So I see posts like these all the time, and (whilst on a hike....yes I spend time on my hikes thinking about video games...) I got to thinking that requests like:

I need a character/concept

Are not that good at getting help. So I thought we might do a thread where we post some ideas as to how you might get the help you want.

Here's my tips:

1. Decide on what style of play you want to employ (ie. frontline, stealth, caster). Let everyone know. Example: I want to build a stealthy character.

2. Decide on what class or race (or both) you would enjoy. Do you usually play fighters and have a hard time coming up with a different kind of character? Let everyone know. Example: I usually play halfling rogues. I want to try something different but still be a master of stealth.

3. Come up with a loose main goal. Example: I want to do something with the politics in upper.

If you do those things it's a lot easier to provide some help and advice. Based on the examples I provided I would create a human rogue/spy who would focus on getting dirt on major political figgures in upper than use that info to either blackmail them or sell the info to thier political enemies. Once you have that basic concept it's up to you to come up with a good background and minor goals to help you achieve you overall goal.

Anyway I'm sure other folks will also provide some excellent advice on this subject.

Sticky!

Here's some ideas,

Why is evil?

Why is he good?

Why does he resent law, or is in for it?

Why does he wish to become an adventurer?

Stuff like that could really turn a character inside out.

I have to disagree.

3. Come up with a loose main goal. Example: I want to do something with the politics in upper.

Point three is by and far the most important point, and should be considered first. Build your character like you would if he were in a book and not a game, after that. Be as detailed or general as you like, to suit your own preferences (I prefer more general, defining as I play the character). Don't be rediculous, too. It doesn't happen much anymore, but a while back, there were a boatload of Mary Sues that were just plain silly. Your character should not have "an echoing laugh that chills the very souls of everyone around them, even killing weak minded children and halflings...". If you REALLY want that, please, apply for it (although... whatever, play what you like and good luck). A dark and menacing laugh, or an unnerving squealing laugh that's more like a pig... these are perfectly acceptable, imo.

Then, figure out HOW you want to achieve your goals. Will it involved others? If so, it's a big plus! If not, see if you can alter it in order to do so. This is usually a very difficult stage, so confer with a friend if you have not done so already. IRC is great. Have no friends? Neither does Kotenku, so ask him.

If an application is necessary, do that here.

Lastly, once you've figured out your goals (aka what you want to DO with your character, other than pwn trolls and goblin tribes), go ahead and turn on NWN. Choose your sex, then race, and the class and stats that will be both fun, help you to reach your goals (or strive to at any rate!), and would be interesting to play. Then, write a brief character description. If it's more than three paragraphs, it's probably too much. Please put SOMETHING there though. Relying on portraits isn't sufficient because not everyone has the same portraits and thus can't see your character.

Then his "Play".

This is all my opinion, of course, from 20+ characters, all of which have been extremely enjoyable in their own ways. In the end, do whatever you like.

Overly verbous character descriptions are a big plus.

If you really need a quick concept, sometimes it's interesting to just roll a few dice at the Character creation screen. Flip a coin for gender, a D6 for race, (eliminate one race you don't wanna play), a D12 for class (Same deal), and a D8 for alignment. You can roll all of this in game via the console (~ key, type d#, hit enter).

Once you've got that information, you can fill in the blanks about what motivates your character, what sort of cool stuff you want to do, and what makes her unique and interesting.

This, of course, isn't recommended for real, long-term characters though.

This helps, for some random concepts. It even has some poorly generated bios/motives.

http://www.aarg.net/~minam/npc2.cgi

Garem I have to disagree.

3. Come up with a loose main goal. Example: I want to do something with the politics in upper.

Point three is by and far the most important point, and should be considered first. Build your character like you would if he were in a book and not a game, after that. Be as detailed or general as you like, to suit your own preferences (I prefer more general, defining as I play the character). Don't be rediculous, too. It doesn't happen much anymore, but a while back, there were a boatload of Mary Sues that were just plain silly. Your character should not have "an echoing laugh that chills the very souls of everyone around them, even killing weak minded children and halflings...". If you REALLY want that, please, apply for it (although... whatever, play what you like and good luck). A dark and menacing laugh, or an unnerving squealing laugh that's more like a pig... these are perfectly acceptable, imo.

Then, figure out HOW you want to achieve your goals. Will it involved others? If so, it's a big plus! If not, see if you can alter it in order to do so. This is usually a very difficult stage, so confer with a friend if you have not done so already. IRC is great. Have no friends? Neither does Kotenku, so ask him.

If an application is necessary, do that here.

Lastly, once you've figured out your goals (aka what you want to DO with your character, other than pwn trolls and goblin tribes), go ahead and turn on NWN. Choose your sex, then race, and the class and stats that will be both fun, help you to reach your goals (or strive to at any rate!), and would be interesting to play. Then, write a brief character description. If it's more than three paragraphs, it's probably too much. Please put SOMETHING there though. Relying on portraits isn't sufficient because not everyone has the same portraits and thus can't see your character.

Then his "Play".

This is all my opinion, of course, from 20+ characters, all of which have been extremely enjoyable in their own ways. In the end, do whatever you like.

I would agree with Garem, form follows function. Personally one of the things I do when working up a new character is to pull the books. I have a nice collection of D&D books from the last 3 editions. And often ideas for the character can be found right in the books. Depending on where the game is set in, or where I am setting the background of the character.

My roommates often joke with me about the fact that someone is in trouble when I start pulling out my books! And they are normally right too!

But back to my point, you really need to have an idea of what you want before you can work on how to create it.

#3 is the most important part...but it's also the hardest. I'd say that 99% of the time people are looking for an idea this is where they get stuck. If that's the case, try going about it from the other side. Decide on what you plan to be (dwarven fighter for example) than figgure out how to make that interesting.

I tend to decided on *Voice first. What I mean is I come up with the "character" before I decided on race or class.

These are the basics (that I could think of) Shy Agressive Antagonistic Sarcastic Honest (to a fault) Naive "worldly" Wise Protagonistic Procrastinatior

From there I can decided the race and class that would fit best. If you have a problem finding a voice, maybe you have a favorite character, from a book, movie, tv show..that might fit.

There are many places that can capture your imagination, you just have to look for it.

Try movies, books, tv, cartoons, friends, or a loved Table Top character.

The idea is to find what fits YOU. From there you can figure out how best this character would fit in the UnderDark. You DON'T have to know what their long term plans are, that is sometimes half the fun...them finding how or where they fit in.

Not matter what you play or do...Having FUN is the most important part.