I really want to learn this game, but i guess for some of us slower folks. A character creation flow chart would be really helpful.
Has anyone taken the time to break down character creation into its steps, with a reference to what page we can go to?

yeah. I will seond that

I can do that for you.

See http://criticalhit.dk/~staun/AO_CharacterGeneration.png

Have fun.

Does that work for you?

staun - 06 November 2010 01:54 PM

Does that work for you?

THat’s a definite step in the right direction. And should help a little bit more. Not as detailed as what i was looking for , but works. Thank you.

BrianRoth - 06 November 2010 02:05 PM

staun - 06 November 2010 01:54 PM

Does that work for you?

THat’s a definite step in the right direction. And should help a little bit more. Not as detailed as what i was looking for , but works. Thank you.

I’m getting a new tool, so I may be able to do something a lot fancier pretty soon, but it’s $10,000.00 per license, so I can’t afford it privately

By privately you mean legally right lol. That flowchart should be suffice for noobs though.

Note that Xarlos’s character generator (or any character generator, probably) greatly simplifies the process of character creation.  You can focus on reading the books to figure out what you want your character to do and to look like, and use the tool to offload all the “accounting” (tracking the expenditure of Character Development Points and Skill Points, for example).  It outputs an Excel 2007 spreadsheet at the end which is formatted to look like a Character Sheet.

I like to put the “Character Appearance” first.  The book has it in section 6.12, but I find it easier to ask my player’s the question, “Which kind of character would you _like_ to play?” and then figure out how to implement that vision. 

Maybe Race first, then Appearance, but you get the idea…

/eh

Okay, I think I have put something together.

Aaron Orenstadt, Lesser Nephilim, Performer (Musical Entertainer).

Core: Strength 13, Agility 13, Conditioning 13, Vitality 13, Discipline 16, Intelligence 14, Charisma 15 (95 pts)

Abilities: Sense Weather, Skill Aptitude: Performing (60 pts)

Fields/Skills: Alertness 1, Fine Arts 2>Performing 2, Melee Combat 1, Operate Vehicle > Ground Vehicle 1, Small Arms 1 > Pistols 1 (240 pts)

Weilding:  Innate, Source: Being 3, Intentions: Salvation 3, Inspiration 3 (50 pts)

Genetic Deviations: Glowing Eyes, Circulatory System I, Respiratory System I, Core Quality Max Increase (Charisma), Core Quality Max Increase (Discipline) (free)

Total: 445 points, leaves 55 open

Notes & Ideas:
I have always liked having a character who could use his performing skills to sway people. So i gave him Innate Wielding, and I thought the source and Intentions I chose would be an appropriate choice. Now I also have an affinity for weather, especially storms and rain. Now this build is still in the works, I could definetly still make him an Arcane Wielder. I couldn’t decide if i wanted to do Elemental source or not, but i went for being. Would have loved to do both. But I’d probably have to knock his skills back right? And i still have to figure out his dice pools and all those calculated scores.

Thoughts and Opinions?

A few GM feedback items:
Could you describe how he uses his wielding to improve his performances? Does he? Why? Why not?
Is he a known performer?
What’s his instrument(s)?
What kind of adventuring motivation does he have? Does he suck at performing, or does he just need a new guitar? What happens when he gets the trust?
Does he hide his glowing eyes or is he “out of the closet”?
No drawbacks? Why not? Get some, and get some higher skill ranks.

if i could post a suggestion -

traveling bards would probably be very popular in the Freezones - much of the day of Remnants and others living away from the large cities would have to spend much of their day with various tasks such as crops and such - they would not have much time for leisure activities.  so, having an entertainer (or troupe) to stop by every so often to perform would be a treat for the community, and would also allow the entertainers to act as couriers for news (and possibly mail) from other communities in the area for times when traders or caravans are not around.

I honestly hadn’t considered any of the RP aspects of the character yet, I am more worried of making sure i have the mechanics down pat. So i’m not sure how any of his weaving works with his “performing”. As far as drawbacks go, I never know what to take with that stuff. And I had no clear defined picture for the character anyways. Like i said, I want to work out the mechanics of the game first.

So my skill ranks are low then?

Fields/Skills: Alertness 1, Fine Arts 2>Performing 2, Melee Combat 1, Operate Vehicle > Ground Vehicle 1, Small Arms 1 > Pistols 1 (240 pts)

Considering i spent 240 cdp here, i spent nearly half my pool of points to get these scores! I can raise them further? Understand that several of these are field focus’s as well. Unless I have botched up somewhere and not spent my points properly here. Buying field/skill ranks from what i saw, was pretty expensive!

BrianRoth - 27 December 2010 01:29 PM

I honestly hadn’t considered any of the RP aspects of the character yet ...

Funny, I cannot create a character this way I need to find out who I want to create first, and then figure out what kind of abilities he needs to have. Interesting.

Well i had a vague idea.. but heck i don’t even know if i’d even like playing this character. Or if the weak concept ever works for that matter. Since my chances of actualy getting to play any RPG is next to nill anyways. I prefer more straight forward characters.

BrianRoth - 27 December 2010 01:29 PM

I honestly hadn’t considered any of the RP aspects of the character yet, I am more worried of making sure i have the mechanics down pat. So i’m not sure how any of his weaving works with his “performing”. As far as drawbacks go, I never know what to take with that stuff. And I had no clear defined picture for the character anyways. Like i said, I want to work out the mechanics of the game first.

So my skill ranks are low then?

Fields/Skills: Alertness 1, Fine Arts 2>Performing 2, Melee Combat 1, Operate Vehicle > Ground Vehicle 1, Small Arms 1 > Pistols 1 (240 pts)

Considering i spent 240 cdp here, i spent nearly half my pool of points to get these scores! I can raise them further? Understand that several of these are field focus’s as well. Unless I have botched up somewhere and not spent my points properly here. Buying field/skill ranks from what i saw, was pretty expensive!

well, for starters, i think your points are a bit off….

Alertness 1 - 30 pts
Fine Arts 2 - 60 pts
Performing 2 - 20 pts
Melee Combat 1 - 30 pts
Ground Vehicles 1 - 10 pts
Small Arms 1 - 30 pts
Pistols 1 - 10 pts

That’s 190 pts - you didn’t list a ranking for Operate Vehicle field skill, but at rank 1, that’s 30 pts, so 220, or at rank 2, 250 pts.

so somewhere, your math is off…

Remember that you are a starting character - a couple of my players had low skills as well, especially the one that did wielding.

I would forego the Operate Vehicle field and stick with just Ground Vehicles.  Realistically, if I were your GM, I would rule that anyone would be able to pilot a standard ground vehicle of the age - the advancements in autopilot systems would allow someone to perform basic driving.  I would only require this skill for anyone that expects to perform combat maneuvering or is driving some vehicle that doesn’t have all the modern conveniences and technology such as autopilot (for example, a Mad Max scenario where the character comes across an old 18-wheeler or tanker truck).  That would only free up 10 points, but you could put that into something else. Remember that you technically have every skill at Rank 0.

As for combat, you’ve taken the Melee Combat field, plus the Small Arms field.  If you’re going to play more of a performer character based on your earlier comments, then I’d say you have too much invested and spread out in combat related skills - you’re not the combat bunny - use your wielding for attack (as well as the performing) and defense.  Take either Unarmed or One-handed Melee Combat skills rather than the whole field.  Stick with Pistols and SMGs and drop the Small Arms field.

Field skills really only make sense if you plan on taking more than two of the skills in the field (IMO).

I would go more with this:

Alertness 1 (30pts)>Read People 1 (10pts), Performing 4 (40pts), Coercion 2 (60pts), Deceive 2 (20 pts), Unarmed Combat 4 (40pts)
total 200 pts.
Note that rank 4 is your max as a Lesser Neph. starting character.

with the wielding you’ve purchased, this gives you a character that is more of a “face” character - or maybe a con artist - or similar.  you have decent performing skills, which also add to your Deceive skill when trying to imitate someone.  you can read peoples reactions to your performances or attempts to bluff and manipulate them.  you’ve boosted your charisma - use it!  I would drop the Sense Weather and go with Lip-Reading for another 10 pts.  plus a little unarmed to fall back on…

as for your wielding, i would take Control - it allows you to change your appearance, control minds, etc.  and Creation, which will allow you to create illusions (to enhance your performing) as well as to use in combat - if you’re creative!  (All with the Being source). 

if you were playing Shadowrun, this would be the classic Elven Rocker character (with a little mage thrown in) - I think it is playable with a few minor adjustments as I’ve mentioned above - probably valuable to the team for negotiations, disguise, and wielding.

my 2 Trust worth
Rich