I Need Help with Character Design

[Aluvial]

I need some help... I can't believe I am SO lost trying to figure out this new system.

I am supposed to be running a test game of 4e for my 3.5 group.

I need 6, 6th level characters to play in as a party.

I'm designing the adventure, but am having the worst time trying to figure the system out.

I would be grateful for any help somebody can give.

It's funny, I was at DnD Gameday, liked playing, and thought to myself that the group might like this. Then I sat down and tried to create some pregen characters.... I'm absolutely lost!

Thanks,

Aluvial

 

[Tony Vargas]

Start with the 4 roles. Leader, Defender, Striker, & Controller.

Pick one class for each role, double up on defenders & strikers. Say: Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Rogue, Ranger, & Wizard.

Then, pick one of the two builds for each class. Once you've picked the build, you'll have also chosen a Primary and one or two secondary Characteristics for the character. For isntance, if you choose a WIS Cleric, it'll need WIS & CHA, maybe some CON or STR. If you chose a Gaurdian Fighter, it'll want STR & WIS, etc.

Now pick a race that adds to the Primary stat, and, if possible, one of the secondaries. If there isn't one that seems like a good choice, pick Human, and put the stat bonus in Primary.

Use method 1, the 'array' for stats. Put the highest stat in the primary ability, it'll be 18 with the racial bonus. Put the next highest in the secondary, and the third in the stat-pair that's left. (Stats are now in pairs - STR-CON, DEX-INT, WIS-CHA - the higher stat in the pair adds to your FORT, REF/AC, & WILL, respectively). Distribute the lower stats however.

Finally, pick at will, encounter, and daily powers. There's only one or two real choices per slot once you've picked you sub-class, and they're easy to spot, they're the ones that use the primary and secondary stats.

Pick skills, feats, & weapons (again, weapons will likely be dictated to a degree by your sub-class & powers). Give the character a name, miscellaneous gear, and other descriptive elements. You might want to re-jigger your stats to enable a specific feat choice, but asside from that, it should all go pretty smoothly and easily.

 

[Aluvial]

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I'm having problems with the whole "sub-class" thing, and the attribute pairs (coupled with race abilities).

Anyhow, I can't believe that after 20 some years playing DnD, that I'm having trouble with character development....

Thanks again...

Aluvial

 

[Dan'L]

Quick, honest question:

Why not start at 1st level, since:
A) You and your players are all new to the system
and
B) You don't seem to be trying to bridge over existing characters, anyway.

-Dan'L

 

[Tony Vargas]

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I'm having problems with the whole "sub-class" thing, and the attribute pairs (coupled with race abilities).

I'm only just getting up to speed, myself. The sub-classes actually make it easy, they're called builds, and they're almost like 3e character optimization builds with training wheels.

The 'stat polarity' still has me wondering, too. I think it's a good idea, as it allows most characters to have pretty good defenses without having to pick stats /just/ for that purpose. While it seems obvious that you should min-max stat pairs, each actually does /something/, and many feats have stat preqs. And, you can't re-train stats.

Anyhow, I can't believe that after 20 some years playing DnD, that I'm having trouble with character development....

That's probably working against you. This ed is very different and is designed to be easily picked up by nubies. You're not a nubie, so your experience may actually be getting in the way. Just aproach it like a totally new game.

This post gives a very good impression of how different 4e is: http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=4287774&postcount=1