Character Creation Indecision

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I have a problem when it come to roleplaying games lately. I'll have several different character concepts for a game and I can't decide between them. For example, I'm currently enrolling in a game in the RPing section and I've got three different character ideas (a halfling cavalier, a human/half-elf/half-orc wizard and a human/half-elf bard) that I can't pick between.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Have you considered letting the dice decide?

Number each concept 1-3 then roll a d4 and reroll on a 4. Go with the one the die tells you to. Flip a coin for the race since it looks like you're undecided on a couple of those builds.

[Miraqariftsky]

I usually have that "problem" as well. My advice is...

0] Whichever "story-seed" you choose to develop further into a full Story-and-Stat, don't discard the other seeds. Store them for another time, when inspiration and opportunity may conspire.

1] Put it to the GM, ask which concept the GM thinks is best, or fits the campaign best.

2] Put it to the other prospective players. Ask them which they think would mesh best with their prospective characters.

3] Put it to yourself. Are you playing more for a challenge? Go with something you haven't tried before, or have tried before and find difficult. Do you usually play simpleton savages with strong family bonds and religious values? Try a lone wolf of an arcanist. Are you playing more to relax and unwind? Go with something you're comfortable with. What's your "play-staple"? Then again, sometimes, change is good, sometimes it's not. For example, if your "classic" is a heavily principled no-nonsense badass honour-dog of a paladin, BOOM! Try playing a devil-may-care cackling sorceress who may not be all that stable in the head but is quite literally hot.

4] Put it to the dice gods. Lazy, but convenient. If it's a roll-and-keep system like Dark Heresy, well, you're set. If it's something more like D&D, what do the dice say? For example, you've an array like 18 15 14 17 15 13... Pretty dang stellar, ain't it? Try a Paladin or a Bard or a Monk. Or, try a Greataxe-swinging Sorcerer. Or a Fighter with the stats actually backing up him having a gift of gab.

[NikitaDarkstar]

What fits the campaign best? Out of those what fits the group best? And to me, perhaps the most important question, what' the simplest? I don't mean simplest mechanics wise. But what needs the least convoluted backstory to explain the how's and why's of the character?

[Archpaladin Zousha]

What fits the campaign best? Out of those what fits the group best? And to me, perhaps the most important question, what' the simplest? I don't mean simplest mechanics wise. But what needs the least convoluted backstory to explain the how's and why's of the character?

Honestly? All three. I tend to design concepts around "what fits with the campaign's themes and ideas the best." The halfling cavalier is a protector of small villages and a slayer of giants, both of which feature prominently in the campaign. The mage is a scholar studying the ancient empire whose resurrected mages are the main antagonists. The bard is a scion of one of the starting town's mercantile houses, standing up to defend his/her home first from a goblin invasion and then a giant invasion and then decides to go after the source of the problem so his/her hometown will finally be safe.

[Lentrax]

I like to do a 'mini-roleplay' first. It is all in your head.

You know what the other players are like, their tactics, character personalities... etc. etc. Does my new character seem to fit in with them?

Yes. Good, I can use this one.
No. Don't throw him/her/it away, save it for later.

OMFG WHAT HAVE I DONE! Set the sheet on fire, throw away the ashes and never speak of it again.

After that process, I leave up to random chance, unless one of the Yes characters sounded way better than the others.

[Malimar]

One technique I've heard for writing is this: if you have a good idea, save it. Wait until you have a second good idea. Then combine the two good ideas. The point is to force yourself to come up with more creative and unique ideas; any given one idea may seem interesting, but usually isn't enough to base a story on.

This can be applied to RPGs, too. Try taking whichever two of your ideas are most compatible with one another (or least compatible, if you like a challenge), and combine them. You use up two of your ideas at once, and your character winds up more three-dimensional for it.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

This is good advice. I've decided to combine the Thassilonian Scholar and Hometown Hero ideas into a single character. Initially a member of one of Sandpoint's more infamous families and concerned primarily with power, she becomes more heroic as time goes by, both because of the praise she recieves for her deeds as well as realizing how horrific the Runelords really were.

I think I'm set. Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Tengu_temp]

When this happens to me, sometimes I look up different fitting pictures on the net and go with the character for whom I manage to find the best one.