The dreamer’s art, the ability to cut loose from the restraints of reality
and touch new shores and lives, is the essence and lure of D+D. It
is the challenge of pitting one’s skills and common sense against a
strange and sometimes hostile universe where death awaits with open
arms. Numerous times have we died, those of us who love the game,
only to rise again to battle as a new character. As our character grows
in experience and memories, so does his depth of personality, becoming
more individualistic and unique. Role playing is a side of D+D which
gives it much of its flavor. As a player defines his character’s desires,
his hopes and fears, weaknesses and vices, his commitment to him becomes
deeper and this investment leads the player to more dangerous
but satisfying exploits. Much is missed by those who play their characters
always with the same personality, never trying on new faces or actions.

When you roll up your next character, try investing more in him
than just the six die rolls. Try to create a colorful background for him.
Give him a purpose and reason for being where and what he is. Could it
be that he is a rich bastard, always getting his way due to position and
wealth and expects to do so now? Or was he a serf that rose up and
killed one of his Lord’s men and is now an adventurer/outlaw? How
would your character react to authority, what does he want in life?
Does he have a drinking problem? Does he chase women? Is he brave?
Greedy? Tricky? Just what does he want from adventuring? By investing
a few minutes into developing your character, you can extend the
game down hundreds of new avenues.

Role playing is part of the game right now. Many of the rules are
there to define the limitations and advantages of different classes. By
causing different strengths and weaknesses in each character type, the
author encourages the player to adopt different strategies in playing
each character. The brave fighter with his extra hits and armor, the cautious
magic users with his spells for protection, the thief with his abilities
to sneak and hide are examples of this. Others have gone farther,
providing tables for discovering background information and
ramdomly giving each character various advantages and disadvantages.
But all of this information is just the raw data, it is still the player who
must incorporate it all and reflect it in his playing of the character.

There is a danger here, one which is the weakness of the players in
the game. Too often do memories slide over from an old character to a
new one, and revenge is sought for acts committed in a previous game
which this character would have no way of knowing. On occasion, vendettas
have begun where the game becomes a backdrop for one player’s
efforts to kill another player’s characters. Memories should end when
the life a character ends or as a player begins a new character. This is an
important part of role playing, to keep that personality and its memories
in a tight box which does not leak over into other characters or
games.

But if this danger is understood and accepted then let yourself go.
Try to be someone you are not and see how it feels. For example:

Saltair: Lowly dwarf of the Seven Hills who had always been underground
for most of his life and is uncomfortable outside. He was a
miner in the hills, before that son of an orc Tasp got killed and the
blame went to him. To solve his problem, he took to drinking and everytime
he is outside he usually hits the stuff hard. He is belligerent,
hates almost everything, and justs wants enough money to keep him in
drink while he looks for the big strike. Then he will head back to the
hills and pay off everyone and their brother and live the rest of his life
in those hills. Between drinking and gambling, he rapidly loses most of
the money he gathers by adventuring.

So, personalize your next character, play the part of a saint or demon,
vary your characters as much as possible to experience the range
of excitement available in the worlds of D+D.