A few of us were talking about a guy at our local who only plays clerics. Almost always a 1/2 Elf or 1/2 Orc melee cleric with buff spells that can heal on down time.
But that isn't set in stone. Might be an offensive casting cleric. Might be a dwarf. But not usually.
He's a weird guy anyway. You can read some about him here.
Since then I've, I've learned there are quite a few others that seem to have found their niche and stick with it. We've got a guy that just plays melee gish nova builds. Another that is almost always a hippie nature loving ranger or druid. A gal that only plays viscious sneaky scout types. This dude only plays sneaky melee martials. Etc... They might make them with different classes and races, but basically the same general concept.
It kinda surprised me. With all the myriad of possibilities that are part and parcel of an extensive system like PF, I just can't imagine deciding I'm going to do 'X' from now on. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it if your having fun. But it just isn't for me.
With all my characters, the first qualification of the build is it has to be very unlike anything I've played in the last several years.* My first PFS character was kinda messed up (he is getting close to retirement now). He contributes and barely survives, but I could redo the concept much better now. But I find I have almost zero desire to do so. I've already done that concept, and probably won't be willing to revisit it for many years.
I won't go so far as to say my builds are all unique. If you look around I'm sure you can find that someone has something very similar to most anything I can come up with. (Well except for my whip trip magus, I've never seen anything like that.) But they are all completely different from my other builds.
So I was wondering. How many of you have found a concept that you like and mostly stick with it?
I play rather different PCs.
The last PF chars I played have been an elven hexcrafter magus, an half-orc scarred witchdoctor with no melee potential, a dwarf stonelord, a kobold invulnerable rager and a kobold slayer.
I know someone who, not exclusively, but very frequently plays elf rangers.
I admit to having narrow interests when it comes to classes and races, but I try to keep things varied within those confines.
I mix it up, although I have a slight preference for spellcasters.
My most recent PFRPG/D&D 3.x characters in both tabletop and online games have been...
CN male human (Varisian) rogue for a Serpent's Skull PbP. A Magnimaran con artist who picked the wrong mark, and got chased down a dock by thugs. Jumped aboard a ship that was just pulling out, and stowed away to escape.
CG female human cleric of Desna (hidden priest) for a PbP set in Cheliax. She was a cleric posing as a bard to spread the word of the Starsong, but was captured by Chelish authorities, convicted of sedition and apostasy, and sentenced to slavery. Bought by an agent of House Thrune to serve as an expendable agent.
CN female human sorcerer (arcane bloodline) for a Rise of the Runelords PbP. A former bandit on the run from authorities in Magnimar, she landed in Sandpoint seeking help from her 'uncle,' a Sczarni leader. Joined forces with some other adventureres after the town was attacked by goblins.
NG male human wizard (necromancer) for a Carrion Crown PbP. A physician by training, after his lover was killed by a ghoul, he re-dedicated his life to fighting the undead by studying what makes them tick, and using that knowledge against them.
LE male human bard for a Way of the Wicked PbP. A popular entertainer who was in reality a misogynist and serial killer of the young women he took to bed. Probably the darkest character I've ever made.
CN female gnome sorcerer (elemental-water bloodline) for a tabletop Skull and Shackles campaign. Drawn to a life on the sea, she was Shanghaied in Port Peril and forced into a life of piracy-- a life she truly relishes. All her spells are water-themed.
LG male human fighter for a 3.5 homebrew tabletop game. Baron of a bankrupt barony after his father had squandered the treasury on wine and women. Working to restore both the good name of his family and the success of his barony.
CG female human sorcerer/rogue/arcane trickster for a 3.5 homebrew tabletop game. Reformed thief working with the resistance after her city was conquored by a foreign empire.
NG male elf bard/cleric of Corellon Larethian/mystic theurge for a 3.0 game set in the Forgotten Realms.
LG male human fighter/wizard/eldritch knight for a 3.0 homebrew game. A downtrodden human working to improve the rights of mankind under the oppression of Orkish rule.
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I have played a lot of Bards which is my favorite class. Though I try and give each new PC I run a distinct personality. I also try and align my PC with the campaign/AP so things like campaign traits are like gold for me. I tend to like support characters alot but I usually mix it up becaus eI like to try new options. My PCs may be mechanically similar but really I tend to keep mechanics under the hood. I could for instance play an identical fighter mechanically but the personality would be miles apart.
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I really like playing either pure martial characters, or divine/martial hybrids. I like playing Monks, Rogues, and Fighters even though they are weaker. I also enjoy melee druids, inquisitors, and clerics.
I never really get into pure casters. Magus is nice, but I can never stick with it when I roll one.
Race is all over the place, but I tend to like Dwarves, Half-Orcs, and Gnomes more than Humans, Elves, Halflings and Half-elves for the core races.
I tend to do a lot of similar builds in different games, at least for a while, and then I swap out characters and the cycle tends to repeat somewhat. My issue is that I play in one game that is consistent and a couple that aren't, so if the build I want isn't in the consistent game I feel like I have to hedge my bets of being able to play it by putting it everywhere else.
Though I may play the same builds, I do tend to make them drastically different flavor and roleplay wise.
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I like to play around and experiment a bit. However, I definitely have a favorite type;I'm in love with the arcane knowledge-seeker. Any race and gender will do, and I do have some variance in personality (although curious and goody-goody are common traits), but I love me those lore-hungry wizards, bards, alchemists, and such.
Sometimes I will branch out and play a healer or fighter-type, though.
These are just my PFS pcs:
Human Cleric of Iomedae, sort of became a bombastic ad-hoc party leader
Human Witch, based on Chelaxian nobility, complete a-hole
Human Invunerable Rager/Urban Barbarian archer, gruff but civilized
Human Tetori Monk, with the personality of Hulk Hogan
Human Alchemist, early 20's, straight out of Pathfinder Training.
Human Sword Saint Samurai, near middle age, Varisian.
Tiefling Inquisitor of Shelyn, partially based off of Boyd Crowder from 'Justified', Doc Holiday from 'Tombstone' and Lafayette from 'Trueblood'.
So...I guess I like humans and playing male characters, but no, I wouldn't say there's much of a pattern other than I don't play quiet characters.
I enjoy playing characters that can engage in melee, and tend to dislike characters that can't mix it up, so I don't like straight wizard-types or archery-focused PCs. I play a lot of hybrid warrior-casters. My four PFS PCs are a human barbarian/alchemist, a half-orc barbarian/summoner, an aasimar monk/warpriest, and a dwarf fighter/cleric.
I've played with a fair number of people who always play the same archetype. There was a guy in my last group that always played some kind of sneaky fighter-type with a high Dexterity, and another that always avoided melee combat (no matter the PC, she hated taking damage and freaked out if attacked).
I always play humans (dat feat) or half-humans.
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I've done my best to try everything out. But I have noticed two things my characters tend to have in common: about 80-90% of my characters have some sort of pet, and at least half of my characters focus on combat maneuvers in some way (even if it's just my constrictor snake companion's grappling).
I don't like straight-up damage types. Effective, but makes me bored.
I guess there is some commonality in my PC's. I've only had 1 PC that didn't have some magic or some really weird power. (Once as an experiment I played a human fighter with only typical non-fantastical types of feats just to see what it was like. I finished out the mini-campaign, but found it kinda boring and repetative.)
I mean, come on... You're playing a game with magic and you don't have some?!? What's up with that?
At least that's my premise.
So my straight fighter was an Aasimar, with the angel wings, eldritch heritage pit born, and all the hero point feats.
But other than them all having magic or powers, they are all over the map.
Some of them are:
- 1/2 Orc Magus wand wielder, trip and disarm specialist
- 1/2 Elf Sorcerer specializing in summon monster spells (started before I knew about the summoner class)
- Dwarf Inquisitor armored tank melee
- Tiefling Inquisitor sneaky switch hitter with teamwork feats
- Nagaji Naga Aspirant melee with constrictor snake and significant casting potential
- Aasimar lore warden, pit born eldritch heritage, angel wings, hero point feats to represent phenomenal luck
- 1/2 Orc Barbarian/Fighter/Cleric with improved grapple
- Tiefling bloodrager natural weapon fighter
- Gnome gunslinger/alchemist shooting bombs like a grenade launcher
- Halfling divination wizard (eventually joined the bad guys in Carrion Crown)
- Human life oracle (primarily to blast undead - doesn't care so much about healing people) and buff bot
I like to play PC that are wildly different from each other, both in class, personality, and temperment.
Currently for PFS I have
Female Human Cleric/Bard of Shelyn - prefers to talk it out rather than fight, loves art and vehemently protects it, always forgiving and tries to see the good side of everyone, a bit of a ditz...she's like Paris Hilton as a cleric.
Male Assimar Hellknight - fair, fanatic, shouts alot, and EXTREMLY lawful...aka Judge Dredd.
Male Shoatni Barbarian/Inquisitor - distrusts everyone that is non-shoanti, at peace with nature and himself, leads a pure life, loves a challenge and a fight, gets mad easily at man-made inanimate objects.
Human Archivist - talkative, nerdy, helpful, high-spirited and excitable.
Human Artic Druid - spiritual, wise, quiet.
Even then, I do get the itch to play one of my old PCs again..som of my favorites.
Right now I am playing three Monks. I have a Lawful Good Aasimar Sensei/Drunken Master with a noble heritage who just wants to explore the world, live life to its fullest, and help others do the same; I have a Neutral Good Human Martial Artist who survived her destitute and dangerous urban life through nothing but sheer determination and a wildly optimistic belief that she can make things better for herself; and I have a Lawful Evil Human MoMS who was raised by wolves and cares deeply for her clan but approaches everything else with savagery and a complete lack of mercy or empathy.
So I'm pretty fond of frontline martials (especially ones who punch stuff)and tend to go in that direction for my PC's but love to get wildly different personalities and backstories out of each of my characters.
One of my friends is thought of as the "guy who plays dwarves." And while it's true that he has a tendency to play dwarves or other stoic manly guys, that doesn't mean it's all he plays. His most notable divergence was an incredibly flashy/loud human bard named ROCKULES (a portmanteau of rock and Hercules, with emphasis on every syllable).
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I don't always play the same character but I do have preferences.
I like characters that do the job themselves, so characters that rely on summoning, pets or buffing others do not hold my interest for long.
I like civilised characters so I'd rather play a fighter, sorcerer or inquisitor than a barbarian, druid or ranger.
Defined religion>"powers from a mysterious source"
I want options, many options. Spamming the same thing over and over, no matter how powerful, is not for me. (I'm looking at you witch.)
If I have a spell list I want it to be awesome. I don't care how useful a spell freedom of movement is, I'm here to blow things up and turn my opponents into paint.
On that note I don't want to confuse my enemy I want to blow them up. Sure it isn't optimal, makes no sense and is just needlessly flashy but you guys can keep your Toyota Prius' I'll be over here with my Dodge Viper thanks...
2 weapons>2H weapon>ranged weapons>being set on fire>becoming an accountant>sword and board.
If you are a 6 or 9 level caster and your spells are a side note then your class sucks.
I think that pretty much covers it.
In no particular order
Human Wizard
Human Fighter/Wizard
Human Cleric
Halfling Bard
Elf Wizard
Minotaur Cleric
Minotaur Kingsguard (homebrew class for that setting)
Dwarf Druid
Dwarf Fighter
Tengu Monk (Sensei archetype)
Minotaur Paladin
Succubus Fighter
Half-Orc Ranger
Halfing Bard (completely different from the other Halfling Bard)
Dwarf Barbarian (Inventor of the Dwarven Door Game)
Human Paladin (died while playing the Dwarven Door Game)
Human Sorcerer
Human Cleric/Rogue
Human Oracle
There are certain trends. I like lawful styled characters, it gives me a set of guiding principles within the context of the game world to inform the character. Otherwise I like to change up what I'm doing. If I was a martial, I tend to go caster next and vice versa. I like things that pack a punch in combat, I don't necessarily optimize heavily, but I know the combo's that work and use them. Or I go high utility, with abilities that make my allies better (we have a large group, so the indirect damage output of a mass buff spell is pretty big).
I sometimes like to try to find a trend within my characters and then purposely pick something opposed to that trend.
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I have quite the variety of characters. I have 14 Pathfinder Society PCs, with specific ideas for at least 3 more, and less specific ideas for probably another dozen. Most are male, but four are female. If I actually make the next 3 characters that I have in mind, I'll be up with 10 different races in my 17 PCs.
I do tend to make characters of the same classes in spurts. For instance, when I first started playing Pathfinder, after a 20ish year absence from table top RPGs, I read about clerics in the Core Rulebook and thought all the different options for domains, deities, and playing styles were cool, so I made two different clerics at the same time. But they're completely different from each other, despite being the same class. I did the same thing when I made my two sorcerers after researching that class to see what I wanted to make, and not being able to pick just one. And I'm currently building two new fighters at the same time, but again, with very different styles.
Oe thing I haven't really done is multi-class. Only one of my PCs has more than one class, and he's actually got three.
Another thing I haven't done much is pets. I have a familiar for one sorcerer, but that's it.
I also have surprisingly few non-Core classes. I have an oracle, a ninja, and a non-core prestige class, but all of my other PCs use classes from the Core Rulebook. I do have lots of oddball archetypes, bloodlines, and sub-domains on those Core class PCs, mostly from the Advanced Players Guide, but a couple from other sources, too. So they're not strictly Core characters, just the base class comes from Core. Some of the newer classes just don't appeal to me, and I just haven't gotten around to exploring others yet. I am looking forward to checking out the Advanced Class Guide when it's finalized - I never got around to looking at the playtest version, and at this point, it's too late to bother.
But as for character "types", I've got male, female, lots of different races, pure casters, pure martials, caster/martial mixes, front liners, archers, buffers, debuffers, skill monkeys, face characters, etc. So pretty much everything.
1/2 Elf Bard CG
Hu Sorc. NN
1/2 orc Inquisitor LN kia
Hu Ranger CG kia
Dw Sorc CG kia
DW Paladin LG
Elf Alchemist CN
And a few one shots- but that's just PF.
I like skills, but my Sorcerer has few of them.
Our campaigns are generally "No Evils", but I have played them before.
Want to Play- Samurai or Cavalier. Oracle. Rogue.
I lean towards melee characters who use unarmed attacks and casters other than divines.
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My PFS characters:
Half-elf Taldan paladin of Iomedae. He's suspicious of everyone and assumes the worst of everyone he meets, but he does his paladin thing anyways.
Tengu bladebound kensai magus based on a mixture of Bang Shishigami, Kamina, Domon Kasshu, and Date Masamune.
Gnome grenadier alchemist that is a compulsive liar and talks/acts like a British gentleman explorer.
Human Gunslinger/inqusitor based on Revolver Ocelot
Human slayer/inquisitor archer that is like a combination of Terry McGinnis Batman and Green Arrow
Mwangi half-orc summoner that is a combination of the Demi-Fiend and a troll from WoW
Taldan undine watersinger/paladin/swashbuckler Shakespearian actor that is in love with Lady Gloriana
Nagaji bloodrager based on Wrex from Mass Effect
Dwarf hunter based on Rolf from Ed, Edd, and Eddy
I guess the main similarity is that I like to adapt existing characters and combine elements from others.
I nearly always play fighters or soulknives. and always human. My latest character is a cleric, though. Curious to see how I do with it.
As one who spends more time developing my characters than most of those whom I game with, I say no. However, my friends tell me that I do, due to a tendency to charge into dangerous tactical positions, regardless of my character class, role, and defenses.
I have a rule - I never play the same race, gender, or class twice in a row.
Nearly all of my characters are female and almost never prepared casters (witch and magus are the exceptions), otherwise I can't think of any major similarities between them. My recent characters have been Witch, Sorcerer, 3.5 Crusader, Inquisitor, and Zen Archer Monk, all of different races; I've played a Sorcerer or two and a Crusader before, but there's notable differences between those and the recent set.
I GM the most out of my group though, so I don't get to play as much as some, hence the relatively small list.
I did have one player like this though. All his characters were either Monks, Psions, or Sorcerers, and of the latter two almost always summoning-focused. He latched onto Summoner as soon as it was released, and Alchemist since his characters - yes even the Monks - always had ranks in Craft: Alchemy. They were also always him in fantasy superhero clothing. Thankfully, for various reasons we no longer play with this guy.
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Nearly all of my characters are female and almost never prepared casters (witch and magus are the exceptions), otherwise I can't think of any major similarities between them. My recent characters have been Witch, Sorcerer, 3.5 Crusader, Inquisitor, and Zen Archer Monk, all of different races; I've played a Sorcerer or two and a Crusader before, but there's notable differences between those and the recent set.
I GM the most out of my group though, so I don't get to play as much as some, hence the relatively small list.
I did have one player like this though. All his characters were either Monks, Psions, or Sorcerers, and of the latter two almost always summoning-focused. He latched onto Summoner as soon as it was released, and Alchemist since his characters - yes even the Monks - always had ranks in Craft: Alchemy. They were also always him in fantasy superhero clothing. Thankfully, for various reasons we no longer play with this guy.
No 1/2 dragons? I don't even know you anymore.
No 1/2 dragons? I don't even know you anymore.Nearly all of my characters are female and almost never prepared casters (witch and magus are the exceptions), otherwise I can't think of any major similarities between them. My recent characters have been Witch, Sorcerer, 3.5 Crusader, Inquisitor, and Zen Archer Monk, all of different races; I've played a Sorcerer or two and a Crusader before, but there's notable differences between those and the recent set.
I GM the most out of my group though, so I don't get to play as much as some, hence the relatively small list.
I did have one player like this though. All his characters were either Monks, Psions, or Sorcerers, and of the latter two almost always summoning-focused. He latched onto Summoner as soon as it was released, and Alchemist since his characters - yes even the Monks - always had ranks in Craft: Alchemy. They were also always him in fantasy superhero clothing. Thankfully, for various reasons we no longer play with this guy.
ECL is murder, man. And PF's Dragon Disciple is nowhere near as nice (at least, for the kinds of characters I used to make with it in NWN) as 3.0/3.5's was.
That said, "play a dragon" is still on my wish-list of things I'd love to do in a PnP campaign.
....No 1/2 dragons? I don't even know you anymore.ECL is murder, man. And PF's Dragon Disciple is nowhere near as nice (at least, for the kinds of characters I used to make with it in NWN) as 3.0/3.5's was.
That said, "play a dragon" is still on my wish-list of things I'd love to do in a PnP campaign.
I think the PF dragon disciple is actually significantly more powerful than the 3.x version.
However, there is just no way to match the Koolness factor of permanently becoming an actual half dragon!
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I always play a divine character of a rogue-ish type.....it didn't occur to me until the other day. I play Human characters....I have a teifling and an aasimar as well.....with the changes in PFS come August, I already have a Kitsune in the works
I'm working on my first character outside of those norms now (Alchemist)
I have this tendency to always play the same character, and when I finally notice I go out of my way to make the next one markedly different from my usual trend (and thus starting a new trend). It's not something I do on purpose, and I do prefer my characters to be different... I guess I'm just wired that way.
....No 1/2 dragons? I don't even know you anymore.ECL is murder, man. And PF's Dragon Disciple is nowhere near as nice (at least, for the kinds of characters I used to make with it in NWN) as 3.0/3.5's was.
That said, "play a dragon" is still on my wish-list of things I'd love to do in a PnP campaign.
I think the PF dragon disciple is actually significantly more powerful than the 3.x version.
However, there is just no way to match the Koolness factor of permanently becoming an actual half dragon!
Yep and since that was usually the allure of the class for me... that and that the 3.5 version is more fighter-y while the PF version is more caster-y.
I find playing different personalities fun.
My characters are a mix of female and male, with the tendency of the males being the more serious types personality wise (save for my S&S bard, he's a silver tongued dude), with the women an outlet for those supportive roles like a bard ,oracle or sorceress, witch.
While i usually play humans (bonus feat & yaddayadda), half elf , half-orc & gnome are among them too.
I tend to play agile martial types. Never really gravitated to the "strongman" types. I generally groan at the core races (I can deal with human, but certainly not my favorite) and prefer the plane-touched races.
I like variety. That said, I seem to go for the same characters.
My typical character traits:
-Darkvision (typically a half-orc)
-Martially inclined
-More Strength based than Dexterity based
-High Constitution
-Heavily armored
-Usually 1-hand+shield, hardly ever 2-handed (I like bashing things with the shield)
I hardly every go with a caster. While I feel spontaneous>prepared, my usual caster class is the druid. Because of the companion. And that companion is ALWAYS a wolf. I don't give a damn if the big cat or some dinosaur is supposedly superior, I always choose the wolf.
Typical races I choose are half-orc, dwarf, or aasimar (in that order). Typical classes are barbarian or druid, with sometimes a fighter or paladin.
The characters I have played since I started Pathfinder are as follows:
-Half-orc grenadier alchemist
-Aasimar cleric of Erastil (animal, good domains)
-Half-elf barbarian/sorcerer (cross dragon+elemental [silver, cold])/dragon disciple (started out as elf transmutation wizard, but the DM allowed 1 redo of the character).
-Half-orc paladin
-Kitsune barbarian (lasted 2 sessions)
-Aasimar life oracle/heirophant mythic path
-Human life oracle (lasted 3 sessions)
-Dwarf inquisitor
-Dwarf ranged fighter(retired after 3 sessions as I didn't find ranged all that fun)
-Aasimar paladin (cohort of the cleric)
I think that is all of them. From playing those, I have learned what I enjoy. I do try out different classes from time to time, and hope to try out some of the ACG classes when those are released.
Oh, and my weapon of choice is usually an axe of some sort (battleaxe, or sometimes greataxe).
I almost always play Chaotic Good, unless it's an evil game, then it's always Lawful Evil.
I always play female characters.
I usually play human, or a demon-esque race (like tiefling or homemade ones).
If the character uses a weapon, it's a blade 90% of the time.
Otherwise, I'm all over the place. Melee, caster, cleric, support, dps, monk, thief, party leader, party pain, I've played most of the options.
I have an admitted elf bias with regards to home brew 3.x and Pathfinder games in general, but that only applies to initial impulse. I can and do play across the spectrum; caster, martial, arcane, divine, urban, rural, brute, psionic. My main incentive stems from the determination of whether or not the game will be online or face-to-face, but it is also impacted by group and 'rating' in addition to favors owed and requests put forth.
i knew a guy who played only dwarven fighters, a guy who only played lizardfolk barbarians who followed bushido, a guy who only played clerics, my signifficant other and i, both play petite framed cutesy anime girls that are usually siblings, childhood friends or something like that, and we knew a guy who only played face builds that could also take a hit.
Let's see, I vary like a lot of other people, but around where I live the groups that I can play with I am almost always a healer of some kind. Somebody is always the sneaky rogue type, the heavy hitting martial, or the spellcaster of doom. I usually get stuck with healer/tank. I haven't played anything stealthy in the longest time though and I would like to in the near future but around where I live I don't think that is going to be possible unless I get into another pbp.
Personality wise I tend to play the serene sages and mentors.
Pleasant gandalfy types that like to razz the village children with tricks up his sleeves.
Softspoken, shortspoken, stoic. Reluctant combatant. Observant. Cheerful but not overtly so.
If i'm not a caster I'll go for a bokken wielding samurai type...
But the serene softspoken shortspoken stoic sage personality seems to stay.
Just a flash of wow here and there. Brief moments of greatness/flair/panache.
My evolutionist summoner is hands down my magnum opus.
He was basically a combination of the two and was as much fun as i've ever had in a game in 30 years.
In palladium systems like rifts/heroes unlimited/ninjas and superspies I tend towards mutant martial artists (multiple beings!) and favor focusing on atemi/chi mechanics like aikido and tai chi... But again that same sort of 'ancient master who is not ancient' persona..
Stepped out of the box for the first time in decades a bit with a warhammer 1e campaign where I played a female noble. Kind of went for a roman artemis/athena schtick that time... Not sure the personality changed much except to add 'valiant and regal' into the mix.
All of them chaotic neutral on paper but behaving more like neutral goods.