7 DND 5e Character Generators - And Pros and Cons of Each

TLDR

Here is a table showing the major plusses and minuses of each character generator covered in this article. For more information on each, click here to skip past the table.

Character Generator Cheatsheet

The Details

Creating a D&D character is often a labor of love. Whether you’re fishing for max AC or weighing your personality traits, writing your character is an innate part of the hobby. However, when you have to be at the table in four hours, character builders can be a godsend.

Whether you’re new to D&D or just need a character sheet in your hands quickly, there are plenty of tools to help you have something ready for your dungeon master before you sit down at the table. Below are six character builders we can recommend, each with their own pros and cons.

1. DnD Beyond

No list of character builders would be complete without DnD beyond. DnD Beyond has exportable character sheets and many classes, feats, and backgrounds to choose from. Players can build and store up to six characters with a free account and more with a premium account.

While not the fastest character builder here, DnD Beyond rivals DM’s Vault as the most in depth character builder on this list. In addition, DnD Beyond has special build modes for new players that save time.

2. Dungeon Master's Vault

DM’s Vault allows for multi-classing, spell selection, and custom feats or backgrounds. Unfortunately, most feats and backgrounds must be inserted manually. DM’s Vault isn’t fast, but it is good.

I would recommend this character builder for veteran players and dungeon masters, especially those who want to use homebrew content in their 5e characters.

3. 5e Companion App

Unlike most entries on this list, the 5e companion app travels with you on your phone. This app allows for multiclassing, leveling up, and supports a large menu of classes and races. With an easy to use interface and highly detailed customization options, this app is good for both beginners and experienced players.

If you want the convenience of keeping your character information, notes, and experiments all on your phone, then 5e Companion App should be on your home screen.

4. Aidnd

If you have time, Aidnd is the best character builder for new players. While it might not look like much, Aidnd character builder walks players through the process of designing a character by providing simple but important choices. If you have the time to sit down with new players, this is the builder for you.

5. Ninetails

A character is more than a stat block. However sometimes in a rush you need the number crunching out of the way.

Ninetails does not export character sheets and characters are capped at level 1. However, this character builder allows a new player to generate a usable stat block in seconds.

Ninetails is a great place to start for newer players, especially if you want to immediately throw them into a game without using pregens. With that said, Ninetails is especially useful for GM’s who find themselves building low level characters.

6. Fast Character Maker

This site will give you an easy to read character sheet to send to your dungeon master within seconds. While this character builder has options to help you organize before you generate it, it isn’t designed to make high concept characters.

With no multiclassing abilities and limited control over how your character is created, the site’s extensive list of options somewhat goes to waste.

7. LitRPG Adventures: D&D Backstory Generator

If you prefer building your own character sheet and want either inspiration or the ability to generate a character and their backstory in seconds, then LitRPG Adventures is one of the best options out there. In fact, this generator runs on the largest language model in the world: the GPT-3 API.

Moreover, it can generate spells, quests, maps, shops, and more, making this generator perfect for DM’s. However, there is a downside.

This generator requires a subscription, but there is a sampler option that will allow you to test the generator for a one-time fee. If you use generators frequently and are looking for something that can do many things well, consider giving this generator a try.

Conclusion

Building a new character can be stressful for new players and tedious for game masters. Thankfully, these character builders exist to take a bit of the work off and free up your time for what’s really important: hoarding dice.