Roll Any Character You Want: The David Hoffhassle Method
David Hoffhassle was a retired actor whose last show got cancelled. He carried a shield with “Knight Industries” on it. He was one of my favourite characters ever. Let me show you how we make characters like this.
Three Ways to Roll Characters
There’s no wrong way, but some ways create more interesting characters than others.
Method 1: The What (Least Favourite)
Start with what you want to play. “I want a ranger.” Then build mechanics to fit.
In OSWR with four classes and feats, you can build anything:
Ranger: Fighter + Quick Fire + Marksman + Tracker + Animal Companion + Hunter background
Paladin: Multiclass Cleric/Fighter. Ask your DM to swap Turn Undead for Smite. Add Blessing, Channel Holy Aura, Lay on Hands.
Assassin: Expert + Contacts + Disguise + Hide in Shadows + Move Silently + Poison Use + Backstab
Monk: Expert + Hear Noises + Hide in Shadows + Parkour + Power Strike. Maybe borrow Deflect Missile from Fighter.
It works. It’s just not my favourite because it starts with the character sheet, not the character.
Method 2: The Who (Better)
Start with WHO your character is. Then pick mechanics to fit.
David Hoffhassle - Retired actor, cancelled show, bit of an ego.
We gave him a house rule: when entering a room with older people, roll Charisma - they might recognise him. Everyone in the party rolled at session start to see if they even believed he was famous. One player didn’t. Beautiful tension.
When David died (tragically), Tom’s next character was Indiana Jones - another of David’s actor buddies coming to get revenge. Archaeologist background, parkour, whip proficiency.
Thog - Another player wanted a sweet barbarian. Took the Nomad background, Battle Axe, and a whip (with terrible DEX).
Here’s where it got interesting: every time Thog missed with the whip OR got hit, he flew into a rage. And rage in OSWR isn’t something you control. You need to roll DC 16 Wisdom to snap out of it. His Wisdom? 6.
He picked Gullible and Temper as hindrances. The result: Thog would kill everything, then the party would slowly… quietly… back away. Hide behind pillars. Because Thog wasn’t done swinging yet.
Method 3: Random (My Favourite)
Roll 3d6 down the line. First roll is Strength, second is Dexterity, no rearranging. Roll your hindrance. Roll your background.
Then look at what the dice gave you and ask: who is this person?
Character 1:
- STR 14, everything else below 10, CON 5
- Rolled hindrance: Combat Paralysis
- Rolled background: Sailor
This is an old man. Of course his stats are failing. He’s been at this too long. The combat paralysis isn’t cowardice - he’s just slow to get started. I gave him Shield Specialist (needs the AC with that CON), Weapon Focus, and Luck.
He probably won’t last long.
Character 2:
- Better stats, CHA 13, INT 5
- Rolled hindrance: Illiterate
- Rolled background: Seducer
Wait. What if this is the old man’s son? Coming to avenge his father when he inevitably dies?
Now you’ve got a story. One character becomes two. A janky old sailor and his charming, illiterate kid. That’s not a character - that’s a narrative.
Why Hindrances Work
Players resist hindrances at first. “I don’t want a broken character.”
Then they play with them and never go back.
Our assassin was a coward. Start of combat, he had to roll. Fail? He’d disappear for 1d4 rounds to hide. The other players had no idea this was happening. The reveal when they figured it out? Incredible.
A magic user librarian addicted to book binding glue.
A rage barbarian who couldn’t stop swinging.
Broken characters are interesting characters.
Roll a hindrance instead of picking one, and I’ll give you an extra feat. The dice create stories your brain never would.
The Bottom Line
Four classes. Feats. Backgrounds. Multiclassing. You can build anything in OSWR - but start with WHO, not WHAT.
Or better yet, let the dice decide and discover who emerges.
Get the book (it’s free). Olde Swords Reign