Looking for advice on making a unique character

[Myrddin ap Taliesen]

I'm currently NPCing a Halfling Fighter who dual-weilds whip-daggers in the game I'm running... she's a lot of fun so far.

 

[liquid]

How about a Psychic Warrior with the Master of Chains PC. It only costs around 5,000 gp to animate those chains to attack on their own. That's just to animate them though. There lots of possibilities with this combo.

 

[D+1]

Put the books and the dice away. Don't look at them, don't even think about them.

Picture a character in your mind.
[snip]

Once you've done that, then figure out how to express him in the rules.

The bonsai technique:

[Mr. Myagi]
"Close eye. Picture bonsai tree, down to last pine needle. Now, open eye. Remember picture? Make like picture."
[/Mr. Myagi]

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Basically, you need to jumpstart your imagination.

1) Read a book or watch a movie...preferably one that isn't fantasy. Pick a character and make it. Comicbooks work too- I once based a Ranger on Batman and had a blast.

2) Read your M:TG Cards. I based a PC Minotaur Ftr/Mage on a combination of Native American legends about the White Buffalo and the Hurloon Minotaur.

3) Try Chronosome's randomization method, or if you have time & a little cash, try Task Force Game's Central Casting books- Now hiding somewhere on E-bay or in a used book store.

4) Pick up a completely different RPG than you are used to playing. Design a character in that system, then translate it.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

As the others said, think of something unique without thinking about the rules at all. Maybe a constantly swaying pirate captain without a ship. Wait a minute...

As for rare race/class combos:

Gray (OMG, the computer didn't type the r at first) or gold (depending on your world) elf barbarian. Should be one of a kind. Coming up with a decent background about how that guy became a raving maimer should make him unique in the sense you meant, too.

Or play a paladin with high dex and int, low str and con. People are accustomed to the big, tough, clumsy, stupid pals. Would work well with races that don't have paladins as is: elves, orcs.

Then, there are bards, but not the usual minstrels. Make a bard who doesn't sing and play the harf/lute. In a novel by Elaine Cunningham, there was a dwarven lass who was very quick with the pen - she painted caricatures, and they usually hit the mark.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Give some serious thought to what you WANT to play... not what is most powerful or what is most needed in the party but what class/race would be the most fun for you to play. When my players ask me silly questions like this they are usually cruising for some munchkined out class combo.