Just helps with immersion.
It's interesting because I do some of these things (like creating a playlist and doing some personality quizzes) during my initial creation of my characters! I feel like it adds a depth/better understanding to my idea of who I want to play so my characters overlap less.
This is so precious. I like how each day you get a chance to look at the character from a different angle.
I do this same thing for my online games, like Fallout or Skyrim. I have an in-game journal and I find that writing in it every play session leaves me with a better understanding of my character. Doing this for D&D also sounds fun, but I am usually DM, so that is a lot of extra work for every NPC... as much as I would love to do it.
One of my players wrote diary entries in our last game and it really helped her think through her character and how the events of the story impacted that character. It also was really useful for me as a DM, because I'd sometimes go back and read her entries if I couldn't remember a detail from the session xD.
One thing I really loved doing to help with RP/getting into character is that between games (we play every 2 weeks so, there's a lot of time in between), when they were traveling, or just, not in the middle of a major event, I'd let them RP in Discord between each other or with some of the NPCs. At the end of the game I'd ask who they wanted to talk with, and set up Discord text channels between the characters, and they could just type and respond over the course of the week, and wrap it up before next game.
I felt like this really helped create the experience of travel and having some organic conversations along the way, without spending too much in-game time on it. And it's really nice sometimes to RP characters in text, where you can spend more time thinking about your responses and get comfortable with your character in a low-stakes way, which hopefully helps translate over when you're on the spot RPing in game.
I haven't done the personality test, but I highly recommend the music playlist and the letters. I have also written a few short stories about my characters past that either capture a turning point in her development or explore her family connection. It can be very rewarding.
So I've always considered myself more of a roll player than a role player, especially compared to my crew. My most recent character though, because they're so far out of my comfort zone compared to other characters I've done before (which was actually based on some advice you gave about being a better role player! This is my first time playing cross-gender, first time playing a bard, first time playing a half-orc because hell yeah green girls), I've tried putting a lot more work into the characterization so I could better understand how to play them. Oddly enough, I've actually already done some of these! (Including unofficially making a playlist for them because I listen to certain stuff to get in the right mindset.) Definitely makes me feel more confident in how I've gone about things with Zora!
Alright, I'm convinced! I tried the diary entry tip and I think it was very useful for developing how my character speaks. I wasn't expected that but now I'm definitely going to be trying it more!
I think this might be one of my favorite videos I have seen of yours. The idea of splitting up the "big character questions" and spending time thinking about what did home look like, who will this character think about when the go on this journey and just being really down to earth about the whole thing. I am sure setting up shots and recording in different areas, at different times and presumably on some number of day more than 1 (but it might have all been on one because *content creation lol) with a No wig, not a ton of make up down-to-earth Ginny, just talking to us like a friend more than an enterainer. Really comfy *picnic lunch on an early spring day with a good friend* vibes
Many blessings for you and your lovely characters, may their Joy's eclipse their worries but have enough of each to appreciate the other.❤
I thought this was really interesting, and could be a helpful exercise.
When you were on Day 3, based on your other descriptors, I was relating her to Princess Unikitty.
Also, I find your sponsor messages very creative. They're fun, and I don't know if I've ever skipped through them.
These are all good ways to get into your character's headspace! One of the best advice I got as a writer many years ago is to write a short story for all the important characters, even if those short stories never see the light of day. It functions as a character study.
This is a great idea! I feel like it's something you could do with your character several times throughout a campaign to do a deep dive and mentally check in with the character development and growth they've had since the last time you did this. Just actively keeping tabs on them and whatnot.
I've tried this challenge, even though I have already done some of those things to 'get in the mood' for my Pathfinder character (playlist, mood board, personality test, I even wrote letters from her to her parents in game, and sent them to the GM).
I was really surprised how I enjoyed writing a diary from her perspective. It really helped to sort out my own thoughts on the latest session and plan out where I want her story to move forward (I had a sort of motivational crisis).
And I think I'm going to keep writing diary entries to keep my character consistent, and also not to lose sight of her goals. Maybe not every session, but definitely for major events.
Thanks, Ginny!
I used to take personality quizzes in-character during quarantine 😂
This challenge seems like a lot of fun, can't wait to try it!!
My role is usually a PDM, but last year I finally got the chance to make a character, and sit in the players seat. And it was very fun, and this video has really made me think about things for him I never thought about before. I’m honestly gonna have a great time doing this tomorrow
13:05 I want nothing more than to listen to your character playlists omfg 😊 I’m making a playlist for my character (my first time ever playing) and it’s been my favorite part of character development so far!
watching the video I realize I have already done all of these things for some my characters without noticing! it seems like a VERY fun challenge to do over the course of a week
I started one of my characters off in a campaign at level 7. So, I went all the way back and started him off at level 0. Since the only real thing I could think of about his relevant backstory that was mentioned at table, was that he was from waterdeep and had an unusual affinity with the Fey, I started off the campaign at Fey day. That gave me a good sturdy foundation for his backstory
This is so fun!!! I also really like looking through voice lines (ex: Genshin Impact Characters where it says “When it snows”, “Ally low hp”, etc.) and making a list of my own for my characters, it helps me get in their mindset and think about what they would say if they found treasure or how they feel about certain weather. :)
Yes this! Also animations! Particularly Ace Attorney style animations (they're so limited it really narrows the scope of what you need to do and forces you to focus on essentials)
One of the absolute best things that helps me really solidify the mindset of my character and connect with them is writing her journal. After every session, I write from her perspective about what happened in the session, how she feels about it, etc. I usually will also play some thematic music and it’s honestly one of my favorite parts about playing. My DM has access to the document and has often implemented things I wrote in the journal but hadn’t talked about into the campaign which has been wonderful. I will also usually read her last few entries before each session to help me recall what happened and also get back into her headspace. I highly recommend keeping a character journal this way! It’s been amazing for connecting deeply with my PC
you're so excited in your videos, your cheerful attitude really makes me feel better whenever i watch. thank you for all the hard work you put in.
This looks like a lot of fun! I usually do this list of 100 questions I found years ago, but I haven't really done them for my current characters. Been kind of out of sorts with my writing for the past few years. This might be just the thing to help get me back into writing. I think I'll try this out, see what happens.
And Penelope is so cute, lol.
I've always found it helpful to take lots of breaks, come back to any tabletop idea. Seeing your idea with fresh eyes does wonders.
Brb just gonna spend weeks doing this to all my characters... Amazing video Ginny! This is such a fun exercise to get to know characters better.
Character playlists is definitely something I do already but these are some great exercises to try 😁
What was the most surprising thing you learned about Penelope from doing this challenge?
I love this kind of thought exercise and I use something similar. Which is kind of interesting with my long time group, because most of them still kinda play themselves in a different setting with backstory and interests. If you have a group like this, you'll be able to surprise and delight (or annoy if it goes badly) by acting out a plan or a conclusion that you yourself would never do.
This is fun and some really interesting ways of getting into character.
In one of my games our session 0 was our existing characters from our OG campaign interviewing the new characters (spin-off campaign) they were hiring for the new franchise location - plus a couple throwaways that didn't make the cut. We got to grill each others' characters about why they wanted to be adventurers and their values and stuff. It turned out to be a great way to get in character beyond the details of their backstory and character sheets and much faster than I've experienced in the past just jumping into game.
Thank you Ginny!!! Your character building exercises are my favorite flavor 😍 this brings me back to the best bits of creative writing courses. and I just joined two new games as a player, so this is right on time for me!
Every time I make a character playlist it ends up so wild because of all the weird genres I listen to and how they fit points in an arc. Like the one I'm currently making has such features as deathgaze to psytrance and then right into atmospheric sludge, and industrial noise and glitchnoise songs followed immediately by a guy squealing into a microphone for a bit then transitioning into neo-classical power metal, metalcore into jazz (chunk jazz, but still mostly jazz), etc.
I am definitely going to do this challenge, my Tiefling Monk has lived through so much and I think it would be fun to see how it branches out in this way
I was about to crash-course this today for tomorrow's session and turns out I've already done two of the seven things already! Nice! I've already taken a few personality quizzes in-character and I'm on my 3rd iteration of her playlist, which I use when I have a hard time getting into character that day. It's interesting to see how she's changed/grown in only a month in-game.
I'm in 2 campaigns right now, so I'm starting this with my first campaign today! I'm so excited! Thank you for sharing this great idea; I'm someone who really love the RP stuff of DnD, since I put so much time and effort into character backstories and such. Can't wait to see more of your videos!
11:51 Day Seven's method is a struggle for me. Although I love D&D, I have little to no knowledge of good music. The list of songs I know of that actually fit the D&D genre is very small. Plus, as a 14-year-old D&D enthusiast without a job or consistent money, I don't have any access to music platform subscriptions.
Also, what do you mean by "a playlist for your character?" "For your character" may mean something that represents their personality, achievements, story (which you did for your character playlist specifically), or backstory, or it could mean that it is full of songs that they would like to listen to.
I think these techniques are great, but with my insufficient supplies and understanding of them, I can't complete it effectively. I am also unable to do Day Three with most characters, as I explained in a seperate comment.
Love this! I’ve done some of these things before; right now we’re playing Strixhaven, and all my session notes are written like diary entries. It’s interesting what events ‘she’ focuses on and how she feels about them! I find it really helps me know what her goals are for the next session.
Hi!!! Great video and truly a lot of work!
I've done many of these exercises just for fun but I love how you made it to help grow your character
Be sure I'll be doing some of these over the weekend! ❤
Alright that was a sponsor bit that made me actually laugh out loud. Great job, Ginny!
Also definitely want to do this character challenge.
I love taking personality quests as my characters! I usually do an mbti test for any of my main characters and often do others just for fun
There is one character that always comes back to me since I first heard of dnd. I've played my Paladin in every dnd edition ( not my only PC mind you. He holds a special place in my heart) and video game as a one shot or even a campaign. I've known him for 20 years so as a homage to him. I think I will do this. And build up all the art I've done over the years with him.
Playlists for the Win girl! @ my table we like to pick theme songs for each character & make a playlist. Sometimes a song will become a theme for a campaign. When the Whole table starts singing Holy Diver by Dio when battle begins, you're in the groove!🤘
I’ve done a lot of these for my characters! For personality tests, I like to figure out their MBTI and enneagram types for fun.
I actually keep an on going diary as “session recap notes” for my current PC’s thoughts between each session. He writes as if it’s to the friend that he lost recently so it’s really sad, but also it’s a great exercise in unfiltered thoughts from the characters completely biased perspective on the last sessions events!
I cannot go without a character playlist tbh! I think it’s a must have for any PC I make!
These are some really good days, or tips to flush out your character. Im a writer, and ive used all these in different ways, another tip i can offer which is one I get asked often is how do you make names? More so for normal fiction but not that it wouldn't work for DnD characters as well, but check out your local obituaries, it feels sort of ghoulish lol, but great source of names and background info you can mix and match. I believe, as I'm starting out new to DnD, there are a list of last names. Look at maps of cities and towns throughout the world, some places have some pretty cool names that easily can be fantasy names like Aaron Oakland, or Nate Sedona, Cella Lafayette, Sandra Bricksbee, Laz Orindy, and they all live in the valley of Walnut Creek lol. I've lived a lot of places in the US and absolutely could go on, but I hope these tips help.
Those are great ideas!
I had to make a new character (lawful good cleric) because my previous character (chaotic neutral sorcerer) wasn't jiving with the party, but I've been finding it so hard to think like this new guy. I'm looking forward to completing the personality quizzes from his perspective and understanding him a bit better.
What a great idea! I love that you can get a deeper understanding of your character by just taking the time to get to know them for a little bit each day. And I think GMs could use this for important NPCs too. Are you planning on taking the challenge for any of your other characters? It would be really interesting to see how different the tasks play out for any of your more "villainous" characters such as Augury or Undertow.
That's a really fun idea! One thing I also like about this challenge is that if you don't want to tackle the whole thing, you can pick and choose exercises to try (or just do it all at once, if you're feeling really gung ho!) Maybe I'll go down the list again and pick a different character for each day.
@@GinnyDi This would be a great way to explore a master thief like Al Swearengen from Deadwood, (great series for so many different kinds of character studies--the writing is so good) Any number of characters from Boardwalk Empire or the Godfather series, Tony or Stansfield from the professional--and deciding this, it could well set the tone for the entire thieves guild.
YOUR WORDPLAY IN THE AD IS AMAZING AND HILARIOUS AAAHHH!!
This is something I really needed, I've just started playing a Firbolg grave cleric that I've lightly based on Caduceus Clay from Critical Role but I want to make sure he feels like his own character as well so will definitely be running this challenge with my boy Genlen ^^
Awesome!! A bunch of these are things I've done for one character or another, and the character playlist is a must for any character I create, but like the personality quiz and the social media ones are stuff I hadn't thought about! And of course doing them all after each other seems like a fantastic way to deepen your understanding of your character!
Thanks for sharing this!
Also, I'm fairly sure I won't be the only one but I for one definitely care about your character playlists! Would love to give them a listen!
I love this! Will absolutely follow this list.
I've written the odd diary entry before, like one from the perspective of my peace loving, nurturing druid who killed a young man to keep her disgraced father safe from the world. It was HUGE in helping me understand her varied facets and connect with her. Everything I needed to know about her was all there in that one encounter from her backstory, written from her POV. I highly agree and recommend the journal entry for developing characters.
okay i just have to write this cuz i keep getting distracted-
your hand writing is SOO good, like- jesus christ i feel envious. Especially considering you're using a quill!!
THIS IS PERFECT TIMING!! I'm about to play my first ever campaign with my first character that I've only used in a one shot, she's a fairy druid, and I've been having a hard time imagining how to get into her head and her nuances but already just watching this video and briefly thinking about it I have a much much more solid idea of who she is, I love it!!! Thank you thank you
I struggle so hard with developing my characters' personalities & backstories, but you. You've made the prompts so interesting that I feel confident I can develop my characters!
I've been struggling to get into the head of my character for the first 5 sessions i've played her - I've tried journalling as her but I've been struggling to explore her personality but I think these tasks are really going to help me a tonne! thank you Ginny!! :D
This was so awesome! Sending this to my players ahead of Curse of Strahd Session 0.
Ooh, Curse of Strahd is a fun one! I’m running it right now and having a great time. Good luck with your campaign!
Aaaand then the character dies in the 5th session ☹️ Curse of Strahd is a deadly one for putting this much work into a Character unless you do some of the reincarnation options.
@@johnathanrhoades7751 Depending on how much the players like character creation and development, that might be more reason to do it. If the character has a low life expectancy, that's less time in the sessions themselves to flesh the character out before their funeral. 😅 And at least one of them might be able to mine their backstory for a character that went looking for their first PC to also end up trapped in the campaign to become PC #2.
Okay, I don’t play dnd (yet) but I LOVE this for writing. I’m currently writing and episodic fantasy series and I decided to basically create a character for an episode that didn’t exist prior to me starting the episode. I’ve been so lost and struggling but I think I’m gonna try this challenge and see if that helps me figure her out!
As a DM, when I'm helping new characters write a backstory, I tend to have them answer a set of questions based on their intuitions. So if the first adventure starts at a celebration it would work out like this:
-Where was your character 10 hours before the party? Did they want to go to the party? Why?
-Where was your character 10 days before the party? Describe the situation in some detail. Who/what do you see, hear, feel, say etc.
-Where was your character 10 months before the party?
-Where was your character 10 years before the party?
-Where was your character on the day they were born.
By practicing writing a backstory in antichronological order, the task for new players is no longer: "start Fromm the beginning and write a story", but "find out some key things that happened to your character before their real story will start". After answering these questions they already have a lot of prompts to work with, if they want to refine.
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In the campaign I run I recently started doing different snippets that provide more insight on what's going on in the world. I do this in our Discord announcements channel alongside the weekly time/location confirmation post.
It does exactly this for me. It gets me thinking about what else is happening in the world. Some have been news articles, some secret correspondence between unknown factions about their group. The most recent was an account of what happened to the spirit of an enemy they had recently dispatched. Idk how much my players get out of the updates, but man it makes a difference in immersing myself.
I'm not even a D&D nerd and I'm currently using this to further develop a Star Wars OC who's originally from earth, but is also an amnesiac due to uh. The Empire. And already at day 2 making the collage of 'home', blending the fuzzy memories of his home on earth compared to the stronger new memories of home on the rebel base, *I'm nearly in damn tears*
I loooove those character development videos but as a forever DM they also kind of give me low key anxiety because I always want to do try them with all my fave NPCs / concept characters and by now there really are too many 😅
The look for day 1 was 5-stars, the color choice was just *chef kiss*. Also, did you almost make yourself cry on day 6? Because that felt rather emotional.
I love character playlists. 🖤 I listened to Penelope's and it's great!
Also, this whole idea is great. I can't wait to utilize it.
Love the playlist. I’ve tried it for my latest character and it helps me to get into character before playing. I also wrote a character based on a song before, but weirdly I didn’t make a playlist for them yet. Definitely going for the challenge for my three player characters now!
the Dungeon Dudes shirt!!!
Collages/moodboards
I am having my first session this saturday, but I'm already making too many characters (without even knowing which I can use or how to use them). It's just so much fun to create and give life to future characters you'll get to play. Thanks to your videos of course!
I love the idea of these exercises, I've shared them with my group. I don't really get the chance to do this sort of thing for myself being a DM that's never actually played- but a friend has said she'd DM a oneshot for my birthday in June and already I am really looking forward to it. It'll be her first time DMing and my first time playing. I might have to do this for my one shot character! x
I have character playlists for all of my characters, but the last couple I made in tandem while writing their backstories. They are so much each other that its hard to separate them, and I definitely feel like I "know" them better because of it! I'll have to try out a few more ideas here as well!
Ohh I love this, I'm definitely going to try it with the main character of my book.
And I already have a huge playlist with over 80 songs and i did the "16 personalities"-test for him which I really recommend! (He's the entertainer, what fits perfect to him)
I love your channel💛
I don’t know if I’d do all do all of these steps (I can’t stand making playlists), but I enjoy the Idea of applying some Method to character building. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great idea! I'm definitely going to do this with my TTRPG characters too! Thank you!
Also, I really enjoyed learning more about Penelope, and your ad skits remain the best on RUclips! You never fail to make me laugh :D
Checking in on the first day!
My character Oleander, an owlin barbarian is writing to Jelle- a childhood friend who they killed, mistaking them for an invading hunter in their rage (a whole invasion took place). It's a confession of love. A remembrance. Writing concerns about a dark urge to kill growing inside them. And sharing a desire to leave their homeland. An item I started with, an executioners hood (which previously had no significance) was hers.