| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Artalis |
Posted - 17 Apr 2003 : 21:34:00
Where to begin? That's the question. When creating a character where do you start?
Is it class based like "the party needs a fighter so lemme create a fighter" or maybe you have a favorite race and class and mostly create characters of the same type?
How do you get the inspiration?
I was fortunate when creating my last character, Mumadar had very specific requirements as far as race and background which gave me a good place to start. I ran with that and the rest sort of happened.
Now admittedly Tarim Ravenmane is somewhat min/maxed but I had my reasons for that, and stand by them, and I also think that he's probably my best work as far as characters go. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| bitter thorn |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 17:24:11
quote:
Originally posted by Sian
Horn ... what would you then do if the DM told a newforming party to sit in diffent rooms making their characters with no talking to anyone expect prehaps borrowing a book (that needs to go though the DM)
Well..... depending on region and level I'd probably go with a character that can operate fairly independently. Rogues ands Clerics do that well at most levels and wizards at higher levels. |
| Conlon |
Posted - 03 Sep 2006 : 21:43:01
Wow. Some really cool ideas here.
I like to have a fair amount of information about the locale that the character could have grown up in. Then I consider what I would do if given a chance to live there. I enjoy playing different types of characters from rogues to wizards to fighters. Never been big on barbarians or preists though.
I am running a campaign right now and when my players were generating their characters, I sat with them alone and we mapped out a good backstory for each of them. I made sure that they understood the society that they came from and their motivations for doing what they were doing. I had them flesh out family history, physical descriptions, and some of their accomplishments. This ended up making all the characters seem real and made role-playing come more naturally. |
| Trace_Coburn |
Posted - 03 Sep 2006 : 14:18:00
quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
For my campaigns I created a list of special qualities/abilities based on a d100 roll, we call it a "liferoll". Each time one of my players makes a character he makes a liferoll, which often helps him to determine what type of character he will play. The liferoll basically grants a free feat, skill bonus, special ability, or the like, nothing major, but it offers a starting point for character creation.
Sounds like an interesting technique. Do you happen to have a copy of this 'liferoll chart' to hand? I'd like to take a look at it, perhaps see what sort of hooks it sets in my own mind....  |
| Sian |
Posted - 03 Sep 2006 : 12:12:18
Horn ... what would you then do if the DM told a newforming party to sit in diffent rooms making their characters with no talking to anyone expect prehaps borrowing a book (that needs to go though the DM) |
| bitter thorn |
Posted - 03 Sep 2006 : 11:42:36
I tend to be a team player, so I frequently draw the duty of "what is the party missing?". I like to start with a region and decide what my characters place in that society will be and what is his motivation for becoming an adventurer. From there the rest of the charcter tends to fall in place rather readily. I like skill intesive characters so Rangers, Marshalls, and Rogues appeal to me. I'd love a chance to run a Cloistered Cleric someday. |
| Lysan Lurraxol |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 15:48:09
I DM, and when my group first started, I threw City Of Splendours and the FRCS at my players, I gave them 10 minutes to come up with a concept. They were not allowed to touch the Player's Handbook on pain of pain . I came up with Lysan some time ago, she started off as sort of an alter ego, and now has her own personality and life very different to my own. I go to more parties than she does though . |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 15:42:51
As a player (which happens rarely) - I find myself always gravitating to some kind of character who can use wizardry. Then I have to find something to make them different. For instance, I'll run a priest-mage or a warrior-mage or some kind of scout-mage. For some reason, it seems like all my pc's are good and are "seekers". In fact, I'm very fond of law-enforcers. Whether its because someone is a noble and they want to secure the countryside for their peasants safety, or they're a detective, or they're a bounty hunter.
As a DM - Its all about the character concept, followed by the build that can be created within the rules. I will admit to min/max'ing npc's, but I do so without breaking the concept of the character. I also admit to spending a helluva lot more time designing my spellcasters than I do my fighters and rogues.
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
| Xysma |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 15:03:42
quote:
Originally posted by kalin agrivar
When I was teaching myself 3E rules and mechanics I would build characters through a concept from Lv 1 to Lv 40...
When I started DMing 3E I found that is still useful for my players..get a concept, make a character development "tree" from Lv 1 to 20...so you can "map" out all the skills, feats and abilities you need for your PrCs...and it helps alot when leveling up a character too...much quicker..
I tried that a time or two, but it never worked for me. Once I start playing a character, the campaign itself becomes the driving force behind where I am going with my character, rather than any preconceived notions I might have had. I have often even waited until a couple of gaming sessions into the campaign before writing my history, just to see how my character's personality develops. |
| Bladedancer |
Posted - 17 Aug 2006 : 18:24:51
I usually let the other people in my gaming group pick what they want run first. Then I make a character that will help the party the most. So I usually end up playing a bard for all around utility or a fighte/rogue type so I can help up front and still be the party scout/trap monkey/finder of treasure. For some reason I can write up a pretty decent background(or at least I think so) out of the blue and end up giving help with that to my friends. |
| Kalin Agrivar |
Posted - 17 Aug 2006 : 17:03:14
When I was teaching myself 3E rules and mechanics I would build characters through a concept from Lv 1 to Lv 40...
When I started DMing 3E I found that is still useful for my players..get a concept, make a character development "tree" from Lv 1 to 20...so you can "map" out all the skills, feats and abilities you need for your PrCs...and it helps alot when leveling up a character too...much quicker.. |
| Chosen of Moradin |
Posted - 17 Aug 2006 : 16:56:33
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
The character concept is the first part. Once I figure out who the character is, all the other details -- like stats and feats and such -- simply fall into place.
The same for me. First of all, the race and class, and who the character is. The way he see the world, why he is an adventurer. With this in mind, I go for the choices (feats, skills, equipment)... |
| Xysma |
Posted - 17 Aug 2006 : 16:47:50
For my campaigns I created a list of special qualities/abilities based on a d100 roll, we call it a "liferoll". Each time one of my players makes a character he makes a liferoll, which often helps him to determine what type of character he will play. The liferoll basically grants a free feat, skill bonus, special ability, or the like, nothing major, but it offers a starting point for character creation.
When I am making a character, I do take into consideration the classes of the other PCs; however, it may or may not affect the character I decide to play. I start out with a concept, race, class, and background in my head before I begin rolling stats. Once I have the character on paper, I then sit down and write a detailed history of the character to fully flesh him out. |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 15 Aug 2006 : 04:39:39
Either I go with what is needed or I simply go with what I feel would be a great character...usually something I haven't tried before but sometimes the tried and true....just different persona and what not. |
| Sian |
Posted - 07 Aug 2006 : 15:46:01
i start thinking of an interesting character concept ... and then i plot in the race and the first class ... and from then i build a background and depending on the level add additionel classes and build up a plan for what the character should go for later
my most interesting characters is a Female halfling rogue that crossdresses as a Human child (and is a prostitude) and a Sun Elf Diviner that is a fierce defender of knowlegde and pretty much lock himself in each and every time he sees a libery and stays there till he've read all books he haven't read before :p |
| Na-Gang |
Posted - 07 Aug 2006 : 14:49:02
I like Clerics and Wizards so I usually play one or other or a combination, the stats are obviously very important in determining what type of cleric or wizard I could play. But I actually very often go looking for a miniature first, without much idea of what I want to play and when I find one that inspires me I go with that. |
| Reefy |
Posted - 28 Jul 2006 : 18:00:14
Pretty much what Wooly said, I usually start with the concept (personality, race, class) and the rest fits into place around it. Sometimes I come up with a race/class combination that would be cool to play and then work a personality out afterwards, but usually it comes as part of the package. |
| Wandering_mage |
Posted - 28 Jul 2006 : 12:52:15
As to the initial question, I always start with my imagination.....and then make a wizard. 
I like the teamwork involved in making a well balanced party though. My current adventuring party has 2 sorcerers, a wizard (me), a lizard dude monk, and a thief. We are getting a cleric so that should make us very unpleasant to deal with at high levels. Arcane magic rocks!  |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 28 Jul 2006 : 07:58:01
With me it can vary greatly; sometimes I let the dice decide, sometimes there is a concept, sometimes it I start with drawing a small character portrait. As I generally create NPC's, it depends on their role in the adventure/campaign. The more important characters are more carefully planned, but sometimes randomness in minor characters can break sett patterns of thinking/creating for me as a DM. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 28 Jul 2006 : 03:50:16
The character concept is the first part. Once I figure out who the character is, all the other details -- like stats and feats and such -- simply fall into place. |
| Von Seossk |
Posted - 28 Jul 2006 : 02:22:35
Well, I think the most important thing to me is what kind of character it is I want to play at that time. Most of my friends know that it will usually end up being some kind of melee so they plan accordingly. What I start with changes every time, though I usually start with what class I want to play. If a class really grabs me, I'll jones until I get a chance to play it in game. However, one time I learned that we were to play in Dark Sun, and magic is not so prevalent their, but psionics is, and so I looked for a class in the XPH, and came out witht the Psychic Warrior. Typically, I'll already have a number of already thought out characters, that I'll retool to fit any particular rules that the DM has. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 14 May 2003 : 08:09:11
Greetings,
Alexis Merlin said -
quote:
Sage - I believe that the Yaztromo to which you refer appeared in the good old "Fighting Fantasy" series of gamebooks - the first one in which he appeared was "The Forest of Doom" though he also appeared in the novel spin-offs as well. I don't know if anyone else has heard of this series? They also did an RPG called "Dungeoneer" which was quite cool - the main authors in the series were Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.....(ducks as a scroll crashes overhead and he realises he is drifting OT)
I also use the same system for naming characters as you sage - take a 1st name from one place and a 2nd from somewhere else...a quick look at the suthors of my college textbooks always helped in that regard
Thanks for that Alexis, I knew the book was from the Fighting Fantasy series, I just couldn't remember the name of it. But what I do remember is that he also appeared in some of the Zagor books as well.
Splicing characters names are one of the most interesting aspects of creating a PC for me. I also utilise the characters birthplace and try to get a feel for regional names, working on creation for a name from there, mostly by splicing.
Good learning...
- The Sage of Perth: For all your Realms Lore needs
|
| eilinel |
Posted - 13 May 2003 : 18:03:39
i guess so, just hearing u... wouldn't like to go deeper in ur campagn, paladins are not my kind, its a fact.
But i like to play an one, but don't want to meet them when im not.
|
| Mournblade |
Posted - 12 May 2003 : 22:40:17
quote:
Originally posted by eilinel
i always say that paladins could be the worst guys u would ever meet... no one believes me
Well my players would beleive you:)
|
| eilinel |
Posted - 12 May 2003 : 13:07:44
quote:
For example I ALWAYS wanted to have an adventure with a GOOD ALIGNED villain (Read he is opposed to the characters, not necessarily a bad guy). I accomplished this with a Lawful Good Paladin/Inquisitor of Tyr. HE had the entire Guilty until proven innocent view, and would mistreat them (not torture or anything) until proven innocent. He was convinced that some good people had an evil seed in them and that is why his detect evil did not always show up. SO he would use various inquisitor abilities to prove their guilt or innocence. If his detect evil ALARMED, he would almost always execute quickly
i always say that paladins could be the worst guys u would ever meet... no one believes me |
| Alexis Merlin |
Posted - 11 May 2003 : 19:06:08
Sage - I believe that the Yaztromo to which you refer appeared in the good old "Fighting Fantasy" series of gamebooks - the first one in which he appeared was "The Forest of Doom" though he also appeared in the novel spin-offs as well. I don't know if anyone else has heard of this series? They also did an RPG called "Dungeoneer" which was quite cool - the main authors in the series were Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.....(ducks as a scroll crashes overhead and he realises he is drifting OT)
I also use the same system for naming characters as you sage - take a 1st name from one place and a 2nd from somewhere else...a quick look at the suthors of my college textbooks always helped in that regard |
| Mournblade |
Posted - 10 May 2003 : 17:28:46
I usually start with a character concept. This usually works wit hNPC's now. I rarely play anymore excepting the LARP. I am always the DM now. I find I like a character concept, and then I work off of that.
For example I ALWAYS wanted to have an adventure with a GOOD ALIGNED villain (Read he is opposed to the characters, not necessarily a bad guy). I accomplished this with a Lawful Good Paladin/Inquisitor of Tyr. HE had the entire Guilty until proven innocent view, and would mistreat them (not torture or anything) until proven innocent. He was convinced that some good people had an evil seed in them and that is why his detect evil did not always show up. SO he would use various inquisitor abilities to prove their guilt or innocence. If his detect evil ALARMED, he would almost always execute quickly.
I had to be on my toes. My players know how harsh I am on playing paladins, so this NPC was ALWAYS scrutinized. It was such a difficult line to travel. But the players agreed he did not ever do anything EVIL and he certainly was ALWAYS lawful to a fault, so I never had to strip him of paladinhood. He is still around, and an enemy of the players because they proved him wrong often. He does not assualt the players or anything, but acts as a bureacratic enemy.
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| The Sage |
Posted - 10 May 2003 : 07:57:06
Actually Artalis you are half-correct in your analysis of the composition of Rastromo Meradoc's name.
Your statement -
quote:
Meradoc reminds me of Meriadoc Brandybuck a halfling of some repute
is actually pretty close to the reasoning behind the selection of my PC's last name. Your theorizing for Rastromo was not however. Rastromo was based on a bumbling but brillant sage/wizard from an old fantasy book I read 10 years ago. I can't at this time remember the name of it.
But the reasoning for my PC's first name came from the combining of that main character first name - which was Yasztromo, and the Dragonlance classic Master of Past and Present - Raistlin.
I like to splice names for characters sometimes, it almost as fun as generating the character itself.
May your learning be free and unfettered.
|
| Artalis |
Posted - 09 May 2003 : 11:54:51
quote:
Originally posted by Sage of Perth
<snip>
As you can no doubt imagine, my on-again off-again PC Rastromo Meradoc, the Sage of Perth is one of my oldest characters, and therefore has a very rich history.
<snip>
Rastromo conjures images of the Nostromo, Ripleys ship
Meradoc reminds me of Meriadoc Brandybuck a halfling of some repute,
An interesting combination of taking good sounding names and tweaking them for your own use (providing I am not imagining this).
Not to mention the quality of the souces of those names. |
| eilinel |
Posted - 06 May 2003 : 11:15:50
I don't know, i don't have typical way to create my characters... I like to give them a huge background with nothing inside... actually just to explain to the DM how the character will be played and the main characteristics are and also how they came. Then the DM uses it or no, its not the real problem in fact. The goal of the background is for me to test my character like u test a ball before playing tennis, basket and so on, just to have it well in hand. |
| Fynn Céldor |
Posted - 03 May 2003 : 12:41:12
quote:
Originally posted by Edain Shadowstar
Typically, I start with a history and build the character around the character's past. It works for me, since I tend to be roleplay heavy.
That way work great for myself as well. Sometimes I lay in bed and day dream in school thinking of things like that for my characters.. Role Playing a well thought out PC with a rich background is the best part of the game. It's what it is. |
