Gimmicks For Every D&D Character (NPC and PC)

What makes a D&D character unique?

Everyone in D&D wants to play unique characters. We want our characters to be remembered, to make an impression, to bring joy to the group and ourselves. This goes for both players and DMs. In the case of the DM, it’s unique NPCs that we want to create. But what makes a character, player or non-player, unique?

In my experience, it’s rarely an elaborate back story that I remember of a character. Instead, it’s the little things: often the “gimmicks” are what make a character memorable.

What are character gimmicks

Oxford English dictionary defines a gimmick as, “a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade.” That’s perfect. A gimmick can be any aspect of a character that is clearly noticeable for the other players at the table. It is intended to grab the table’s attention. There are different categories of possible gimmicks:

A physical or verbal mannerism used in roleplaying the character.
An item or trinket that the character is never seen without.
A personality quirk.
A visual quirk (this can be tricky because we never actually see the character).

Here are lists with random quirks for each of these categories. You can roll randomly on these or pick a gimmick you like. To determine the category randomly, roll a d4 to pick a random category first.

d20 Physical or Verbal Character Gimmicks

The entries 1-10 on this list are verbal gimmicks, while entries 11-20 are physical gimmicks. You can roll a d10 twice (once for entries 1-10 and once for entries 11-20) to generate both, a verbal and a physical gimmick.

The character…

speaks in a low growl
speaks in a German/French accent
speaks in a high pitched voice
whispers or speaks with a lot of breath
starts every sentence with a lot of “um” and “er”
stutters
calls everyone “darling”
speaks melodically with a rising and falling intonation
speaks of themselves in the third person
speaks in a relaxed manner, and says “right on” and “alright” a lot
laughs nervously at inappropriate moments
hunches their shoulders
puffs out their chest
cracks their knuckles
rubs their chin
pulls their right/left earlobe
fizzles with their hair
leans forward when speaking
nervously looks from side to side
draws their eyebrows together

d20 Character Item Gimmicks

The character is never seen without their…

rainbow-colored weapon
gold necklace which they inherited
signet ring (of their own noble house, or one they acquired “elsewhere”)
walking cane with a wood-carved animal head on top
wide-brimmed hat they pull over their eyes
pocket book in which they record even miniscule events of the day
lucky coin
mysterious perfectly spherical stone
stuffed animal which they consider to be their best friend
deck of tarot cards
onion that never rots
spectacles which they constantly adjust
metal six-sided die carved with demonic faces
brass bell which doesn’t ring
document of identification which they obsessively show to everyone to prove their identity
seemingly bottomless bag of dried berries
flask with a mysterious liquid
blanket they have had since they were an infant
ring of iron keys
vial of scented oil which they constantly scent the room with

d20 Character Personality Gimmicks

The character…

collects buttons or other mundane items
avoids any physical contact
switches common idioms around, like, “The bag is out of the cat”
is a vegan who secretly eats meat
always follows daily routines such as a strong drink at sunrise
is afraid of pets (wild animals are not a problem)
asks everyone about their grandparents
is a know-it-all who constantly delivers “fun facts”
tries too hard to be ominous and mysterious
can never remember anyone’s name
immediately falls in love with anyone they meet
starts every battle with “For the Queen!” but no one knows which queen they mean
is the only one that sees a ghost that haunts them for a misdeed of their ancestors
worries about everything
pledges loyalty to anyone with a smidge of authority
invites strangers to drink the “tea of enlightenment” which they brew themselves
loudly offers assistance to anyone who seems even vaguely in need of it
has a pet snake which constantly bites them
is convinced everything bad that happens to them is because of an ancient curse
introduces themselves with a lengthy title to everyone

d20 Visual Character Gimmicks

The character…

has two different eye colors
has some beastly aspect such as a furry face
always looks like a faint breeze is blowing their hair and clothing back
can change the color of their hair at will
has metal plates visibly embedded in their skull and face
has a noticeable scar or eyepatch
wears a cloak made from dragon scales
is bald with head tattoos
has pieces of skin and flesh falling off of them painlessly
always wears a mask
has black liquid dripping from their fingers
keeps a toothpick in their mouth
has blazing blue eyes
is extremely overweight
wears only rags
cakes their otherwise exceptionally beautiful face in dirt
has smoke coming out of their nose and ears when they are angry
has teeth that are sharpened to a point
has impeccable makeup
has a silver halo around their head that they have never seen themselves

Don’t overload a character with gimmicks

Having too many gimmicky defeats the purpose. If a character has too many idiosyncrasies, no one will remember them, and it will be hard to pin down what the character is about. Keep it simple. One or two gimmicks are enough.

Once we’ve chosen a gimmick or two for our character, we can make an effort to bring them up every session. We don’t have to be subtle here. Everyone else at the table is busy with their own characters, so we have to reinforce our own character’s gimmick over and over again to make it stick.