There are seemingly countless ways to approach building a character in Dungeons & Dragons. Focusing on your weapons, what class you want to play, maybe even the only thing you start with is a funny voice? However you go about making one, you’re sure to have a low ability score or two.
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It’s a fun way to keep things balanced. After all, no one person can be good at everything. These low scores can be devastating in combat and exploration scenarios, leading many players to avoid them entirely, but leaning into them for roleplaying purposes can be a lot of fun. Plus, it can give your character more depth, and lead to some pretty interesting background ideas; if you have a good idea to explain your low score, that is.
1
A Dreadful Curse
Magic suffuses many facets of the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. Whether you’re a part of a high-magic or a low-magic campaign, you’re sure to run into a spellcaster sooner or later. So why not write a not-so-fun interaction into your backstory?
Being cursed by a warlock, witch, hag, cleric, or otherwise unhappy spellcaster somewhere in your character’s backstory could make sense as to why your scores are so low. Really, this could work for any of the attributes. You can even add some details as to the type of spell, depending on which of the skills you have in mind.
A wasting spell for Strength or Constitution, or even Stupefy or similar spell for Wisdom or Intelligence, for example.
This can even fuel part of your backstory, giving your character a reason to go out and seek revenge on the spellcaster that did them harm, or it could be something that isn’t of much importance in the grand scheme of things.
2
Just Old Age
Wayfarer Background by Jonas de Ro
Not every character has to be in their prime anymore. Adventurers of all types seek the dangers and excitement of the various D&D worlds. So, maybe your character’s low scores just come down to not being young anymore?
Playing an older character can allow for a lot of interesting benefits roleplaying-wise. Certain species don’t reach old age until they’re well into their 100s, which means they may have some pretty interesting experiences to share with their party, and it would also flavor their ideals towards their companions if they’re all younger as well.
It can even help explain some of your higher scores as well. An older character may have reduced Strength or Dexterity due to their body being more frail, but may be sharper of the mind due to all the lessons they’ve learned, or the opposite may be true too.
3
Clumsy Since Birth
Not everything needs a multi-layered and epic story to it. While each character is probably good, or maybe even excels at, something, they are sure to have things they aren’t good at. For those acrobatic, athletic, and bodily endeavors, maybe they’re just a bit on the clumsy side?
It is a simple approach to a low Strength or Dexterity score, but one that can have quite a bit of fun behind it. Trying to do mundane things through a skill roll for these attributes and failing at them can really establish this early on, making the larger failures or low rolls part of the character as well.
4
Old War Wound
Soldiers, war-mages, mercenaries, and the like have seen countless battles due to their backstories. It would only make sense then for them to have come out of these violent situations with some scars. Maybe even scars that have altered their abilities in some way.
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All types of war wounds could explain the various low scores of your character, not even just the physical ones, as trauma from the battles could have influenced their scores too. Scars, poorly healed bones, even arrows to the knee are a go-to for this roleplay element. Talking to your DM about battles that have taken place in the shared world is also a great way to tie your character into the history of the world itself.
This can also be a gateway to giving them allies, enemies, and history with various weaponry and areas of the world as well.
5
Forgetful Amnesiac
It can be a bit harder to come across a good reason as to why a character’s Intelligence or Wisdom score might be low. An idea that has come across in many forms of media, albeit some cheesy ones, is the good old case of amnesia.
This is a roleplay idea that not only has a great hook to your backstory, but also leaves a lot of room for various reasons behind it as well. Amnesia can be a perfect reason that your character doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about the world around them, or doesn’t do that well in situations that call for big brain moments.
Their affliction can come from a million different causes, both magical and mundane. Or, maybe the character doesn’t remember how it happened at all.
6
Can’t Read
Not every adventurer is the type to do research into the world around them. Sure, scholars, mages, and all other types of bookish sorts inhabit the same worlds as your character, but maybe your character didn’t have the same education growing up?
Going into the game with a character that can’t read may explain quite a bit in the way of not doing well in Intelligence or Wisdom checks. Tying it in to your backstory could be relatively easy, especially given certain origins and their cultural implications. You could even talk to your DM about giving your character a different boon since you are eschewing the reading part of the languages your character knows.
7
Ye Of Little Faith
With such a diverse pantheon available in D&D, it would make sense for some characters to have run afoul of a deity sooner or later. Tying in a cosmic or unearthly power can make sense as to why a character doesn’t do well on certain rolls.
A god who is tipping the scales against your character is a good epic backstory, making people wonder what you did to draw the ire of a deity. You may also choose to use divine intervention in the opposite way, having a Paladin, Cleric, or Warlock’s chosen deity or entity limiting their power as a form of trial and tribulation to test their worth.
8
Deal With A Devil
Demons, devils, and similar unsightly fiends aren’t usually the things you want to run across in Dungeons & Dragons. When a character does, though, there are sure to be consequences.
These beings usually have a good amount of power behind them; even imps can call upon their masters for favors. So, it would make sense that your character could have gotten some sort of boon or aid from a demon or devil. The thing is, though, these deals always have a cost, which could explain why your character is lacking in a certain aspect of their character sheet.
These could even tie in to your character’s quest in a larger way, out for revenge, answers, or just trying to live their life long enough to undo the deal.
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