What makes a truly well-conceived PC?

[arwink]

i very rarely get to play, but I know what I look for when players are creating characters and what gets them the most focus in play:

Simple personality hooks. Complexity of personality comes over time. The DM and other players aren't going to see the subtleties of your character right off the bat, so trying to fit them in just isn't as much fun as having a big, bold hook to start with and letting the subtleties come naturally as they character progresses.

Not having perfect stats. This is a big one, and ties in nicely with the above. One low stat is all the hook you need to begin with.

Developed histories. Background is all well and good, but for a fresh campaign I prefer to do the background a couple of sessions in and keep updating as things progress. Knowing everything the characters done right from the very beginning is great, but building it as the campaign progresses lets me tie myself in to the events as necessary.

Flexibility. Both in what the character can do, and how my concept of him can change.

 

[skymage]

to things are required for me to make the perfect pc

1. i have to know the pc. when somthing happens i know exactly how he will react.

2. cool powers. wether it be mastery of the long sword or spells that can destroy an entire country if he can't do something cool then he's not worth playing.

some other important things are background and story. somthing to explain his personality, and powers.

why is he a wizard as opposed to a sorcerer. why is he a fighter instead of a barbarian. why would he risk his life to save a drow, and kill a human in the process. all the background does is explain why he does what he does.

my favorite charactor has to be a human 8/10/2 sorcerer shifter contemplative that i created for an epic game. his spell dc's where low he wasn't the best fighter ever but i could roleplay him perfectly, he had cool powers, and i was able to explain it all in his background. he was the son of an enkili like god of shapeshifting. he had a great sense of right and wrong but almost no sense of law. his motivation for adventureing was to find more shapes. the stranger and more different from his origonal form the better. his favorites are a gargantuan sized giant, a diminutive sized fey like humanoid, and just about anything that's not humanoid. he seeks out other shapechangers or shapes he doesn't know yet and prefers peaceful contact but as no problem defending himself if attacked by whatever form he is trying to learn. he never understood prejudice and why certain races hated each other. he has a gift (high cha) when it comes to fiting in as well as an uncanny ability to asimilate languages (speaking wild shape we allow this feat to speak with anything not just animals and elementals).

well i think that i've said enough about him i'll stop here.
so good pc's need personality then powers and finally a background.

 

[nopantsyet]

Another DM...

...who doesn't get to play a PC very often, so when I do I try to make the most of it.

Most recently was an OA adventure where we started at lvl5. So he was a young (lvl2) Samurai who was disgraced but didn't have the inner strength (WIS 6) to perform seppuku. So he became a vagrant (Ranger 3) and wandered the lands disgraced and without purpose for three years. At the end of that time he took an oath to search for his true spirit in order to find the strength to take his life, thus fulfilling his honor.

Needless to say, I write an entire page and still only convey a part of how I envision this character. (As I know everyone here could with your characters.) But I do still have a great sense of satisfaction when I recall this dead character.

 

[LostSoul]

Somebody who has room to develop as a character (ie. "grow up"), somebody who has a reason to adventure, and a good miniature.

 

[LostSoul]

Once that stage is out of the way, he stops motivating the characters to follow hooks. Instead, he starts to make his own. He becomes pro-active, and does whatever is necessary.

A pro-active PC is this DM's dream.

 

[kiznit]

Funny accents.

 

[Sanackranib]

PC

A well concieved PC is proactive rather then reactive. You must plan to drive the game rather then let the DM lead you around by the nose. It takes a good player but it also makes for a fun game because what you do matters. Plan for level 10 or 20 from 1st level. pick your feats ahead of time and work towards them.