Personality Traits

This is an invaluable tool for me when creating a NPC. There are multiple ways I create them; for one I find a image of someone that catches my attention (maybe in a movie too) then build out the character with the help of the trait chart below. Second way is for the sake of necessity. I just create them from the ground up quickly and use the chart below to give them instant personality. Lastly I roll the chart and work the NPC from there.

You can use this chart as you see fit, but the way I use it is the following.

• I always use 4 traits. It seems to work the best
• Roll 1d4
• (1) Good (2) Nuetral (3) Evil (4) DM’s choice
• That means, you should roll once for good, neutral and evil. Then for the 4th trait is what you rolled above
• Roll for each trait using the dice system. Obviously IRL dice is not going to work. There are a ton of dice rollers out there that will accommodate this. Just use them. I use dice that I have linked in my discord
• Idea – Sometimes you get conflicting traits or ones that just will not work with your NPC. With that in mind, when I roll I leave the option open for the listing above and below.*

*Example: For a good trait I rolled a 82. (82) is Fun-loving. But I keep options open for (81) Friendly and (83) Gallant. If one of those makes more sense I use them. This way you won’t end up with combined traits like: organized, disheveled, happy, depressed character that contradict each other.