Does Your D&D Character Represent Your Personality?

In a game where you can be anyone, what do your character’s personality traits say about you, if anything? Dungeons and Dragons has entertained players since 1974, but recent decades have brought it into the mainstream. Read on to explore what D&D is, how to create a character, and what your character’s behavior may say about your personality.

What is Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)?

Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game where players create characters with complex personalities to navigate journeys in a fantasy setting with quests, battles, and social interactions with non-player characters (NPCs) and the other members of your party. 

Exploring the theater of the imagination: How does tabletop gaming work?

In D&D, players navigate their characters through a variety of events and scenarios with the guidance of a Dungeon Master (DM). While some groups use maps and miniatures to represent the characters physically, most of the game takes place in the theater of the imagination. The DM describes the settings and NPCs’ dialogue in detail, and players describe their characters’ actions and interactions. Abilities and battles generally depend on the rolls of gaming dice, with individual character bonuses. Players earn experience and level up, growing stronger and learning new skills.  

Why do people play D&D?

There can be many reasons someone may want to play Dungeons and Dragons, such as having fun, meeting new people, exploring fantasy settings, and roleplaying personality traits they find intriguing. Studies show that online D&D groups helped support mental health during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing people to feel connected and journey through fantastic adventures while quarantined. Researchers suggested the need for more data on the effects of roleplaying games on mental health. 

“It [Dungeons and Dragons] enables millions of players to create their own stories and characters, like a courageous hero or an evil antihero. You can use your imagination to develop your characters, told through various quests, battles, and rescue missions.” — Adolescent Psychiatry

What do you need to create a D&D character?

Creating a D&D character can be a complex process that requires in-depth thought and consideration of how you want to play the game and what you want to accomplish. Delve into various aspects of D&D character creation. 

Name

Decide on a name for your character. Depending on how long your campaign runs, you may use this name for a while, so try to pick something you like. 

Gender and sexual orientation

Your character can be any gender you like. Male. Female. Both. Trans. Neither. Gay. Straight. Bisexual. There are no limits but your imagination, the official D&D rules, and ultimately the DM, who rules over everything in the game.  

Race

Beyond the spectrum of human races, you can explore various fantasy races in Dungeons and Dragons. While you can’t be a full-blooded dragon because the stats make them too powerful for a player, you can be a half-dragon. Journey the land as an orc adventurer, or travel the country as an owlbear, dwarf, or one of many fantasy races. 

Physical description

Decide what your character looks like. Your DM will likely describe things happening to them throughout the game, and it can help your group to imagine the scenes when you know what the characters look like. 

Class

Players choose a class, or multiclass into several, to determine their characters' abilities in the game.

Background

Your backstory tells the group (and the DM) what your character has been through in all the time leading up to their in-game introduction. If you choose to leave your backstory a mystery, your DM may surprise you later in the game. 

Character flaws

Including character flaws can give your gameplay more depth and make things more interesting. 

Fun personality traits to try in D&D 

What type of personality traits does your D&D character have?

• Abrasive
• Absent-Minded
• Aggression
• Brawler
• Cautious
• Confident
• Detached
• Dishonest
• Distinctive
• Easygoing
• Farsighted
• Focused
• Hard of Hearing
• Hardy
• Honest
• Illiterate
• Inattentive
• Polite
• Quick
• Relentless
• Slow
• Specialized
• Suspicious
• Uncivilized

How role playing in D&D lets you explore

Whether your character represents your personality or not, D&D allows you to explore the boundaries of your imagination in many ways. 

Step into a fantasy role

Dungeons and Dragons games are often set in fantasy worlds where magic is an accepted fact of reality and various races of otherworldly creatures blend in a largely-accepting society that allows you to be anyone and do things you can’t do in everyday life. 

Play a character like yourself…

Your character can be like you, with a similar personality, alignment, and behavior, acting as you would in the various situations you encounter. 

…Or be someone completely different

However, many people choose to be someone completely different, acting in opposition to how they feel and behave as a person in their day-to-day lives. 

Interact with your group

One of the factors that can solidify a D&D group is the in-character interaction between players. Some groups use voices when speaking in character and maintain character personality development through everything they do. D&D games can run for years, allowing players and characters to grow and change. However, be mindful of how your actions in-game affect your party. You aren’t playing alone; the others deserve to feel comfortable too. If you want to explore sensitive topics in-game, consider talking to your DM and group to gauge if anyone will be upset by the subject and how to navigate those issues. 

There’s nearly no problem you can’t roleplay your way out of

Dungeons and Dragons is a game about roleplaying, so there are few problems you can’t roleplay your way out of, depending on your DM. You may find that your character (or entire party) is killed during battle. While you may have to create a new character, such as a relative coming to avenge your death, some DMs may let your character make a warlock pact with a deity to return to life. The possibilities are endless. 

What your D&D character says (or doesn’t say) about your personality

While your Dungeons and Dragons character doesn’t necessarily say anything about your personality, it can offer some insight into your character traits, thoughts, and behavior patterns. Studies show there is some correlation between certain personality traits and D&D players. 

Conflict resolution

How your character interacts with other players and NPCs can offer insight into how you as a player interact with people—or how you’d like to. Some players choose to “murder hobo” their way across the land, attacking anyone who doesn’t instantly give them what they want. However, other players prefer the diplomatic approach and actively work to talk through conflicts before battling. While it can just be roleplay and a fun way to enjoy a game, some people may play their character as the opposite of their own personality because they aren’t comfortable acting like that in their everyday lives.  

Physical ability and appearance

Dungeons and Dragons lets you be anyone you want to be. You’re not bound by anything but your own imagination and the guidelines of the game or DM. Create a character of any gender or one of the numerous fantasy races. Make your character seven feet tall and a muscled gentle giant or a two-foot tall fairy barbarian constantly seeking a fight. While D&D choices don't necessarily say anything specifically about your nature, the game has offered many people a healthy outlet to explore roleplaying something utterly different than themselves. 

Goals and priorities

Your character’s goals, priorities, and life philosophy may or may not relate to your personal feelings. Some players consciously reflect their own personality traits into their characters. However, players also get to choose an alignment for their overall motivation (Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful, and Good, Neutral, or Evil). Alignment can also reflect your personality or let you roleplay the antithesis of how you behave in life. 

Myers-Briggs personality types and D&D characters

• The diplomats (INFP, INFJ, ENFP, and ENFJ) are the most likely personality types to play D&D and enjoy employing their empathy, passion, and communication skills.
• The analysts (INTJ, ENTJ, INTP, and ENTP) are the second most likely group to play D&D and are often drawn to the strategic side of the game.
• The sentinels (ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, and ESFJ) are the third most likely type of personality to play D&D, utilizing their practical, orderly, and reliable tendencies. 
• The explorers (ISTP, ISFP, ESFP, and ESTP) are the least likely to play D&D, despite being creative, spontaneous, and flexible. 

— Comparison Between Personality Type And D&D Participation

How therapy can help you explore your personality

Many people don’t know where to start when it comes to exploring their own personalities. Consider working with a licensed therapist online through a virtual therapy platform like Regain. Therapy can help you learn to identify, understand, and express your emotions, develop healthy coping skills to manage stress, and communication skills to help you relate to others more effectively. Parents of guardians seeking online therapy for kids from 12 to 19 can contact TeenCounseling. 

Studies show that online therapy is as effective as in-person treatments, often at lower costs and with shorter wait times. Many patients said the physical separation of teletherapy made sharing personal information easier, and the convenience of receiving treatment from home made it easier to attend more reliably. Additionally, virtual therapy platforms provide access to a much more comprehensive selection of therapists, increasing the chance of finding a mental health professional who makes you feel comfortable and works well with your personality and situation. 

Takeaway 

Dungeons and Dragons can be an excellent way to explore the limits of your imagination while having fun with friends. Where else could you find a powerful wizard, a straightforward barbarian, a dexterous rogue, a shapeshifting druid, and a nearly endless combination of characters in one place? The information in this article may offer insight into what your D&D character says about you and how therapy can help you explore your personality.