I Just lost another PC at the hands of one of my own party members. I guess i should not have been the good guy in the bad party. So i need to come up with a new character. I was wondering; How do you guys do it? Me personally i need inspiration something to hit me. Otherwise if i just build something i hate playing it. Then on top of that i would just like to ask anybody got any opinions on the best class in Pathfinder?
Generally I look for a class that I haven't played yet and proceed from there.
I don't like fighting with other PCs, though; it gets tedious pretty quickly if I have to take elaborate precautions just so I don't get killed in my sleep (say).
Here's an idea: how about a dumb barbarian who likes smashing stuff? Most PCs can agree with that kind of noble goal. :-)
I find a picture and use that for my inspiration.
|
"How do you come up with a new PC?" is a question as unwelcome to the gamer as "Where do you get your ideas?" is to the author. There's no one process by which I come up with a PC.
Sometimes, I really want to play a particular class/clan/tribe/role.
Sometimes, I have an image in mind that demands to be played.
Sometimes, I get inspired by a fictional character or an actual actor.
It's tough to say how!
|
The little people in my head make these sorts of decisions for me.
Most commonly, I see a cool ability (class, racial, whatever) and think, 'oh, I want that!' and make a character based around it.
Other times I'm fiending over some cultural detail or historical oddity, and want to play a character based around that event, culture or concept. (Most common in Vampire games, where you're playing a fifty to hundreds-year old character in the modern world, and a book like GURPS Timeline sells you on something cool that happened, such as an anti-British riot in Egypt in the 20s that your Tremere archaeologist just barely escaped with his unlife. But it can also apply to fantasy games. I read about Balinese ritual cannibalism and think, 'Hey, that might be a neat cultural tweak for my Hobgoblin mercenary soldier who honors his Dhakanni ancestors...')
Sometimes I see a name, and it's just evocative. Egyptian pharoahs occasionally had the name of their favorite god worked into their own name, so I think of gods and their associations and come up with a name that sounds neat. Example; Associations - Set, god of 'darkness', Thoth - god of knowledge. Name; Setothes. Priest and scholar of unutterable mysteries best left undiscovered.
Other times it's a cool picture or character or neat-looking person. I see someone jumping around in a music video and think, 'She's slinky, the way she moves makes me think of a predator moving in for the kill... Must create hawt assassin!'
Usually, no matter the setting, there's *something* that just jumps out and screams 'play me!' In Greyhawk, priests of Tritherion or Wee Jas totally appeal to me, as well as those Snow Barbarian albino wolf-woman druids and Scarlet Brotherhood Monks. In the Realms, there are dozens of gods and cultures that also totally geek me out, from Chessentan warriors to Lantanese Gnomes who revere Gond or Elven Totem-Sister Druids from Elves of Evermeet. Pretty much anything in Al-Qadim or Kara-Tur is evocative as all hell, and I've made up my own Mameluke order, for instance, and I just about never play Fighter types...
In Golarion, I'm all about the Cheliaxians and Osirians.
Setting is absolutely the number one. I don't look at Forgotten Realms and think, 'Oh, a Dark Elven ranger with scimitars would be so kewl, whether or not DEs exist in the setting, can be Rangers or would have ever seen a Zakharan / Calishite weapon...' I flip through stuff more along the lines of Ed Greenwoods original ideas and *dozens* of neat ideas jump out at me, without having to invent new stuff and try to cram it into the setting.
If the setting *doesn't* have tons of ideas jumping at me and screaming to be played, I tend to not be as excited to play it.
"How do you come up with a new PC?" is a question as unwelcome to the gamer as "Where do you get your ideas?" is to the author. There's no one process by which I come up with a PC.
QFT
Thinking back to the last character I created, I really had a tough time. I knew that the group I was going to be playing with "needed a cleric" but I pretty much never do anything the quick n' easy way because I need to really feel a connection with the character.
Well, I just so happened to be listening to Manowar's most recent album, "Gods of War" (which is all about Vikings and Odin and such) when the basic idea hit me:
"I should create a Valkyrie!"
Now being as we were starting at 1st level, there's no way that I could just show up with a Viking Angel riding a flying horse. However, how would such a character actually start out? Why would she even be adventuring with a group who are decidedly not Norse? Why would she be a caster rather than a warrior?
In contemplating all these background related questions, and thinking about actual Vikings, the character's story came together and I figured out how to proceed:
Anneke was a shield maiden. Since that meant her duty was to protect a warrior and that she had quite the high regard for courage and strength. Given the addition of magic in D&D it made sense that she would be able to address a situation where she wasn't able to block an attack (i.e. healing).
However, a learned cleric just didn't jive with my notion of a brawny shield maiden/healer. I decided that spontaneous casting would work better than spell preparation but the Favored Soul just didn't click so I used the Spontaneous Divine Caster rules from Unearthed Arcana.
Thru discussion with the DM, I was allowed to swap out the brainy skills (knowledge, diplomacy, literacy) for more athletic ones (tumble, intimidate, etc.). We also gave up her medium and heavy armor proficiencies (along with the War Domain granted power) in exchange for proficiency in traditional Viking weapons (axes, straight-bladed swords, hammers, spears, and bows).
I could go into her backstory and how she ended up adventuring outside of the Norse realm, but it's irrelevant.
The point is, You just have to be open enough to allow inspiration to strike. I myself prefer music since Your mind is left free to conjure the visuals and other details — something that movies and even books may provide. Once inspiration hits and You get a rough idea, it's then just a matter of creativity to imagine how that character can be achieved and why the tick the way they do.
Hope this helps...
|
I think for most groups; it's a case of;
"Oh, darn it, the cleric's dead"
"Looks like your new character's gotta be a replacement cleric".
<or similar scenario for rogue & wizard>
Lose a warrior type, and you can get by with one of the several warrior types, but otherwise, it's seen as suicide to continue without one of the 'core three'.
The only time someone gets to switch roles, is if they're the 'spare' in a party of five or more, or if two or more PCs die simultaneously.
So, you see, killer DMs who take out several PCs at a time, are actually doing the players a favour...
LOL
Varies.
Some of my characters have been inspired by pictures I've seen. Examples:
Darley (From The Temple of Elemental Evil)
Terisa Nightranger (Dragon, I think it was issue 150)
Triel Illystin (original image for replacement limbs in the old Drow of the Underdark of 2nd Ed)
Others from video games:
Dora (Golden Axe II)
Kalindra (summoners from the Final Fantasy games)
Books:
Morag (Tir Alainn series)
Terisa (LOTR)
And some from whole cloth:
Rayne
Nadeken
On occasion a prestige class or something else might interest me into building a character around a concept like an old totemic druid I built (Earthsong). Inspiration takes many forms.
I call apple and have the sales person help.
My ideas come from many sources. Sometimes they are based on a cultural idea I want to play with (such as a Norse character) or a concept (a swashbuckler). I have even resurrected old characters by doing variantion on a theme. For example, I have used the name Talon Brightmane for a human scout in Earthdawn and for both a half-elf Ranger/cleric and a human barbarian/rogue in D&D. All three of these characters were later used to form the background of a character for the Amber RPG.
I Just lost another PC at the hands of one of my own party members. I guess i should not have been the good guy in the bad party. So i need to come up with a new character. I was wondering; How do you guys do it? Me personally i need inspiration something to hit me. Otherwise if i just build something i hate playing it. Then on top of that i would just like to ask anybody got any opinions on the best class in Pathfinder?
I choose a mini & them choose a character class.
|
I have a large collection of portraits. I get an idea of what class/style I want to play, then pick a race. I go through that race's portraits. I find one that gives me a look I can identify with . . . one the kicks my imagination up for a personality, style, and perhaps a background. I work from there . . . adjusting my perception as the rolls for ability scores play out.
We generally play one player/multiple PC games, so I start with an idea about the party and try to design the central character first. The others are then fitted around him/her, looking for contrasts of personality and abilities.
My CotCT party started with tbug's comment about playing an aristocrat as a way to turn the Path backwards, so I came up with the party leader, a young petty-aristocrat woman with ambitions to be more.
I also had an idea left over from RotRL: the PCs had rescued a baby who was the clone of an ancient Thassilonian archmage, so who did that baby grow into, and how much did he remember?
Colliding the fifteen-year-old archmage and the twenty-four-year-old socialite together made it obvious what the internal party conflicts would look like, and then it was easy to fit the other PCs around that. The mage had a Varisian bard as a front (it's hard to impress people when you're fifteen!) The aristocrat had her bad-girl little sister, thedown-and-out drunkard fighter she's trying to reform, and her pseudodragon companion.
I've liked the resulting dynamics; it's a party with a lot going on. The aristocrat's leadership role has been a real challenge for her: the mage in particular is not an easy person to lead.
One thing I try to do is consider whether each PC will still be coherent and sensible if advanced to the maximum level we're aiming for. In this party, the little archmage will cheerfully advance to *any* level, but I would not have done the bard or the bad-girl sister for a campaign meant to go to 20th, as I think it would ruin them.
Mary
The way I do it is a process based on one I developed playing Champions (a system with so many options, you have to have a process to create a decent character):
1) Start with the character concept. What sort of character it it? What party role is it designed to fill? What are the primary offensive, defensive, and other capabilities for the character? Is there some sort of theme to base everything on? What sort of mental or physical traits does the character have? What sort of background does the character have and how has it it affected the character's personality? The more detailed the character concept, the easier it is to make decisions later.
2) Develop the major details. Choose race, base class(es), and possible prestige classes. Using the concept, pick an appropriate race and starting class. Assign skills, feats, equipment, and other options that are "core" to the character concept. If starting at level 1, plan out (at least roughly) the progression for the next several levels (if not more) based on the concept. If starting with a higher level character, advance the character based on the concept.
3) Flesh out the minor details. Assign remaining skills, feats, equipment, and other options based on the character concept and personality. Also, check with the rest of the party to see if you can fill an otherwise unsupported role or act as a backup to another character. Calculate all modifiers and write down all information on abilities, maneuvers, or tactics that will see frequent use.
Most of the times I've seen character design fail is when someone spends too little time on step 1). You either end up with a "grab bag" character who does a bunch of different things, none of them really well, or the "one-note" ultra-specialized rules monster who is very powerful in a narrow set of circumstances but almost helpless otherwise (and usually no fun to role-play).
|
|
I have even resurrected old characters by doing variantion on a theme. For example, I have used the name Talon Brightmane for a human scout in Earthdawn and for both a half-elf Ranger/cleric and a human barbarian/rogue in D&D.
I've done that too!
I find a basic character that I'm 'comfy' with and I just end up using it over again in different genres. In one world, Donnacht MacLear is a werewolf. In another, he's a mech pilot. In another, he's a telekinetic mercenary. In one world, Max Caldwell is a hard-partying flying Malibu-based superhero. In another, he's a Nosferatu socialite.
Sometimes I'm even surprised to find out that I've recycled a character. I played a character named Jenna Riley in one superhero game, only to notice that I had her written up on my website as a very different character in a completely different game system. I plaigerized myself, and I didn't even know it!
Bad me! No cookie!
I have even resurrected old characters by doing variantion on a theme. For example, I have used the name Talon Brightmane for a human scout in Earthdawn and for both a half-elf Ranger/cleric and a human barbarian/rogue in D&D.I've done that too!
I find a basic character that I'm 'comfy' with and I just end up using it over again in different genres. In one world, Donnacht MacLear is a werewolf. In another, he's a mech pilot. In another, he's a telekinetic mercenary. In one world, Max Caldwell is a hard-partying flying Malibu-based superhero. In another, he's a Nosferatu socialite.
I have been known to do this as well, on numerous occasions. ;-)
|
|
I always start with the personality. Figure out who the PC is and what his motivations are.
Then I just pick a class that suits him.
I'm with you on this one. I usually come up with a concept that works around the personality second (for instance, this character is weak and so relies on speed and wits to get out of things), then I pick something appropriate (in that case, probably a monk).
My character ideas grow from pretty much from anything that inspires or interests me. Could be a novel [Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy have given me masses of ideas], movies, music, nature, whatever floats your drakkan... I keep masses of ideas, concepts and character names scribbled and scratched in numerous notebooks. Bottom line - your inspiration for a PC can also come from the most unexpected and wonderful sources...
Case in point - I recently found out that the original name for the Arthurian knight "Tristan" is infact originally from the Pictish name Drostan. I love the name [and the word] as its from my neck-of-the-woods, so a pict themed character is beckoning...
|
|
What + Why + How = Who.
Choose a goal for the PC. Decide why he/she has that goal. Find the best and most logical way within the game's mechanics to achieve that goal. Done.
Current game: She is playing the younger (by 2 hours) half-sister of eldest son of a powerful member of the Orien Transportation Guild.
Her goal is to bring honor and fame to her bother to further his place in the house. She is the daughter if the mistress, her brother the son of the wife.
Her reasoning for this goal was to win a place for herself and her mother in her father's house by raising her father and brother's station by association with her. Hoping she will carry enough respect to overcome the stigma of her father's indiscretion.
How to accomplish this? So she became an Sorceress / Adventurer and learned to throw lightning (she loves electrical magic) then become an Orien Blade. Note that we went the sorceress route due to the campaign revolving around a magic school she and her brother attend. All the PCs are magic users of one form or another.
|
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
I like making characters and fully half of the characters I have made have never actually seen play.
The most common form of character creation I use is to find a picture and work from there (I have a large collection of pictures for just this purpose). Generally you can get a feel for what class a character should be from the picture, but if it's not obvious to you then try to fit a concept in around the look. Don't stereotype based off a picture either. Just because the person in the picture is wearing leather armour and has a bow, doesn't mean they need to be a Ranger. Do what feels right for both yourself and the character. next step is to build your backstory based off your picture and class. You should definately do this before the rest of your character creation because I find that it helps define what the character will do and makes it easier to build their skills and feats.
Sometimes I will get a concept in my head and then try to find a picture based off that idea.
Very occasionally I will just want to play a particular class or race and then try to build a concept off that.
They are the 3 ways I use, but obviously the picture is my most common form and I find really helps to bring your character to life right from the start.
|
|
My method of making a character is a tad odd. First of all, I don't like to be a player who does something that another player does. And since I have no problem filling any roll, I start there.
Roll stats.
Then I start going through DnD books or seeking out any ideas I've had in the past. I have tons and tons of characters that I make up on a weekly basis, and certain personalities mix together to form different characters. I then choose an alignment, and take it from there.
Finally, the character comes to life. I end up with someone who is fun to play. I've never really been able to just make a character without thinking of how it'll function in a group: Perhaps I've had too many rough situations where I was like the OP, the only good guy in the bad group.
I some time try to dso some thing that other people think cant exist or wont work,Or try do some think unexpected.
Draw upon ideas from various sources. I also made a cheat sheet as well. :)
I look at the standard tropes, and then enhance or subvert one.
I give every character a secret that I never tell.
I make sure that a character has a different paradigm to mine.
I give the character something or someone to care about.
I give the character something visually different to wear.
I give the character a skill that is unusual, and play it out.
example
Tate is a CG first level rogue, fourth level cleric of Tymora.
secret: Tate was a bandit. He killed the sherrif of his village, in an escape. Lying in a ditch, with the mob close to finding him, he made a quick prayer to Tymora. The mob didn't find him, and he was reborn as a priest. He lives to right wrongs and redeem others. Because he thinks he should already be dead, he lives life to the full.
paradigm: Tate believes that it is best to be polite and kind to everyone. He gives away most of his wealth to the poor. He makes friends with the gate guards on town. He steps in to solve arguments. He is never inactive. Tate believes that the goddess Tymora speaks her will to him through coin tosses. He consults a coin before any major undertaking. Before allowing himself to be raised from the dead, he flipped a coin in the afterlife, to see if she still had plans for him.
caring: Tate tries to look after the family of the man he killed.
clothing: Tate wears leather armour. He uses oil paints to make the armour a constantly evolving work of art. His armour is a visual diary of his travels.
skill: Tate is an artist and oil painter. He gives charcoal sketches to people he meets. He also paints murals in churches and temples.
example two
Iskra Eirken is a LN dwarven wizard.
secret: Iskra was a sadist as a child. He hurt animals, and his weaker neighbours. He was also fond of starting fires. He was beaten to an inch from death by a dwarven smith, whose child he hurt. He is not welcome in his home. He has revenge fantasies of burning his whole town to rubble.
paradigm: Iskra does not like himself. He thinks of himself as unworthy and flawed, and seeks to perfect and purify himself. He is a fanatic worshipper of Kossuth, and seeks to cleanse himself with fire. he is never at full hitpoints, as he burns and blisters himself to clean his impure and vengeful thoughts. He does not allow his humour or weakness to show, and attempts to control himself and the world around him. He is too lawful for his own good, and would hand himself in happily, if he ever accidentally broke a law. Iskra spends his evenings meditating by a fireplace, and occasionally reaching into the fire to hold hot coals. He is a very messed up man. Think puritan freak crossed with pyromaniac.
caring: Iskra does not love himself or others. The only thing that really matters to him, is magic. It lets him forget himself and his suffering. When he is casting, or studying, he forgets to hate, and is just caught up in the moment. He illuminates his spellbooks with gold foil, and never damages his hands too much to cast...
clothing: Iskra wears an uncomfortable robe. He cleans himself compulsively, and carries a small pot of water and a cloth whereever he goes. This soothes his burns as well. He is often bandaged, and can walk barefoot on rough terrain, to punish himself.
skill: Iskra knows the scriptures of Kossuth better than he knows his own spellbook. He also knows the law of the land, and performs as a lawyer for his party.
|
|
I Just lost another PC at the hands of one of my own party members. I guess i should not have been the good guy in the bad party. So i need to come up with a new character. I was wondering; How do you guys do it? Me personally i need inspiration something to hit me. Otherwise if i just build something i hate playing it. Then on top of that i would just like to ask anybody got any opinions on the best class in Pathfinder?
I just look at the gazillions of options I haven't tried yet ... and I think ... hmmm how would it interact with the PCs of the other players ?
I try to make my PC effective in support of the group, but I also tend to try the outlandish options, just so I draw the other PCs into reactions. So I'm up for barbarians with savage / cannibal cultures, or human-hating elf PCs (in a human group) or ...
Just for the record, I don't play AGAINST the group; I just try to draw roleplaying reactions.
I have no single process. Inspiration can come from any direction:
I have played characters where I wanted to play the class, and built something around that class that fit.
I have played characters where i wanted to play a race (either because I liked the race or because I wanted to show people that there's more types to play than stereotypes), and then play something that either fits the race well or that breaks the stereotypes.
I generally enjoy breaking stereotypes to keep people on their toes. "You tell me that nice, affable, friendly guy over there worships Asmodeus???"
I have had character ideas pop into my head wholesale.
I have seen characters or character traits in movies, computer games, books, and so on, and wanted to incorporate them into a character. Since I love Discworld novels, that can sometimes lead to very unusual concepts.
"I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability."
new PC's tend to come in two varieties.
1) New campaign. Everyone is brain storming and coming up with ideas and trying to fit them into the new campaign and party.
In this scenario I tend to come up with an idea for what I want- usually something I've been brewing on for awhile, and then toss it out there. If there are 4-5 of us I'll tend to cling to that fairly tightly unless someone else is there who really, really wants to be that class instead. (I try to avoid having 2 of the same monster-food group in small adventuring groups.. so no to 2 rogues, 2 wizards, or whatever). In bigger groups though that's less of an issue as there are only so many archtypes to go around.
2) PC Dies. This is your current predicament.
When you join an existing group either from the standpoint of a previously deceased PC or as an entirely new member it is beholden to *you* to fit into the group and not step on other characters conceptial ideas. If they already have a primary trap-findy rogue for example then you need look elsewhere for inspiration.
In your current plight you actually have an advantage: having seen the group in action you are in a good position to think back through combats and encounters and figure out what a good niche to fill would be. Then, fill it.
Your background is as (relatively easy) as knowing the general alignment and religions of the group overall, and conforming yours to match.
-S