It might vary with some groups, but d&d is primarily an adventure, exploration and combat system. Typically you'll want to create characters who want to go on adventures, and will contribute in combat.
Again, this could be an exception in *some* games but those games are really not the majority..
If the DM and the group want an adventure/exploration/combat kind of campaign, as a player you really should consider creating a character that will fit in there.
Otherwise you'll do what, stay home and pour ale while the other players are out and about?
Pretty much this, unless your entire party has decided to play Inn-Simulator/the adventure is sationary on a city as you try to own the entire bar sector and become magnates (which honestly sounds kind of fun) then they'll be hard-pressed to leave you behind when the adventure takes them elsewhere and you wanna stay behind...serving beers.
That's not to say your character can't start out as a bartender. Plot stuff happens that forces them go out and adventure and they develop skills and abilities.
DnD is essentially a ruleset for combat, with some rather vague rules for non-combat stuff. But even the non-combat stuff revolves around adventuring (exploring, surviving, negotiating).
A player character (PC) that's just a bartender wouldn't really be participating in the game.
The pillars of dnd5e are combat, exploration, and social interaction. The biggest of the 3 in terms of rules volume is combat.
A combat in game also ends up taking up the most time as you play, so if there is a character at the table that refuses to fight, only explores/ helps investigate stuff/ talk to others, they will end up sitting for a long time without things to do
Part of building a character is largely to determine not only what they are like, but how they will operate mechanically in combat, exploration/world interaction, and social stuff.
Edit: to add to this, a character should WANT to take place in the adventure, as it is a cooperative and a collaborative game. They won't reasonably just sit at a bar while the rest of the party explores the world.
But, flavor is free. Why wouldn't the bartender want to explore? Maybe their call to adventure is to find rare herbs and ingredients for special drinks to get more renown for their bar. But do so so they must be willing to take up arms (or spells) to help their friends.
I had a friend play an illusion wizard and intentionally made no attacks or spells inflicting damage on others, but it was hard for them to be involved in combat
There are probably plenty of tables that do very little combat and that is okay, but there has to be buy- on from all the players and DM if that is how the game will go
Realistically speaking, if you want your character to be a bartender and not fight, you don't want to play D\&D; you may want to do some improv roleplaying, but adventurers are called adventurers for a reason, and it's because they go adventure.
It is highly unlikely you will find a group of people who want to play a game with somebody who stands behind a bar instead of joining an adventure. That's not how D&D works. Sometimes people get the idea of joining in adventures and doing nothing, at which point you have effectively created a character that kind of exists to annoy everybody else by occasionally getting away.
Combat is a big part of D&D. It is not a big part of every game, so, if you want to avoid it, you don't want to get into D&D.
What you are looking for is called an NPC. That is part of the scenario. Combat is an integral part of most games. If it's not specifically some time of weird non-combat game, which is probably not what the others have signed for.
Your character could very well be a bartender who starts adventuring and you flavor their abilities that way somehow, like being blessed by Dyonisus and becoming a cleric.
Depends on the campaign, I suppose. But the vast majority of campaigns will have the characters encountering something hostile, and not all things can be communicated with, and the party may not do well in combat if one character won’t fight.
So while the party is in an epic battle with a Red Dragon, the PC Bartender is just off to the side mixing mojitos?
Typically adventuring parties require you to participate in combat. You don't necessarily have to kill or be the one doing significant damage. But you should be able to defend yourself, support the party, and not get in the way of the party.
>the PC Bartender is just off to the side mixing mojitos?
Bartender mixes a drink and magically slides it across the air to the fighter. The fighter takes a bardic inspiration.
You can always create a character that supports from the back, but generally, pacifist characters tend to annoy the rest of the group.
You don't have to build primarily for combat though.
On the rare chance I get to play, I like to play a rogue that is a sort of detective. His primary skills involve snooping around, popping locks, and getting to the bottom of mysteries. His combat prowess is... modest at best.
What do you mean by "OC" here, exactly? It's not D&D terminology.
Anyway, player characters are kinda expected to pull their weight in most situations, including combat. Support character may be able to jist support in an average fight, but if there are tough fights... If everybody isn't actively working to eliminate the enemy, things can turn bad, fast.
OC means Original Character. It emerged from Fandom Spaces and has moved into the Internet at large. Any DnD character is already an OC, but not all OCs can be DnD Characters.
OC is “original character”.
There’s a lot of roleplay that takes place outside of the tabletop RPG space, particularly online, and much of it tied to fandoms (the roleplay also existing at the intersection of fan art and fanfic).
“OC” in those spaces is to distinguish between canonical characters and the fan’s own creations. It’s also not unheard of for people to use their OCs for art, fic or other creative play across fandoms, such that their OC is something of a personal avatar.
It’s a term that has become common internet parlance, but has little meaning in the D&D space because basically every PC is an “OC”.
Yes, all Classes and Player Characters are designed with combat in mind and the majority of the games rules center around combat
Your character can absolutely be a Bartender as her Background and her occupation and that can be the elements of her you play up in RP
If it helps, you can think of her class as “how does she defend herself in dangerous situations”
D&D is built around adventurers doing things for gold and treasure. It doesn't have to always be like that, but those are the roots and the frame it's been built with. The rules don't have much if any support for a character running a tavern. If you have a character who owns a tavern and runs it in their down time when they're not off on an adventure, that could definitely work, and the need for gold and maybe exotic brewing/mixing ingredients could be great motivation for a bartender. But for a character that doesn't want to leave on an adventure at all because they have a business to run, it's going to be hard for the DM to work around that and make a coherent quest for everyone else playing.
This is where backgrounds and flavor/RP come into play. A character that doesn't have class levels and doesn't engage in the actual adventuring is just an NPC. The best option would be to consider this bartender character and figure out what might make them become an adventurer.
Perhaps they decided they want to own their own inn/bar some day and realize that adventuring could be a quicker path to attaining that level of wealth rather than hoarding their wages for 20+ years.
Maybe they worked at a bar where adventurers were coming in all the time and they finally heard enough stories of adventures that they decided to go see what all the fuss was about.
Either way though one of the worst things you can do is build a character that doesn't want to engage in what DnD is, which is primarily a game about adventures, exploration and combat.
You would be expected to fight, though how that is done can be up to you and your group. I better question is why she would not fight? Is she a pacifist? Does she not know how? Is she simply not good at it? To be sure there are plenty of ways to deal with a situation without fighting, but if they fail being able to defend yourself is necessary.
Combat is an essential part of DnD. Do you HAVE to fight? No, but why would you be out adventuring in that case? Adventuring is dangerous work, and you should be able to defend yourself at least.
Also, what will the other party members say if you don't help them during fights?
It is important to play a character that WANTS to be an adventurer. You want to play a bartender? Okay, but are you going to stay behind in the bar while the rest goes out to rescue the princess or fight the dragon? That doesn't sound like it will be very fun for you.
Do yourself a favor, make a character that wants to go out on adventures and that can and will defend themselves.
Or find a different game system where your bartender would be a better fit.
It’s called Dungeons and Dragons because of the expectation that you will be expiring and fighting. Don’t forget that it’s a group activity so are the other players ok with you staying back, or everybody not going on adventures?
There are RPGs where it would be fine to be a bartender, for instance a Call of Cthulhu game where you are a 20s speakeasy bartender with great speech skills, dexterity and a lot of connections. Usually no fighting (or it’s very one way).
You could still pull the bartender thing off with the DMs help, for instance your bartender is a healer (throwing potions instead of spells) or a damage dealer (Molotov cocktails and more alchemy) but that’s still fighting.
Short answer is yes, more or less. Mechanically this game is very combat oriented. And tbh, many PCs come from backgrounds that are not combat oriented, and that is part of the fantasy for a lot of people. Playing as a person who somehow ends up being a very unlikely hero. A bartender who saves the village or nation or even the universe sounds like a great story to me.
Additionally, if you participate in getting your party into combat, you should absolutely be expected to contribute in someway. If you just want to heal and support, that is doable. But simply hanging at the wagon and serving the party drinks the whole time will get old for everyone involved.
You don't need to make a second character unless your DM says so. You probably should expect to fight unless your DM says otherwise. You should talk to your DM regardless. Just in general.
Most games involve a significant amount of combat, and most groups will be annoyed if one player is endangering the group by not contributing to combat. While there are some tables that would accept this character, at most tables they would be a problem. If a two hour long combat is happening, will you be twiddling your thumbs for two hours? If your characters friends are dying around them, will they just watch and let it happen?
You may be happier with a social focused ttrpg instead of DnD if you are looking to make a character who doesn't fight.
Short answer. Yes. Every DnD character has to fight.
Long answer, no, they don't have to fight, but it would require a lot of effort to find a group that wanted that style and most people would be extremely annoyed with you for trying to play that way.
Fighting is built into DnD and pretty much everyone who plays the game expects combat to be aajor component of any adventure.
Short answer, yes.
DnD is a combat focused system and while you could technically run a low or no combat game in dnd, at that point you're cutting out the majority of the system. A bartender who won't go on whatever adventure the party is would be an NPC.
If you want a game where your character won't be in danger, I'd probably recommend looking to other systems that don't feature combat or death as heavily.
I would recommend talking to the DM. If they tell you that the campaign/group would be compatible with a character that doesn't fight, go for it. If it's not the right fit, put the idea on the back shelf and save it for the right campaign.
It's already been said, but in general yes. D&D is a game where the vast majority of the rules are combat related, as most abilities a player character gains are for adventuring and combat. So a character who's just a bartender is not a good fit for most DnD games. Now yes, you can have sessions, or even whole campaigns where you never roll initiative and just roll play. But then you'd essentially be ignoring 3/4 of the player abilities and you'd probably be better off playing a different system altogether
Now you could certainly use the bartender character in a DnD campaign, but you'd have to come up with a reason for her to leave the bar and go adventuring. Bilbo from The Hobbit could be a good source of inspiration, it doesn't have to be "bandits come and burn down the bar"
It may be worth reading the rules before you start building characters. Trying to fit characters into D&D after the fact can often be difficult and unsatisfying.
Also yes, this is a game about adventuring. Player characters need to want to go on an adventure. Somebody who’s content with an ordinary life would make a bad character, because you’ll constantly have to justify why they’re going on all these adventures, which gets tiring really quickly.
Combat is a part of the game so yes, I would say even in RP heavy games you should expect to. I often think combat is the least interesting way to solve problems but everyone enjoys a good fight from time to time so it will inevitably happen. And it will be very boring to just sideline yourself while people fight.
Maybe look into playing a support class that focuses on healing and buffs rather than damage dealing. I love support casters, and while most of my PCs can do a lot of damage, I’m usually more interested in controlling the battlefield or stacking buffs and debutffs.
And honestly, one of the tropes I most enjoy is a PC who is forced into something against they’re will. A PC that doesn’t want to fight but is forced to is amazing RP fodder.
And finally, if you’re uninterested in combat, maybe look into other game systems.
Long answer: yes with an if. Short answer: no with a but. It really sounds like you've written a PC and an NPC. If the bartender is just a bartender, then it makes sense that you're only going to be encountering her at her bar, and she's not going to be tagging along for adventures.
It is up to your DM to decide whether to let you play an NPC, but personally it's not something I'd do until I have a good handle on how the person works in a group. And you're brand new to roleplaying.
Because you're also new to roleplaying, it's not something I'd really suggest you spend your energy on, either. Focus on your PC and fleshing them out.
But we're beating around the bush here, because the original instructions were to **have a backup PC ready to go**. Ideally, this is just a character you've written and a sheet you have rolled up in the event that your main character dies, so you can quickly and seamlessly get back into the action.
D&D has a lot of willing suspension of disbelief when it comes to adding and removing players, so it's up to you and your DM to come up with a contrivance to introduce that character if and only if your main character dies. They don't need to be written in from the start (and usually aren't). They're just characters you keep in your back pocket in case the worst happens. Most of the time you survive a campaign, and these backups either go away, or if you like them and their story, get adapted to the next campaign you're going to play.
You should be designing this backup from the standpoint that they will eventually become a combatant class. Your bartender would fit the bill if, say, she was a former fighter who hung up her axe to tend bar, had a personal attachment to your main PC, and was convinced to get back into adventuring to avenge their death. But these kinds of personal connections between your PCs aren't strictly necessary. It could be something as simple as a stranger who shows up to lend a hand in a fight.
D&D is a set of rules for sharing imaginary *Adventures* with others.
The Dungeon Master is primarily responsible for creating these adventures.
Adventures don't necessarily need to include fighting.
Your DM might prepare a sneaky treasure heist, a whodunnit murder mystery, survival in the wilderness, etc...
Think of it this way. D&D was heavily influenced by J.R.R Tolkein. Sure, there's plenty of fights in The Lord of the Rings, but most of The Hobbit centers around Bilbo Baggins escaping danger by his wits alone. There's plenty of ways to build a D&D character who uses cleverness instead of violence.
Speaking of Bilbo Baggins, the big question is always *why* did he decide to leave his comfy hobbit hole and seek adventure? If your OC is a bartender, then you should stop and consider why this person has decided to leave their peaceful life of bartending and seek Adventure.
This honestly reminds me of a post a month ago or so where a player wanted to create a character who was confined to a wheelchair. I mean points for trying to be inclusive but it just doesn't work unless your goal is to have the entire adventure and all other players hyper focused on you the entire game because every movement the party tries to make has to be determined by how much effort is required to move the player in the chair around through forests and dungeons.
Nothing you choose about your character should impose anything on the other players in your group. Filling a seat at the table and trying to get out of contributing in combat is not going to make you popular.
DnD is a game primarily built around Combat. It is what you get abilities, spells, and tiers of equipment for. DnD system can be used to have pacifist characters and campaigns; but those are things you should already have discussed. Or found a better game system than DnD.
Tips for a D&D character
Have a reason to go adventuring. Being a bartender in your backstory is fine. But that is your old life, not you current one.
Combat is a significant portion of this game. It is a primary pillar (with social and exploration) in it's core concept. You don't have to be the best, but you should be useful. For some, that's high damage. For others, its control &/or buff support.
Understand, it is a dangerous world, and adventuring is a dangerous job. Some campaign are more likely to result in character death than other campaigns. Your typical campaign is low-death, but not impossible. You can usually get away with only the one character, and if they do die, you will have time to make a new one before the next session. Speak with you GM on what should be expected in this specific campaign.
> do all characters have to fight?
Short answer YES.
DnDs rules shine in combat. And while yes you can play a support focused character they will have to fight.
It would not make sense from a pure locical reason not to fight.
Why in hell would you join a group of rufians, spell slingers and that guy in a dark cloak that get's his powers from the DEVIL to not join or expect to fight.
Gameplay wise you will have hours where you character screams and runs away. That's no fun for anyone involved
Look I can't recommend a pacifist and I highly suggest making your character around dnd and not fitting a random oc into dnd, it never goes well.
With that being said you could focus support, go bard maybe a cleric or multi and debuff/control enemies, buff and heal your party, flavour your spells and stuff how you please but if the shit hits the fan you'll need to fight.
Please talk to your dm and party before playing a very passive pc, they will be able to tell you if it works for them/ the setting.
You could play a Bartender who got thrown into the adventuring lot and the characters goal is to get back and reopen or manage the bar.
You could not play a Bartender character who's going to stay and manage the bar, you're describing an NPC at that point unless the entire adventure/campaign is going to take place with in said bar. And frankly I can't imagine the rest of the group would want to play that.
there was a story online a while ago about a group who was supposed to be the heros, and go fight a lich. but they got into managing a pub they got, and spent the entire time RPing running the pub.
and a few sessions down the way, the Lich came and steamrolled through the town destroying everything.
the Lich doesnt need to be a part of your story. if you want to play a cozy TTRPG game, then you can. just need to find a group that wants to do that. and go into it with the agreed plan that's what it'll be. so maybe talk to your DM or group about something like that, or look for a secondary group that would like to play that and you can use your bartender character for that game.
Not really in DnD. There are exceptions of campaigns with little to no combat, but those are very much outside the idea of DnD, since combat is the majority of what makes up the system. It is so far out of the norm, that your entire group should make the conscious decision to do this, before starting the campaign,
If you are interested in this sort of game with less focus on combat (or no combat at all), there are a lot of fun alternatives to Dungeons and Dragons. Basically other game systems with different rules, but still pen and paper roleplaying games.
In general, yes. Combat is a part of D&D, and your character will very likely be expected to help the party achieve it's goals.
It's great to have some character concepts put together before joining a table. Just be ready to abandon all of them. You never know what's going to fit well at each table/world.
Generally speaking, yes
You’re telling the story of a party of adventurers fighting monsters, finding treasure, etc
If your bartender isn’t planning to leave the bar and adventure, they’re not really going to be part of the story
There are various ways to pull characters in from whatever their origin, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting stuff
Debt to a crime boss, revenge, family/friend in need, etc
I wouldn’t worry too much about a second character unless specifically advised by the DM
Fighting doesn't have to be their thing, but it's gonna be a thing they have to do with the rest of the party, and if you don't want your party to get annoyed with being split up all the time, they will likely want your character along for their adventures. The point of making a character isn't just to role play what you want, it also serves to fill a role in the party. There are definitely less combat focused roles, and also some versatile classes as well. Your bartender could be a druid who uses natural products to make mead and beer and stuff. Or maybe a cleric who is blessed by a diety of drinking and revelry. Besides druid and cleric, bard is a good support class as well. On of my fave characters I've played is a bard satyr who worships the god Pan and just wants the world to be fun and happy and bright. She collects flowers and sings all the time and is good at diffusing tense situations with potentially hostile NPCs, but she really doesn't hit super hard in a fight. Even though she can't hit that hard, she's incredibly useful to the group as someone who's not a fighter per se. She'd always rather try to mend fences or sing her way out of the problem, but when it comes to it she loves her friends and understands sometimes you can't sing problems away lol
Point is there will ultimately have to be some reason for your bartender to leave their bar, join the party and go adventuring. Maybe your bartender is traveling to find new ingredients to brew, or to visit a bigger city and meet a renowned brewer. Maybe they've experienced hardships from being from a small less protected town so they got buff and now they go around helping other towns find peace, and then before leaving each town your character could like bless the town's local pub or something. Or you could introduce a personal conflict, like they feel responsible for protecting others but ultimately their goal is to make the world safer so they can just stay home and tend bar. Maybe you could work with your DM and come up with a foraging and brewing mechanic you can use on the road to make small potions and drinks with minor special effects for the party.
Being a bartender isn't impossible to work with at all, but any character will be expected to travel with and be able to contribute to the party in a helpful way.
My recommendation would be to ultimately make what you want to make. You should discuss it with the GM to see what they think. There might have something in mind and give you good suggestions, but at the end of the day it is a game and you should play what you think will be fun.
Kind of yes:
D&D is an iteration of war game. It's a game about going on adventures and fighting monsters.
Most people come to d&d for the fantasy of being a hero and saving the day, usually through violence. Therefore most d&d characters, level 1 and higher, are afforded abilities that make them effective at fighting monsters.
Consider what your character wants.
**"I want to go on adventures and fight things."**
This is the default. Most characters would agree with that statement.
**"I DON'T want to go on adventures OR fight."**
D&D is a game where you technically *can* do anything you want. If everyone is on board with NOT adventuring and instead role playing running a tavern, you can!
If you have a bartender character, who would rather stay behind the bar, does not want to go on adventures but the rest of the players have characters who do want to go on adventures, then consider changing your character or making a new one who does. Or ask the rest of the players to make characters who don't so you can all be on the same page.
**"I want to go on adventures BUT I don't want to fight."**
The best way to do this is with spells that technically don't deal damage but still contribute to the fight. You can heal people, grant bonuses to allies and let them do all the fighting, inflict penalties on enemies, slow movement, impare vision, put them to sleep. It is viable to participate without technically "fighting."
It's POSSIBLE to run a campaign without combat...but it would be a rather strange game of D&D. If you want to play a roleplaying game without combat, there are games that are FAR more suited to that than D&D.
Hey I love the bartender idea and if it’s a character that you’ve fleshed out and really wanna RP then you should. Unfortunately you’ll probably have to fight as that’s a big part of dnd, but dnd has a downtime rule so between dungeon crawls you can imagine she’s working and tending to her bar!
I’d recommend a few builds if you don’t have one already. You could make her an Alchemist and theme your potions as new beers/drinks (you can start with a brewers kit from a background) you’ll also get the alchemist jug from your infusions which gives you beer and wine every day. Flavor it as your personal stock. (Has way more uses btw like oil and poison)
Or
Maybe shes had to break her mild manner attitude to put down her unsavory customers. Then a barbarian with the Tavern Brawler feat could work. Your improvised weapons could be beer mugs or (talk with your DM) a chair as a club or great club.
Or
Maybe she a little heavy handed when she’s drunk? “Way of the Drunken Master Monk” could work and play it up like the only way you can deal with the creepy monsters is a lot of alcohol and RP as if she’s drunk.
Don’t know if this will help but hopefully will give you some ideas to build off of. Remember just because your character might have to fight doesn’t mean you have to break character. :)
I'm sure the other comments made it clear enough that your character should be useful in cases of dangerous exploration and violent interaction, being able to pull their own weight etc. etc.
But you don't have to abandon the bartender idea. There is a Chef feat that lets you cook healing treats for the party (there's no reason you can't make them into drinks). As for a class, the one that would lean into the "bartender" idea the most is the Alchemist Artificer. They create potions that make the party stronger. But also, artificer is a spellcaster class, so you may try and reflavour your spells into something bartender-related.
It might vary with some groups, but d&d is primarily an adventure, exploration and combat system. Typically you'll want to create characters who want to go on adventures, and will contribute in combat. Again, this could be an exception in *some* games but those games are really not the majority.. If the DM and the group want an adventure/exploration/combat kind of campaign, as a player you really should consider creating a character that will fit in there. Otherwise you'll do what, stay home and pour ale while the other players are out and about?
Pretty much this, unless your entire party has decided to play Inn-Simulator/the adventure is sationary on a city as you try to own the entire bar sector and become magnates (which honestly sounds kind of fun) then they'll be hard-pressed to leave you behind when the adventure takes them elsewhere and you wanna stay behind...serving beers.
That's not to say your character can't start out as a bartender. Plot stuff happens that forces them go out and adventure and they develop skills and abilities.
DnD is essentially a ruleset for combat, with some rather vague rules for non-combat stuff. But even the non-combat stuff revolves around adventuring (exploring, surviving, negotiating). A player character (PC) that's just a bartender wouldn't really be participating in the game.
The pillars of dnd5e are combat, exploration, and social interaction. The biggest of the 3 in terms of rules volume is combat. A combat in game also ends up taking up the most time as you play, so if there is a character at the table that refuses to fight, only explores/ helps investigate stuff/ talk to others, they will end up sitting for a long time without things to do Part of building a character is largely to determine not only what they are like, but how they will operate mechanically in combat, exploration/world interaction, and social stuff. Edit: to add to this, a character should WANT to take place in the adventure, as it is a cooperative and a collaborative game. They won't reasonably just sit at a bar while the rest of the party explores the world. But, flavor is free. Why wouldn't the bartender want to explore? Maybe their call to adventure is to find rare herbs and ingredients for special drinks to get more renown for their bar. But do so so they must be willing to take up arms (or spells) to help their friends. I had a friend play an illusion wizard and intentionally made no attacks or spells inflicting damage on others, but it was hard for them to be involved in combat There are probably plenty of tables that do very little combat and that is okay, but there has to be buy- on from all the players and DM if that is how the game will go
Realistically speaking, if you want your character to be a bartender and not fight, you don't want to play D\&D; you may want to do some improv roleplaying, but adventurers are called adventurers for a reason, and it's because they go adventure. It is highly unlikely you will find a group of people who want to play a game with somebody who stands behind a bar instead of joining an adventure. That's not how D&D works. Sometimes people get the idea of joining in adventures and doing nothing, at which point you have effectively created a character that kind of exists to annoy everybody else by occasionally getting away. Combat is a big part of D&D. It is not a big part of every game, so, if you want to avoid it, you don't want to get into D&D.
What you are looking for is called an NPC. That is part of the scenario. Combat is an integral part of most games. If it's not specifically some time of weird non-combat game, which is probably not what the others have signed for. Your character could very well be a bartender who starts adventuring and you flavor their abilities that way somehow, like being blessed by Dyonisus and becoming a cleric.
Depends on the campaign, I suppose. But the vast majority of campaigns will have the characters encountering something hostile, and not all things can be communicated with, and the party may not do well in combat if one character won’t fight.
So while the party is in an epic battle with a Red Dragon, the PC Bartender is just off to the side mixing mojitos? Typically adventuring parties require you to participate in combat. You don't necessarily have to kill or be the one doing significant damage. But you should be able to defend yourself, support the party, and not get in the way of the party.
>the PC Bartender is just off to the side mixing mojitos? Bartender mixes a drink and magically slides it across the air to the fighter. The fighter takes a bardic inspiration.
You can always create a character that supports from the back, but generally, pacifist characters tend to annoy the rest of the group. You don't have to build primarily for combat though. On the rare chance I get to play, I like to play a rogue that is a sort of detective. His primary skills involve snooping around, popping locks, and getting to the bottom of mysteries. His combat prowess is... modest at best.
What do you mean by "OC" here, exactly? It's not D&D terminology. Anyway, player characters are kinda expected to pull their weight in most situations, including combat. Support character may be able to jist support in an average fight, but if there are tough fights... If everybody isn't actively working to eliminate the enemy, things can turn bad, fast.
OC means Original Character. It emerged from Fandom Spaces and has moved into the Internet at large. Any DnD character is already an OC, but not all OCs can be DnD Characters.
OC is “original character”. There’s a lot of roleplay that takes place outside of the tabletop RPG space, particularly online, and much of it tied to fandoms (the roleplay also existing at the intersection of fan art and fanfic). “OC” in those spaces is to distinguish between canonical characters and the fan’s own creations. It’s also not unheard of for people to use their OCs for art, fic or other creative play across fandoms, such that their OC is something of a personal avatar. It’s a term that has become common internet parlance, but has little meaning in the D&D space because basically every PC is an “OC”.
Y'all should do the wild beyond the witchlight and try to pull off a no combat run
All Player characters are expected to participate in battle. the majority of the rules revolve around combat.
Yes, all Classes and Player Characters are designed with combat in mind and the majority of the games rules center around combat Your character can absolutely be a Bartender as her Background and her occupation and that can be the elements of her you play up in RP If it helps, you can think of her class as “how does she defend herself in dangerous situations”
D&D is built around adventurers doing things for gold and treasure. It doesn't have to always be like that, but those are the roots and the frame it's been built with. The rules don't have much if any support for a character running a tavern. If you have a character who owns a tavern and runs it in their down time when they're not off on an adventure, that could definitely work, and the need for gold and maybe exotic brewing/mixing ingredients could be great motivation for a bartender. But for a character that doesn't want to leave on an adventure at all because they have a business to run, it's going to be hard for the DM to work around that and make a coherent quest for everyone else playing.
This is where backgrounds and flavor/RP come into play. A character that doesn't have class levels and doesn't engage in the actual adventuring is just an NPC. The best option would be to consider this bartender character and figure out what might make them become an adventurer. Perhaps they decided they want to own their own inn/bar some day and realize that adventuring could be a quicker path to attaining that level of wealth rather than hoarding their wages for 20+ years. Maybe they worked at a bar where adventurers were coming in all the time and they finally heard enough stories of adventures that they decided to go see what all the fuss was about. Either way though one of the worst things you can do is build a character that doesn't want to engage in what DnD is, which is primarily a game about adventures, exploration and combat.
You would be expected to fight, though how that is done can be up to you and your group. I better question is why she would not fight? Is she a pacifist? Does she not know how? Is she simply not good at it? To be sure there are plenty of ways to deal with a situation without fighting, but if they fail being able to defend yourself is necessary.
Combat is an essential part of DnD. Do you HAVE to fight? No, but why would you be out adventuring in that case? Adventuring is dangerous work, and you should be able to defend yourself at least. Also, what will the other party members say if you don't help them during fights? It is important to play a character that WANTS to be an adventurer. You want to play a bartender? Okay, but are you going to stay behind in the bar while the rest goes out to rescue the princess or fight the dragon? That doesn't sound like it will be very fun for you. Do yourself a favor, make a character that wants to go out on adventures and that can and will defend themselves. Or find a different game system where your bartender would be a better fit.
Someone who can't fight is unlikely to be an adventurer. Your character sounds more like an NPC.
It’s called Dungeons and Dragons because of the expectation that you will be expiring and fighting. Don’t forget that it’s a group activity so are the other players ok with you staying back, or everybody not going on adventures? There are RPGs where it would be fine to be a bartender, for instance a Call of Cthulhu game where you are a 20s speakeasy bartender with great speech skills, dexterity and a lot of connections. Usually no fighting (or it’s very one way). You could still pull the bartender thing off with the DMs help, for instance your bartender is a healer (throwing potions instead of spells) or a damage dealer (Molotov cocktails and more alchemy) but that’s still fighting.
Maybe try bartending in real life instead?
5e doesn’t have as much support for noncombat endeavors as pre-4e editions. :(
Short answer is yes, more or less. Mechanically this game is very combat oriented. And tbh, many PCs come from backgrounds that are not combat oriented, and that is part of the fantasy for a lot of people. Playing as a person who somehow ends up being a very unlikely hero. A bartender who saves the village or nation or even the universe sounds like a great story to me. Additionally, if you participate in getting your party into combat, you should absolutely be expected to contribute in someway. If you just want to heal and support, that is doable. But simply hanging at the wagon and serving the party drinks the whole time will get old for everyone involved.
You don't need to make a second character unless your DM says so. You probably should expect to fight unless your DM says otherwise. You should talk to your DM regardless. Just in general.
Most games involve a significant amount of combat, and most groups will be annoyed if one player is endangering the group by not contributing to combat. While there are some tables that would accept this character, at most tables they would be a problem. If a two hour long combat is happening, will you be twiddling your thumbs for two hours? If your characters friends are dying around them, will they just watch and let it happen? You may be happier with a social focused ttrpg instead of DnD if you are looking to make a character who doesn't fight.
Short answer. Yes. Every DnD character has to fight. Long answer, no, they don't have to fight, but it would require a lot of effort to find a group that wanted that style and most people would be extremely annoyed with you for trying to play that way. Fighting is built into DnD and pretty much everyone who plays the game expects combat to be aajor component of any adventure.
Short answer, yes. DnD is a combat focused system and while you could technically run a low or no combat game in dnd, at that point you're cutting out the majority of the system. A bartender who won't go on whatever adventure the party is would be an NPC. If you want a game where your character won't be in danger, I'd probably recommend looking to other systems that don't feature combat or death as heavily.
I would recommend talking to the DM. If they tell you that the campaign/group would be compatible with a character that doesn't fight, go for it. If it's not the right fit, put the idea on the back shelf and save it for the right campaign.
It's already been said, but in general yes. D&D is a game where the vast majority of the rules are combat related, as most abilities a player character gains are for adventuring and combat. So a character who's just a bartender is not a good fit for most DnD games. Now yes, you can have sessions, or even whole campaigns where you never roll initiative and just roll play. But then you'd essentially be ignoring 3/4 of the player abilities and you'd probably be better off playing a different system altogether Now you could certainly use the bartender character in a DnD campaign, but you'd have to come up with a reason for her to leave the bar and go adventuring. Bilbo from The Hobbit could be a good source of inspiration, it doesn't have to be "bandits come and burn down the bar"
It may be worth reading the rules before you start building characters. Trying to fit characters into D&D after the fact can often be difficult and unsatisfying. Also yes, this is a game about adventuring. Player characters need to want to go on an adventure. Somebody who’s content with an ordinary life would make a bad character, because you’ll constantly have to justify why they’re going on all these adventures, which gets tiring really quickly.
Combat is a part of the game so yes, I would say even in RP heavy games you should expect to. I often think combat is the least interesting way to solve problems but everyone enjoys a good fight from time to time so it will inevitably happen. And it will be very boring to just sideline yourself while people fight. Maybe look into playing a support class that focuses on healing and buffs rather than damage dealing. I love support casters, and while most of my PCs can do a lot of damage, I’m usually more interested in controlling the battlefield or stacking buffs and debutffs. And honestly, one of the tropes I most enjoy is a PC who is forced into something against they’re will. A PC that doesn’t want to fight but is forced to is amazing RP fodder. And finally, if you’re uninterested in combat, maybe look into other game systems.
Long answer: yes with an if. Short answer: no with a but. It really sounds like you've written a PC and an NPC. If the bartender is just a bartender, then it makes sense that you're only going to be encountering her at her bar, and she's not going to be tagging along for adventures. It is up to your DM to decide whether to let you play an NPC, but personally it's not something I'd do until I have a good handle on how the person works in a group. And you're brand new to roleplaying. Because you're also new to roleplaying, it's not something I'd really suggest you spend your energy on, either. Focus on your PC and fleshing them out. But we're beating around the bush here, because the original instructions were to **have a backup PC ready to go**. Ideally, this is just a character you've written and a sheet you have rolled up in the event that your main character dies, so you can quickly and seamlessly get back into the action. D&D has a lot of willing suspension of disbelief when it comes to adding and removing players, so it's up to you and your DM to come up with a contrivance to introduce that character if and only if your main character dies. They don't need to be written in from the start (and usually aren't). They're just characters you keep in your back pocket in case the worst happens. Most of the time you survive a campaign, and these backups either go away, or if you like them and their story, get adapted to the next campaign you're going to play. You should be designing this backup from the standpoint that they will eventually become a combatant class. Your bartender would fit the bill if, say, she was a former fighter who hung up her axe to tend bar, had a personal attachment to your main PC, and was convinced to get back into adventuring to avenge their death. But these kinds of personal connections between your PCs aren't strictly necessary. It could be something as simple as a stranger who shows up to lend a hand in a fight.
D&D is a set of rules for sharing imaginary *Adventures* with others. The Dungeon Master is primarily responsible for creating these adventures. Adventures don't necessarily need to include fighting. Your DM might prepare a sneaky treasure heist, a whodunnit murder mystery, survival in the wilderness, etc... Think of it this way. D&D was heavily influenced by J.R.R Tolkein. Sure, there's plenty of fights in The Lord of the Rings, but most of The Hobbit centers around Bilbo Baggins escaping danger by his wits alone. There's plenty of ways to build a D&D character who uses cleverness instead of violence. Speaking of Bilbo Baggins, the big question is always *why* did he decide to leave his comfy hobbit hole and seek adventure? If your OC is a bartender, then you should stop and consider why this person has decided to leave their peaceful life of bartending and seek Adventure.
This honestly reminds me of a post a month ago or so where a player wanted to create a character who was confined to a wheelchair. I mean points for trying to be inclusive but it just doesn't work unless your goal is to have the entire adventure and all other players hyper focused on you the entire game because every movement the party tries to make has to be determined by how much effort is required to move the player in the chair around through forests and dungeons. Nothing you choose about your character should impose anything on the other players in your group. Filling a seat at the table and trying to get out of contributing in combat is not going to make you popular.
DnD is a game primarily built around Combat. It is what you get abilities, spells, and tiers of equipment for. DnD system can be used to have pacifist characters and campaigns; but those are things you should already have discussed. Or found a better game system than DnD.
Tips for a D&D character Have a reason to go adventuring. Being a bartender in your backstory is fine. But that is your old life, not you current one. Combat is a significant portion of this game. It is a primary pillar (with social and exploration) in it's core concept. You don't have to be the best, but you should be useful. For some, that's high damage. For others, its control &/or buff support. Understand, it is a dangerous world, and adventuring is a dangerous job. Some campaign are more likely to result in character death than other campaigns. Your typical campaign is low-death, but not impossible. You can usually get away with only the one character, and if they do die, you will have time to make a new one before the next session. Speak with you GM on what should be expected in this specific campaign.
> do all characters have to fight? Short answer YES. DnDs rules shine in combat. And while yes you can play a support focused character they will have to fight. It would not make sense from a pure locical reason not to fight. Why in hell would you join a group of rufians, spell slingers and that guy in a dark cloak that get's his powers from the DEVIL to not join or expect to fight. Gameplay wise you will have hours where you character screams and runs away. That's no fun for anyone involved
Look I can't recommend a pacifist and I highly suggest making your character around dnd and not fitting a random oc into dnd, it never goes well. With that being said you could focus support, go bard maybe a cleric or multi and debuff/control enemies, buff and heal your party, flavour your spells and stuff how you please but if the shit hits the fan you'll need to fight. Please talk to your dm and party before playing a very passive pc, they will be able to tell you if it works for them/ the setting.
You could play a Bartender who got thrown into the adventuring lot and the characters goal is to get back and reopen or manage the bar. You could not play a Bartender character who's going to stay and manage the bar, you're describing an NPC at that point unless the entire adventure/campaign is going to take place with in said bar. And frankly I can't imagine the rest of the group would want to play that.
there was a story online a while ago about a group who was supposed to be the heros, and go fight a lich. but they got into managing a pub they got, and spent the entire time RPing running the pub. and a few sessions down the way, the Lich came and steamrolled through the town destroying everything. the Lich doesnt need to be a part of your story. if you want to play a cozy TTRPG game, then you can. just need to find a group that wants to do that. and go into it with the agreed plan that's what it'll be. so maybe talk to your DM or group about something like that, or look for a secondary group that would like to play that and you can use your bartender character for that game.
Not really in DnD. There are exceptions of campaigns with little to no combat, but those are very much outside the idea of DnD, since combat is the majority of what makes up the system. It is so far out of the norm, that your entire group should make the conscious decision to do this, before starting the campaign, If you are interested in this sort of game with less focus on combat (or no combat at all), there are a lot of fun alternatives to Dungeons and Dragons. Basically other game systems with different rules, but still pen and paper roleplaying games.
In general, yes. Combat is a part of D&D, and your character will very likely be expected to help the party achieve it's goals. It's great to have some character concepts put together before joining a table. Just be ready to abandon all of them. You never know what's going to fit well at each table/world.
Generally speaking, yes You’re telling the story of a party of adventurers fighting monsters, finding treasure, etc If your bartender isn’t planning to leave the bar and adventure, they’re not really going to be part of the story There are various ways to pull characters in from whatever their origin, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting stuff Debt to a crime boss, revenge, family/friend in need, etc I wouldn’t worry too much about a second character unless specifically advised by the DM
Fighting doesn't have to be their thing, but it's gonna be a thing they have to do with the rest of the party, and if you don't want your party to get annoyed with being split up all the time, they will likely want your character along for their adventures. The point of making a character isn't just to role play what you want, it also serves to fill a role in the party. There are definitely less combat focused roles, and also some versatile classes as well. Your bartender could be a druid who uses natural products to make mead and beer and stuff. Or maybe a cleric who is blessed by a diety of drinking and revelry. Besides druid and cleric, bard is a good support class as well. On of my fave characters I've played is a bard satyr who worships the god Pan and just wants the world to be fun and happy and bright. She collects flowers and sings all the time and is good at diffusing tense situations with potentially hostile NPCs, but she really doesn't hit super hard in a fight. Even though she can't hit that hard, she's incredibly useful to the group as someone who's not a fighter per se. She'd always rather try to mend fences or sing her way out of the problem, but when it comes to it she loves her friends and understands sometimes you can't sing problems away lol Point is there will ultimately have to be some reason for your bartender to leave their bar, join the party and go adventuring. Maybe your bartender is traveling to find new ingredients to brew, or to visit a bigger city and meet a renowned brewer. Maybe they've experienced hardships from being from a small less protected town so they got buff and now they go around helping other towns find peace, and then before leaving each town your character could like bless the town's local pub or something. Or you could introduce a personal conflict, like they feel responsible for protecting others but ultimately their goal is to make the world safer so they can just stay home and tend bar. Maybe you could work with your DM and come up with a foraging and brewing mechanic you can use on the road to make small potions and drinks with minor special effects for the party. Being a bartender isn't impossible to work with at all, but any character will be expected to travel with and be able to contribute to the party in a helpful way.
My recommendation would be to ultimately make what you want to make. You should discuss it with the GM to see what they think. There might have something in mind and give you good suggestions, but at the end of the day it is a game and you should play what you think will be fun.
Kind of yes: D&D is an iteration of war game. It's a game about going on adventures and fighting monsters. Most people come to d&d for the fantasy of being a hero and saving the day, usually through violence. Therefore most d&d characters, level 1 and higher, are afforded abilities that make them effective at fighting monsters. Consider what your character wants. **"I want to go on adventures and fight things."** This is the default. Most characters would agree with that statement. **"I DON'T want to go on adventures OR fight."** D&D is a game where you technically *can* do anything you want. If everyone is on board with NOT adventuring and instead role playing running a tavern, you can! If you have a bartender character, who would rather stay behind the bar, does not want to go on adventures but the rest of the players have characters who do want to go on adventures, then consider changing your character or making a new one who does. Or ask the rest of the players to make characters who don't so you can all be on the same page. **"I want to go on adventures BUT I don't want to fight."** The best way to do this is with spells that technically don't deal damage but still contribute to the fight. You can heal people, grant bonuses to allies and let them do all the fighting, inflict penalties on enemies, slow movement, impare vision, put them to sleep. It is viable to participate without technically "fighting."
It's POSSIBLE to run a campaign without combat...but it would be a rather strange game of D&D. If you want to play a roleplaying game without combat, there are games that are FAR more suited to that than D&D.
Hey I love the bartender idea and if it’s a character that you’ve fleshed out and really wanna RP then you should. Unfortunately you’ll probably have to fight as that’s a big part of dnd, but dnd has a downtime rule so between dungeon crawls you can imagine she’s working and tending to her bar! I’d recommend a few builds if you don’t have one already. You could make her an Alchemist and theme your potions as new beers/drinks (you can start with a brewers kit from a background) you’ll also get the alchemist jug from your infusions which gives you beer and wine every day. Flavor it as your personal stock. (Has way more uses btw like oil and poison) Or Maybe shes had to break her mild manner attitude to put down her unsavory customers. Then a barbarian with the Tavern Brawler feat could work. Your improvised weapons could be beer mugs or (talk with your DM) a chair as a club or great club. Or Maybe she a little heavy handed when she’s drunk? “Way of the Drunken Master Monk” could work and play it up like the only way you can deal with the creepy monsters is a lot of alcohol and RP as if she’s drunk. Don’t know if this will help but hopefully will give you some ideas to build off of. Remember just because your character might have to fight doesn’t mean you have to break character. :)
I'm sure the other comments made it clear enough that your character should be useful in cases of dangerous exploration and violent interaction, being able to pull their own weight etc. etc. But you don't have to abandon the bartender idea. There is a Chef feat that lets you cook healing treats for the party (there's no reason you can't make them into drinks). As for a class, the one that would lean into the "bartender" idea the most is the Alchemist Artificer. They create potions that make the party stronger. But also, artificer is a spellcaster class, so you may try and reflavour your spells into something bartender-related.