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

A post on illusoryscript.com

5 min read

If you would like to see a generator to quickly generate NPCs (with gimmicks) check out the Illusory Script NPC Generator!

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:

  1. A physical or verbal mannerism used in roleplaying the character.

  2. An item or trinket that the character is never seen without.

  3. A personality quirk.

  4. 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…

  1. speaks in a low growl

  2. speaks in a German/French accent

  3. speaks in a high pitched voice

  4. whispers or speaks with a lot of breath

  5. starts every sentence with a lot of “um” and “er”

  6. stutters

  7. calls everyone “darling”

  8. speaks melodically with a rising and falling intonation

  9. speaks of themselves in the third person

  10. speaks in a relaxed manner, and says “right on” and “alright” a lot

  11. laughs nervously at inappropriate moments

  12. hunches their shoulders

  13. puffs out their chest

  14. cracks their knuckles

  15. rubs their chin

  16. pulls their right/left earlobe

  17. fizzles with their hair

  18. leans forward when speaking

  19. nervously looks from side to side

  20. draws their eyebrows together

d20 Character Item Gimmicks

The character is never seen without their…

  1. rainbow-colored weapon

  2. gold necklace which they inherited

  3. signet ring (of their own noble house, or one they acquired “elsewhere”)

  4. walking cane with a wood-carved animal head on top

  5. wide-brimmed hat they pull over their eyes

  6. pocket book in which they record even miniscule events of the day

  7. lucky coin

  8. mysterious perfectly spherical stone

  9. stuffed animal which they consider to be their best friend

  10. deck of tarot cards

  11. onion that never rots

  12. spectacles which they constantly adjust

  13. metal six-sided die carved with demonic faces

  14. brass bell which doesn’t ring

  15. document of identification which they obsessively show to everyone to prove their identity

  16. seemingly bottomless bag of dried berries

  17. flask with a mysterious liquid

  18. blanket they have had since they were an infant

  19. ring of iron keys

  20. vial of scented oil which they constantly scent the room with

d20 Character Personality Gimmicks

The character…

  1. collects buttons or other mundane items

  2. avoids any physical contact

  3. switches common idioms around, like, “The bag is out of the cat”

  4. is a vegan who secretly eats meat

  5. always follows daily routines such as a strong drink at sunrise

  6. is afraid of pets (wild animals are not a problem)

  7. asks everyone about their grandparents

  8. is a know-it-all who constantly delivers “fun facts”

  9. tries too hard to be ominous and mysterious

  10. can never remember anyone’s name

  11. immediately falls in love with anyone they meet

  12. starts every battle with “For the Queen!” but no one knows which queen they mean

  13. is the only one that sees a ghost that haunts them for a misdeed of their ancestors

  14. worries about everything

  15. pledges loyalty to anyone with a smidge of authority

  16. invites strangers to drink the “tea of enlightenment” which they brew themselves

  17. loudly offers assistance to anyone who seems even vaguely in need of it

  18. has a pet snake which constantly bites them

  19. is convinced everything bad that happens to them is because of an ancient curse

  20. introduces themselves with a lengthy title to everyone

d20 Visual Character Gimmicks

The character…

  1. has two different eye colors

  2. has some beastly aspect such as a furry face

  3. always looks like a faint breeze is blowing their hair and clothing back

  4. can change the color of their hair at will

  5. has metal plates visibly embedded in their skull and face

  6. has a noticeable scar or eyepatch

  7. wears a cloak made from dragon scales

  8. is bald with head tattoos

  9. has pieces of skin and flesh falling off of them painlessly

  10. always wears a mask

  11. has black liquid dripping from their fingers

  12. keeps a toothpick in their mouth

  13. has blazing blue eyes

  14. is extremely overweight

  15. wears only rags

  16. cakes their otherwise exceptionally beautiful face in dirt

  17. has smoke coming out of their nose and ears when they are angry

  18. has teeth that are sharpened to a point

  19. has impeccable makeup

  20. 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.

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