The 2024Dungeons and DragonsPlayers Handbook is officially defined as a revision of the Fifth Edition rules, which were originally published in 2014. However, it brings many new changes and additions that make it feel like an entirely new edition. One such mixup involves the newCharacter Origins, which packs the players’ Backgrounds and Species together, resulting in different ways to allocate Ability Scores, new Feats, and specialized equipment. This is a big change that has a few pros and cons for character building and overall roleplaying.
Character Origins is nothing new for players who followed the development of this revision throughDungeons and Dragons’ Unearthed Arcana Playtest Materials. This mechanic was introduced to playtesters as early as 2022, and it has gone through many revisions since then. Those who didn’t participate may notice some significant changes to character creation, especially in the Background and Species (F.K.A. Races) department.
The Pros and Cons of Dungeons and Dragons’ Character Origins
How Character Origins Work
According to the handbook, a Character’s Origin defines their bloodline and early experiences before their adventuring days. Therefore, it heavily involves elements of the established gameplay features like the Background and Species. One big change is the Ability Score bonus distribution, as they now come from the character’s Background rather than their Species. Instead of having fixed bonuses depending on one’s species, players now have three set Ability Scores to allocate points to depending on their background. They can increase one score by two and another by one, or increase all stats by one. Each Background also has an “Origin Feat,” which players can acquire at level one.
Character Origins Offer a Big Boost to Players’ Early Game
The Backgrounds inD&D2024’s Character Origins offer more flexibility from a roleplaying perspective, as their early stat bonuses don’t come from the species that their character is born into, but rather the Background they choose to undertake. A Dwarf player character who wants to go into a magical class won’t need the early +2 Constitution increase it had in the 2014 version, but they’ll be stuck with it. They’ll only get a paltry +1 Intelligence increase if they select the Mark of Warding Dwarf subrace found in theEberron: Rising from the Last Warsourcebook. Now, the same player can select Dwarf as their character’s species and choose the Sage Origin so they can get the Magic Initiate Origin Feat and choose to allocate as much as +2 to their Intelligence or Wisdom Scores.
Origins Also Come With More Specific and Useful Equipment
It doesn’t hurt that each origin also comes with more specific item sets compared to the kits that Backgrounds had in 2014. For example, the Legacy Sage only came with a set of common clothes, a knife, a quill, a letter from a dead colleague (for some reason), 10 GP, and ink. The new one has complete Calligrapher’s Supplies, parchment paper, a Book, a Quarterstaff, and a Robe. This way, players can start using their Sage skills to good use immediately, like spotting forgeries, creating spell scrolls, and gaining extra insight from a piece of writing.
Character Origins’ Backgrounds Still Have Some RP Limitations
While Origins give more flexibility for character customization, they still come with roleplaying limitations. If the player wants to maximize their stats, their Background needs to completely coincide with their Class. A player who wants to play a Wizard with a Soldier Background won’t have access to the Intelligence Ability Score boost they can get from being a Sage or Acolyte. Plus, they’ll be stuck with the Savage Attacker Origin Feat that doesn’t involve spellcasting at all. Players are still incentivized to choose Backgrounds that completely “make sense” for theirClasses inD&D 5e’s 2024 PHB.
Overall, Character Origins is a marked improvement from the Backgrounds and Races of the 2014 version of theD&Dhandbook. It offers some useful early stat boosts, a useful feat right off the bat, and more specialized equipment. However, players will still need to get more creative with roleplaying unorthodox Background and Class combinations to get around sub-optimal earlyAbility Scorebonuses and Origin Feats.
