Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Denis_sadowski 04-19-04, 06:27 PM	How do you usually think of concepts for characters? Stoke of Genious (lol mtg pun not intended), game mechanic and build from there?
stanks 04-19-04, 08:14 PM	I usually have to turn my dnd brain off to do most things (insert addict here!) so character concepts for me usually come first...I just think of someone who I would have liked to be in another adventuring life...they will have all these wacked out stuff sometimes...and others they will very straight and narrow! Dont think about stats and suchlike, especially about character optimisation (that is all roll-playing) and tends to get boring pretty soon. Go for more flowery stuff...rather than saying you are on 6 hp (like that really means anything) say you are severly wounded, and would like to lay down for a while and get some medical attention / clerical intervention (esp. when you just got hit from about 70hp to 6 in about 30 secs!). You might want to be a slightly deranged wild dwarf who does things his own way (which usually include getting drunk afterwards)...or a rogue who is working against the local thieves guild...(not a good idea anyway...you tend to get assassinated!) The idea is more important than the figures! Anyway, thats my 2c
Denis_sadowski 04-19-04, 08:26 PM	lol i think i forgot to put an or between stoke of genoius and mehcanics. For some reason i cant seem to get an idea in my head, the only thing i can think of so far is that i would like to dual wield katars just becuase i think there a really cool weapon. The whole history of why he would do such a thing eludes. Though everyone that I've ever asked says katars arent for serious players and only rogues should even think about using them... (exept for Trydan and btw thx for the suggestions about the slave but i can't picture being to role play something like that).
stanks 04-20-04, 08:00 PM	One way of getting ideas is through books or movies...as I have heard other people suggest...LOtR, WoT and Dragonlance are good ideas...although I am suprised to not see more axewielding blacksmith builds (go Perrin and WoT!). Reading the flowery PHB also can give some basic backgroundy type stuff...which can be really good...and of which characters can be built (its a good place to start!)
pillarofautumn 04-23-04, 02:57 PM	Take a wild idea and run with it! I've seen a lot of "stock" players who play archetypes... but I'd rather run with wild ideas. Dual-wield Katars? DO IT. Make up a reason for it. Blind Wizard who needs magic to see? Daughter of the King, pretending to be a boy in order to escape the confines of the court? Go on with your bad self! Don't settle for the ordinary, and I think you'll be less tempted by the Min/Max route. Go for the unique. Think about fantasy/sci fi stories that you've seen/read, and think about the quirks that make characters interesting to you. Take that theme, and make up an excuse. Maybe the dual katar-user was a gladiator/slave in an empire to the East before he escaped... Maybe the katar-user was trained as a courtier/assassin to the local king, thus he/she only could specialize in easily-hidden weapons. Maybe he is a psychopathic knife freak who loves daggers and katars... Make sh!t up. The Dungeon Master does it all the time.
LiXinjian 04-23-04, 05:16 PM	My characters often spring from an illustration, or even a mini that I find cool-looking. It's always fun to have a mini that perfectly represents your character, and I can build something up from that. check out the galleries here (http://www.reapermini.com/gallery/) If I can find both an illustration AND a mini, then I'm really going somewhere. These minis are for a fantasy wargame and they also include a cool picture (http://www.simpleminiaturegames.com/GALLERIES/LIONS%20OF%20ALAHAN/index.html) It's often easy to look at a picture and get an idea of what kind of character that is. You instinctively guess what fits and what doesn't. The first thing you guess is the class (or classes), the abilities and even some spells if applicable. Mingled with some back knowledge of what I've been waiting for a chance to play (class-wise), I can usually come up with a rough character that I then flesh out with some later thoughts. My current character is a 6'4'' deep imaskari woman who whorships Shar and taps the Shadow Weave. She deceives and lies a bit, as is expected, but she also tries to corrupt her two fellow party members. The cleric of Tempus is well on his way to at least a neutral alignment, and she's come up with a plan to corrupt the swashbuckler as well, although the player will soon be ditching his character for another. Mina (that's her name) has some Red Wizard enemy looking for her, so she uses disguises to assume many different identities to confuse the trail. I plan on creating many fake identities over the course of her carreer: Mina is the adventurer, Leila could be the ancient languages teacher, Brenda the gemcutter or Stacy the Librarian. I play Mina as a flashy, deceitful character, which is a bit of a contradiction. But with so many fake identities in her near future, it's not so contradictory.. here's what she looks like (http://www.simpleminiaturegames.com/GALLERIES/UNDEAD/photos/photo_8.html) Anyway, I got a bit sidetracked here, but that's my point: I derive my ideas from pictures, mostly.
Son of Khoron 04-24-04, 07:59 AM	typically I have found to write really good concepts in a storyline is most beneficial, reason being a DM enjoys getting ideas from any story he/she reads. the concepts/storyline that have been used were based partially on real lives and souped up a bit with a dash of movies and books. good way to start: write a bio of yourself in a story and change the names and places to suit the campaign, add whatever events that you want occured in your past (as long as it has no repercussions inthe present unless the DM decides it would be cool to use)
BlackFlame 04-27-04, 02:33 AM	Hmm....well honestly...all of the above. Sometimes I like to come up w/some character concept that I think I'd have fun playing....like my current character the wandering martial artist from a faraway land. Others I come up with mechanics first (usually cuz I just read a new book/Prestige Class/ect), and then try to come up w/a background that fits. And sometimes stuff just pops in my head and won't go away till I put it on paper... All work, and well if you're having fun who cares? heh
The_Lawbringer 05-04-04, 08:36 PM	None of my friends like it very much but it never hurts to check out the Complete Hero Builder's Guidbook. If you've got just the basic idea of a character you want to play, the back section of the book can help you get some detailed ideas. I don't recall what Katars are but so what if they're not very good at dealing out the damage? The druid I'm playing right now isn't going to summon anything but wolves from a pack he befriended until it becomes waaay to dangerous for the wolves, he believes that pack mentality is better than a single animal running rampage, but he also cares about "his" pack and doesn't want to see harm done to them.
allenchan 05-05-04, 07:59 PM	Normally, I use PrC's for character concepts. It can be their driving goal, or something they've already established. I find something that sparks my interest, and then begin working backwards, looking at what time of person would be that class, have those goals, etc, and continue backwards to level one, and then finish with the background.
Grudthak 05-08-04, 12:49 PM	I use various sources... Books, movies etc are always good...Mind you we are bunch of mega movie nuts so half the fun is working out what char our newest chars are based on... WWE wrestlers make for an interesting concept... And if anything else fails, find A spell, weapon, skill, feat or whatever you like and work it around there... One trick I have done for a few mates is convert and base chars around Warhammer and Warhammer 40k characters... I am about to introduce 2 NPC's into my Assassins campaign, one is based from an Imperial Guard Commissar andd the other from one of my chars from Inquisitor
lyk'qrez'xren 05-08-04, 02:53 PM	i generally pick a class/achetype/ whatever. then i pick a species/race/whatever that feels right for the class. then i figure things like his back ground, any markings he has, why they're there,what weapon he uses and why, what his future goals are, if he belongs to an organizations and if so what is it about and what role does he play in that organization. and sometimes i take characters from books or movies or tv and alter them to feel more me and put them into the D20 system for playing. i've built intire characters just from a painting i'll see or even a song(only built one character from a song though)
Princeoflowlight 05-09-04, 12:17 AM	A good way to think is just ask yourself what appeals to you. What are your favorite fictional characters? Any historical figures you identify with or are fascinated by? What about them makes you like them so much? How could you represent this with D&D rules? Lastly and most importantly, do you think it'll be fun to play a character like this?
CJ1720 05-11-04, 06:04 AM	I usually think of personality first. I try to find a theme that I will build into the character's life. Often it is a simple and common theme. I have a gnome rogue/fighter who was the runt of his family -- Always made fun of, bumbling, loveless, luckless, homely -- you get the idea. In a sense he's a lost soul like the abandoned pup that has been kicked too many times. Hopeful yet timid and runs at the first hint of trouble. He's a fun character -- he does funny stuff and he is in the process of "discovering" himself. He is find reason to be more courageous and bold. I have a gnome cleric wizard who has been kept isolated from the world and is quite naive. She is sweet and innocent and not quite aware of the extent of her power and ability. I have a half-elf cleric who started adventuring at middle age after burying his human wife and of course human father and seeing his children grow up and marry. He is the paternal type always trying to take care of everyone else, patient, cautious and disciplined. For me character traits are most important. The rest -- type, skills, feats, equipement, even appearance -- will flow from it. Although appearance and abilities can greatly affect personality development. All of my characters have some sort of flaw, too. Interesting thread.
Ilanthe 05-12-04, 01:15 PM	The character I'm about to start playing grew from a vague idea of a ranger/archer. I'd started reading a Raymond Feist book (never got further than the first chapter) where a young boy is in the mountains on a quest to find his name, and when he returns to his village finds everyone has been killed. I was going to use that as my starting background but decided it was a bit of a heavy burden of angst for my character to carry and might not be much fun to rp. Instead I decided that her clan would banish her because... (bit of quick thinking about what might get her banished without her being evil) she has "demon blood". A bit of magic and mystery in a character background never hurts. At this point the DM suggested she could have the blood of a long lost race in his homebrew world. They were innate magic users, and I was going to add a level of sorcerer to give her a bit of magic ability, but he suggested giving her elven race stats instead to represent her ancestry: she can see better than human, doesn't need to sleep but is disturbed by strange dreams etc etc. Then I remembered seeing pictures of Keira Knightley wielding a bow in the upcoming King Arthur film, and this was added to the mix. The DM then told us we could have a magic item each, but it had to be named and have significance for our character. By the time I'd created her bow, I'd worked out a whole culture and family for her. So basically: a book, a picture, a class, plus bouncing ideas off a very helpful DM. Carrying on working on her background, instead of just going with my first idea definitely helped add some depth. The only problem is I know what she was like when she was banished - but have no idea what she's like now, a few levels later.
Trydan 05-12-04, 01:33 PM	Character ideas can come from a great variety of places. Obviously, books and films have already been suggested, but there are plenty of others. Look about the train on the way home - chances are that you'll see a face that will inspire you. Perhaps you play Magic; the Gathering. Look at some of the cards (especially the "summon legend" cards). Go for ones with "flavour text" and try to envisage what brough the character/card to have such a quote attributed to them. Don't forget computer games. Sometimes a good looking miniature will be the inspiration - or even just some good fantasy artwork (take a look at the PC Gallery on the main WotC D&D site). Pick a concept from the natural world (fire, storms, forests, oceans) and consider a character that is at one with this primeval force. Choose a weapon that you like, and then build the character around the weapon. Ask your DM if you can "steal" one of the NPCs from a previous session/campaign. Look for an obscure mechanic in the PHB, and build the character around that. Consider a cool animal, and work from there. That is, design the familiar first and then pick the character to match.However, the most important thing is to write down your ideas (on paper or into a computer file). Your inspiritation will not suddenly spring to life on the night of the first session when it is time to roll up a new character. No... inspiration comes at the unusual times, and if you don't record it, it will be quickly forgotten.
TheMightyMcClaw 05-18-04, 09:38 PM	I usually start with something pretty small..... I find the less I think out the character at the beginning, the more naturally I play him. For example: I want to a crazy guy who lives in the woods. Ended up being an emotionally unbalanced ranger/barbarian and one of the most distinct personalities I've ever created. I want to play a Final Fantasy V Mystic Knight. Ended up as a hexblade/sorcerer/spellsword, a fine gentleman, a ruthless warlord, and a soulless warlock cleanly blended together. Right now I really want to play an Inkyo/Hexblade; these two classes are about as awkward an incompatible as I can find, and I want to see what can grow out of it. Right now I'm thinking of playing it as something akin to a psuedo-wiccan paladin.
Galethorn 05-19-04, 12:22 AM	Originally posted by Trydan Choose a weapon that you like, and then build the character around the weapon. Guilty as charged. My newest character (who I made and started last weekend) is basically a spear-master. My DM let me use the plain 'ol spear as a one-handed martial weapon, so now I use a spear and shield, while TWFing with Improved Shield Bash, not to mention Axe-Thrower (which applies to spears) from the latest FR book. So, I'm a level 8 fighter, and I kill things with my spears (he's a weapon-crafter, so he makes masterwork throwing spears for himself). So, I had the mechanics, and I needed a concept. Since I was from The North (so as to get Axe-Thrower), I thought that being a vikingish character would be the way to go. So, I thought a bit about what kind of guy he'd be, what he'd be called, and so on... Well, I came up with Beowyc, son of Eolan (my unimaginably powerful Barbarian in a previous FR campaign). He's 6'5" tall, burly, and adventurous. The son of an accomplished warrior (Eolan wrestled (and helped kill) the head Pasha of Calimshan, helped temporarily rid Undermountain of Halaster, and also helped return the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords to its bearded owners), Beowyc had a lot to live up to. Being raised in a more structured environment than his father, Beowyc never really learned to live in the wild, so he focused his training on specializing in a weapon. Choosing the spear (of both the Long- and normal varieties), he set off as a wandering hero. His life's work is to kill evil monsters (woo, how original), and he takes that job very seriously. Everything else, though, is an opprotunity for good times. He (like his father), has more than a few dragon's teeth in his trophy pouch. So, you see, I chose a weapon, and then went with it to combine aspects from 'in game' history, and end up with a character with plenty of background, despite (perhaps) having the most generic possible basics for a character; a human fighter. Now, if he was neutral good (rather than chaotic), and fought with a longsword and shield, THEN he'd be more generic.