Good character generator?

[danzibr]

I happened to stumble upon this (http://www.pathguy.com/cg35.htm) a moment or two ago, and it seems totally awesome.

However, this seems more along the line of making your own character. How about a character generator for DM's that just want to make a bunch of scrubs to die by their players' hands?

[Rallicus]

For humanoids or NPCs, I generally use this (http://www.myth-weavers.com/generate_npc.php?). Granted it doesn't add equipment or weapons or gear, but that isn't too hard to do.

There's also the Monster Advancer. (http://www.monsteradvancer.com/)

[Lateral]

I happened to stumble upon this (http://www.pathguy.com/cg35.htm) a moment or two ago, and it seems totally awesome.

Yeah, I thought so when I first saw it, until I realized that it was almost impossible to make a complete character out of it and that you can't really save a sheet. I still use it for determining Point Buy and skill points, though.

[Drelua]

I find PCGen (http://pcgen.sourceforge.net/01_overview.php) works pretty well for 3.5 and Pathfinder. It let's you save sheets, calculate equipment, make new items and unlike some that I've used, it actually let's you go back and re-do something. The interface can be a bit annoying and it's really slow sometimes, especially with high-level characters, but otherwise it's fairly reliable.

[Darth Stabber]

Redblade (http://home.redblade.org/) isn't bad, one of my favorites, but it's support for non-core material leaves a lot to be desired.

[Lonely Tylenol]

A note on PCGen: I had used it for months in a Pathfinder game before. It was comprehensive (as the PFSRD core was concerned, which was all that was available when we were using it anyway), but incredibly sluggish to the point of uselessness. This is a common problem with Java programs of this nature; if you can avoid them (in favor of an HTML-based program or some other alternative), it comes recommended highly.

[Mithril Leaf]

I generally just copy paste the results of pathguy into a txt document and use that.

[Shadowknight12]

I have a thing for HeroForge (http://www.nzcomputers.net/heroforge/). I may not like the lack of supported content (especially for the PF section), but the 3.5 section is VERY good, even if it hasn't been updated in almost 2 years.

[shadow_archmagi]

Yeah, I thought so when I first saw it, until I realized that it was almost impossible to make a complete character out of it and that you can't really save a sheet. I still use it for determining Point Buy and skill points, though.

You can copy-paste into MS word pretty easily.

What do you mean a "Complete character?"

[TheTick]

I'll second the HeroForge spreadsheets, works well, has most of the books (maybe not all, but all the ones I'm concerned with). I usually end up tracking my gear with PCGen just because it has most everything in there and can show your load. For core-only scrubs, PCGen can work well if your PC doesn't chafe at the stupidness of Java, but I find building a character in HeroForge to actually be fun.

[Duke of URL]

However, this seems more along the line of making your own character. How about a character generator for DM's that just want to make a bunch of scrubs to die by their players' hands?

On the whole, they're called "Monster Manual" something or other. If they're just cannon fodder for PCs, you shouldn't be putting a whole lot of effort into them. Ask yourself -- how much, if at all, are my players going to notice the difference between a book-standard NPC and one I've spent time customizing?

If the answer is none, use canned creatures right out of the books.

If the answer is "a little", use canned creatures right out of the books, but maybe spend a few seconds each giving them slightly different equipment.

If the answer is "a lot", then the best bet is to build up a "library" of index cards for common NPCs that you can can recycle. If I need 10 generic townsfolk, let me draw a handful of cards out of a box/stack, where each one has a combat block and any other relevant statistics (like skills that may come into play); if there is going to be social interaction, possibly a personality trait on each card. Prep these up in advance as much as you need, and then just use and recycle them.

For the latter case, I'd be surprised if there weren't products available at places like RPGNow that didn't already have NPC collections.

[Fluffy_1.0]

Wait... DMs actually stat out no name NPCs? Mine are just a description, AC, saves, and a blob of HP that varies based on how well the party is doing.

Man... I am lazy.

[Righteous Doggy]

Wait... DMs actually stat out no name NPCs? Mine are just a description, AC, saves, and a blob of HP that varies based on how well the party is doing.

Man... I am lazy.

Lazy.... or effecient!?

I usually wild guess at npcs hp myself. They all use worthless equipment too! unless I really want to be cool in a moment.

[danzibr]

[...]\

Wait... DMs actually stat out no name NPCs? Mine are just a description, AC, saves, and a blob of HP that varies based on how well the party is doing.

Man... I am lazy.

Lazy.... or effecient!?

I usually wild guess at npcs hp myself. They all use worthless equipment too! unless I really want to be cool in a moment.
I could have clarified my intentions a bit more.

I'm going to be building some towns and villages for an upcoming campaign and just in case something stupid happens and my players end up fighting people they shouldn't, I want to have the townsfolk ready.

I intend to use most stuff out of the can, but for the special good guys and bad guys I don't want to spend the time making them down to every last detail. For example, I want the BBEG to be a something or other Half-Fiend Class X/PrC Y. Rather than look up all the racial traits of something or other and Half-Fiend, then what all Class X and PrC Y get, I want a program to do it for me.

In a sense, I'm lazy too.

[Zubrowka74]

Hero Lab (http://www.wolflair.com/index.php?context=hero_lab) does both PC creation and NPC management, with a lot of room for custom content. Handles Pathfinder, D&D 4e, d20 3.5 and a bunch of other systems. But it has its downsides, one of wich is the price.

[killianh]

look up the book Enemies and Allies from 3.0. it has some good NPCs of higher levels, and gives the stats for all of the named heroes from the players handbook