Making Minifig Adventurers

The best part of using Lego for tabletop gaming is how accessible and customizable they are! The second best thing about using Lego minifigs for TTRPGs is that you do not need to invest hours into painting miniatures. For some people, this is the most enjoyable part - becoming a painter, picking out painting supplies/space, and becoming an artist - but for me, it is not.

Building my TTRPG world with Lego is a fun alternative to using miniatures. Many Lego minifig parts can be acquired from both Lego's online Pick-a-Brick wall (PAB) or various other resellers like Bricklink. Buying sets for certain minifigs is also doable but can get fairly expensive if you do not plan to use the set.

How to Make a Lego Player Character (PC)

Not every game master is going to do this the same way. Some GM/DM do not want their players touching their minis at all and that's understandable. For my table, I make it part of a session zero, which helps with the role-play aspects and figuring out the character's backstory.

I let my players go through a pile of minifigure accessories and parts to pick out what they want their character to look/feel like. We then talk about if they have desired parts/accessories that are important to their character that are missing or not in the right color and I will go to Bricklink or PAB and see if I can find what they are looking for and order it.

If you are a Lego purist and do not believe in using 3rd party knock-off bricks do not read this paragraph. With that out of the way, the reality is, that certain Lego parts for some races do not exist (Teiflings) or they are so rare/expensive that trying to purchase them for use to be disassembled and used in conjunction with other parts seems sacrilege. Never fear! There are some 3rd party options to choose from that will be fairly interchangeable.

Creating a Player Character

The character creation process in a tabletop RPG system can be anywhere from fairly straightforward from a collection to templates to very complicated requiring lots of time and effort. One of the things I've always felt was lacking in character creation was the lack of character representation in the miniature world. While that has been improved greatly with the availability of 3D printing and sites that let users do more highly detailed customization of their PC, Lego remains a distinct and fun way to create a playable figure for a tabletop campaign.

When a new player joins a campaign or before the campaign starts, I like to bring my minifigure parts and accessories, lay them out for everyone to play with, and let them go about figuring out what sort of combinations they want for their character. They are free to mix and match from whatever I have on hand. Sometimes they may know exactly what they need and if I'm able I will put something together beforehand.

Character Allowances

I allow my players to select an assortment of accessories and weaponry when picking out their player character. Since the process is supposed to help them with their role play, I try not to put too many limits on it. The main thing is that it should make sense to the character they are creating, that's about it.

1. Lego Minifigure Body - head, torso, arms, hands, legs.
2. Head Accessory - hat/helmet or hair.
3. Body Accessory - Armor, quiver, satchel (if it makes sense to the character).
4. Cape - Everyone likes capes!
5. Weapon - Choose up to two (for example: bow and sword).

Character Stands

I then let my players have a basic stand for their figure. This is a place they can display the figure, not necessarily use it as a base for the figure on a map. Sometimes they can get elaborate but I've found a pretty simple design that I am attaching here if anyone else wants to try it.

Player Creations

I hope this inspires you or helps you get some ideas of what can be done using Lego for player characters in tabletop role playing games. I look forward to sharing more information on sourcing Lego parts and cool 3rd party creations in the future. I love seeing posts of people's characters and I can't wait to see what people create!