GM sits you and your group down and tells you
"For this campaign, you are all members of the Riddleport City Watch. The campaign will revolve around the events in the city and the Watch responding to them as they go about their duties."
What do you make?
Some details for Campaign
The original "Watch" of Riddleport was made up of Mercenaries hired by the Overlord when he siezed power. That was 30 years ago and since then an actual "City Watch" has formed. The Current Watch is made up of veterans leftovers from the original mercenaries who decided that an easy life of bribes, extortion and booze was better than fighting for a living, young opportunists who want in on the action and idealists who actually think they can help make the city a better place.
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Human female magus, 24 years old, who tries to cozy up to the Cyphermages in her downtime. Sigilus archetype.
Has a son of about 8 who seems better at book-learning, and who she's trying to steer into the Cyperhmages as a full member when the kid gets a bit older. When she's on shift, leaves the boy with her aunt, who runs a fish shack. Fried Reefclaw's her house specialty!
Kid's father? A habitual offender who spends a lot of his time in the drunk tank, and takes absolutely zero interest in their offspring except when he's trying to get her to do him a favor. He's a lot less impressive to her than when she was 16.
Her parents are well-off fishmongers, but disowned her when they found out she was "in trouble." Her older brother, a pirate who makes a point of behaving in Riddelport's territory, is more understanding, and actually taught her the basics of swordplay so she could get a job with the Watch.
Paladin 2/ninja (scout)8 who uses sap adept and master to knock out perps asap.
Zeitgeist binder spiritualist. Has an ear on the heartbeat of Riddleport, feels it's pulse. The rhythm of the people going about their lives, their fear and joy and love and hate and disgust and envy and pain and illness and recovery and content and apathy and love. Knows the pattern well enough to guess it ahead of time. Feels it when the rhythm is off, when something is wrong in their city.
Loves Riddleport and hates it, can't stand to be apart from it. Won't commit to a career, instead joins professions to teach themself lessons, tries to live as many lives as they can, as quickly as possible. Plans to stick with the guard, though. As legitimate as it gets, the guard is, while joined body and soul with the less legal elements of the city. Plans to climb their way into authority, on paper and off it. Has some ideas for how the Riddleport could be better run.
Understands the rhythm well enough to maybe change it.
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As a player I'd want to be part of a group that really wants the badge to mean something, that the Watch exists to serve the people, and that laws matter.
I'd also want a GM who understands that while a place like Riddleport is indeed full of pirates, criminals and scum; the vast majority of any population is normal people trying to make a living, selling pies, making shoes, cleaning gutters and they deserve to be protected and represented.
By the end of the campaign I'd hope there would be opportunities to change Riddleport, it'd always be something of a wretched hive, but perhaps a wretched hive that has earned its soul.
Half-orc (pass for human?) female inquisitor of Cayden Cailean, playing up the deific obedience angle. Half public relations specialist, half expert interrogator. Make sure folks are having a good time whilst keeping their noses clean--but not too clean! Has a soft spot for down-on-their-luck types and gets all berserk-mode on slave traffickers.
Human female magus, 24 years old, who tries to cozy up to the Cyphermages in her downtime. Sigilus archetype.
Has a son of about 8 who seems better at book-learning, and who she's trying to steer into the Cyperhmages as a full member when the kid gets a bit older. When she's on shift, leaves the boy with her aunt, who runs a fish shack. Fried Reefclaw's her house specialty!
Kid's father? A habitual offender who spends a lot of his time in the drunk tank, and takes absolutely zero interest in their offspring except when he's trying to get her to do him a favor. He's a lot less impressive to her than when she was 16.
Her parents are well-off fishmongers, but disowned her when they found out she was "in trouble." Her older brother, a pirate who makes a point of behaving in Riddelport's territory, is more understanding, and actually taught her the basics of swordplay so she could get a job with the Watch.
Cool concept!
Cool concept!Human female magus, 24 years old, who tries to cozy up to the Cyphermages in her downtime. Sigilus archetype.
Has a son of about 8 who seems better at book-learning, and who she's trying to steer into the Cyperhmages as a full member when the kid gets a bit older. When she's on shift, leaves the boy with her aunt, who runs a fish shack. Fried Reefclaw's her house specialty!
Kid's father? A habitual offender who spends a lot of his time in the drunk tank, and takes absolutely zero interest in their offspring except when he's trying to get her to do him a favor. He's a lot less impressive to her than when she was 16.
Her parents are well-off fishmongers, but disowned her when they found out she was "in trouble." Her older brother, a pirate who makes a point of behaving in Riddelport's territory, is more understanding, and actually taught her the basics of swordplay so she could get a job with the Watch.
Well, just following Rule #3 from my personal Laws of Character Building:
3. Who the hell is this person you're playing? What did they do before getting mixed up in the high-risk low-yield world of adventuring? Did they grow up on a farm? Were they a solider in the army before mustering out or deserting? Then assign at least one skill to what their "day job" used to be. Just because you hated mucking out the barn so much you ran off to fight giants with a sword doesn't mean you've forgotten how.
And I went with a magus because that seems like a kind of "Watch" class... with a Cyphermage affiliated archetype to make it feel more "Riddleport," rather than for any build-oriented mechanical reason.
Also, if the campaign is taking place in and around a single city, then giving the character existing roots and ties in that city is just common sense. The "rootless adventurer/man with no name" thing has been done to death.
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Human Asmodean Inquisitor. Lawful Evil. He lived in Riddleport his whole life, and became so disgusted at the lawlessness and injustice rampant in the city he came to see worship of Asmodeus as the only solution. Harsh on lawbreakers and monsters, and unwilling to play along with the blind-eye attitude toward crime. Ferociously loyal to those he considers allies. The kind of person who would slowly crush a gangster's hands and feet to paste while politely asking where the gang boss's hideout is located, and then provide them with a healing spell once he had the information needed. Probably not a popular fellow, but definitely well known.
My first impulse is always 'let everybody else pick first, I'll fill in the holes', but if I must choose first ...
I'd have to look over my options (and it depends on what, if any, 3pp material is permitted), but something unarmed. Monk, Brawler, something. Easy to do nonlethal damage and score KOs over kills.
Most likely an action junkie, a thrill seeker sort. Altruism is there, but it's secondary to getting his adrenaline rushes. A bit impatient and overconfident, but not stupid. The kind of guy whose battle cry is "YEEEEEE-HAWWWW muthaf***a!" (paraphrased).
If 3rd party is permitted, though, I got a PDF that gives gnolls an option for an interesting 'curse' ... they lose their physical power and get *gasp!* smart (racial bonuses become INT and CHA, lose natural armor). Play a Gnoll Arcanist in full anti-stereotype mode.