Ok so i was all hype on this elven fighter idea, and now i am not soo much. I have an issue generating an idea without talking it out. Or seeing something cool, that sparks it. so where do your ideas come from? Sorry for the incessant chatter. It is how my mind works, and you guys know all the rules.
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Ok so i was all hype on this elven fighter idea, and now i am not soo much. I have an issue generating an idea without talking it out. Or seeing something cool, that sparks it. so where do your ideas come from? Sorry for the incessant chatter. It is how my mind works, and you guys know all the rules.
I try to build character long before I decide on a class.
For me, I try to decide who I want to be with personality or actions, then decide on how to build it.
When I get a good character idea, I try to write it down...then spend a few days/weeks/months fleshing it out.
Sometimes I feel like I'm splitting off different aspects of my personality and playing them in character.
Thorne, the Most Powerful Mage in all Absalom represents my vanity and social awkwardness.
Balkira represents my sensibility, honesty, and general good nature (the one that I hide deep down inside).
The Fletcher represents my noobiness and willingness to experience new things and explore.
Sometimes taking a part of oneself, exaggerating it, then putting it into a character works nicely.
-Pain
Edit: P.S. This is a good topic...I hope and expect others to chime in.
thank you that is a good way. I tend to see something cool, and try to tell it or their story. My best pcs have come from literally showing upi a half hour early and not thinking so much about it and making them right before the game. However, i feel like a jerk doing that since one of the pcs (of 2) i need is 7th lvl. too much math to do to people 1/2 hour before game time.
Character creation is an individual thing I guess. Sometimes I think of a class or race that I haven't played and would like to and work from there. I try to imagine my character and flesh him or her out from there.
Elf Fighter is fine, but there are lots of things to think about here. Where is your Elf from. Has he or she grown up around Elves or Humans (or Dwarves). This answer might lead into what country is he from. Then what style of fighting does he have. What is typical for his race? For his country of origin? Is he a non-conformist.
Then step back. Who are his or her friends and family. Somewhere along the line I often write a page of info about my character and when i do this, the character often takes shape. He or she is more than just a bunch of ability scores, feats and skills. The more I do of this, the more I begin to have a solid idea. Sometimes I go back and change things to suit better.
I guess if ten of us created Elf Fighters, I suspect we would end up with 10 very different Elf Fighters. The more background info you have on the setting the easier it is to get into the setting. If you don't know much about a setting then I recommend keeping it simple. It's fun really.
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There are many different, and all correct, ways of creating a character.
I usually start with a single concept. For example, I recently wanted to play a fortune teller, who uses the Harrow deck. From there, I worked my way out, trying to figure out how this character came to be. I worked through the classes, figuring out which would work best for the concept, then I decided on where in Golarion this character was most likely to come from, and then what race was most likely. After that, I added feats that would accomplish the concept, and added traits for flavor.
Click on my profile and you'll see the finished product. There are a couple of things that I started out different then what I wanted, but we had some restrictions on character creation for the PbP.
This is my usual method. Base concept first, then flesh out what makes that concept work.
Well now... Maybe a picture says more than a thousand words.. I dunno.
A couple of characters have been rummaging around in the back of my head and they have yet to come into action, but I'll lend you their images :)
Here's Elahrinn El'Adrinn and an unnamed elven rogue that I was planning for a Kingmaker campaign yet to begin...
Dunno if that's helpful, but there you go :)
Well now... Maybe a picture says more than a thousand words.. I dunno.
A couple of characters have been rummaging around in the back of my head and they have yet to come into action, but I'll lend you their images :)
Here's Elahrinn El'Adrinn and an unnamed elven rogue that I was planning for a Kingmaker campaign yet to begin...
Dunno if that's helpful, but there you go :)
I totally draw out all my guys and start from there. The thing is I play gnomes I have since 2002 nothing else. Now it is to the point were people in this group which is a very deadly AP (Serpent Skull).They have stopped using my name, and i am just the gnome this copuld be my 5th gnome in this AP.
If I know what class I want to play and how I want to play it but am just stuck on the story, the traits are a great place to go read.
Read them all and try to apply each one to your character. For me- one of them usually sparks something that will ring enough of a bell to write my character around. Usually involving me going back and changing a skill or two as well.
(Half-orc arcanist bard raised in a temple without ever really getting a feel for religion.. He did get "civilized" however and had both a common name and an orcish name. Temple Raised I think was the name of the trait that sparked that idea. I dropped a point or two into "knowledge: religion" as well.
-S
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I usually ask "who" first, working out the rough back story; somewhere along the way, the character fills in the race and class. From there, the class and race affect the ability scores, the ability scores affect the skills, the skills affect the back story, the back story affects the feat choices, the feat choice(s) affect the traits, the traits affect....
Sorry, I'm not a terribly linear person.
Oh, and before everything, I like to know the basic setting. That usually, but not always comes before or during "who".
When I'm done, the faction is usually self evident.
Developer
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Honestly, I'm the opposite of most that I've read. I see an interesting mechanic that I'd like to see put to use. I build around that. Then I give my build a story. At that point it's a character. The story is often last for me, though.
I do this constantly, just as a mental exercise at times. One thing building like this does give you is a sense for how mechanics work together. Trying out lots of different builds is a great way to get a handle of some newer rules as they come out, and seeing how they might interact with the old.
Ok so i was all hype on this elven fighter idea, and now i am not soo much. I have an issue generating an idea without talking it out. Or seeing something cool, that sparks it. so where do your ideas come from? Sorry for the incessant chatter. It is how my mind works, and you guys know all the rules.
This usually how I develop characters:
1) The concept. This usually incorporates race and class (but not always, there may be more than one class or combination of classes that suit the concept), some central background and personality nuggets for direction on how to develop the character to fit the concept, and some idea of what weapons (by general type, such as "axe" or "bow," at least) the character might prefer. You don't have to get elaborate, but may help to write down two or three sentences as a thumbnail sketch.
2) Research. This is where I look through the system rules and setting information to find out the available options that I can use to achieve the concept. There may be some changes to or limitations on the concept to fit it to the system rules and/or setting information, but usually it just adds more details to the concept. Sometimes, a specific rule or piece of setting information will act as the initial inspiration for the concept.
3) Fleshing Out. At this point I pick from the available options discovered in the Research phase to make a well-rounded, coherent character. Included in this is usually a projected plan of how to advance the character as they gain levels to further develop the core concept; this will probably be modified during actual play in response to the actual needs and experiences of the character.
As a concept, "elven fighter" is too vague. What type of elven fighter are you thinking of? Melee, ranged, or switch-hitter? Do you have a favored weapon or combat style in mind? Single classed or multiclassed? Are you looking at mixing combat and spellcasting? Arcane or divine? Are you thinking of qualifying for a specific prestige class (arcane archer, eldritch knight, etc.)? Are there any basic background or personality hooks that can provide direction? Are you a tribal elf from the Mwangi Expanse, a Forlorn elf from a specific nation, or a cultured/haughty elf from Kyonin?
Honestly, I'm the opposite of most that I've read. I see an interesting mechanic that I'd like to see put to use. I build around that. Then I give my build a story. At that point it's a character. The story is often last for me, though.
I do this constantly, just as a mental exercise at times. One thing building like this does give you is a sense for how mechanics work together. Trying out lots of different builds is a great way to get a handle of some newer rules as they come out, and seeing how they might interact with the old.
I agree with this. I see rules or certain feats/spells that I want to play with or think are interesting sounding. Then I imagine the rest of the mechanics behind a character that would use said mechanical feature, then once it's all built I fill in a story and personality. It's very easy for me to write up backgrounds and come up with different personalities for characters, so the mechanics usually take center stage in the creation process.