Is time to start a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign? Are you tired of just playing one sided characters on a power trip, or only playing out classic fantasy tropes? Need a creative flaw, an interesting backstory, or a compelling reason for why you would be on an adventure? Try on one of these character ideas for size:

• Reporter who is sent to follow the adventuring party for a story
• Small town sheriff / constable who is on the hunt for a dangerous criminal
• Renowned pirate/sailor who has been cursed to stay on land
• A circus strongman who suffers from stage fright
• A noble trying (unsuccessfully) to live a pauper
• A claustrophobic dwarf who can no longer live underground
• An eccentric kleptomaniac who was expelled from the Thieves Guild for only stealing right shoes
• A blind archer who can only see through their animal familiar
• A halfling who prefers to walk on stilts
• A librarian bounty out collecting ancient tombs
• A librarian bounty hunter searching for overdue books
• An awoken puppet who things they are real
• A cleric who worships and abstract concept
• A sentient weapon being carried by a flesh golem it can control
• A deposed king trying to recruit fighters for a counter rebellion
• A deity or powerful creature cursed into mortal form
• Paladin or Cleric who has lost their faith, or is a nihilist
• A body with multiple souls entrapped which switches between them randomly after a short rest
• A cursed player who changes race randomly every 10 days
• A bard who impersonates a wizard to sell basilisk-oil potions
• An escaped convict on the run who doesn’t know he’s already been pardoned and no one is looking for him
• The victim of a body swap who is searching for their original body to switch back
• A housewife who “just needs a little break” but got swept up in an adventure