Character creation (also character generation or character design) is the process of defining a game character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics or descriptive terms.
39
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7answers
696 views
How can I quickly get a player back into a session after their character dies?
As a GM, what kind of techniques could I use to help a player re-join the gaming session after their character dies? I want to avoid any major interruptions to the flow of the adventure. I would also ...
28
votes
14answers
1k views
Repercussions to DM-mandated limit on books allowable for characters?
When running a campaign, especially one with newer players mixed with optimizers, is it a fair call to limit the variety of books available for play? For feats, classes, prestige classes, magic items ...
27
votes
10answers
583 views
What can I include in my character's background to help the GM build a better story?
Whatever the system or the world used, what can a player add to his character background that will help the GM make the game more interesting.
Games are much more interesting with the addition of ...
21
votes
5answers
406 views
Preventing character skill from impeding player enjoyment
Let's consider a player, whom we shall call Bob. Bob loves exciting gunfights and is a big John Woo fan. So he makes up "Shooty McShootenstein," who is a master with a gun. One thing that Bob is not ...
20
votes
10answers
938 views
Flaws that aren't flaws
What do you do when a system gives points at character creation for flaws/disadvantages when a player can permanently remove the effects of that flaw by buying something or spending other points to ...
20
votes
15answers
831 views
How to: Create a good backstory for how the party got together?
I'm making a list of things to do for character creation for my first game as DM, and one things I've often heard is to have at least some reason for the players to have come together for their ...
20
votes
10answers
582 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of develop in play (DIP) compared to develop at the start (DAS) character generation?
Originally, Are you really DIPpy?1
What are the advantages and disadvantages to developing your character in play (DIP) compared to developping at the start (DAS)?
What experiences have you had with ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Favored Class Bonus at 1st Level?
So, it doesn't seem entirely clear from the Core Rulebook: does one get the favored class bonus (+1 to hp or +1 skill) at first level? I wouldn't have thought so, but I notice that the Hero Lab ...
17
votes
7answers
729 views
How can I roll a character's age using only d6?
I'm making a simple, slightly comedic home-brew RPG where a lot of the characters' base stats are randomized for comedic effect. This includes the characters' age. (So you can have a ridiculously ...
17
votes
2answers
5k views
Can a sniper be built in D&D 4e?
The concept of a sniper has been around a long time, even with bows.
Is this even possible in D&D4e, where the range increments are so short?
Criteria:
Long range bow or crossbow attacks.
...
17
votes
1answer
4k views
How do favored classes work in Pathfinder?
I'm working on creating a half-elf paladin character for a Pathfinder game. Full disclosure: this is the first time I've tried creating a character; I've used ones other people created before. In ...
17
votes
2answers
18k views
Optimal Focused Fighter Builds in Pathfinder
Using just the core rulebook and the advanced player's guide, what would be an optimal build for a fighter using 25 points for point-buy character generation? Assume it's a level 10 fighter intended ...
16
votes
11answers
722 views
How can you find a balance between effective/optimised characters and creative characters?
When creating characters, I often face a dilemma between making a character. It feels like they can either be optimized so they can "pull their own weight" or having a character I think is creative ...
16
votes
5answers
517 views
Cooperative character building?
I'm aware of games where the players cooperatively build elements of the story world (I hear Dresden Files does this), but are there any where the players cooperatively build their characters?
What ...
16
votes
5answers
2k views
What is the optimal way to design a well balanced party
Confession - I just TPK'd my group....again.
One of the reasons that has been identified is that while the party is composed of 5 pretty well optimized characters, as a party they just aren't in ...
15
votes
8answers
2k views
What is the statistically superior character creation method, twelve 3d6 or six 4d6?
The D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook gives (among others) two preferred methods to roll ability scores for a new character: a) roll 3d6 twelve times and keep the preferred six results, or b) roll 4d6 and ...
15
votes
5answers
733 views
Finding alternatives to rogues in campaigns
In a nutshell, I'm looking to join a game, but it seems that the type of character that I play often (rogue), has been done by everyone else in the group. Are their any other classes or sub-classes ...
15
votes
4answers
299 views
Good techniques for getting player-character backgrounds integrated into the game?
So I'm starting a new campaign for an existing gaming group soon, and I'd like to actually incorporate character backgrounds that the players will be creating (eventually). These aren't epic-novels or ...
15
votes
6answers
618 views
How do I represent a warlock with a background in thievery?
I'm developing a Dwarven Warlock (Hrafnhildur "Fin" Arnarsdottir) for the next 4E campaign I get the chance to join. She left home to join a gang in a city, and after reading a book they were going to ...
15
votes
3answers
3k views
Where can I get ready-to-play characters for D&D 3.5?
The last time I played D&D was about 10 years ago. Now I've decided to show it to my university friends, who have never played it before but are pretty excited. For that first game, nobody would ...
14
votes
3answers
331 views
What are some good skills and stunts for a mortal lawyer in Dresden Files?
I'm about to play in my first game of Dresden Files. I'm new to the system, and it's a lot different from other RPG rule's I've used. I'm having a bit of trouble grokking the game and figuring out ...
13
votes
7answers
1k views
Does it make sense to give characters free weapons expertise?
A player I know suggested that when playing 4th ed, it made sense to give characters the Weapons Expertise feat for free at 5th level. I don't have much experience with 4.0, so I don't know whether I ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I play an effective pacifist in D&D 4e?
Is it possible to play an effective D&D 4e character who is thematically a pacifist, uses almost no damage-dealing abilities, but is still effective in combat?
Similarly, is it possible to build ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
What's the difference between a Ranger and a Scout?
Apparently the Complete Adventurer contains rules for a new base class, the Scout.
Can anyone explain, at a high-level, what is the difference in character concept between a Ranger and a Scout? When ...
12
votes
4answers
4k views
Are spear fighters sensible in DnD 4e?
I'm new to DnD and I'm creating a gladiator (fighter or barbarian) for an upcoming Dark Sun Game, and I liked the idea of using nets and spears.
The Players Handbook implies that net and spear users ...
12
votes
10answers
409 views
Balancing character levels
It makes sense that if you are in a group from the beginning that everyone in the group would be roughly the same level. Yes some classes level up faster than other but in general there is a balance ...
12
votes
7answers
400 views
How to design an RP-balanced party?
How do you build a party so that they all have social roles? In some games, I often find that one character ends up dominating the social part of the campaign.
In our groups, we usually end up with ...
12
votes
2answers
746 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing a player to play a large creature?
We're playing 4e Thunderspire Labyrinth and we've decided to let the tank play a large (2x2) Minotaur.
He has all of the stats from the Minotaur player character in the Players Handbook 3, but he's a ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
Character Build - “Bad Luck” Theme
I'm trying to build a character who suffers a strange and inexplicable stigma that attracts misfortune to all the people around him. (In South America it's called "mufa"; in colloquial language, ...
12
votes
1answer
815 views
How are some Essentials classes non AEDU classes?
I've just received my Essentials books. Perusing the Heroes of the Adjective Noun books, the classes have and receive at-wills, encounter, daily and utility powers as they start and level.
On the ...
11
votes
5answers
973 views
Character build for Gandalf in D&D3.5?
In my groups next campaign I am hoping to be a PC instead of the DM and I want to play a character who is like Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I began looking at options; he would ...
11
votes
3answers
567 views
How can I get a character with the lowest hit points possible?
A friend of mine has asked me to help him create an escort mission for his April Fool's game (actually held this weekend, because, you know, scheduling). The players will be escorting a tenth-level ...
11
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6answers
2k views
Is there software that can help build a character portrait?
Thinking of something like the MMORPG games use for building characters ... is there anything like that available outside of a MMORPG game?
11
votes
4answers
502 views
Is there a reason to ignore/adjust the Wealth By Level chart?
While reading this
Cohort Question I was kinda struck by a quote in there and instead of asking an unrelated question in that area I figured it would be good to make a separate question.
The quote ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
Playing as, not with, ourselves
A few of the members of our gaming have had the probably-not-unique idea of statting ourselves as if we were player characters in a campaign. Our problem is trying to find a basis of comparison for ...
11
votes
7answers
2k views
What striker builds let you play a secondary defender role?
I'm going to play D&D 4e on the PC side of the screen for the first time soon, and it looks like the best way to fill the party's needs is by taking up a striker that can also defend a bit. ...
11
votes
1answer
426 views
Feat prerequisites
Related to this question: Skill rank feat prerequisites, and specifically this rule text:
Some feats have prerequisites. Your character must have the indicated
ability score, class feature, ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
How to be a Centaur PC?
I just started D&D, bought my version 4 manuals and I'm now at my stage in character creation.
The problem:
I was wondering if playing as a centaur would be possible?
What forms of skills and ...
10
votes
4answers
517 views
What kind of Muse do you start with in Eclipse Phase?
In Eclipse Phase, the character creation rules state that every character gets a Muse for free. Later in the book it details multiple kinds of Muses, including one called a Standard Muse.
Based on ...
10
votes
2answers
8k views
Bomb based alchemist builds
I'm looking for help with building a bomb-slinging alchemist at level 10. Assume 25 point buy for initial generation. The focus is getting the most effective bomb usage possible. Fast bombs is ...
10
votes
3answers
335 views
How to use a Minigun effectively
So Shadowrun has a number of machine guns and assault cannons, but we still have the iconic minigun variant that allows us to shoot red hot death-lead at things. However, our resident heavy weapons ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Character creation walkthrough
It has been a long time since I last played RPGs and I have forgotten so much about how things like character creation work. I am using the Pathfinder core rule book for all of my characters currently ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
How to make monsters with class levels?
Say I was trying to make a 3rd level Harpy bard. Do I remove its seven hit dice, feats, BAB and skills etc and start from scratch? Or do I add the class levels on top of all that? How does level ...
10
votes
3answers
197 views
Looking for suggestions for quick character generation
I am considering setting up a semi-casual zombie-apocalypse game in which the player's characters will be based on "normal" people. [Rather than heroic characters.] This is not a game that I expect ...
10
votes
6answers
837 views
Oriental-themed characters in Pathfinder
We were planning on running a 3.5 campaign with an oriental-themed party: Samurai, Ninja, Shugenja, Wu Jen etc. There are all sorts of story reasons in place to make sense of this: a quasi-oriental ...
10
votes
3answers
144 views
Is it better with sparse or detailed pregen characters for a con adventure?
This is probably a bit subjective, but what do people prefer for pre-generated characters at conventions? Detailed characters with well-defined histories and personalities, or more sparse characters ...
10
votes
4answers
682 views
Character generation for the dresden files “case file” adventures
I was thinking of running the Dresden Files RPG, and I wanted to try it out and get my feet wet before I did a real long-term campaign. So I tried to run the "neutral grounds" case file (A free ...
10
votes
1answer
353 views
How do I build an 4e essentials character?
I'm having trouble interpreting the 4th Edition Essentials books. How do I determine how many powers a level 1 paladin/cavalier gets? The book never comes out and says it. With skills and feats, it's ...
10
votes
3answers
385 views
An insomniac character, how could that work?
I searched the player's handbook a while ago for the sleep deprivation rules but I don't remember finding anything, even though I recall having been told about such rules.
Apart from asking if any ...
10
votes
2answers
305 views
How can I introduce Life Paths to character generation?
The first time I played* Traveller, I found myself blown away by the detailed character creation, featuring year by year (4 year chunks actually) break down of how your character got where they are ...
