The Bodyguard

Project Type

D&D 5e Character Background

Skills/Tools

- Writing

- RPG Design

- Narrative Design

- The Homebrewery

Duration

May 2023 - July 2023

Project Overview

The Bodyguard is a fully fleshed-out Character Background made for D&D Fifth Edition. It allows a Player to assume the role of a protector-type character and includes randomized tables for character details, as well as skill proficiencies and features to round out the Background.

Any Player that wants to step into the role of a protector in D&D 5e can make great use of this Background to flesh out their character's origins!

See It On DMsGuild!

Project Details

Inspiration

I’ve been running D&D games since I was a sophomore in high school, so once I was ready to start working on another personal project, I decided to make something in the TTRPG space, with the system I was familiar with (D&D 5e). I knew I wanted to make something small and simple to start out, and settled on the idea of writing a character background.

Brainstorming

I knew when I started that any idea worth designing for a character background needed to not only excite me as a designer, but fill a role that was not already being filled by something else within the system.

I used a technique a professor taught me; force myself to brainstorm at least 10 ideas before allowing myself to develop any of them, with the goal being that the farther I would go in the list, the more creative my ideas would be. This turned out to be true, and I settled on my ninth idea, The Bodyguard.

First Draft

Since I was writing something for an existing TTRPG system, a lot of the design and writing of the first draft was focused on matching the cadence and language used in the source-books of the game, so that the Background would read like an officially published one.

On the design side, I started writing by considering how a Character Background fits into character creation in D&D 5e and how it is meant to come through at the table. It’s important that a Background be specific enough to give the player character a sense of identity, but open enough that there is room for the player to make the story their own.

This need to make the background general enough for Players to assume their own versions of The Bodyguard informed several decisions:

Both of the skill proficiencies offered with the background are mental skills instead of physical ones. Many Players have a fantasy of a “Bodyguard” type character that they want to fill who protects through means other that their physicality. Making both skill proficiencies mental skills allows more Players to utilize the Background.
The description at the beginning of the document lays out several examples of different kinds of Bodyguards, allowing a Player to find inspiration in any one of several different places.
The Background Feature is only as specific as it needs to be in order to make mechanical sense. The Player is free to decide for their own character what a “Protective Presence” looks like.

In development, I also considered popular “Bodyguard” archetypes that players may want to fulfill the fantasy of playing as (powerful parent and young child, shadowy lookout, big muscley bruiser, etc.). This allowed me to get a better image of what kind of niche I was trying to fill with this Character Background.

Feedback and Iteration

Once I was done with the first draft, I sent it off to some colleagues with experience designing in the TTRPG space, as well as seeking out ways to get the Background used at an actual table. I received some feedback that the Background Feature was not specific enough in its application and that the skill proficiencies provided with the background did not line up to the identity that the background had.

So, I went back to take a look. Looking at the skill proficiencies, the feedback made sense. While Investigation did allow me to avoid using physical skills and keep the door open for non-martial Bodyguards, it didn't make a ton of sense with the concept of the Background. As a result, I decided to swap it to Perception. While this does present two Wisdom-based skills in one Background, this is not unprecedented in official D&D 5e materials, so I was okay with the change.

Then, I went to improve the Background Feature. The issue was that the Background Feature was not specific enough. Using official D&D backgrounds as guides, I outlined the exact circumstances that the Feature could be used, and exactly what could be gained from using it. In doing so, I also kept it open enough to be applicable to any table.

Publishing

Once I was confident that the Bodyguard had fulfilled its design goals of being a new, fun, engaging Character Background around which to build a new PC, I got to work publishing. Using a site called The Homebrewery I got the document in the exact form that it is in official D&D 5e materials. I also purchased some fantasy stock art to use (most backgrounds in the Player’s Handbook for D&D 5e come with character art). Then, I got the piece published on DMsGuild! It can also be viewed in-browser below.