this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2025
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Creating a former adventurer (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by Snailpope@lemmy.world to c/dnd@lemmy.world
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Im trying to create a DMPC who used to be a 10th level fighter in his youth but hasn't adventured in decades. I want to weaken him in a semi-realistic way, while keeping his skills.

I was thinking of lowering his base str, dex, and con scores by 2 and increasing int, wis and, cha scores by 1 or 2. On top of this, I thought on successful attack or physical ability checks id roll a d20 dc 10 check and on a fail he would gain a point of exhaustion. Possibly increasing that dc on fails. On failed attacks or physical ability checks he'd take 1d4 damage

Obviously this is going to be weird to balance but I have a sneaking suspicion my players are going to ask this former adventurer to come on one last adventure. Relive his glory days so to speak.

They are level 5, im willing to drop his level but I want him to have been a higher level adventurer when he was in his prime. I went with the battlemaster sub class and focused all my maneuvers on assisting. Specifically:

1 Commanders strike 2 Maneuvering attack 3 rally 4 tactical assessment 5 commanding presence 6 bait and switch 7 distracting strike

Any thoughts, suggestions, criticism, or anecdotes are welcome and appreciated.

Thank you for your time

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[โ€“] HuntressHimbo@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I was thinking of lowering his base str, dex, and con scores by 2 and increasing int, wis and, cha scores by 1 or 2.

This is pretty close to how aging used to be portrayed in D&D so should be good there.

On top of this, I thought on successful attack or physical ability checks id roll a d20 dc 10 check and on a fail he would gain a point of exhaustion

This sounds like it will be absolutely brutal. You say d20 dc10, does that mean you intend to roll unmodified? A 50% chance to give yourself disadvantage on all ability checks on the first successful attack feels like it would snowball quickly. Maybe dial it down somewhat to something that will trigger, but not as often. Also having to roll another check and d4 damage sounds like it would add a lot of time to his turns. Maybe instead you could give him disadvantage on saves against exhaustion causing effects? You could do a similar mirror to your ability score modifications and give him advantage to resist some effects thanks to his experience. Maybe charms or illusions.

I like where your head is at with the battle master. When I did a retired character back in the day the campaign side stepped the age modifiers, since they were no longer relevant, but I used the crusader class from Tome of Battle with a similar theme in powers. Went with a lockdown spear wielder for other character choices. Good luck with the campaign, sounds like it will be a fun time.

[โ€“] Snailpope@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Interesting, I didn't know aging used to be a mechanic in dnd. I will definitely read into that.

Maybe dial it down somewhat to something that will trigger, but not as often.

That's a really good point. Maybe a dc4 or 5? 20-25% chance.

Also having to roll another check and d4 damage sounds like it would add a lot of time to his turns.

I wasn't going to add another check, more if he missed an attack. That being said I didn't take this into account, I don't want him hogging time for sure. Maybe he loses at turn if he misses an attack. Resistance to mental attacks sounds like a good idea too.

Thank you for your feedback, I will definitely take it into account