What is Your Character Creation Process?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

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Like some other people, I generally start by learning what I can about the campaign's setting, and what other people are planning to play, so I can create a character that feels invested in the world and complements the group dynamic. From the setting I pull ideal options for race, class, background and motivations.

Usually about that time, as I'm just starting to pick the mechanical framework, is when I start doodling.

I sketch the character over and over, trying to take the disparate elements I've selected for the bones of my idea and create a cohesive image in my mind. I practice different expressions and body language, I experiment with different clothing options. In my head, I'm imagining "iconic" scenes for the character, wondering what they would say or do, and how they would do it.

In between those periods, I finish statting out the character based on the impressions I'm getting from my doodle-storms. But a lot about the character is subject to change until I'm happy with my ability to sketch the character in a way that feels consistent, developed, and flavorful.


Marco Polaris wrote:
Like some other people, I generally start by learning what I can about the campaign's setting, and what other people are planning to play, so I can create a character that feels invested in the world and complements the group dynamic. From the setting I pull ideal options for race, class, background and motivations.

The most interesting part of this thread for me so far is that about half of the respondents talk about the campaign first, and the other half start with a more standalone character concept.

Obviously, either starting point can eventually include the other as well, and as a "campaign first" kind of player myself, I am curious about how the other half goes about it. For those of you that start with a character concept based on fighting style, preferred class, etc., do you ...

then seek a campaign where your character fits? or ...

find a way to wedge it into any campaign through creative backstory? or ...

already know what campaign you'll be playing in, and so that part's assumed for you? or ...

something else?


i usually start by seeing what everyone else is making. I usually end up playing the healer, so I try to choose a class that would make an interesting healer. For example, this campaign I was deciding between an Oracle of life and a Witch. I chose the Oracle cause I thought the Curses were cool.
I then write a backstory and decide how I'll roleplay the character, in this case why my Oracle was chosen by Pharasma and how his Clouded Vision Curse came about. I picked that curse because I thought it was the most interesting out of them. I play the Oracle as hating undead, and doing his best to make sure that his allies never fall.
I then picked what race would best fit the life Oracle (I picked Elf due to their longevity).
Then I added whatever the class and race abilities gave me, and went from there.

-I don't plan too far in advance, maybe about to level 6 or 7
-I don't plan out my magic items in advance, I just go with what we get.


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Depends on the group.

Usually before any characters are rolled we like to decide a party "mood." Some ground rules like "Necromancy is a no-no," "I kinda want the party to be less chaotic," or "I want a party that would be ok with a Paladin/Anti-Paladin."

Last Pick in group
In one of my current groups there are a lot of new players, so I let them have first dibs.
1. I let them all call their roles and classes, then I pick whatever role is leftover.
2. With the last role, say "Sneaky guy," I decide based on the campaign, other group members, ect what my back story is and how it relates to being sneaky and with this party.
3. Come up with some personality quirks.
4. Pick the class/archetype that is both viable and represents my characters skills. So in this case a magical sneaky guy would likely be a Bard/Inquisitor and a non-Magical one would likely be a Slayer.

Not last pick
1. I pick a class that I've been wanting to try out then do something very similar to the above steps.


(Not a hard and fast rule but...)
I'm always scribbling partial character builds and level plans for various ideas I have. So when it comes time to actually play a game first step is find out what the campaign is all about, then what everyone else is playing, then find a skeleton that a) fits the tone, b) most obvious gap, and c) looks like it might actually be fun then flesh it out a bit. As with my GMing I don't always have a complete background ready to go, just a few key points. I'll then wing it and let it grow a bit more organically. Fill in details so that it meshes with the story/other players as the game develops.
Works way more often than it has any right to!

Dark Archive

Zalman wrote:
Marco Polaris wrote:
Like some other people, I generally start by learning what I can about the campaign's setting, and what other people are planning to play, so I can create a character that feels invested in the world and complements the group dynamic. From the setting I pull ideal options for race, class, background and motivations.

The most interesting part of this thread for me so far is that about half of the respondents talk about the campaign first, and the other half start with a more standalone character concept.

Obviously, either starting point can eventually include the other as well, and as a "campaign first" kind of player myself, I am curious about how the other half goes about it. For those of you that start with a character concept based on fighting style, preferred class, etc., do you ...

then seek a campaign where your character fits? or ...

find a way to wedge it into any campaign through creative backstory? or ...

already know what campaign you'll be playing in, and so that part's assumed for you? or ...

something else?

I have lots of character concepts, and generally will try and pick one for a specific campaign based on who is in the group, what roles are already covered, and which I feel like will be the most fun in that group.

It's a perk of being an unrepentant character builder. I have dozens of characters already built and I've never played the majority of them; they're just waiting for the right time. :)


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Zalman wrote:
Marco Polaris wrote:
Like some other people, I generally start by learning what I can about the campaign's setting, and what other people are planning to play, so I can create a character that feels invested in the world and complements the group dynamic. From the setting I pull ideal options for race, class, background and motivations.

The most interesting part of this thread for me so far is that about half of the respondents talk about the campaign first, and the other half start with a more standalone character concept.

Obviously, either starting point can eventually include the other as well, and as a "campaign first" kind of player myself, I am curious about how the other half goes about it. For those of you that start with a character concept based on fighting style, preferred class, etc., do you ...

then seek a campaign where your character fits? or ...

find a way to wedge it into any campaign through creative backstory? or ...

already know what campaign you'll be playing in, and so that part's assumed for you? or ...

something else?

I've done the "character first" approach a few times (ha, I'm playing both sides!), but I find that wedging them in requires a lot of GM flexibility. Sometimes it's not a big deal, but other times you may be asking the GM to considerably alter the world itself to fit your character into it. Some campaigns are extremely flexible and can handle this; some are not. So I save the "rejects" for inclusion in a different campaign should the opportunity arise.

I guess the bottom line is that I make a character differently based on the manner in which I happen to be inspired at the time (or whether I'm inspired at all). It's not too different from any other creative process in that regard.


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Zalman wrote:

... kind of player myself, I am curious about how the other half goes about it. For those of you that start with a character concept based on fighting style, preferred class, etc., do you ...

then seek a campaign where your character fits? or ...

find a way to wedge it into any campaign through creative backstory? or ...

already know what campaign you'll be playing in, and so that part's assumed for you? or ...

something else?

I make lots more characters than I will ever get to play. When we get to new campaign time, I get the background info and an idea of what the others are playing.

Usually that narrows it down to just a few of the builds I already have.

I pick one then modify it some to fit even better with the campaign or group.

Dark Archive

I ask the gm what my limitations are.
Then I ask my gm what kind of campaign I can expect .
Ask other party members what roles they intend to fill ,and build the best version (which for me often, but not always means most optimized)of whatever role I intend to fill .Often my characters background story has to be chosen afterward when I have more campaign info and gm input .


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I often start with a mini that I really want to paint.

Once I've got the mini I consider what possible classes that mini could reasonably represent.

From there I pick one, usually one I've never seen in play before and I start looking at what that class could be mechanically good at. This will usually evolve into a full level 1-20 build, but not always.

That tends to inform my back story and fluff.

Then I paint the mini.

Then I put that mini on the shelf and the character sheet in a folder and when the GM describes a campaign outline to me I flip through it and pick the one that I feel would be most awesome to playing that campaign.

- Torger


I either have a class I'd like to play in mind or (as has happened the last two times) I find out what gaps there might be in the existing party that I might fill.

Then from the rough class I work out the backstory of my character, giving them the motivation as to why they are where they are (i.e. why they're about to join a Party). I get the GM to sign off the backstory and premise of the character before I go any further. Usually that involves me writing a fairly long piece explaining the character's history.*

From that I work out the exact class(es) I'm going to play, then the ability build follows. Traits and feats follow on to compliment the backstory, as well as the character I'm building. Finally I build the skills based on the backstory.

*One of those has ended up being a 75,000 word story...

Sovereign Court

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Zalman wrote:

Obviously, either starting point can eventually include the other as well, and as a "campaign first" kind of player myself, I am curious about how the other half goes about it. For those of you that start with a character concept based on fighting style, preferred class, etc., do you ...

then seek a campaign where your character fits? or ...

find a way to wedge it into any campaign through creative backstory? or ...

already know what campaign you'll be playing in, and so that part's assumed for you? or ...

something else?

In my case I start with the character for 2 reasons.

1 - I play a decent chunk of PFS. In that case - there isn't really a 'campaign'.

2 - I tend to have a few characters on the backburner at any given time. If I start a new campaign, I'll pick among them to fit the campaign world / party composition.


I'm a team player, first and last. I like to build a party of PCs together or at least know what others are wanting to run. I will usually come up with 2-4 concepts and pick which one best compliments the others.

Once I've got a class in mind, I start working up the personality, mannerisms, way of speaking and connections to other PCs. My back stories are usually basic with a lot of room for later additions. I try to give the GM at least one back story point to grasp and flesh out in the course of telling the story if he wants. I try to have a strong connection to at least one other PC, whether we're friends, relatives or something else. I don't go out for pages and pages of back story because the character's life is ahead, not behind and most people will never be aware of it anyway. His actions in the game are what will define him and make him memorable.

I then put together the mechanics based on the character's personality and its relationships. I don't usually optimize and cleave more to what makes sense for the PC. At the same time, I think my choices are solid with a good grasp on game mechanics.

I don't normally optimize much because I mainly play published APs and modules and in most of these the enemies are FAR from optimized. I feel strongly that a party does better when they work as a team and compliment each other over having one character that can solo the monsters.


I generally try to build on the mechanics of the game to play what i want.
Sadly most gm's i play under tend to " unconsciously over optimize their encounter mobs" so some min-maxing is required.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

I write, design, roleplay, and illustrate characters outside of tabletop gaming. Most of my character concepts already exist. So, it's normally a matter of selecting an existing character and adapting them to the system and setting.

For example, I have a character that's a four-armed anthropomorphic cerberus that guards an ancient forbidden library and born as a result of the last intruders that foolishly tried to use the library's knowledge. My GM was a big fan of the character, so he let me adapt her for his Pathfinder campaign.

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