I've never played and I want to learn how, starting with Character Creation. Once I know how to play I'll be accepted in games. :) I have experience in other games, and have GMd Bureau 13 in the past so I'm not completely new to the concept of rpgs.
This message was last edited by the user at 19:04, Wed 23 Aug 2017.

If you want a one-on-one then feel free to email me. If you want input from the whole community then let us know what you want your character to be and we can start chiming in. The three main things are (1) your species, (2) your life before you became an adventurer, and (3) your abilities as of the start of the game.

And welcome to 5e!

I've never played the D&D rpg but I figured I should learn the latest version. I have played the D&D video games BG+ToTSC, BG2+SoA, BGEE, BG2EE, IWD, NWN, NWN2, and NWO. Branimir Draek was my NWN2 character, I created a rather extensive backstory for him which I can post tomorrow when I'm at my home computer. This was a few years ago but from memory I can tell you...

I think he was born in the 1350s, in the craggs outside of Mirabar. He was educated in Mirabar (so, not much of an education), worked as a miner before becoming an adventurer. Mother is human, father is half-orc, paternal grandfather was a human Barbarian of The Crags iIrc; from a specific tribe but can't remember which; paternal grandmother was from one of the rival orc tribes, he captured her and kept her as a slave in a cave. Branimir's paternal grandfather was seen as unusual (had aspergers) and was not well liked by anyone in his tribe, however he was a good strong fighter and learned to stick to the important rules so he wasn't cast out. He would have been if they found out about the orc slave or Branimir's father but he managed to keep it secret to his grave. There were more men than women in his tribe during his time and was unfavorable so he never took a proper mate.

The orc woman was always chained up and eventually was broken and retreated into herself emotionally. Also though early on Branimir's paternal grandfather had to keep her fed and such; which he did about once a week and passed it off as going solo hunting for orcs; he stopped coming around often after Branimir's father was old enough to fend for himself and feed his mother (around 6?). Because of these things Branimir's father grew up in isolation and was somewhat feral growing up around the cave. However in his adult years he grew more curious about the civilizations nearby and began to learn about culture from the local civilized places (as tribes people would just try to kill him on site, being neither human nor orc). One kind young human woman from Mirabar taught him about many things and they eventually grew together. I did extensive reading and research when designing his story, they all have names too but I don't remember them.

Oh I think Branimir's paternal grandfather was one of the chiefs sons or nephews iIrc. Given that, they were some of the smartest/wisest of the barbarians in the tribe. Branimir's father (mentally) took after that side more than his mothers side but not having Aspergers had a wiser mentality (still that level is basically average wiseness for a civilized human). Anyway, Branimir takes more after his mother than his father but his father trained him to hunt and fight and such. He looks and sounds rather human, and is smarter and wiser than his father was.

Wow! That's a rather extensive backstory!

Well, you provided a lot of information that would guide your role-playing of Branimir and give a DM ideas for how to incorporate the backstory into adventures but it doesn't help with the urgent question of describing Branimir himself. So the following is kind of vague guidelines.

Since Barimir is three quarters human and only one quarter orc, I'd say you should pick Human as your race (you can describe him however you like, but you have to pick some set of mechanics for him). Some DMs allow material from any source and other only allow the core rulebook (the Player's Handbook, or PHB) so I'll stick with PHB material. Additionally, there are optional rules called Variants which some DMs allow and others don't. There is a variant version of Human, but I'd say to stick with the default human until you learn the system, as the variant gives you a feat at level one and feats are much rarer in 5e than in NWN. Default human doesn't excel at any one thing but is good at everything, so it's a safe bet for a character unless you have a particular race in mind.

You mentioned how his father taught Barimir how to hunt and fight and you wrote a lot about tribes, so I'm assuming Barimir grew up in the wild with a tribe. Each character in 5e has a background, which gives them a package of skills and a special ability. I recommend the outlander Background as it describes someone who lived in a hunting and gathering tribe out in the wild.

Now what abilities you have gets tricky. There are 12 classes to choose from and DMs may allow you to Multiclass. Plus there are subclasses that usually become available at level three. Aside from hunting and fighting in general, what can Barimir do? Can he use magic? Is he more of a meat-shield, brute force fighter or a skillful fighter? Does he prefer archery, melee, or javelins and thrown weapons that can be used either way (ranged or melee). If he does use magic, how does he get it? Through study, attunement with nature, a gift from a deity, his own passion and conviction, a natural gift, a contact with a devil or perfume fey, etc? Is he a sneaky assassin or a Jack of all trades?

Instead of answering every question in that last paragraph, just tell us what class(es) Barimir was in NWN2, what feats and skills you chose for him, and why you chose those options and we can offer conversions to fifth edition. Thanks!
This message was last edited by the user at 12:10, Thu 24 Aug 2017.

Oh, and they removed alignment restrictions on classes, so you can be a lawful barbarian, a chaotic monk, a neutral Paladin, etc. Class abilities have also changed a little. That's why I asked why you chose certain classes; because the features you wanted may have moved or New options may be available.

Sorry for the late reply, been really busy with school. Did I forget to state that he's barbarian class? The part about his father training him was in support of that fact.

He was raised just outside of the town of Mirabar, close but just far enough that you'd need a horse or carriage as walking was too inconvenient for someone who went to school and worked there daily. No neighbors or tribe, just him and his parents (maybe siblings, I can't recall) the background I made back when was far more in depth thats just what I could remember off the top of my head from years ago. As for personality he's athletic / interested in athletic pursuits but more interested in intellectual pursuits, partly because of how he was raised. However while he makes an effort to learn he's not especially intelligent so they don't come to him easily.

I'll try to remember to take some time to get the details I wrote about him and his NWN2 character sheet tomorrow. I do have a pic of him from all those years ago on my fb somewhere though...
Here: https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/185034_3981093880573_17543256_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=03e3531c85b77a290544fb6cb7f350a9&oe=5A22818A

I don't think one can tell from the photo but iIrc his eyes were blue or something like that.

Edit:
Oh, now that I think about it I may have even used genuine genealogy software to build his family tree. I even connected him to other characters I made in games and stories I wrote, some as distantly related as 4th cousins, as well as descendants and ancestors as some characters were based in different times.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:44, Tue 07 Nov 2017.

That's an intimidating amount of backstory for a DM to read; I'd be afraid you'd be easily disappointed if it didn't come up a lot but at the same time I wouldn't want to make the campaign all about you and make other players feel left out. Maybe give an abbreviated version up front and let the rest come out piece by piece.

Anyway, as for skills, the outlander background will make you good at hunting, gathering, building shelters, wrestling, climbing, swimming, etc. They combined a lot of skills so no there are only 15 but they each do more. And instead of buying ranks in skills you pick skills you are "proficient" in and get a bonus based on your character level. That would leave you with picking two of the following skills to get that bonus to: Animal Handling, Intimidation, Nature, and Perception.

Perception comes up a lot because it's spot, listen, and search all rolled into one skill. Nature is more of that intellectual knowledge of nature (things you would learn if you went to college for a biology degree in today's world) while survival is the practical stuff. Intimidation is your only good social skill, and you can use your Strength with it instead of Charisma. Animal handling is pretty straightforward.

Starting gear: they give you a few options and really what you chose for a barbarian is up to what you like personally. Some classes get complicated but barbarian is pretty straightforward. The only thing to note is that some smaller melee weapons can be thrown, like javelins and hatchets and daggers.

Starting Attributes: in 5e you cannot start out with an attribute higher than 15 unless you get a bonus from your race. Also now that Barbarian's AC = (10 + Dex modifier + Con modifier + shield bonus to AC) as long as they are not wearing armor. This means that you want Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution to all be high if you're running around without armor. You can use a point buy or a standard array (you assign the following numbers to attributes of your choice: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). I'd recommend prioritizing your attributes this way: Str>Con>Dex>Wis>Cha>Int. This would give you starting scores of 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, and 9. When you get attribute points to spend you actually get 2 points in 5e, so you can bump up two modifiers at once.

One thing to note: Barbarian's don't get stat increases while raging, instead they get to roll the d20 twice and take the highest roll when making skill and attack rolls that apply your strength modifier. They also take half damage from blunt, piercing, and slashing damage while raging.

There are 4 different subclasses built into the Barbarian class. One is all about dealing damage while raging (path of the Beserker), one is all about defense and strength (bear totem lets you take half damage from every damage type except psychic while you are raging), and they other two make you a ranger while giving you a few cool moves (eagle and wolf totems).

Feats are now an optional rule that since DMs do not allow. Same with multiclassing. And there are now prerequisites the multiclassing rather than XP penalties. In all cases the prerequisites are having certain attributes at 13 or higher. And you have to meet the prerequisites for all classes that you will have. So in order to Multiclass as a barbarian and a bard you would need both your strength and your Charisma to be 13 or higher.