How to make a character

So I didnt think about the fact that most of you have never played before, and therefore dont know the process of character creation. So here comes the instructions, and an example character to help you.

First step:
Usually the first thing i like to do is figure out what i want my character to be able to do. For newer gamers this often revolves around what do you want your character to be capable of in combat (the front line fighter, the healer, mage, or support type). More experienced gamers tend to look more at what type of personality do they want to play, or to be more focused, how they specifically want to play their character (some do this by creating a history for their character, or perhaps its something new that they've never tried before). Once you know what you want to be able to do it then becomes easier to decide what class and race you want to be.

So i've decided that i want to make a melee character who uses large objects to fight with, maybe a big axe or a club, i dont know yet. I dont really care what he can do outside of combat cause i dont want him to be all that smart. His catch phrase will be:"THORG HUNGRY! ME WANT EATS!" Because im making a simple simon, i think i will make him a half-orc barbarian.


Step two:
So you know what you want to be able to do now, and you know your race and class. In this step we assign our stats (how this is done is determined by the game master, and can change from one game to the next) the stats are strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma.

Strength- how strong you are(obviously) strength determines how much weight you can lift and carry, it also impacts damage for melee attacks and is used for some skill checks, like climbing, or jumping.

Dexterity- hand eye coordination, balance and agility. dexterity is good for ranged based characters as it affects your hit rate. it is used for skill checks for dex based skills like sleight of hand, hide, escape artist.

Constitution- a measure of how resilient a person is, used to determine a characters endurance, resistance to disease and how much hp a character has.

Intelligence- is how quickly your character can learn(directly effects the number of skill points a character gets), how many languages your character knows initially, and of course, some skills are intelligence based. key stat for wizards

Wisdom- is your willpower, common sense, perception and intuition. this stat is important for clerics, druids, rangers, and paladins as it affects their ability to cast spells, and is used for more skills like spot or sense motive

Charisma-impacts how people react to you. this determines how likable you are, your appearance and your ability to interact with others. it is used for skills such as bluff, disguise, and perform.


In our game we will be using the point buy method presented on the website i posted in another thread, with 40 points rather than the 30 shown there. Also, if you chose a race other than human, dont forget to include your racial modifications to stats.

Here you can see Thorg with and without his racial modifications, and ability modifiers added in.

Thorg
Str 18 Str 20 +5
Dex 14 Dex 14 +2
Con 16 Con 16 +3
Int 8 Int 6 -2
Wis 14 Wis 14 +2
Cha 10 Cha 8 -1


Step three:
Ok so we have our stats, now we need to get our skills. Before choosing skills, its good to know how they work. When using a skill, sometimes you can just use it with no problem, other times it will be difficult. For example, you could sit at a table and read a book, fairly simple right? Ok well what about trying to read a book while on the back of a galloping horse? When things are more challenging the GM determines a difficulty rating (called a DC). The player then rolls a 20 sided die then adds their skill bonus, their stat mod, and any possible racial bonus to their die roll (there are some things outside of those listed that can lower your success rate).

Lets say our buddy Thorg has 3 ranks in climbing, and is trying to climb the outside of a building to get away from the angry mob with torches and pitchforks. Well lets say the evil GM gives this climb a DC of 15. Climb is a STR based skill so Thorg gets to take his str mod (+5) and his skill mod (+3) and add those to his roll, meaning on a d20 Thorg only has to roll a 7 or higher to successfully climb up the side of the building.

Now skills come in two varieties, Class skills, and cross class skills. Class skills are directly related to your class, and cost fewer skill points to rank, cross class have little to no bearing on your class and are harder for you to learn (take more points). There is also a skill rank cap of your current level +3 for class skills, and half of that for cross class skills. For class skills 1 point = 1 rank, for cross class 1 point = .5 rank. Anything not directly listed as a class skill is considered to be cross class.

Initial skill points are determined by your class and your intelligence modifier multiplied by 4. For Thorg this is 4 + (-2) x 4= 8.

Step four:
Next up is choosing a feat. Every character gains 1 feat at level 1 (human characters gain a bonus feat at lvl 1), and then another at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, etc. Some of the classes grant bonus feats at various levels. Some of those are class specific and others are just a bonus feat from a specific list. Most feats have a prerequisite, some requiring other feats to be gotten first, others simply require a certain level or stat score.

Thorg shall take on the feat of extra rage, which lets him use the barbarian special ability to rage, twice more per day. what can i say, he has a short temper.

Tip: It is often a good idea to plan out your feats in advance so that you can meet the prereq's for other feats later on.

Step five
This next bit will require some help from me for most of you. This comes the part where you begin to flesh out your character. Determine their height, weight, age, appearance. What god they follow(if any), and their alignment.

Mixed in with this will also be determining what sort of equipment you have. Obviously this is directly related to your class, and the way you want to portray your character. This is the time that you will purchase your equipment with a certain amount of starting cash(based on class), armor, weapons, perhaps some customization like a ring handed down from a parent that hold sentimental value.


Well now you have the basics of making a character. Always remember your GM should be more than willing to assist you and give you advice during your characters creation.

Feel free to post any questions you have about the guide here and I will answer them as best I can. There may be things I have said that are clear to me with my long experience that are confusing to newer players.

Aaaawesome guide, Gus ^^

I'mma plan out my feats like I do my skill trees +_+ And for Ari too once she finalizes what she wants to be.

I'm wondering, though, why Thorg has a total of 80 stat points instead of 40?

once your stats get higher they start to cost more, also you start at 8 not 0.

I also forgot to mention in my previous post, there are flaws that one can take to gain extra feats. you can only take 2 flaws, for two extra feats. as of yet i havent found a list on the internet of what are actually WotC flaws. though there seem to be plenty of them that are fan made. i do have the listing in one of my books, but that really doesnt help you guys ><

a chart containing spell points and bonus spell points can be found here CLICK ME!

How much gold do we start with to purchase equipment? And are there any equipments we need to make sure we have on hand aside from things we might use for our class/ weapons? =)

sorry somehow i missed this post notification. everyone is starting with their max class gold for starting equipment cause im feeling generous. also i am allowing 1 higher value item for each character. something of sentimental value, perhaps a hand me down from a parent or close family friend. these are subject to approval on a case by case basis.

hmm does a pendant from the ruins of my family house okay?

Although with the way I am going with my monk I might not be able to bring any of that stuff.