Build Characters Quickly in D&D 2024

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by Mike on 14 April 2025

The following guidelines help you quickly build a character using the 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook. These guidelines modify the steps for character creation outlined in chapter 2.

DMs can offer these guidelines as house rules for your own D&D 2024 game.

Write Down Page Numbers

While building your character, write down the page number of every notable character feature on your character sheet. Write down page numbers for:

• Class & Class Features
• Background Information
• Species & Species Features
• Feats
• Spells

Treat your character sheet like a custom index of the book. Looking stuff up in the book isn’t a failure and it won’t slow the game down if you write down page numbers.

Be kind to your future self – write down page numbers for anything you may need to look up.

Simplify Ability Scores and Bonuses

Instead of taking ability bonuses from backgrounds, use an “all-in” standard array. The standard array is:

17 14 14 12 10 8

Put them in your preferred attributes. You can use the Standard Array by Class table on page 38 as a guide, adding +2 to the 15 score and +1 to the 13 score. Having a 17 in your primary ability means you can bump it to an 18 when you get a feat at 4th level.

Ignore the ability increases offered by a background if you use this all-in standard array.

Add Two Skill Proficiencies of Your Choice

When choosing skill proficiencies for your class, add two additional proficiencies of your choice. These extra proficiencies replace those associated with your background.

Add a tool proficiency if desired. You can select this tool later if you want.

Default to the Tough Feat

Include the Tough feat as a default feat, adding +2 hit points per level to your maximum hit points. This feat replaces that of your background. If you want to choose another origin feat instead, you can do so, but for a quick character build, default to the Tough feat.

Add a Healing Potion

Instead of choosing equipment associated with your background, add a single healing potion.

Choose a Background Based on Story and Flavor

Choose a background based on your character’s story or make your own. Talk to your GM about possible backgrounds tied to the campaign. Ignore any background mechanical features.

Write Down Only Trained Skills

Only write down skill proficiency bonuses for skills you are proficient with. Save yourself the time of filling in the whole chart.

Quick Character Build Summary

Here’s a quick summary to help you quickly build a D&D 2024 character.

• Choose a class
• Apply ability scores to attributes (17 14 14 12 10 8)
• Write down class traits
  • Hit points (max at 1st level)
  • Saving throw proficiencies
  • Skills – when choosing skills, select two additional skills and an optional tool proficiency
  • Weapon proficiencies
  • Armor training
  • Starting equipment (choose A)
  • Add a healing potion to equipment
• Write down class features
  • Proficiency Bonus
  • Class features
  • Spells (choose defaults)
• Choose a species and write down species traits with page numbers
  • Size
  • Speed
  • Features
• Add the “tough” feat (pg 202)
• Choose a thematic background of your choice or ask your DM for campaign-specific ones. Ignore background mechanical features – we covered them above.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs.

Last Week’s Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week’s topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

• Scepter of the Lightbringer
• Chris Perkins Leaves Wizards of the Coast
• Tariffs and TTRPGs
• BG3, Stardew Valley, and Thoughts About Copyright
• Level Up Gateway for Level Up Advanced 5e and the Current State of 5e Character Builders
• Build a D&D 2024 Character On Paper in Ten Minutes

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patrons. Here are last week’s questions and answers.

• Managing Perception and Passive Perception
• Describing Terrain Mechanics in Combat Encounters
• Managing Boring but Effective Character Strategies
• Introducing Old Monsters as New Monsters
• How Long to Get a Feel for a New RPG?

Talk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

• Scepter of the Lightbringer Kickstarter
• Chris Perkins Leaves Wizards of the Coast EN World Discussion
• Tariffs and TTRPGs EN World Discussion
• Stardew Valley, BG3, and WOTC DMCA Takedown Discussion on EN World
• Level Up Gateway for Level Up Advanced 5e
• Dungeon Master Diaries
• Your Ability Check Toolkit
• What Does Passive Perception Show You?

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on 2024 DMG Encounter Building versus the Lazy Encounter Benchmark and The Blackspire Heist – Dragon Empire Prep Session 19.

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as RPG tips. Here are this week’s tips:

• Tailor magic items for your characters.
• Boss monsters almost always need some minions.
• Assign hit points to detrimental monuments in complicated battles so they can be destroyed with either ability checks or raw damage. Each successful ability check inflicts damage to the monument.
• Keep the simple DC ladder in mind: easy 10, medium 15, hard 20.
• Offer multiple options for the conclusion of big battles. Do they re-bind the pit friend? Do they kill him and send him back to hell? Do they convert the hellfire into a radiant pillar of holy light?
• Don’t offer options you don’t want the players to choose.
• Plan one scene for every 45 minutes of gameplay.

Related Articles

• Alternative Standard Arrays for 5e Ability Scores
• Write Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character Sheets
• Let Characters Automatically Succeed Sometimes

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