Couple Questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Couple Questions [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Penguintine
03-18-08, 12:38 PM Does anyone have a great link to a character creation/background building site?

I'm looking for a very thorough step by step guide.

My other question is, about what age should a 10th level character be?

Thanks!
Orchomenos
03-18-08, 12:47 PM 1) See my sig. I'd say start by lurking the Character Concepts Compilation & Character Quirks to get some ideas. Then follow Harrow Blade's Character Background Guide. Finish with the Ten Tips, and the Background in 100 Questions to polish it.

2) I'd say as low as 20 years old (if he started adventuring at 15 and acquired a level every 6 months). There wouldn't be any higher limit, some NPCs are still Commoner 1 when they die of old age...
kelvinaw273
03-18-08, 12:47 PM I've heard Heroforge is a great program, but never tried it.

As for background and age, that's really up to your imagination. Has your character had a meteoric rise to fame and fortune, or did he slog his way up the ladder? It's up to you to decide his motivation, inspiration and the like. If you want us to critique or throw ideas into the ring, feel free to ask!
Penguintine
03-18-08, 12:56 PM Another question I have, is that is it reasonable to have a 10th level adventurer to have been in training for all of their levels? I'm thinking of like a cloistered mage or cleric.
pres_man
03-18-08, 01:45 PM Another question I have, is that is it reasonable to have a 10th level adventurer to have been in training for all of their levels? I'm thinking of like a cloistered mage or cleric.

Sure, you gain xp from overcoming challenges not killing things necessarily. I would say in the case of cloistered person they should probably be older though, middle aged maybe.
Escef
03-18-08, 02:32 PM Sure, you gain xp from overcoming challenges not killing things necessarily. I would say in the case of cloistered person they should probably be older though, middle aged maybe.

For PCs, yes. NPCs level as the DMs needs dictate, hopefully without breaking suspension of disbelief.
Shiftkitty
03-18-08, 03:43 PM Central Casting used to have a great line of books with chart after chart that actually built a coherent backstory for any character of any level. If you can get those, especially the one aimed at D&D type RPGs, they're a goldmine! Just for yuks I decided to roll up a simple background for an NPC farmer, a very non-descript person who was handy to the PCs for a little information. Kind of guy who just seemed to know what was going on and where. What came out made Indiana Jones look like a piker! Like Lara Croft has posters of this farmer up in her room! He'd been to every major tomb (and more than a few minor ones) for plunder and artifacts, been hired by almost every government on the planet at one point or another, uncovered more buried cities and dungeons than anyone in history, and yet when the PCs asked about his early life all he'd do is look fondly at his fields and say "Been diggin' around in the dirt most all my life, I s'pose."

It was a rollercoaster ride of dice rolling, and not every character comes out that colorful, but it's the only background generator I've ever seen that is truly random yet still coherent. It's old, from the days of 2e, but well worth it!
kamronshepard
03-18-08, 10:35 PM The character optimization board can help you build your character too.
toucanbuzz
03-19-08, 10:16 AM Regarding age, in 2nd edition I used to, without any reference to rules or otherwise, arbitrarily assume one year per level gained had passed between adventures to represent the necessary time to learn new skills, spells, and just reflect on what had recently been learend.

So, for a 10th level character (human), it'd be likely he'd be 26-29. I look at NPC characters for guidance, and you don't see 18 year old 10th level characters. It's just not realistic to presume that much expertise, skill, and knowledge can be obtained in such a short while. Yet, in a superadventure where you can go up several levels in a short time, a set rule flies out the window. Under that, I would rule that if you gained 3 levels in a continuous adventure, once done, three years would pass to assimilate all that was learned and train up (kind of the "preparing in advance" option of justifying how you gain levels and skill ranks mid-adventure without training). If I go by D&D training rules in the DMG, this would be a variable, not a set time, and you're free to calculate the individual training times and costs for that to guess-timate age.

Ultimately, it's your call; this was just my system in 2nd edition. I haven't figured out a good one for 3.x, but I think I'm going back to it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Penguintine 03-18-08, 12:38 PM	Does anyone have a great link to a character creation/background building site? I'm looking for a very thorough step by step guide. My other question is, about what age should a 10th level character be? Thanks!
Orchomenos 03-18-08, 12:47 PM	1) See my sig. I'd say start by lurking the Character Concepts Compilation & Character Quirks to get some ideas. Then follow Harrow Blade's Character Background Guide. Finish with the Ten Tips, and the Background in 100 Questions to polish it. 2) I'd say as low as 20 years old (if he started adventuring at 15 and acquired a level every 6 months). There wouldn't be any higher limit, some NPCs are still Commoner 1 when they die of old age...
kelvinaw273 03-18-08, 12:47 PM	I've heard Heroforge is a great program, but never tried it. As for background and age, that's really up to your imagination. Has your character had a meteoric rise to fame and fortune, or did he slog his way up the ladder? It's up to you to decide his motivation, inspiration and the like. If you want us to critique or throw ideas into the ring, feel free to ask!
Penguintine 03-18-08, 12:56 PM	Another question I have, is that is it reasonable to have a 10th level adventurer to have been in training for all of their levels? I'm thinking of like a cloistered mage or cleric.
pres_man 03-18-08, 01:45 PM	Another question I have, is that is it reasonable to have a 10th level adventurer to have been in training for all of their levels? I'm thinking of like a cloistered mage or cleric. Sure, you gain xp from overcoming challenges not killing things necessarily. I would say in the case of cloistered person they should probably be older though, middle aged maybe.
Escef 03-18-08, 02:32 PM	Sure, you gain xp from overcoming challenges not killing things necessarily. I would say in the case of cloistered person they should probably be older though, middle aged maybe. For PCs, yes. NPCs level as the DMs needs dictate, hopefully without breaking suspension of disbelief.
Shiftkitty 03-18-08, 03:43 PM	Central Casting used to have a great line of books with chart after chart that actually built a coherent backstory for any character of any level. If you can get those, especially the one aimed at D&D type RPGs, they're a goldmine! Just for yuks I decided to roll up a simple background for an NPC farmer, a very non-descript person who was handy to the PCs for a little information. Kind of guy who just seemed to know what was going on and where. What came out made Indiana Jones look like a piker! Like Lara Croft has posters of this farmer up in her room! He'd been to every major tomb (and more than a few minor ones) for plunder and artifacts, been hired by almost every government on the planet at one point or another, uncovered more buried cities and dungeons than anyone in history, and yet when the PCs asked about his early life all he'd do is look fondly at his fields and say "Been diggin' around in the dirt most all my life, I s'pose." It was a rollercoaster ride of dice rolling, and not every character comes out that colorful, but it's the only background generator I've ever seen that is truly random yet still coherent. It's old, from the days of 2e, but well worth it!
kamronshepard 03-18-08, 10:35 PM	The character optimization board can help you build your character too.
toucanbuzz 03-19-08, 10:16 AM	Regarding age, in 2nd edition I used to, without any reference to rules or otherwise, arbitrarily assume one year per level gained had passed between adventures to represent the necessary time to learn new skills, spells, and just reflect on what had recently been learend. So, for a 10th level character (human), it'd be likely he'd be 26-29. I look at NPC characters for guidance, and you don't see 18 year old 10th level characters. It's just not realistic to presume that much expertise, skill, and knowledge can be obtained in such a short while. Yet, in a superadventure where you can go up several levels in a short time, a set rule flies out the window. Under that, I would rule that if you gained 3 levels in a continuous adventure, once done, three years would pass to assimilate all that was learned and train up (kind of the "preparing in advance" option of justifying how you gain levels and skill ranks mid-adventure without training). If I go by D&D training rules in the DMG, this would be a variable, not a set time, and you're free to calculate the individual training times and costs for that to guess-timate age. Ultimately, it's your call; this was just my system in 2nd edition. I haven't figured out a good one for 3.x, but I think I'm going back to it.