Creating a character is a process that takes a few simple steps. Usually a newly-created character will be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level, though it's obviously possible to start with higher level characters as well. There is a charm to starting at 1st level, but some groups hate the "powerlessness" of being low level. Whatever you do, just make sure that every character in the group is the same level. Having characters of different levels in the same group is just not a good time.
To start with, you have to decide on a vague character concept. You don't need to know exactly everything, but you should try to come up with a general idea of what you think would make for an interesting character that you'd want to play as, and that would fit in with the rest of the group. Attempting to fit you plan in with the rest of the groups's is essential, so that you can all have a chance to participate in as many of the same scenes as possible. If it seems like your first idea won't work, maybe it will work with just a few changes. When the party wants to play as a pirate crew, a knight on horseback probably isn't the best plan (hard to fit that on a boat), but perhaps a goblin on wolf-back could work out.
As part of your charcter concept there's two major choices you need to pick: race and class. Some people pick one and then use that to help them select the other (by narrowing down the "good options"), while others have a specific race and class in mind as soon as they begin to make a new character.
- Race generally gives you some stat adjustments as well as some small mechanical benefits to fit. It's often more of a role-playing selection than a major mechanical selection.
- Class affects most of your character's abilities. Your class provides most of the combat, exploration, and interaction abilities that you're likely to use on an adventure, including influencing your skill selection.
Once you've picked your race and class, you should assign some ability scores, keeping in mind your race's ability adjustments as you go.
There are many ways to select ability scores. Some people roll, some people use a point buy system, some people are simply given a set of numbers that everyone in the group gets to use by the GM. It doesn't matter too much except for the following two things:
- Point-buy systems favor caster characters, who generally only need to have a high stat in their spellcasting stat.
- Rolling for stats is fun and all, but it really sucks when one person rolls high and someone else rolls low.
Keeping the above two points in mind, the suggested setup is for every player to roll 4d6 and drop the lowest of the four from the total. Players each roll a stat until 6 stats have been rolled (some players may need to roll twice if the group isn't big enough), and then everyone can arrange those 6 numbers in whatever order they like. You get the random-element of rolling for stats, but everyone still starts on equal footing.
Once your race, class, and ability scores are all settled, you should write down any special racial abilities or effects that you may have, and also record all of your class features. Base Attack Bonus, Base Save Bonuses, Hit Points, and any Special Abilities.
1st level charcters get maximum hit points (maximum die result + Constitution Modifer). Characters above 1st level should determine their hit points according to however the group is doing hit points (see the Character Advancement chapter for some suggestions).
Your skills come from your class, but there's enough choice in this step to call it out seperately. You need to assign your skill points. Each skill point gets you 1 rank in a skill. Class skills can have a maximum rank of your level + 3, and cross-class skills can have a maximum rank of half that. Note that even cross-class skills get 1 rank per skill point, even though they have a lower maximum rank1. If you spread into cross-class skills you'll just have to spend on
You get a number of skill points per level based on your class, and your intelligence modifier is added into that. You get a minimum of 1 skill point per level, even if your intelligence modifier would cause you to get 0 or less skills per level. At 1st level you get 4 times the normal skill allotment.
Mathimatically inclined folks will probably notice that because you get x4 skill points per level at 1st level, and because class skills have a maximum rank of your level +3, you can simply pick a number of skills equal to your skills per level and always have them at maximum rank. If you're not quite sure where you want your skill points, this is a good "default" plan. Because parties adventure in groups, usually characters can do well simply by focusing on their good skills and letting others cover situations that they're not as good at.
The Skills chapter includes some common alternate skills rules as well, so check with your group if you're not sure.
A character gets 1 feat at first level (just for being cool) and 1 additional feat at every level that's evenly divisible by 3 (so that's 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc). There's not more much to say here, but it's an important step so don't forget.
Last, once all the rest is picked out, you need to get some equipment.
When starting at first level you get the following:
- A Light armor of your choice, up to 100gp in value. Only if you're going to actually use it, not if you're just going to sell it off as soon as the game starts. Be reasonable here.
- A primary weapon of your choice. Again, one that you're going to use, not for you to resell.
- Any tool or toolkit essential to your class's trade (Holy Symbol, Spellbook, Thieves' Tools, etc).
- 25 additional gold. You can use this to buy more starting equipment or you can just keep it. You should probably get at least some food (0.5gp/day), and a backpack (2gp) to carry it with. If your character should use a shield don't forget to pick one up (7gp), and rope is always good of course (1gp per 50ft coil). See the Equipment chapter for full details on the kinds of things you can buy.
Starting above 1st level, there's a wide variety in what players will join the game with. Particularly if you've made a replacement character for one that died, and so you're rejoining a well established group that can provide you with some equipment.
A 2nd level character should generally get the same sorts of things that a 1st level character does, up to 900gp total. This lets you start with masterwork versions of all your things, and have some reasonable spending change for bribes, or a horse and cart, or whatever you like.
A 3rd level character should probably have up to 2,700gp worth of stuff, which allows for one or two minor magical items.
Beyond that it gets pretty arbitrary, so have your MC make something up.
Footnotes
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This is another subtle Tome change. In the SRD, cross-class skills only got half a rank per point, but that's stupid. ↩