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The others break into laughter then.

“You should have seen him last campaign,” Kashvi explains to me. “It was honestly impressive how he could roll so badly every time. I swear your dice are jinxed or something.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve this time to fix that.”

“What class are you thinking?” Sanjiv asks him.

“I’m not sure yet. I only have the name, but the rest will come to me.”

“Logan, I’m sure you’ve got your character all figured out,” Sloane says, and Logan nods. “What are you going with?”

“A charismatic rogue elf named Adris Starcrown,” Logan says. “He’s the third son of a respected elven family who has always felt lesser than his older brothers. Eventually he leaves his family to explore the world and discovers that his grace and speed make theft very easy for him, particularly when he can charm the person before stealing from them. He’s always wanted his family to be proud of him, but since he’s done nothing but sharpen his thieving skills since abandoning them, he’s afraid to go home and see their disappointment. So he just keeps pushing, hoping to finally do something that will make him worthwhile in their eyes.”

My mouth drops open a little. Um, okay, so we’re going tothatlevel of character backstory? I’ve never created anythinglike this before. In the past, Caden used a preexisting campaign module for our game, which worked well, but he barely knew what he was doing as a DM and the rest of us didn’t put a ton of effort into our characters. This time I need to be a lot more thoughtful.

I flip through thePlayer’s Handbook,hoping for inspiration. Rogues can take a lot of forms—they can be tomb raiders, assassins, and Zorro. If Logan’s putting his highest stat in Charisma instead of Dexterity, then he’s not going with the basic character build…but looking around, I’m getting the impression that’s exactly the goal. A regular Orc barbarian or human wizard isn’t going to cut it.

“Kashvi and I were talking earlier and we’ve decided”—Sanjiv takes a huge bite of pizza—“I’m a half orc.”

“I’m a half elf,” Kashvi adds. “And we’re half siblings—we share one parent. Our father.”

“Ha, I love it,” Sloane says.

“It’s cool that you two are role-playing like that,” I say. “I can’t imagine doing this with my brother.” Andrew and I can barely sit next to each other at the dinner table in peace, let alone actively choose to hang out together.

“We’re not siblings—we’re twins,” Sanjiv says. “It’s different. We may not be identical, but Kashvi is still my otherhalf.”

“They come as a package deal,” Sloane adds. “We’ve tried getting them to role-play other characters, but one way or another, they always end up working together.”

“It’s more fun that way,” Kashvi argues, a little sheepish. “Unless you have a real problem with it?”

Sanjiv looks ready to bean people in the forehead with dice if they complain, but no one does. “You’re our powercouple. I’m not breaking you up,” Logan replies. “And I do mean that literally—are you two bringing the power again?”

“Absolutely. I’m going with druid for my class, but just because I’ll be communing with the natural world instead of swinging a sword doesn’t mean I won’t bring the power,” Sanjiv says.

“And I’m the fighter this time,” Kashvi says. “Don’t worry, we’ll be able to take on whatever Sloane throws at us.”

“Do you create your own home brew campaigns, or do you use something preexisting?” I ask Sloane.

“Home brew. It’s so fun coming up with the whole thing myself, even if it feels like an extra part-time job.”

My mind is spinning from all this info. They already have a rogue, druid, and fighter. There are plenty of other options—honestly, there’s an overwhelming number of classes, races, and specialties to choose from. This is one of the best parts of a new campaign, but it’s also intimidating because if you don’t choose correctly, then you’re stuck with a boring or useless character to role-play for the rest of the game. And this group seems serious enough that they won’t just kill me off and let me start a new character if my first build doesn’t pan out.

But before I can make more progress, Mark distracts me. “I’ve got it! Rolo is a halfling fighter and he thinks he’s related to your characters.”

“Like another half brother?” Sanjiv asks.

“Exactly. He’s not going to be the smartest Rolo in the package.”

“We should play along,” Kashvi says, glancing at Sanjiv. “Take pity on him.”

“Have you got anything, Quinn?” Sloane asks me. Their voice is soft, like they’re scared to pressure me.

“Um, maybe.” I flip another page in thePlayer’s Handbook.“I’m still thinking.”

“Do you know how to build a character?” Logan asks.

My head snaps up. “Yes, I know how to build a character. This isn’t my first time.”