Describe your character creation process /tg/.
I don't mean rolling for stats and choosing feats, describe how you discover the essence of this fictional being whom you'll be spending so much of your leisure time with.
For myself, I like to start with the character's main driving force in life, what they want more than anything. Then I start to set up internal or external obstacles to achieving that goal. Once I have a handle on these two opposing forces, I can start thinking about how they look and behave and how their life has shaped them up to the point of the campaign.
>See character in [Work of Fiction] that I like.
>Get inspired
>Take one or two more characters from [Works of Fiction that I also like].
>Throw characters in a blender, hit puree.
>Modify the resulting mush until its no longer recognizable as any of the original materials.
>Expand backstory and motivations.
>Find character art.
>Done
>>44402854
>not commisioning your own art
>Find character art
>Shoehorn character art into GM's setting
>Make backstory
>Find mechanics to suit backstory, without giving up mechanical strength.
>>44402889
Sometimes I use drawthreads. Does that count?
>>44402889
>Paying money for your bullshit character nobody cares about
>Campaign will probably end in 4 sessions
>If it doesn't, your character will die.
Have fun spending money on useless shit nobody cares about. I typically just get a meme image of an anime character for roll20 purposes. If anybody throws a fit, I call them an autistic manchild, and tell them I only use the token for mechanical representation of a token.
>>44402914
>tfw I'm in a campaign which is on session 60 this friday which I've been in since the beginning.
Stay mad.
>>44402898
Yea thats even better
>>44402926
>>44402914
>>44402896
>>44402854
>>44402796
>Playing games
>Not ForeverGM
I just shit from boorus. I gave up on getting good art when my players gave up on not treating every enemy likes sacks of HP and loot.
>decide what role this npc will play
>give them three character traits a distinguishing physical characteristic, and a name.
>do this for every npc, including mook orc hordes.
>let them develop naturally from there.
>>44402796
That's similar to how I do it. I like to think about where they start though.
Taking as an example a character I really want to play for D&D. The character wants, more than anything, power over his circumstances. Thing is, he was born a random bastard in a middle of nowhere village. (Obstacles and circumstances) That said, the circumstances will considerably affect the obstacles - for instance, a bastard will have trouble being taken seriously or not being treated like shit, but the son of a dispossessed duke will probably have a lot of friends who can offer aid here and there. And probably some assassins who want to make sure he can't get the band back together and retake his birthright.
>>44402854
You didn't need the brackets.
>>44402796
>Have an idea, might be through media or just out of the blue (with idea I mean, personality/goals/etc)
>See how I can make this best suit the setting/campaign
>decide on rough backstory
>decide on rough looks
>adjust all the previous considerations to fit together
>hammer out the rules part of the character
>name
>put it on the sheet
Forever GM here QQ
Nah, but when I do make a character I usually find a fictional character that I really like and draw inspiration from them. If I'm playing 5th ed, which has been really popular for my friends lately, I'll use the background for more inspiration.
Depending on my mood tho, I'll sometimes make Characters that are generally homicidal but will work with the party cuz we go on enough adventures for me to fill my lust for killing. That doesn't happen often anymore tho because I've mostly outgrown my edgelord days.
>>44402796
>Get told by GM/DM what game is going to be run
>Either find out what role needs filling, or, if no role really needs filling, find an interesting combination of skills/spells/whatever in the books for whichever system game is going to be in
>Pick a race that may benefit those skills.
>Kinda build up a backstory based around those skills.
>Spend about a week trying to come up with a decent name.
>Get pissed, hunt down the common racial/provincial names in a splat book
>Realize either the skills are bad or the backstory and motivation suck
>Start over from step 2
>Eventually settle on a character after about 3 false starts
>Try to make a valid visual representation of what I believe they look like using Heromachine
>Not great, not terrible, that'll do.
>>44402796
I get a rough concept of a character, and develop their personality and history while I work on their creation crunchwise, explaining stat allocations with backstory events and trends, for example.
On the rare occasion I get to be a player, I work backwards compared to the way most people seem to do it.
I first pick a character option that seems mechanically fun to play, like a class or race or archetype or whatever. After that, I look at what my character can do and what he knows, and figure out where he learned those things and why. It's a method that works well for me.
>Come up with a fun or interesting character mechanically.
>Think of a backstory based on his/her abilities, drawing from fiction and other concepts I think are cool.
>Write a portion of that backstory out as an actual story. I find it's easier to decided how my character might act in certain situations if I write through them.
>Give story + character sheet over to the DM.
>>44402796
Depends entirely on the game. Usually I go with mechanics first. What design will I have fun exploring? I consider my build carefully and what kind of progression I'm looking at. Then I tailor a character to fit that progression by creating the history. Am I looking at making an alchemist who is going to multiclass into something else? Maybe he's going to set out to convince the world that Alchemy is the end-all be-all to science and magic only to learn that it isn't. Cyberpunk setting where my character becomes a master hacker? Maybe he's a kid who just needs the skills to survive by siphoning money from the people who need it the least, and along the way gets mixed up in some crazy shit.
>look at current group
>identify any holes that the group has (needs more martial, healing, magic, etc)
>identify job class I haven't played before that fulfills party's need
>make a backstory with an internal and external goal that the DM doesn't have to bend over backwards to fit into the story
>let character develop throughout the game
But my favorite method is to pair up with a friend or the SO to make 2 characters that are linked in some way. I like the interconnectedness.
>>44406136
>spend a week trying to come up with a decent name
THANK YOU. This is always my biggest struggle as well since the name often shapes how I view the character.
>>44402796
Role Playing is the one media where I can just make the "Idea of a Character." The one place I don't have to worry about backstory, or drive, or anything unless something particularly strikes me. I often just come up with the idea, for example "Dual Gun Wielding Agent." Then I just start play as that.
I am creative enough to be able to make up any needed background, history, and goals on the fly. After I making something up (or the GM makes something up for me) I stick too it. Usually jotting the point on the back of my sheet.
>>44406136
This
>>44402796
Develop NPC ties to the world, Usually this is Family and friends.
Shape my character to complement their NPC ties, Pick class / race that fits.
Usually I take about 2 sentences per NPC, jotting down any additional headcanon I have so my GM can easily pick them up if needed without worrying about intruding on player agency.
Find some art that fits the rough character concept
Complete bookkeeping and cobble together a short backstory to fit them into their NPC connections and the party.
>Acquire inspiration
>Imagine what they look like
>Think of what they're like when they're angry, how they fight (if they fight), what kind of insults they would use, essentially what they would be like as an enemy
>Finalize their appearance
>Think of what they're like when they're not angry, when they're calm or even happy
>Name them and give them a backstory, whichever I get to first
>Fine tune their personality, backstory, appearance and so on, but usually the name I settle with is final
>>44402796
>find class you're somewhat interested in
>think of all characters from every form of media that roughly match the skillset
>pick one for appearance and demeanor
>pick random archetype (intrepid explorer, old vet, loyal lancer, lone wolf, etc.)
>pick outcome that I want in game (vanquish evil, get rich, etc.) and tailor the specifics to setting
>>44402889
>not drawing your own character art
