Random Characters

[krazmuze]

I enjoy making semi-random characters and the Ancestry, Background, Class, Details (ABCD) method makes them viable yet still creative.

A) Pick a random Ancestry and Heritage with a random bonus

B) Pick a random Background and take both its bonuses.

C) Pick a Class that does not need your dump stats and whose key bonus matches your max bonus so far.

D) Reinforce your top bonuses and Detail skills and feats that make sense for what you see the character becoming.

Restricting to CRB ancestries with AoA backgrounds, rolled an Enigma Bard Dragon Scholar Snow Goblin resulting in CHA key with INT/WIS dump.

Dragon Scholar trained in Intimidation and Dragon Lore with an Intimidating Glare. Bard trained in Occultism, Performance, Deception, Diplomacy, Acrobatics, Athletics and Bardic lore. Sings Goblin Songs. This is giving me an idea....

What if a Skyrim Reikling was the dragonborn? Uses young white dragon jaw (a megaphone instrument) for mimicking dragon 'shouts' (no INT to learn Draconic...) and goblin songs while being 'very' intimidating flapping arms like wings. The 'scholar' part is learning shouts by observing dragons in the wild when leaving them gifts. Take the occult spells in common with what white dragons typically cast,

A whip formed from a dragon tail, a dagger formed from a dragon claw, a rapier formed from a dragon spike. (it was a baby dragon so it is sized for a goblin) Throw on a noisy chain shirt until can learn medium armor and quest to get some dragon scale.

I have no idea if white dragons are involved in Age of Ashes, but still sounds fun. The enigma mystery is those arcane elements elude them, no cold attack/spells, is there anywhere in the universe that can make arcane compositions? In the meantime telekinetically throw snowballs (maybe house rule they do cold dmg)

Anyone else want to try this? Please post your random creations!

D&D 5e devs did this with D&D Beyond as a short stream every week going full random for some really nonviable sillyness. I like PF2e ABCD character creation for this as it makes things viable - maybe the devs can ripoff that stream idea to promote how creative character creation can be.

[Siro]

<Note this is a vague concept, as it was just rolled and I need to go to bed. Not even sure if it will work.>

So far rolled a Gusty Halfling Barbarian with the Barkeep background. For stats, most likely going to specialize in Con, and Cha. Dex will most likely be next, followed closely by Str. Wis will be whats left over with Int most likely never being touched. She will most likely fully invest in Diplomacy, Deception, and Intimidation {and will at least be Trained in Performance.}

Story is, she was a bartender in her families watering hole. She knew the basics of drinks, though the type of clients they would usually get did not order anything more then an ale. Her specialty was knowing how to sell the liquor, egging people on with drinking games, preforming light verbal jabs at those whom seemed to be heading out for the night about how they were light weights ect. Of course this did come with the occasional hurt feeling, but she often was able to talk her way out, or scare her way out of any trouble. And of course she had to put her money where her mouth was, and had to join in on the drinking, building up her tolerance. While words did solve most of her problems, sometimes either because they were to drunk, or she was, it would come to blows, and perhaps fueled by alcohol, she would fly into a drunken rage to let loose. She was certainly not the strongest, but she tended to last the longest. <still need to work on why she is travelling, perhaps bar burned down, looking for culprits/trying to earn enough money to rebuild.}

Not sure of anything else yet. Going to see how viable Feinting is with Rage. But 1st, bed.

[krazmuze]

seems like some bottle throwing is going to happen!

Every PC I have made this way ends up with a +3 or +4 key bonus so they are viable, but usually leaves you with a choice of which stat to make key. Barbarian is STR key, yet that is your ancestry flaw so might make it not viable unless you use the optional flaws rule to reinforce it. Lowering AC thru feint offsets low STR attack, but isn't that a rogue scoundrel so you can offset low STR damage with sneak attack?

I use the create a concept class chart for finding classes that match the dump/key stat possibilities I get from ancestry/background, if class is random then it can become unviable.

By making it semi-random the fun part is seeing how you can make the random ancestry/background work! It models the reality of adventuring, survival of the fittest - your ancestry and background help you decide what class you want to be. I find constrained min/maxing much more fun than optimal min/maxing. I will post a list of all the concepts I have created this way later.

[Siro]

Originally, Feinting was going to an off shoot of her general tipsiness {either because she had one to many drinks, or at least knew how to act like she had.} This would translate to herself not fully knowing where she was going, making it difficult for foes to read, and opening up cracks in there defense.

With some sleep behind my belt, I was thinking she would MC into Monk, and take advantage of the Nunchaku weapon through Monastic Weaponry. {Partly because its a Monk based weapon that is Finesse but not Agile, gaining full advantage from rage, partly to use with another ability, but mostly because I find it funny picturing a 2 foot nothing Halfling raging into battle wielding Nunchaku in one hand, and a flask in another. Perhaps she picked it up, after seeing someone else use it, thinking it was easy, hitting herself over the head many times, but through sheer fortitude, determination, and alcohol fueled stubbornness, figured it out.) And get Flurry of Blows to help out with the offence and help a bit with the action economy. Was also going to pick out Ki spells, but then got sad when I doubled checked and saw Verbal components were Concentration and would not work with Rage. Could possibly go into Paladin to pick up 'Lay on Hands' to double down on the tankyness, but I don't think she would be that religious. {she would definitely be getting Renewed Vigor at the very least from the Barbarian path.)

By level 20, she could get up to 22 Dex {including Apex item} though you are right she would be slightly behind to Hit then your average Barbarian, and decently behind in damage out put. However, theory crafting with what I rolled. For me, I'm someone that both tends to min max, while at the same time wanting to tell an interesting story. This often leads to me trying to optimize the unoptimal, as seen above. At the end of the day, it does not need to be perfect, just got to be able to contribute/ have a reason why they were able to survive for so long.

[krazmuze]

Like it - fits perfect the bartender that would have a weapon behind the bar for knocking some heads when the bottles start flying.

In my opinion the optimized 'unoptimal' is more fun to play as they have a more interesting story to tell!

Tanking is just a valid role as DPR.

I had rolled a hafling miner cleric, then I realized that was a perfect chaplain (more service of the people than a religion). What do miners like to do but go to the bar after a long day? What better way to heal than getting drunk! So you need a religion of keeping people free to enjoy booze - sounds like Drunken Hero would work

https://2e.aonprd.com/Deities.aspx?ID=4

Just have to make sure rage does not make her mean.

[krazmuze]

Lets try another one

A) Wellspring Gnome +CHA/CON/DEX-STR

arcane, divine or occult cantrip, take two with First World Magic.

B) Truth Seeker +STR/WIS

Anything other than STR/INT classes but this feels like a WIS/CHA based spell caster, as you would not want to lie to a religious leader.

C) Cloistered Cleric +WIS

D) +DEX/CON/WIS/CHA

Gnomes are usually neutral good...I see the Pharasmin sample cleric fits. So much for random!

She works at the mortuary preparing bodies and finds something curious in the town records, Pharasmin dagger is actually her scalpel. AC bump with a wooden shield since DEX is modest, and she gets temp HP from death's call reaction since CON is modest.

[krazmuze]

lets roll the bones again

A) Strong-blood Dwarf +WIS/CON/STR -CHA

gives poison resistance, Rock Runner (rubble) fits Background

B) Emancipated +DEX/CHA

former slave for Stealth and Terrain Stalker (rubble)

C) Monk +STR

Born slave forced to brawl in the pits, escaped by digging a tunnel breaking down rubble barehanded for years to earn freedom. Mountain Stance fits perfectly.

D) +WIS/CON/STR/DEX for INT/CHA dump

Athletics/Acrobatic because monk, Survival because escaped, Medicine because brawlers take care of themselves. Alignment became True Neutral as he now realizes killing weaker slaves should never have been considered lawful nor good. In town for a fresh start on life.

(Could also have gone dwarf ranger but that is too close to iconic)

[krazmuze]

So the point of random ancestry and background is to seed a creative idea and avoid min-maxing, to make viable pregens quickly. After thinking about RP for the dwarf monk I did not see the DEX/CHA slave background fitting when his slavery was breaking rocks and not talking. So I will change it to DEX/STR background, even though I do not think a +4 is mandatory it just fits better.

So far so good, will our luck at a viable party hold out?

A) Wildwood Halfling +DEX/WIS/INT-STR with Halfling Luck
B) Haunting Vision +CON/WIS deja vu dragons/fire skilled in Religion and Dahak Lore
C) Wild Druid +WIS skilled in Nature, Intimidation and of course Medicine and Survival
D) +DEX/CON/INT/WIS dump STR/CHA

additional languages Draconic (background should grant access) and Elven (the other denizens of the woods)

His home wildwood burned in a wildfire and has been scavenging like a wild animal in town

[krazmuze]

The mountain stance dwarven monk did not make it past the Barghest due to really bad rolls.

So time to see what fate has in store for the next pregen to join the party, again using CRB random ancestry and AoA random background

A) Halfling +DEX + WIS +CON -STR

Hillock heritage gives resting heal bump and this seems a goodfit for Breachill.

B) Local Scion +CON +CHA

One of the local crafting family biz. INT is dumped so will not be a good crafter, but that is random for you.

C) Sorcerer +CHA.

STR dump means dumped weapon damage so this points to a caster. INT dumps alchemist/wizard and already have bard, cleric, druid in party. Sorcerer it is and looking over the Breachill gazette there is a perfect fit with Diabolic because Posandi Bros. are secret Asmodeus worshipers.

D) +DEX +CON +WIS +CHA reinforce the ABC.

Married into the Posandi Bros masonry business, joining the family requires making a diabolic pact and worshipping Asmodeus in secret. He has some training in stonemasonry but has not the mind for it, this is because his real job is to 'enforce' the sham contracts through diabolic sorcery. He is recommended to the party by Alak the Hellknight Armiger

So can a four caster party survive to finish Hellknight Hill?

[krazmuze]

Since the guy is basically is a contract enforcer in the mob, a scoundrel would work better with diabolic sorc archetype. I think rarely whipping out the diabolical spells is actually more threatening than just being a blaster (RP)

Changed the free stat for halfling from CON to CHA, then background changed free stat CON to DEX. Despite losing CON HP are the same, as the class makes up for it.

Random does not mean you have to be beholden to it, it is more about getting the idea sparked that you would not create yourself! Real reason for switch is party said four casters?, and got nobody with picks!