DnD Flaws : Give your Character Depth in 5e!

Your character’s flaw represents some vice, compulsion, fear or weakness – in particular, anything that someone else could exploit to bring ruin to or cause you to act against your best interests.

Page 124, Dungeon & Dragons Player’s Handbook 5th Edition

Your character’s flaw may answer questions like:

• How does your character make decisions under stress?
• What could cause your character to fly into a blind rage?
• What scares your character more than anything else?
• What is a temptation your character just can’t resist, or doesn’t want to?

While making a character, along with flaws, you will pick a few other traits to flesh out your creation – personality traits, bonds, ideals.

The main uses of your character flaw are for roleplay and storytelling – AKA, the fun parts! You can think of a flaw like it’s one piece of the “frame” of your character, around which you improvise their personality.

When you choose a character background you’ll find a set of tables for character traits. One of those is for flaws, but you can also make up your own!

Start with one character flaw when building a new D&D character.

Though you’re allowed to pick as many as you want, don’t let a funny idea run away with you. One phobia can be played on for dramatic and comedic effect (“I hate snakes, Jock! I hate ’em!”), but five phobias is crippling (i.e. Tony Shalhoub’s Monk).

So be sparing with your flaw choices, because fun and functional characters are the foundation of a good D&D game!

It may sound like an oxymoron, but let’s talk about what makes a flaw “good.”

Dungeons and Dragons is, at its heart, a cooperative game. That means the best character flaws allow for more interaction and teamwork. Is your Barbarian secretly terrified of scaly monsters? Maybe the Ranger notices her buddy shuddering with fear over a lizard and offers to teach him about reptiles.

Flaws that provide opportunity for overcoming and creating character depth are great too. A spoiled brat that suddenly has to take action to save his friends may start to learn some humility and responsibility!

Consider how a flaw may affect the group dynamic. Would your friends find an unreliable lush silly, or distressing? Everyone has their sensitive subjects, so use your best judgement.

Avoid flaws that incentivize selfish or individualistic decision making. Constantly doing things that benefit your character at the expense of the party can get very annoying. (Looking at you, “If there’s a plan, I’ll forget it. If I don’t forget it, I’ll ignore it.”)

Acolyte Flaws

Acolytes are members of a specific temple, monastery, or religious order. Your character could have been raised there or dedicated their life to service later. Monks, Clerics, Warlocks, Druids, or Paladins would easily fit this background.

Charlatan Flaws

Whether a fast-talking grifter, or a chaos-loving trickster – manipulation and figuring out how folks tick is what Charlatans are all about. A good choice for Rogues and Bards.

Criminal Flaws

The Criminal background is just as it sounds: a character who either has been, or still is, involved in crime as a profession. Rogues are the obvious, but a retired enforcer Fighter or Barbarian could be just as appropriate. Could your Paladin have a seedy past that they’ve now reformed?

Entertainer Flaws

Entertainers don’t just make art, they embody and live it! Dancer, musician, acrobat, clown – it’s not what they do, it’s what they are. Perfect for Bards and Sorcerers, but could be a fun option for Rogues and Wizards as well.

Folk Hero Flaws

The classic everyman who is called to a heroic destiny. Like Clark Kent, they have humble roots. And like Superman, they have the power and the integrity to use it. Folk Hero could be a great choice for nearly any class, but especially Paladins, Fighters, and Barbarians.

Guild Artisan Flaws

Guild Artisans are skilled craftspeople and makers. They may own a shop, be part of guild duties, or be traveling masters. Appropriate for Wizards, and maybe Bards, Clerics, or even Rogues.

Hermit Flaws

Hermits choose a life of solitude over the bustle of city life. It could mean returning to nature, holing up in a secluded workshop, or living in a monastery. Great fit for Druids, Clerics, Wizards, Monks, and Rangers. Or, perhaps your Barbarian previously sought a life of quiet to gain control of their rage?

Noble Flaws

Nobles can be born into, or work their way up to positions of power and privileged in society. This background can work for any class: a Wizard who comes from a respected family, a Rogue who gambled away their entire fortune, or even a Druid who turned away from their inheritance.

Outlander Flaws

Born and raised in the wilds, Outlanders are usually part of a tribe or clan. Whether your character was a nomad, wanderer, or part of a band of thieves they are most at home in the outdoors. A great pick for Rangers, Druids, Barbarians, or even Monks and Rogues.

Sage Flaws

A passion for learning, understanding, and lore are at the core of the Sage background. They may be obsessed with one study to the exclusion of others, or curious about the workings of the entire multiverse. Wizards, Druids, Rangers, and Warlocks make great Sages.

Sailor Flaws

Pirates, and skippers, and privateers – oh my! Regardless of the specifics, all Sailors have a life at sea in common. Many classes fit this background, but particularly Fighters, Rogues, Bards, and Barbarians.

Soldier Flaws

Soldiers come from organized, martial origins. That could mean army, mercenary, or law enforcement. While the more physical classes fit well (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian), your character also could have been your corp’s battle Wizard or war Bard.

Urchin Flaws

Urchins are people who have had to fend for themselves in the world. They have endured hardships like exposure, abandonment, and poverty.

How did they survive? That’s up to you. And any class works – the classic street kid turned Rogue, a Druid who trusts animals more than people, or orphan who awakens to Sorcerer powers.

Homebrew D&D flaws

If the PHB flaws don’t float your boat, how do you create flaws in D&D yourself? This whole section is about just that: ideas, inspiration, gameplay mechanics, and storytelling fun!

First off, think back to our discussion on good DnD flaws. The most enjoyable flaws to play are those that support teamwork, character development, and are sensitive to your fellow players.

Furthermore, always check in with your Dungeon Master before including a homebrewed flaw. DMs can brainstorm with you, say when a flaw is too much, see what place it could have in gameplay, and more.

Check out our homebrewed flaws below, as well as examples of how to use your flaws in roleplay.

Physical Flaws

• Physically Impaired
  This could be a hunched back, obvious birthmark, missing appendage, or more. Some things will be physically harder, and other characters may be frightened or uncomfortable at first. These can be interesting for roleplay too – an eyepatch could help you get into character!
• Elderly
  While being old isn’t a flaw by itself, adventuring sure ain’t easy on the body. Maybe your character has joints that ache in the rain, cold, or when fighting undead. Poor rolls could be blamed on not being able to make perception rolls- er, hear like you used to!
• Allergic
  What are they allergic to, and how deadly is it to encounter? For a comedic take on this, go for a monster trait like animal dander (Gnolls), spores (Brown Mold), or Death magic (undead). They may barely be able to act for all the sneezing, but it could be an early warning too!

Intellectual Flaws

• Phobic
  A phobia is an extreme, irrational fear of or aversion to something. It could be anything: critters, social situations (embarassment, physical intimacy), environments (heights, caves, lakes, etc). A mimic phobia is a hilarious way to explain why a perpetually paranoid character is so alert.
• Obsessive
  Obsessive qualities are when someone is unable to control emotions around, let go of, or move on from something. An elf could be unable to walk past garbage on the ground without cleaning it up. Or maybe the Ranger’s favored enemy is more of a revenge quest bordering on psychosis.
• Low IQ
  Things need to be explained very simply and clearly to those lacking in the wits department, which can provide an interesting challenge for players and Game Master! This is an especially fitting flaw for characters with low Intelligence scores.

Social Flaws

• Blunt
  Your character could be tactless, and see no reason to ever use a Persuade skill check. Or perhaps they value efficiency, honesty, or clarity over social niceties. Note that blunt is not simply “mean.”
• Prejudiced
  Your PC could have preconceived notions or biases about certain kinds of people, places, or magics. Many prejudices come from fear, which makes an excellent story hook for your character to eventually overcome or change their mindset!
• Big Brother/Sister
  Maybe your character was the eldest of a big brood of kids. What flavor of annoying older sibling fits yours? There’s the classic overprotective bully (“I’m the only one who can pick on them!”), the self-absorbed know it all, or the leader who takes the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Magical Flaws

• Cursed
  Perhaps your character angered a god or powerful Warlock and was cursed for their indiscretion. Curses can be anything from supernaturally bad luck, to BO that can’t be washed off, or even being monster magnets!
• Magic Blind or Blind But for Magic
  Just like it sounds, the inability to see visual magic. The flip side is a physically blind character who uses magic to “see” (kinda like Daredevil). Definitely workshop this one with your DM so your character isn’t completely inept.
• Magically Marked
  Your character could be marked by an Arcane experiment gone wrong or the work of a powerful being. The brand could interact with magical alarms & traps, or act as a beacon making stealth especially challenging.

Funny Flaws

• Narcoleptic
  Few things are sillier, or more dangerous, than an adventurer that could fall asleep anytime they’re startled. Your character could be a chronically sleepy Barbarian that uses rage to stay awake, or an over caffeinated gnome who’s alert all the time to avoid inconvenient cataplexy.
• Dragon Denier
  Fervently denies that dragons exist and can’t be convinced otherwise. “Yeah, but have you ever seen one? All I’m sayin’ is that those same effects can be produced by an incredibly powerful set of illusion and damage spells.”
• Squeamish
  Zombies? So. Gross. Slime? Not touching that. Blood? Grab the smelling salts. Good luck getting through a dungeon – if the smell doesn’t kill you, your party might.

When you homebrew your character flaws you can even build it into the gameplay for an extra dose of chaos. Talk with your DM about how to do this!

For example, your DM could:

• Give a -1 to certain skill checks. A nearsighted character with -1 to Perception checks at a distance. Is that a nice doggy, or a gnoll?
• Roll each time the party encounters the embodiment of a character’s phobia, disgust, etc to see if they freak or pass out.
• Give disadvantage to certain skill checks. Maybe your hunchback half-orc Druid is really sweet, but she gets disadvantage on Persuasion checks with strangers.
• Give a -1 to saves associated with the flaw. If your character was sickly as a child and still fragile, they may have a -1 to fortitude saves.

Need some nasty character quirks quick and easy? Check out a couple random D&D flaw generators for some bad inspiration.

The folks over at SpringHole.net created an in-browser application that randomly generates one flaw or weakness at a time. They also link to some other helpful resources like a character development questionnaire, and a quirk generator.

And TraitorousFiend over on GM Binder has a list of 100 flaws that you can randomly choose from with your handy percentile dice. Some winners include:

• I am annoyingly sarcastic.
• I exaggerate everything, especially pain.
• I involve myself in everything.
• We speak in the third person, which can be confusing.

Flaws are your character’s weaknesses which can lead to fun storytelling in D&D!

We hope these ideas and explanations help you turn character flaws into flawless roleplay!

Now that your character’s flaw is sorted, see our guide to DnD Bonds, DnD Ideals, and DnD Personality Traits to get those aspects rounded out too!

And if you want to make up for your flaws to the rest of your party, how about getting them a D&D gift they’ll love?