This article was entered into the RPG Blog Carnival at 6d6 Fireball.  The topic for this month was D&D.

So, you’ve been playing your D&D 4e character for a while now. You don’t think your D&D 4e character sucks and you don’t think your D&D 4e character is too powerful. You thought you remembered having fun playing him at some point or another. You also know, at some point, you loved to play Dungeons & Dragons. But for some reason your D&D 4e character is now boring. How can you make your D&D 4e character fun again?

Change Your Character’s Build – Every character in 4e has multiple builds to it. For example, if you are playing and Ranger and have been sniping people with your bow for as long as you can remember, switch it up! Even though a two-blade Ranger may not be your style, if you’re not having fun anyway what could it hurt? Each level you are able to change one feat or power that could move you closer to a different character build. In fact, if you’re not having fun at all, tell your dungeon master. He might just let you switch up the feats and powers for your character and bypass the rules, especially if you’re not having fun anymore.

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Action – Consider altering your character in a drastic way. Perhaps you are playing a Dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut that follows the ways of justice and order. Your character could renounce his allegiance to Bahamut after some traumatic event that happened to him. What would the other followers of Bahamut think of this? What would your group mates think of this? A drastic change like this could usher in an entirely new era for your D&D 4e character and open up many roleplaying opportunities for you, the other players, and the dungeon master.

See What You’re Made Of – It may be that you’re not getting bored with your D&D 4e character, but that you’re getting bored from a lack of being challenged. It may be times for you to take on bigger challenges. If your dungeon master doesn’t seem to be making things hard enough for you, take it upon yourself to do something about it. Go make a direct assault against the evil Orc Fortress! Maybe your dungeon master isn’t prepared for it, but you can foreshadow your plans the session before by talking to the other party members about it.

You: “Hey, what do you think about attacking Thorvald’s Keep?”
Party Member: “No way man. That’s suicide!”
You: “The greater the risk, the greater the glory.”

Go For A Spirit Walk… Alone – It might be time for your D&D 4e character to venture off alone for a while. In the mean time, you can talk to the dungeon master about introducing a new character that you’ve been dying to play. It doesn’t mean the death of the character that has gotten a little boring for you. Simply explain to the dungeon master that you want to give this new character a shot since you haven’t been having as much fun with your current one. Sometimes switching things up brings new challenges and a new view on things that can reinvigorate the game for you.

Dive Into Your Character – Do you REALLY know what makes your D&D 4e character tick? Have you fully explored the character by creating a personality and background for him? D&D 4e can unfortunately lend itself to some very bland characters if you don’t take the time to flesh them out. If you haven’t developed your character fully, do it now. Start creating some NPC friends, family, and enemies. Develop personality traits that you can start to roleplay with your character, such as an unrealistic fear of black cats, a predisposition to sing during battle, or maybe he speaks strangely after being smashed in the mouth with a battle mace. Anything you can do to switch up the feel of the character could help you recapture the fun if you’re able to find a good hook.

So to recap…
(1) Change your character’s build.
(2) Make a drastic change.
(3) Take on bigger challenges.
(4) Put the character on hold.
(5) Develop your character more.

What strategies would you utilize to bring the fun back into a D&D 4e character that has become boring?

Related Articles:
My D&D 4e Character Sucks! How Do I Fix It?
My D&D 4e Character Is Too Powerful! How Do I Fix It?
DnD 4e – Is It For Me?