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Old 10-11-2021, 09:54 PM   #1
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Character creation process

We're coming up on my 42nd anniversary in gaming so of course i've made a lot of characters but I've had a sufficiently unusual one tonight that the story might be worth telling.

A sub-section of an old group (the part that's still willing to put up with on-line) is on line roughing out a new campaign. The idea is epsiodic, low prep dungeoncrawling (commercial 5e modules) in short sessions weekly if we can manage it.

There are only 4 of use so I think that pushes towards the classic Fighter/Cleric/Wizard/Rogue mix. Things start going sidways immediately when one guy wants to reprieze his Paladin from our current/previous game. <shrug> Okay, he can fill the Fighter slot.

The DM is not being helpful and pushes the remaining guys towards "sort of" characters. So instead of Wizard we get a Warlock (I have been underwhelmed by the Warlocks I've seen) and a Bard and he's pushing towards weird races just for the sake of weirdness and we're getting way out into the weeds. So one's a "trollkin" and the other is "Ravenfolk" (he'd be a Kenku if he was Japanese).

That leaves me and I'm being told "You can do whatever you want!". What i say with my outside voice is "No, I don't do well with blank canvases. I need a starting point.". What my inside voice is saying is "I can't do whatever I want. I need to make a character who'll be useful".

So we adjourn the chat with me probably doing some kind of Cleric but I'm not sure what. Then I turn on a music channel and start to think and as I listen to the soothing sounds of AC/DC it all comes together. I now have an internal referrent for "Epiphany".

I mean everything comes together. Not just the game mechanical details but also a name that appears out of nowhere. A core personality too.

So, have any of you ever had a similar experience or does this provide you with some insight?
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Old 10-11-2021, 11:51 PM   #2
Farmer
 
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Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: Character creation process

Nice story, Fred, and I can relate. I've definitely had moments inspiration for PCs and NPCs provided out of the blue by music or an image or a comment by someone. Total epiphany as you related, where everything just flows and you have a complete being that just makes you feel good and ready to play.

It's not common - I usually don't have issues coming up with PCs or NPCs, but sometimes I can blank and it's a bit frustrating. Every now and then, though, something like this happens and it's really good. I think having that "seed" helps to tie it all together.

Now, next time I'm going to try some Acaa Dacaa and see if that also works for me!
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Old 10-12-2021, 12:54 AM   #3
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
So we adjourn the chat with me probably doing some kind of Cleric but I'm not sure what. Then I turn on a music channel and start to think and as I listen to the soothing sounds of AC/DC it all comes together. I now have an internal referrent for "Epiphany".

I mean everything comes together. Not just the game mechanical details but also a name that appears out of nowhere. A core personality too.
Tell us more about this character!
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Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 10-12-2021, 07:53 AM   #4
thorr-kan
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
The DM is not being helpful and pushes the remaining guys towards "sort of" characters. So instead of Wizard we get a Warlock (I have been underwhelmed by the Warlocks I've seen) and a Bard and he's pushing towards weird races just for the sake of weirdness and we're getting way out into the weeds. So one's a "trollkin" and the other is "Ravenfolk" (he'd be a Kenku if he was Japanese).
Survey says...Midgard Campaign Setting by Kobold Press! What do I win?

To address your main point, I rarely have a full character appear at once in a moment of inspiration. But I've certainly had AC/DC job my creative process. Thunderstruck and Moneytalks are the usual culprits.

For me, I'll get a vague character idea, mull on it a bit, and then have weird dreams that seem to have something to do with the creation process. If I'm lucky and lucid dreaming enough, I'm able to use some of those dream shenanigans in fleshing out the character.
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Old 10-12-2021, 09:22 AM   #5
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by thorr-kan View Post
Survey says...Midgard Campaign Setting by Kobold Press! What do I win?

To address your main point, I rarely have a full character appear at once in a moment of inspiration. But I've certainly had AC/DC job my creative process. Thunderstruck and Moneytalks are the usual culprits.
You win the right to have Ivar Bloodspear tell stories about his brother Thorr-kan ("my brother Thorr-kan once told me...."). We are from Nordheim.

The AC/DC was "We Who Are About To Rock!" but that was just what came on. Your choices _are_ excellent.

For the mechanical details, I was pondering a human Cleric with bonus Feat but that lead to the Domain and I was being distracted by Grave and Twilight and the chance to make a character who was weird and mysterious. I was also pondering Knowledge as that's certainly useful.

In pretty much the last deleberate thought I asked my Self "What do i really want to do? and my Self answered "Damage. I want to do damage.". This was my Self being honest with me. Most of my characters end up being heavy damage doers almost irrelevant of class..

This was where the chain lightning started with "Damage-> Domain of War ->follower of Wotan -> user of Spear->Piercer feat-> Ivar Bloodspear!".

I had noticed the Piercer feat earlier but had dismissed it for a Cleric out of habit. The rest of it I had barely noticed as it went past. I've had soem names sugest themselves in the past but none as quickly and decisively as "Ivar Bloodspear!".

So Ivar is built on the Standard Array with highest Wisdom but good Str and Con and using IQ and Dex as dump stats. He'll wear chain mail and carry a shield. He won't be a typical "healing" Cleric so much but we've got that Paladin and the Warlock will probably have a Celestial Patron. Planting the seed for that was one of the things distracting me. I was able to meme it as "playing against type" for a Trollkin.
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Old 10-13-2021, 04:28 PM   #6
thorr-kan
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
You win the right to have Ivar Bloodspear tell stories about his brother Thorr-kan ("my brother Thorr-kan once told me...."). We are from Nordheim.

The AC/DC was "We Who Are About To Rock!" but that was just what came on. Your choices _are_ excellent.

For the mechanical details, I was pondering a human Cleric with bonus Feat but that lead to the Domain and I was being distracted by Grave and Twilight and the chance to make a character who was weird and mysterious. I was also pondering Knowledge as that's certainly useful.

In pretty much the last deleberate thought I asked my Self "What do i really want to do? and my Self answered "Damage. I want to do damage.". This was my Self being honest with me. Most of my characters end up being heavy damage doers almost irrelevant of class..

This was where the chain lightning started with "Damage-> Domain of War ->follower of Wotan -> user of Spear->Piercer feat-> Ivar Bloodspear!".

I had noticed the Piercer feat earlier but had dismissed it for a Cleric out of habit. The rest of it I had barely noticed as it went past. I've had soem names sugest themselves in the past but none as quickly and decisively as "Ivar Bloodspear!".

So Ivar is built on the Standard Array with highest Wisdom but good Str and Con and using IQ and Dex as dump stats. He'll wear chain mail and carry a shield. He won't be a typical "healing" Cleric so much but we've got that Paladin and the Warlock will probably have a Celestial Patron. Planting the seed for that was one of the things distracting me. I was able to meme it as "playing against type" for a Trollkin.
I like this character already.

I'm totally fine with you throwing Thorr-kan under the bus for any reference you want.

I'm a big Midgard fan, a Wolfgang Baur fanboy, and I've been backing Kobold Press's patronage projects since they were Open Design on LiveJournal before Kickstarter exists. I don't claim to be a lore expert, but I love reading the setting.

Trollkin Celestial Patron Warlock. That has possibilities...

I'm in a Discord 5E Al-Qadim adventure right now running a Human Celestial Warlock/Favored Soul Sorcerer. I'm our only spellcaster, in a party of rogues and fighters and a paladin. It's been fun. The inspiration for him came during some research into non-ordained church leader titles and duties. Then it occurred to me, non-divine spellcasters might have some say in such a hierarchy. And D&D has always had arcane spellcasters with some piety. What can I do with this?
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Old 10-14-2021, 02:21 AM   #7
Michele
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Udine, Italy
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post

I had noticed the Piercer feat earlier but had dismissed it for a Cleric out of habit.
The character concept is interesting, but will the guy also be able to do some cleric-like things? If the main point is to be the point man using a pointy spear, why does he have to be a cleric?
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Old 10-14-2021, 09:03 AM   #8
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: Character creation process

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michele View Post
The character concept is interesting, but will the guy also be able to do some cleric-like things? If the main point is to be the point man using a pointy spear, why does he have to be a cleric?
I had ended up with Cleric because the group needed (in my estimation) a general utility spellcaster (Warlock and Bard being rather specialized).

Ivar retains "normal" clerical spellcasting ability. It's just that his "bonus" class powers are applicable to combat with weapons.
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Old 10-15-2021, 09:58 AM   #9
Michele
 
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Location: Udine, Italy
Default Re: Character creation process

Thanks for the explanation, I see.
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