Creating a Character
Creating a character might seem like a daunting task, but with this guide, it can be made really easily! Do note that this is just a guide for beginner players who just want a quick guide on how to fill in a Character Sheet. For advance character creation, do refer to the numerous resources over on our resource section!
Step 1: Deciding your concept
Before you play, everyone needs to decide what kind of character you want to create. Don't worry about the math just yet, all you need to do is really just decide in your mind what kind of character you're looking to play. Is he a fighter, or magic user? Does he prefer to be stealthy and attack from the shadows, rain arrows from a safe distance or charm his way out of situations?
Once you have an idea of what kind of character you want to play, things will be much easier. For this guide I'm going to share with all of you the thought process that goes behind the creation of one of my favorite characters of all time, Lyseth Silverhair aka Puupol.
Lyseth was born on a farm, but always harbored grand notions of wanting to become a Paladin of the Light! She thought Paladins were the most amazing people around, going around and doing so much good in the world, and in fact she tried to follow as many Paladin tenets and codes that she could growing up. Eventually, she did manage to join the ranks of the Paladins of Iomedae, and together with the Silver Crusade, set out to route the undead and demonic influences on the world!
Step 2: How do I translate all that into a character sheet!
Firstly, download the character and inventory sheet from Paizo, we recommend you go through this guide with the sheet as reference while creating!
Factions matter only in Pathfinder Society, as you're expected to join one of the 8 factions. They do matter somewhat in terms of personal goals and exclusive faction rewards, however, you technically don't need to choose till you hit level 2, as the introductory games are meant for you to get a feel of the various factions, then choose what suits you. If you're impatient, you can find out more about it on Paizo, or... continue reading our handy dandy guide! Do note that the following is a very tongue-in-cheek description of the factions, written to let the majority of people not at all familiar with Golarion lore understand what each faction is all about.
In this next section, we'll be covering the basic stats of your character, and the math needed for combat!
Ability Points represent your "stats" in a conventional computer RPG game. Let us use Mr Tomato to explain the various stats.
Step 1: Deciding your concept
Before you play, everyone needs to decide what kind of character you want to create. Don't worry about the math just yet, all you need to do is really just decide in your mind what kind of character you're looking to play. Is he a fighter, or magic user? Does he prefer to be stealthy and attack from the shadows, rain arrows from a safe distance or charm his way out of situations?
Once you have an idea of what kind of character you want to play, things will be much easier. For this guide I'm going to share with all of you the thought process that goes behind the creation of one of my favorite characters of all time, Lyseth Silverhair aka Puupol.
Lyseth was born on a farm, but always harbored grand notions of wanting to become a Paladin of the Light! She thought Paladins were the most amazing people around, going around and doing so much good in the world, and in fact she tried to follow as many Paladin tenets and codes that she could growing up. Eventually, she did manage to join the ranks of the Paladins of Iomedae, and together with the Silver Crusade, set out to route the undead and demonic influences on the world!
Step 2: How do I translate all that into a character sheet!
Firstly, download the character and inventory sheet from Paizo, we recommend you go through this guide with the sheet as reference while creating!
Here's the top part of the sheet, you should be able to fill in most of the cosmetic stuff yourself, but some of the things might sound scary - Alignment? Deity? Class? HELP HELP!
Let's tackle Class and Race first. These are the two that you probably want to work out for yourself before going into any of the other stuff.
Class is a bit tricky as there are many classes to chose from, and some overlap or are hybrids of others. For this guide, let's stick to the Core Rule Book in terms of the class selection
- Barbarians - Rage filled fighter, think the Hulk or Conan. Generally damage dealers.
- Bard - They sing songs to support their friends and hinder their enemies.
- Fighters - Masters of the sword or bow. Can take on the tank or damage dealing roles.
- Cleric - Healers of the world unite! Support type, but can tank in a fix.
- Druid - With their animal companions, they're true hybrids that can take on numerous roles.
- Monk - Think shaolin kung-fu. They are primarily damage dealers.
- Paladin - A cleric / fighter hybrid. They can tank, deal damage and backup heal if necessary.
- Ranger - Archers of the forest primarily, they can also cast supportive spells if necessary.
- Rogue - Assassins, trapmasters or brigands. Primarily damage dealers, but can take on supportive roles.
- Sorcerer - Versatile spell-casters that can change their spells to suit the situation.
- Wizard - Unrivaled gods of magic, but strategy and preparation is needed.
For beginners, we'd suggest non or limited-spellcasting classes. Druids and Wizards are harder to play that the others due to the back-end work that needs to go into spell preparation. For detailed information, you can take a look right over here!
Race is pretty self explanatory, most of them are pretty balanced and you can choose what you want on a cosmetic level, however some do have features that make them more suitable for certain classes than others. At this point don't worry about stats, just play what you like... and if all fails - Humans are ALWAYS a good choice.
- Humans - Overall a solid class with good bonuses all around.
- Elves - Tall and beautiful, they are masters of the arcane arts.
- Half Elf - Quick learners, they take on traits of both humans and elves.
- Dwarf - Short and stocky, they are generally cautions, but hot-tempered and quick to offend.
- Gnome - Crafty folk that usually shine as inventors or creators, their small stature makes them weak.
- Half-Orc - They might not be smart, they might not be pretty, but they hit hard.
- Halfling - Small, jovial and crafty folk that use their charm and speed to their advantage.
To find out more about the actual math behind each of the races, you can take a look at the Paizo reference document here!
For Lyseth, she's a Paladin, and human, so I'll just jot both of those down. Each race has some minor benefits, which you should note down! Humans get 1 extra feat, 1 extra skill point at level and +2 to one of the attributes of your choice. Neat!
Alignment refers to your moral standing, there's two ends of the spectrum Good vs Evil and Law vs Chaos, an in-between would be neutral. A good guy generally does good things, helps the poor so on and so forth, a neutral person is someone more self-serving and can be known to do evil things once in a while as long as it fulfills his own purpose, while an evil character is kinda like your typical villian. Do note that Pathfinder Society DOES NOT allow evil characters at all, since the society tenets revolve around Cooperation, however they do things like steal and cheat once in a while to further their own goals, so they aren't your goody-goody type of people all the time. Law and Chaos simply mean someone who follows rules and regulations vs anarchy. Neutral people are interested in personal freedom, but don't necessarily think that all rules are bad or that a lawless society is ideal.
Here are some examples of fictional character references and where they fit in the alignment table
- Lawful Good: Superman, Captain America, Spock
- Neutral Good: Spiderman, Yoda
- Chaotic Good: Robin Hood, Legolas, Wolverine
- Lawful Neutral: Judge Dredd, James Bond
- True Neutral: Lara Croft, Death (The Sandman)
- Chaotic Neutral: Conan, Jack Sparrow
- Lawful Evil: Doctor Doom, Emperor Palpatine, Cersei Lannister
- Neutral Evil: Lex Luthor, Hannibal Lecter
- Chaotic Evil: Joker, Sauron
Alignment doesn't matter much except for a roleplay perspective, however some classes require certain alignments - Barbarians can't be lawful - think the Hulk, Paladins have to be lawful good and monks have to be lawful since they need to adhere to a strict code. If you want more information, you can find out more about the alignments here.
Lyseth obviously as a Paladin, has to be Lawful Good!
Character Number is basically used for Pathfinder Society reporting. If you're playing a homebrew, ignore it. The first part is your personal PFS number, and the number after the dash is a running tally of your characters. So the first character you create is -1, the second -2 etc. Think of it as your character ID.
Lyseth obviously as a Paladin, has to be Lawful Good!
Character Number is basically used for Pathfinder Society reporting. If you're playing a homebrew, ignore it. The first part is your personal PFS number, and the number after the dash is a running tally of your characters. So the first character you create is -1, the second -2 etc. Think of it as your character ID.
Deity doesn't matter much unless you're a cleric or paladin or divine spellcaster, as it determines what kind of spell you can cast. Beginners can choose to ignore this for now, or choose one of the big names. Lyseth will be a follower of Iomedae.
Factions matter only in Pathfinder Society, as you're expected to join one of the 8 factions. They do matter somewhat in terms of personal goals and exclusive faction rewards, however, you technically don't need to choose till you hit level 2, as the introductory games are meant for you to get a feel of the various factions, then choose what suits you. If you're impatient, you can find out more about it on Paizo, or... continue reading our handy dandy guide! Do note that the following is a very tongue-in-cheek description of the factions, written to let the majority of people not at all familiar with Golarion lore understand what each faction is all about.
- Dark Archive : They seek treasures and powerful artifacts and want to establish their reputation amongst the Pathfinders. (Previously Cheliax)
- The Exchange : Develop trade routes and contacts and control the economy. (Previously Qadira. Sczarni mergers into the Exchange)
- Grand Lodge : Loyal to the Decemvirate and wish to further the goals of the Pathfinder Society.
- Liberty's Edge : Fight corruption and tyranny wherever they appear and promote freedom and liberty among all. (Previously Andoran)
- Scarab Sages: Explore the Jeweled Sages' sanctum and seek lost relics of the order. (Previously Osiriani)
- Silver Crusade: Serve as soldiers of peace. Routing the demonic and undead scourge and delivering aid to the afflicted.
- Sovereign Court: Build alliances with nobles across the Inner Sea and maintain their foothold among the nobility. (Previously Taldor)
In this next section, we'll be covering the basic stats of your character, and the math needed for combat!
Ability Points represent your "stats" in a conventional computer RPG game. Let us use Mr Tomato to explain the various stats.
- Strength - How hard you can throw a tomato
- Dexterity - How fast you can dodge a tomato
- Constitution - How many rotten tomatoes you can eat before you get sick
- Intelligence - Knowing a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable
- Wisdom - Common sense to know not to put a tomato into a fruit salad
- Charisma - The ability to sell a tomato-based fruit salad
There are various ways of assigning points depending on the game style, for Pathfinder Society, we do a 20 point base point buy. Think of 20 as a "currency" to purchase point upgrades, with 10 being the base or average.
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