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So I've decided to take the plunge and see what PFS is all about. So far from reading and talking to people that play, it sounds like a fun time. I'm just a bit "nervous", for lack of a better word, about bringing in a sub-optimal character to the table. Considering I'm only playing as 1st level, it shouldn't be too difficult to make a viable character, but 1st level characters also tend to be squishy. Also, I'm accustomed to making characters to fill in a missing role in the group, not just for the sake of making a character.
After much thinking last night, I decided on playing a Half-Orc Urban Druid. I switched out a few of the racial abilities for the Half-Orc to make him fit better in an urban environment. The point buy was the hardest time I had with everything, mainly because I didn't want a dump stat (personal choice). I took 15 in Wis and pretty much 12's across the board (at work and trying to do this off of memory).
With my trait selections, I was able to spread out my skills a little better. I took Diplomacy as my favored class bonus, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Sense Motive (class skill from Trait), Spellcraft, Profession (Brewer). Decided upon Toughness for my feat, was easier on my brain. And I chose Charm as my domain choice, fits my ideas for what this character wants to do) and am taking Thunderstomp and Burning Disarm for my 1st level spells.
I know I could RP the hell out of this character and make him come alive in a different setting, and that was what was causing me most of problems with making the character. Plus, most of my characters have been ranged and/or spell casters, so making a character that wades into melee (and I will have to do that with my Domain power) is a bit foreign to me. My thoughts behind the character were that he wanted to open a Beer Garden, to bring a bit of nature to the city. Plus, everyone loves ale and beer, so it would be easier to spread influence and gain rumors with said abilities I was picking.
As a character for a longer arching campaign, I would be all over making this character as awesome as possible. Unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen in PFS and I'm comfortable with that. I'm not married to this character for PFS, if he doesn't get played there I will bring him out in another campaign. Any alternatives that get thrown out there, I would gladly consider.
Thanks in advance,
Nervous New PFS Player
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Welcome! It sounds like you put together a pretty solid character who should fit in well in the Society. I would recommend picking up.some alchemist fire or having another way to deal with swarms. A ranged weapon wouldn't hurt either if you haven't bought one.
Keep in mind that in PFS you can completely rebuild your character until you play at second level. So if part of your design doesn't quite work, you can tweak your design a few times before the concept is locked in.
But most of all: have fun!
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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Sounds like a cool character!
Just remember that you need to own any additional resources from which you use material (either an official watermarked .pdf or a physical copy). So far I've seen you reference:
- Urban Druid - Advanced Player's Guide
- Half Orc Alternate Racial Traits - probably Advanced Race Guide
- burning disarm - Cheliax, Empire of Devils
- thunderstomp - Advanced Class Guide
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Nothing there sounds problematic to me. Bear in mind that you can adjust your character between adventures until he hits 2nd level, so none of your choices are final until you sit down for your fourth scenario.
Make sure you have your copy of the APG (hardcover, PDF on tablet, or relevant pages printed from your PDF) so that your use of the urban druid archetype is PFS legal.
Have fun with your first PFS experience!
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Awesome, thanks for the tips guys. Looks like I'll be spending some coin on the books so that I can have him be a legal character. Might have to rethink some of the decisions otherwise, which actually sucks but I understand.
@BNW
I actually wasn't aware of that, I'll have to look into it to see what my character can wrangle out of it.
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When I make a new PC, I try to answer 4 questions (used to be 3, but I ended up with a couple of boring PCs, so added a 4th):
1. What's this character's specialty in combat? As long as the PC can do something that helps the party succeed in a fight, this can be anything, not just dealing damage, but make sure you're actually good at whatever this is. You don't have to be uber-optimized, but make sure you can contribute.
2. What does this character do in combat when they're specialty isn't an option? This is things like having a ranged weapon even though your character is a melee beast, or an enchantment based character having something they can do when facing mindless foes. Also, everyone should try to get some splash weapons for use against swarms, though that might have to wait until after your first adventure to be able to afford it.
3. What does this character do outside of combat? This isn't just for personality, this is also making sure you have something useful to contribute between fights. Sometimes, it's diplomacy or other face skills, even if it's just enough of a bonus to be the "aid another" guy behind the main face. Sometimes, it's knowledges, sense motive, or whatever other skills could come in handy between fights.
4. What personality traits will you be able to actively portray at the table? The above 3 questions are designed to make a playable PC by giving them something useful to do in most situations. This question was added afterwards to make a fun character. I had a couple of PCs that were mechanically interesting, but didn't have a personality. Or they had a detailed back story, but that didn't really give me something to role play at the table. This is about giving your PC personality, whether it's a distinctive voice, an obsession that you can play up (sounds like alcohol could be your urban druid's passion), or whatever other quirk makes the PC fun to play.
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In general don't worry about creating an "inferior" character. Our community is pretty forgiving and being fully optimized is not essential for fun. For some of us the theme is more important and the mechanics are secondary. The rebuild option is an excellent way to take you PC out for a test drive and make tweaks or change it completely. If you want some tips for character building, check out the Strategy Guide, it contains a lot of useful advice. Additionally, the community is very helpful. Consult your local players, talk to the local organizer and/or venture officers. We are happy to sit down with a new player and help them discover the nuances with the campaign and to build the character they envision.
Explore! Report! Cooperate!
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Fromper,
That is an amazing list to be put down that simply. Those are the things I always try to think about when making a character, I don't like being a one-trick pony at the gaming table.
Again, thanks for all the warm and positive responses. Looks like it won't be too costly to grab some of those things as PDFs, and just replace burning disarm with another spell if needed.
@RealAlchemy
Yeah, point buy isn't my strongest skill set yet, I'm accustomed to the older style of rolling for abilities. I'm pretty certain I have a 15 or 16 in Wis (not including racial bonus) and maybe one other 14? I wasn't sure if it was better to have an 18 in a stat, or a more balanced stat set overall. I think I might keep my Dex & Con low-avg and pump my Str and Wis.
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Ability score array choices vary from player to player. There is no "right" answer. Some will say moderate score with no dump stats is the way to go, other will say slam the unimportant score as low as it'll go to boost another one. Others still will just say let the character's theme dictate what makes sense. As long as the scores are legal, it's just preference.
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I'll second what Bob said (though I personally tend to optimize, can't help it I like math). Feel free to arrange your points however you want. So long as they total to 20 spent.
That said I suggest, especially for new players to point buy, that they double check themselves with a point-buy calculator. There are plenty of them out there. Like this one Though it's certainly not the only one.
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4. What personality traits will you be able to actively portray at the table? The above 3 questions are designed to make a playable PC by giving them something useful to do in most situations. This question was added afterwards to make a fun character. I had a couple of PCs that were mechanically interesting, but didn't have a personality. Or they had a detailed back story, but that didn't really give me something to role play at the table. This is about giving your PC personality, whether it's a distinctive voice, an obsession that you can play up (sounds like alcohol could be your urban druid's passion), or whatever other quirk makes the PC fun to play.
This is so much more important than a detailed back story. I mean, detailed back stories are fun, but unless you have a way to convey that information at the table, no one will ever know.
Don't just think about who your character is: think about how your character can let everyone else know who he is. This is more like renaissance fair improv than "acting": you need a "drive-by" bit that engages the table for a minute or less and then moves on. (In business terms, this is your character's "elevator pitch".)
Sometimes it's a catch phrase, sometimes it's a voice inflection, sometimes it's muttering to yourself. Sometimes it's something you never planned, that just evolves over the character's career.
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This is so much more important than a detailed back story. I mean, detailed back stories are fun, but unless you have a way to convey that information at the table, no one will ever know.
That being said, I recently had the chance to get out one of the better parts of my dwarven monk with crippling social anxeity's back story when he got put on the spot at a social gathering. And that's a character that's gone whole sessions without speaking. So you never know the situations you might get into with PFS scenarios.