"The first thing" to do in many games is called "character creation". Makes sense right? Regardless, in an Open Gaming System such as Pathfinder, often character creation is considered the most complicated part - its full of weird rules, questionable interpretations and decades of third party content.
And beyond that, all the decisions made in character creation will have a major impact over the course of the adventure!
I have personally created dozens and dozens of characters over the years, many more characters than campaigns I've played in; you might even say that "character creation" is a game all in itself.
A game that's completely unnecessary, in fact.
The rise of the premade character
For those who want to "play" a game of pathfinder with friends, character creation might even get in the way, might be an enormous obstacle to having a good time.
There are just so many things to think about. But at the same time, just like any game I guess, once you "know", you know, and its really not all that much.
To help combat this obstacle to getting one's foot in the door, premade characters are a great solution. The Players Guide and Advanced Players Guide for Pathfinder include premade characters - grab them and "have an adventure".
I would love nothing more than to go on an adventure, perhaps with some of you. I have talked to @alohaed, @josephsavage and of course @thecrazygm about it, occasionally at length.
To do this, we need some premade characters. For a character to be "premade", it must first be "made". In some upcoming posts, I will be making some characters, using Golarion One Houserules for Ability Scores - and some interesting limitations - to hopefully do two things:
- Show how easy and fun the "character creation game" can be.
- Leave a set of premade characters made, for our first adventure.
And if you would like to try your hand at it - I would love to see it!
Setting the limits, some "Backstory":
Mireille Dawnsoul is a high level sorceress, who suffered in her early life due to her Accursed Bloodline. Originally ostracized, then shunned and finally cast out from her community, she walked a dark and lonely path in her early years, eventually settling in with "the wrong crowd". Over the course of an exciting adventure, she met Eco the Exploiter (Wizard), who convinced her that "it didn't have to be this way", and has since turned her life around.
As part of her redemption arc, she now runs Mireille's School for Redeemed Hags, something of a play on "Peculiar Children".
While deep in the meditations of a divination spell, Mireille believes she has identified several promising candidates for a "new class" of students, and sends the Herald of the Exploiter to offer them the chance to attend her school.
Requirements
- Level 1 Sorcerer/Sorceress
- Accursed Bloodline
- Alignment not Evil
Stay tuned for more!
I will be working on a few (at least 4) of these characters, making them so they become "premade", and if anyone in the community wants to join in, you are absolutely welcome! Make sure to check the ability score rules for Golarion One here, and I am happy to help out if you have any questions. Once I post my first example, I think it will become pretty clear, even for people who have not "pathfinder'd" before.
So until next time -