Your First Character and their impact

[Mouseferatu]

I started gaming with the red box set, but I don't recall ever being a player in it. I think I was always running. ("Always" meaning the two or three times I played before moving on to Advanced D&D.)

My first AD&D character was a paladin. Initially, his name was "Cutter" (stolen wholesale from Elfquest, despite not being an elf, or remotely resembling the Elfquest character of that name). A few years later, I changed his name to Terron Nightsbane.

I only ever really played him a few times; most of my experience with him was during my "let's not bother with dice at all but just make up stories with each other" phase in elementary and early middle school. He was also the hero of my first attempt at long fiction writing (also in middle school). I still have a fondness for him, and he's occasionally appeared as an NPC in some of my more recent campaigns. (Never in a prominent role, though. I refuse to put myself in a position where I'd even be tempted to run a DMPC. )

As to whether he's influenced my later characters? Well, yes and no. I play a wide variety of character types, class-wise and persona-wise. But one of my favorite types is the lawful good martial cleric or paladin, so yes, I'd say there was some influence. (Or at least, that I'm still influenced by whatever ideas inspired me to create Terron in the first place.)

 

[Crazy Eights]

I didn't start playing until AD&D came out, and my first character was a Human Paladin named Vortex. I still cringe at my grade school naming schemes, with such greats as: Sword, the human fighter, and his brother Lance, also a human fighter.

Anyways, ever since Vortex, I've had a soft spot for paladins, though I've since branched out and I usually try to do something new each time I get a chance to play. My old fall back will always be the paladin, however.

~CE

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

This thread has really got me trying to remember my first D&D character. It was from the Red Box set...after that its all a blank.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

My first ever character was a Halfling Thief (2E). It definitely gave me a preference for playing Rogue-type characters (although I do play others). Normally when I play a Rogue I am a Halfling.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Squeaky Bill]

My first PC was shredded by a troll in the corridor leading to the first room of the first dungeon I ever played. The other 1st level PC and the two 1st level hirelings survived only because thay ran away.

The follow-up expedition was composed of just two 1st level PCs (hirelings were suddenly very scarce). We made it 30 feet past the picked over remains of my first PC. Suddenly, a vampire jumped out of the shadows. With a single blow, my second PC was reduced to negative hit points and negative levels. The other PC ran away and survived.

That was in 1977 with the Basic Set. The experience certainly shaped my sense of game balance, but my first two PCs had no influence on later PCs.

 

[Aaron L]

My first character was a 1E Half-Elven Fighter/Thief. He has little impact on what I've played since, since I usually prefer to play Fighter/Mage types. (I love being able to use magic but also being able to get in and melee when I want.)

 

[Sound of Azure]

I've always liked playing jack-of-all-trades type characters, ever since I began playing in the early 90's with Erebus, the half-vistani bard.

The trend more or less continues with lots of high-skill point, semi-magical characters. If a game offers gypsy-like wanderer characters, I'll go with that. It probably explains my fondness for the modern version of halflings, too.

 

[Imp]

I think my very first character was a thief. I do play a lot of thief types, but this guy lost two of his fingers poking around in holes in a dungeon, thus limiting his future appeal – I don't even remember his name.

Then I played fighters and elves for a while ("Lightning"! "Whiplash"! "Joe Cobra"! My names were awesome) until coming up with a thief guy I liked. That guy (as with many posters around here, it's my username) has been around in various incarnations ever since.