Character creation
Process of defining a character in a role-playing game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Character creation (also known as character generation or character design) is the process of defining a player character in a role-playing game. The result of character creation is a direct characterization that is recorded on a character sheet. This may include a representation of the character's physical, mental, psychological, and social attributes and skills in terms of the specific game's mechanics.
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It may also include informal descriptions of the character's physical appearance, personality, personal back-story ("background"), and possessions.[1][2][3][4] Games with a fantasy setting often include traits such as race, class, or species.[5] Character creation is typically the first step taken by the players (as opposed to a gamemaster) before a game starts.
Character advancement
Character advancement refers to the improvement of a character's statistics later in the game. The player modifies existing statistics and adds new traits, usually by spending experience points or gaining a new experience level. Character advancement typically uses similar rules as character creation.[1][6]
Making decisions
The process of creating a character requires making decisions about the character's attributes and skills. Each game includes its own procedures for making these decisions.[7]
Pre-generated options
Some games and campaign settings offer pre-generated character options for beginners or players who prefer to start playing more quickly.[8][9][10]
Random choice
Random choices are made by rolling dice and either using the result directly or looking it up in a table, depending on the decision that is to be made. A random generation system allows the full range of values to be generated for each statistic, leading to diversity among newly generated characters. However, players have little control over the scores.[11]
Player's choice
The player makes decisions within defined restrictions. These restrictions may allow players to distribute a number of character points among various statistics. In a point distribution system, higher scores cost more points per level than lower ones, and costs may vary between statistics within a category. Usually, there is an upper and lower limit for each score. Additional constraints may apply, depending on the game's system.[7]
