Talk:Character Creation

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Character Background

Update 'Character Background' section with more information, and get rid of the d20pfsrd link.

use character sheet as starting point; list of questions each player should consider when creating the character:

where were they born? orphan? adopted? first-born or fourth-born? seventh son of a seventh son?
who are their parents? Are they close to their parents? do they have siblings? Do they like their siblings?
do they have a social rank? are they lowborn? were they educated? can they read the written language?
does their society have any adulthood rites? have you undergone these rites? did anything unusual happen?
who taught them their character class and skills? Do they have a mentor? Did they learn on their own? School of hard knocks?
have they met any interesting people? contacts? friends? enemies? ex-boy/girlfriends? dependents?
are they religious? do they have habits, rituals, routines?

GM's are encouraged to allow players to create NPC's relevant to their character's backgrounds, but are cautioned to avoid any NPC's that might alter the campaign's story in too major a way.

add a list of quirks and personality traits to help people come up with a few ideas; non-game-mechanic notes about how the character acts, what they like/dislike, etc.

physical mannerisms (e.g. nervous tic, always touching hair, seeks out mirrors, can't stop moving, hates walking, smokes a pipe, etc.)
speech mannerisms (e.g. accent, catch phrase, talks loudly, talks quietly, weird laugh, says "dude" too much, etc.)
social mannerisms (e.g. arrogant, friendly, know-it-all, dangerously curious, easily startled, always hungry, always drunk, etc.)
psychological mannerisms (e.g. hears voices, mutters to themself, exuberantly happy, terrified of weird things (bunnies, trees, fingers), paranoid, gullible, etc.)
material quirks (e.g. naming your equipment (and talking to it!), always wears an ascot, always wears a particular color, constantly buying new clothes, fingers lapels, wears a monocle, carries a pocketwatch, etc.)
alignment-based quirks (e.g. hates cops, loves the law, thinks civilization is an atrocity, thinks nature should be paved, despises philanthropy and charity, insists on doing good deeds, won't lie, etc.)

some advice about keeping quirks interesting, but not annoying. "Spies on their friends," "likes to wander off alone," "can't follow orders," "only cares about themself," are all quirks that will probably create conflict in the party. Find quirks that let you cooperate and value your party members, even if you're playing a selfish, evil bastard of a character. Intra-party fighting is destructive to the campaign's story, and often leads to real-life conflict or hurt feelings. Just don't.

avoid quirks that lower your involvement in the game; 'doesn't pay attention' isn't a good quirk if you're actually not going to pay attention. A better variant might be 'doesn't really get it, most of the time'. Keeps you involved in the game, but gives you an opportunity to bring out differences in your character.
share the spotlight; you're only one of the stars of this show. give your friends a chance to shine too.
abusive quirks - either those that interfere with other players' ability to enjoy the game, or that try to backdoor into game mechanics.
"cute the first time" - some quirks work only in very limited quantity. Paint the picture but don't overdo it (talking loudly, spits when talking, no sense of personal space, overly flirty, etc.)

some notes about changing quirks as character concept solidifies. Quirks are just guidelines for playing your character; they're not set in stone.