So You Want to Make a Character
5.5e treats character creation like a pipeline instead of a puzzle. The new step-by-step structure is more beginner friendly than the old “here are all the pieces, good luck” approach, but a few of the design choices buried inside it are worth paying attention to before you sit down with a blank sheet.
The Class Table Problem
Choosing your class is still the biggest decision you make, and the new class overview table is trying hard to help. It lists every class alongside a “likes” column that reduces each one to a single word. Barbarian likes battle. Fighter likes weapons. Paladin likes defense. Brick likes lamp. The complexity ratings next to those descriptors are the more interesting issue, because they imply a progression that does not exist. Complexity here is a rough signal of how many moving parts you manage per turn, not a difficulty curve. Picking a low-complexity class because you are new is fine; avoiding a high-complexity one for the same reason might mean you spend months playing something you are not excited about. Pick the class that sounds interesting and learn it as you go.
The “balanced party” suggestion nearby is similarly well-intentioned and similarly worth ignoring. A full breakdown of how subclass choices carve out distinct space at the table is in this ruling. An all-druid party that solves every problem with Control Water is a DM challenge, not a rules violation, and honestly sounds like a good time to me - now hold my shillelagh.
Backgrounds Are Flat Now
Every background now delivers the same mechanical package: three ability scores to distribute, one feat, two skill proficiencies, one tool proficiency, and a choice between starting gear or 50 gold. Even if you are a noble, it is 50 gold. The flattening speeds up character creation and removes the feeling that some backgrounds are just better than others in raw terms. What it costs is the sense that your background shaped who you were before the campaign started. The cross-reference table pairing class primary abilities with suggested backgrounds is useful for new players and slightly suffocating for everyone else. Use it as a starting point, not a prescription.
Species and Languages
The origin step renamed races to species, folded half-orcs into just orcs, and added Aasimar to the basic list. Most species still run size Medium at 30 feet of speed, with Goliath’s 35 feet as the one meaningful exception. The rarer change worth noticing is that Common Sign Language is now a standard language, which means a character who takes it can trigger any command-word magic item with a gesture. Situational, but situationally enormous: in an area of magical silence, a signed command word still works.
The Numbers Pass
Standard array gets you into the game quickly. Random generation hands narrative control to the dice, which is fun if your group is experienced enough to play an underpowered character without frustration. Point buy is the method most ongoing tables will land on; use an online calculator, then have your DM check your math before session one.
Everything else in the final step is arithmetic. The one number worth treating as its own thing is passive Perception, which is not an active Perception check. Those two do different jobs and confusing them will slow down every session that involves ambushes or hidden doors.
One last thing. You get a trinket. Roll a d100 at character creation and receive a random object. A pair of old socks. A weightless stone. Whatever it is, you better believe it’s going in the Party Tracker.