Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Thalien 01-28-07, 10:59 PM	ive never really made a backround for a character but my dm wants us to start over again and i wanted to incorparate my trip chain character into my next character..i was thinking of making a rogue or something and i dont know wat to do. i know its vague but ive never done b4, and my fighter was the most powerful character in the group and thats y i want his legacy to live on.
Radijs 01-29-07, 10:14 AM	I've never really made a backround for a character but my dm wants us to start over again and I wanted to incorparate my trip chain character into my next character..I was thinking of making a rogue or something and I dont know wat to do. I know its vague but ive never done before, and my fighter was the most powerful character in the group and thats why I want his legacy to live on. corrected for spelling and capitalization. Now on to business. I take it you've read the FAQ (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=88555) and the "how to create a roleplaying character" (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=105563) thread. They contain a lot of useful information regarding the making of your character. Oh and you'll probably want to avoid cliche's like killed parents (in front of him) and living to avenge them. Its been done more often then the earth has gone around the sun.
CaptainShar 01-29-07, 07:09 PM	If I'm reading you correctly, your new PC is the son of your previous PC (a spiked chain fighter). I would imagine that the son's attitude toward his father would be largely influenced by his father's behavior. Was the father kind to him? To his mother? Was he just never around because he was off adventuring all the time? Did the father become a local legend for bringing about great good, or great evil? This can all influence your character's attitude towards the father. Now, what's your character's alignment on the chaotic-lawful axis? If the character is lawful and admires his father, he probably wants to bring glory to his father's name by doing similar deeds. If he's chaotic, he might want to differentiate himself from his father, or be known to surpass him. If he does not admire his father, he might wish to do the opposite of him, either quietly (if he's lawful) or flamboyantly (if he's chaotic). Speaking of alignments, picking one characteristic that is not neutral can be a good first step in roleplaying. Pick either good, evil, law, or chaos, read the appropriate entry in the Player's Handbook for that alignment, and try to give your character that outlook. Then think of tangible reasons why he would have that outlook, and finally, extend his behavior into what he would do (i.e., what you will roleplay) for that outlook. For example, I just made a chaotic neutral character. He's chaotic neutral because a city's laws and red tape ruined his parents' business. He's harbored resentment about this for so long that now he's practically a revolutionary. But, he's smart enough that he won't just attack a city guard on sight. Also, "revolutionary" is too broad. Within "revolutionary," I have specific examples of what he would do. For example, he likes to encourage bar fights. Or, as a kid he liked to chase well-dressed people down the street for fun. He's also not chaotic about everything. For example, he's very loyal to his family. One final note: discuss your backstory with the DM and with the other players. You don't want to decide that your character developed a morbid fear of terrasques as a child and find out that a. there are no terrasques in this world or b. another character is playing one (for some odd reason).
Adrian_Crane 01-29-07, 09:58 PM	Heh...I'd love to see a PC Tarrasque. "Excuse me, good Commoner, but I'm feeling a mite peckish. Could you perhaps point me towards the nearest metropolis? Oh, and I'll be taking you along since I'm going to need a snack for the road, I do hope you won't mind." As to the OP, though: first off, if you want power, Fighter is a poor choice in the long run. It's great for about 2 levels, maybe 4, but beyond that there's very little worthwhile from a strict optimization standpoint. Clerics and Druids are the most powerful core classes and can be quite mighty even as pure 20-level builds without worrying about multiclassing and PrCs. And now that I've said my CharOp bit: First, why does your DM want to start over? If your trip character was too powerful for him to deal with, then watch out, because making another will get you nowhere. That said, I firmly believe that a good DM can work with just about anything, but good DMs are also hard to find. Personally, I'd avoid the father/son thing because it's too obvious. Go with something drastically different--how about a Fighter/Barbarian build, a guy who's savage and primitive and tears things to shreds with his signature chain weapon? Take the same build you had before, just put a different spin on it. You can have him be an honorable type who is polite (but straightforward), and loses himself in the thrill of battle, or a primitive brute who pretty much wants to be killing things all the time. If you want to stick with Fighter, try a character unrelated to your original; if your first guy was a mercenary, have this new one be a former member of the King's Guard or something. Start fresh, work with some new motives and a different personality. You'll play pretty much the same in combat, but it will let you try some other things out personality-wise when you're not fighting. That's my opinion, at least.
Herobane 01-31-07, 02:28 AM	Reading this, does anyone else have the line "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" running through their head(s)?
Elemental_Elf 01-31-07, 02:35 AM	Why not do the opposite from your inclination and make your new character the Father of your previous brawler! Of course you'd take a hit with the Aging rules but it would make for one heck of a cooler story.