EPT
The methodology in question is the “three-by-five” technique that I first heard of on the Dungeon Masters’ Block podcast (which is excellent and well-worth listening to for anyone interested in tabletop). During the exercise, you specify five sets of information to define the character. When you are finished, your character’s backstory should include Three Important Events, Three Essential Places, Three Allies, Three Rivals, and Three Enemies. These elements of your character’s history should provide you with numerous avenues for roleplay, as well as a number of potential plot hooks that your DM can use to engage your adventurer. Best of all, this process is system-agnostic; you can build a character with the 3×5 method regardless of the game you’re playing.
I wrote the following paragraphs while using the 3×5 method for my Forest Gnome Wizard, Ebelar Levinvine. Of course, no one has to be as verbose as I’ve been with this exercise; you really only need the five lists of three. In fact, sometimes bullet points might be better, as it allows your DM more flexibility in joining their story to your character. Regardless, I’m very pleased with how my wizard turned out with the 3×5 technique. Let me know what you think of the character and methodology, and let me know what methods you’ve used to create your own adventurers!
Ebelar Levinvine, Forest Gnome Abjurer:
Three Important Events
- Raid on Pemlorra — Who knows what would have come of Ebelar were Pemlorra not sacked? Would he have grown into confidence, into contentment, if allowed to stay in his small but prosperous home? Would he have sought to improve his latent magical talents if he hadn’t needed to escape the filthy streets of Waterdeep? Would he be seeking peace if he had not seen so much destruction and death? Only the gods can say, and Ebelar has always found them notoriously tight-lipped.
- Chosen as Apprentice — To Ebelar, small tricks and illusions were a matter of course: his whole family employed them with ease, though they’d always said his were the most realistic of all. He never expected to be using them to earn a few meager coins on the Waterdeep cobblestones, but it was just that that caught the eye of an elven woman walking by one day. Introducing herself as Miadra Fennistradt, the woman proposed an offer the likes of which Ebelar had never dared to dream: a way out of Waterdeep and in to the study of magic. He could not know where that path would lead him, but it had to be better than here… right?
- Stealing the Sahasrama — The Master’s assignment rang in his head, yet he still could not puzzle out an answer. She’d never asked him to justify his methods before, but now that she wished to teach him magic that could hurt… could kill… it seemed that all she did was interrogate. He couldn’t face her any longer without an answer, but he could not find the answer himself. He needed time. He needed to show that, with enough power, violence wasn’t necessary. But he couldn’t do that here, nor could he do that by himself. He knew that the staff, the Sahasrama, was both powerful and off-limits. “She’ll understand,” Ebelar thought to himself as he grasped the staff and replaced it with an explanatory note, “She’ll know why it has to be this way.” Skulking away in the dead of night, a whisper of conscience snuck into Ebelar’s mind. “Do you?”
Three Essential Places
- Ruins of Pemlorra — Ebelar grew up here… or, at least, he lived here for a short, beautiful time. In his early 20s, Pemlorra was ravaged by an invading army, one Ebelar barely remembers. He hasn’t seen the remnants of what his home once was, and he’s not entirely sure if he wants to.
- Waterdeep — Ebelar despises Waterdeep after living in it for years as a poverty-stricken refugee. The foul city taught him almost everything he knows about mortal suffering, whether it be financial, social, or physical. Waterdeep bred the poisonous grain that stole his parents from him, and Waterdeep showed him the savagery of both anger and indifference.
- Immarant — The home of Master Fennistradt and the location where Ebelar learned the disciplines of wizardry. Of the places Ebelar has lived, this is the most like home. Thinking of it now invokes feelings of both peace and guilt. It is also the home of Sasmid Levinvine.
Three Allies
- Sasmid Levinvine — Ebelar’s cousin and fellow survivor of both the attack on Pemlorra and the streets of Waterdeep. Sasmid’s parents were slain while Pemlorra burned, but he managed to reach the home of his aunt and uncle (Ebelar’s parents) before he was caught, allowing them all to escape the village together. As his last remaining family, Ebelar ensured that Sasmid came with him to Immarant, where he lives now as a peaceful farmer (apple orchard) and merchant (apple brandy).
- Kimlin Karsforth — Kimlin was one of Ebelar’s contemporaries, a burgeoning Conjurer under the tutelage of Master Fennistradt. Ebelar and the half-elven woman became friends early on, coming to rely on each other more and more as the Master’s lessons became tougher and the magicks at their fingertips became more demanding. Of the wizards of the Fennistradt House, Kimlin is the one whom Ebelar has most considered contacting again. Only his guilt and fear of souring the Master’s view of her prevents him from contacting his closest friend.
- Old Ebb — This sailor-turned-drunk-turned-beggar sticks out in Ebelar’s memory as one of the few positives during his time in Waterdeep. The grizzled and uncouth human always carried a vulgar joke on his lips and a bawdy song in his lungs, which was a good deal more than most vagrants could maintain. He was also a good man to have in a fight, which came in handy whenever thieves decided that a barely-mature gnome was a far better target than anyone else in five blocks.
Three Rivals
- Halsaverath — Ebelar never got along with Master Fennistradt’s only Dragonborn pupil. The blue-scaled Evoker felt like everything Ebelar was not: rash, overconfident, reckless. It got under his skin, and doubly so because the apprentice seemed to be the Master’s favorite. Halsaverath appeared to mirror Ebelar’s disdain, so the pair’s relations only remained cordial out of respect for their teacher, their only other mutual trait. Ebelar can only imagine what Halsaverath said after his ignominious departure, but this particular consequence is one about which Ebelar cares little.
- Pumber the Picturesque — When Ebelar realized that his minor magical talents could net him the coppers he needed for a decent meal, he failed to remember that his successes would quickly mean competition. Not long after he started earning a small sum with his street performances, a goblin named Pumber began to do the same, cutting into Ebelar’s profits. More galling to Ebelar was that Pumber’s “illusions” were tricks and sleight of hand, rather than true magic. He half suspected Pumber was using some of that slight of hand to steal from his earnings as well, though he’s never been able to prove it.
- Islai Dorothel — While Halsaverath provided Ebelar with a source of secretive, venomous competition, Islai constantly provided Ebelar with a friendly but serious rivalry. The two pushed each other endlessly to outperform their own expectations, even though they pursued very separate fields (Islai is an Enchanter). While Kimlin was a close friend and confidant in ways Islai never could be, Ebelar still relied on him for engaging conversations on their opposing views on the ethics and artistry of magic. Though they frequently kept secrets from one another in the name of “one-upping the competition,” neither student of the Fennistradt House would have excelled nearly as much without the other.
Three Enemies
- Master Evoker Miadra Fennistradt — Though Ebelar cares deeply for his former master, he can only imagine that she is furious with him, both as a disciple and a person. He does not expect to meet her on good terms. In fact, he’d almost prefer not to see her ever again, but he has a sneaking suspicion that he can’t avoid her forever.
- Merchant Lord Aramis Miter — Even years later, Ebelar can still picture the face of the man making a mockery of his parents in the broken streets of Waterdeep. When he discovered the man’s identity, his hatred deepened further: how could one possessing so much wealth and strength use it to be so cruel? Ebelar holds few grudges. This is one of them.
- The Silver Arrows — A Silver Arrow on a Black Field: this was the banner that approached through the bloodstains and the screams of his neighbors. Part of Ebelar knows that he should be researching the soldiers, learning about the murderers who destroyed his home. But every time he resolves to do so, he prevaricates. What we he do if he knew? How would he react? Ebelar assumes he is still too traumatized by the destruction of Pemlorra to search for the “Silver Arrows.” Yet deeper down, Ebelar wonders if that knowledge would push him toward the violence he so despises. Perhaps ignorance is better than corruption.
For those who are interested, you can find Ebelar’s full character sheet here: Ebelar Levinvine
For this exploration of D&D character creation and a lot more things about a few more games, come visit the N3rd Dimension.
