Effective Character Creation

[Zyraen]

Placeholder Topic for information.

[Zyraen]

EFFECTIVE CHARACTER CREATION - AT LEVEL 1

The following assumes you generate Stats using the 22 point method.

Note that you will generally only have enough points for 2 high Stats out of the 6 Stats, STR CON DEX INT WIS CHA. For long term viability, you will want these 2 Stats contributing to two separate Non-AC Defenses (NAD) ie Fortitude, Reflex, Will.Hence STR-CON, DEX-INT, WIS-CHA pairings generally unfavorable, as you will have two weak NADs instead of only one.

The following does not really guide you in building a Hybrid Character, but the same process can be applied so long in Step 2, you choose two Classes with Stats that overlap. Or that may not overlap, but you're willing to accept the drawbacks of not having those benefits.

NOT COVERED: Themes, and only brief mention of Backgrounds.

1. Determine the Role you want to play : Defender, Leader, Striker, or maybe even Controller

Defender marks enemies and try to keep them from attacking more vulnerable party members. They generally have better AC from heavy armor and more Hitpoints (HP), and are generally restricted to attacking in melee or up close.
Strikers deal out high amounts of damage to eliminate threats. Most effective Strikers deal high single-target damage.
Leaders generally buff allies and heal the party, keeping them in the fight. They usually wear chain (a less defensive heavy armor) and have limited mobility.
Controllers generally debuff enemies, use Area attacks to eliminate masses of weaker foes, and/or position enemies so they are less threatening or more easily managed by the rest of the party. A Controller usually has less HP, and you generally have to know what you can do, and when to do it, in order to be an effective Controller.

2. Determine Class and 2 High Stats

Choose EITHER Approach A or B
A. Choose a Class that you like. Based on the Class, pick 2 Stats
B. Choose 2 Stats that you would like to build your RP around. Use that to Select a Class of the Role you want*.

* - sometimes there may not be a Class of a certain Role that matches the Stats you want. In that case, either use approach 2A, or go back to 1.

For Details on what Skills are boosted by which Stats, and which Classes match which Stats, refer to the various Books (and there are a LOT of books) or look at the next post, Stat Based Character Generation

Generally, the relationship between Class and Stat is as follows
A. Attack: whichever Stat is used to make Attacks by that class, and usually determines Damage. eg. a Rogue uses DEX to attack, a Paladin uses STR or CHA to attack, etc.
B. AC Defense: whichever Stat boosts your AC. This applies more for Classes that wear light armor (eg. Rangers, Rogues, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards etc). Those that wear Heavy Armor (eg. Fighters, Clerics, Paladins etc) are generally less affected.
C. Effects: Whichever Stat boosts the effect of your powers. Sorcerers deal more damage with either STR or DEX, Fighters defend better with WIS, Paladins defend better with CHA, Clerics have many powers boosted by either CON or CHA, Rangers have powers that are improved by their WIS.
Note that this does not apply for some Classes (eg. Rogues, Wizards), or to a lesser Extent (eg. Rangers use their WIS to improve the effects of their powers, but their bonus Quarry damage is not affected by their WIS)

The above points A, B, C should come down to 2 Stats, or occasionally 1 Stat (eg. Rogues have DEX improve Attack and AC, while they have minimal Stat-based Effects in their powers. Similarly, Wizards have INT improve their Attack and AC, with minimal Stat-based Effects in their powers)

If it comes down to 3 or more Stats, reconsider the Role / Class or consult your DM / other players for advice.

3. Stat Array

Now that you know which 2 Stats to boost in order to be an effective member of your Class, you decide how to distribute your Stats.

Generally speaking, if you have 1 Stat that boosts both Attack and AC, put as many points as possible into that one Stat. That is typically 18-14-11-10-10-8 Stat Array.

Most of the time, you will find that one Stat boosts Attack, while a separate Stat improves Effects and possibly AC too (if you wear Light Armor). This typically calls for the 16-16-13-11-10-8 Stat Array, but there are some other considerations, as follows:

- Must you Hit to be Effective in your Role? Note that Strikers and Controllers generally have to.
- As a Player, do you want to hit things more and deal damage?

If the answer to either of the above is YES, you can choose to forgo 1 AC for 1 more Accuracy, and build based on 18-14-11-10-10-8. But this may not be the best long term solution...

Alternatively, you can build a 17-16-11-10-10-8 character, where 17 is the Stat you use to Attack, and 16 is the Stat that improves your AC / Effects. This character starts out at Level 1 similar to a 16-16-13-11-10-8 character, but gains +1 Attack sooner at Level 4 (where you gain +1 to any 2 Stats) instead of Level 8, without any significant Defensive downside compared to the 16-16-13-11-10-8 build.

The only downside of 17-16-11-10-10-8 usually comes in around Level 28, where your Attack cannot improve beyond what it was at Level 24. That is usually a non-factor since most games do not extend for that many levels.

4. Choose your Race

Once more, looking at the next post - Stat-Based Character Generation - which will help you in this area.

In general, always pick a Race that adds +2 to BOTH the High Stats that you chose earlier.

The only time you choose Human, that adds +2 to any one Stat, is when one or more of the following applies:
- You are playing a Class that uses 1 Stat to boost both Attack and AC (eg, Rogue and Wizard, mentioned earlier)
- You need 1 more extra Feat, hence you choose Human
- You need/really want an extra At Will, typically because your Class (eg. Warlock Pact) restricts your At Will choices.

After Selecting your Race and adding the two Stat bonuses, you should be of the following Stats at Level 1
18-14-11-10-10-8 becomes 20-16-11-10-10-8
16-16-13-11-10-8 becomes 18-18-13-11-10-8
17-16-11-10-10-8 becomes 19-18-11-10-10-8

5. Other Considerations - Feats and Paragon Paths

Certain Feats have certain Stat requirements, and you may need to plan ahead to avoid making a "Reset" midgame.
Most are very build Specific, eg. Polearm Gamble, but the following are some more Notable feats.

- Superior Will : requires Wisdom 15 or Charisma 15
It gives you bonus to Will and gives you an extra Save against Dazed and Stunning effects at the start of your Turn.
This feat is very popular especially from Level 11 onwards, where Dazing and Stunning effects show up more often, and is widely considered almost mandatory for high level games of Level 16 - 21 onwards.
It was voted one of the top 3 most important feats in a poll on 4E feats.
NOTE: At Level 11 you will get +1 to all Stats, and if you are a Class that mainly uses 1 Stat, you can put a spare +1 Stat into Wisdom or Charisma. So starting with 14 in Wisdom or Charisma will be sufficient, or even 12 or 13 if you are a Single-Stat Class.

- Enlarge Spell : requires Wisdom 13, Wizard Class
This feat lets you increase the size of your Wizard At Will and Encounter powers that deal at least 1 dice of damage. It is very popular among Wizards.

- Elemental Empowerment : requires Genasi, Wizard.
This has no Stat requirement, but lets you add Strength modifier to damage rolls for wizard powers that have acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder keyword.
This feat effectively turns the Wizard into a far-better-than-Sorcerer Striker... but only if you have enough Strength to really benefit from it.

- Surprising Charge : requires Dexterity 17, and either Rogue or Fighter Class
When you charge with combat advantage using a Spear or Light Blade, you deal an extra 1[W] damage when you hit.
This feat is mainly only used for Charging Builds that use the relevant weapons, but most will not need it. Depending on DMs, Charging builds generally are only effective up until Level 11, or Level 16-20 depending on how situations change.

- Various Multiclass Feats : requires Stat 13, where Stat is usually the Stat required by the Class to Attack
Multiclass Feats ( there are many ) were voted among the most important feats in the game as well. Note that there are occasional Multiclasses that do not require any Stats. Multiclassing in a Leader gives you a spare Heal once a DAY (not Encounter), and Multiclassing as a Striker usually lets you deal Striker damage once per Encounter.
Many Multiclasses also unlock Paragon Paths and Feats associated with that class.

- Primal Eye : requires Level 11, Seeker.
You can add your Dexterity modifier or Strength modifier to damage rolls when you make ranged basic attacks.
This feat boosts your Damage output significantly if you use Ranged Basic Attacks for damage. It has no Stat requirement, Obviously you need to either have reasonable Strength or Dexterity to benefit from it.

Depending what Paragon Path you wish to take, some require a Feat with a Stat Requirement.
Quite a few Paragon Paths also offer benefits based on a certain Stat. Obviously if you do not have that Stat as one your top 2 Stats, you will likely not benefit significantly. Hence if you wish to plan ahead, feel free to do so.

For beginners, this is generally not of much consideration. It will generally be more effective to consult others on which Paragon Paths to build towards.

6. Choose your Skill Training

Generally, you want to be Trained in Skills that come from one of your 2 High Stats.

If the Skill that you want to be Trained in is not available to your Class, you check to see if any Backgrounds etc might grant you access to that Skill.

For beginners, Backgrounds are very poorly documented and scattered across the books, so it might be easier to simply consult others how to gain training in a particular Skill.

7. Equip Items and Choose your 1st Feat

Add to your Character the best Mundane (non-magical) pieces of Equipment he/she can carry.

Any feat that is mentioned as "Expertise" provides you a +1 Feat bonus to attack with that type of weapon/implement, and this increases to +2 at Level 11, and +3 at Level 21. This benefit will NOT be mentioned below. Just about every Character that wants to hit will be taking at least 1 Expertise Feat of some kind.

If you use a Melee Weapon, you generally want to use a Weapon with +3 Proficiency Attack bonus. This means more accuracy. Light Blade Expertise is recommended for dealing extra +1 damage with Combat Advantage, and increases to +2/+3 at Levels 11/21. Heavy Blade Expertise is not as good, but still grants +2 bonus defenses against all Opportunity Attacks.
If you use a Ranged Weapon, you can choose to use a short ranged, low damage but accurate Dagger, or a longer ranged weapon such as a Crossbow or a Longbow. Crossbow Expertise is popular for ignoring all cover when attacking, but you need to use a Minor Action to reload, or use a less damaging Hand Crossbow that you can reload as a Free Action.

You can have more than 1 Weapon, typically 1 Melee and 1 Ranged. If they are two different weapons, consider making them the same subtype (eg. Rapier and throwing Dagger are both Light Blades, so you can benefit from Light Blade Expertise) or if not, use Master of Arms for the feat bonus to Attack that works with ANY weapon.

If you can wear a Shield, equip the best Shield you can as long as it doesn't affect your preferred attack. eg. a Crossbow user probably can't equip a Shield. Alternatively, change the attack to allow for a Shield, eg. substituting the Crossbow with a Dagger will allow you to use a Shield and still throw a Dagger.

If you wear Light Armor, choose the best Light Armor you have. This is usually either Leather or Hide. If you can only wear Cloth, either take the feat Unarmored Agility (+2 AC while wearing Cloth) or Leather Armor Proficiency. It makes a difference, do not wear only Cloth and expect to do OK unless you are very good at positioning yourself out of Harm's Way.
If you wear Heavy Armor, and can wear Scale or Plate, go ahead and wear that. If you wear Chain, you almost certainly must hold a Shield to have a reasonable AC. If for whatever reason you can't hold a Shield, look at your DEX / INT. If either is one of your high Stats, consider wearing Hide instead and adding DEX / INT to your AC, and see if the total is better than if you wore Chain. You can still wear a Shield while wearing Hide for more benefit.
Note that characters with high DEX/INT sometimes choose to wear Hide instead of Heavy Armor (Scale, Plate) as they have an overall better AC and retain their default Speed of 6 (wearing Heavy Armor reduces most Characters' speed to 5)

If you use an implement, one of the most popular Implements if you can is the Staff, and take the feat Staff Expertise. It lets you make Ranged and Area attacks without provoking Opportunity Attacks from Enemies next to you.
If not, other good Expertise feats are
- Rod Expertise : You get a +1 Shield Bonus that improves your AC and Reflex.
- Wand Expertise : Your implement Attacks ignore all cover
- Devout Protector Expertise (Holy Symbol): If you use a Shield, all your allies gain a +1 shield bonus to AC
- Mighty Crusader Expertise (Holy Symbol): While you carry a two handed weapon, your ranged and area implement attacks made with a holy symbol do not provoke OAs. The downside of this is that you don't benefit from a Shield.
- Orb Expertise: You gain +1 feat bonus to number of squares you pull, push or slide targets of an attack you make with the Orb.
- Battle Song Expertise (Bards) : The bonus attack applies to all Bard implements, and you gain a +1 feat bonus to number of squares you pull, push or slide targets of an attack you make with Bard powers.

Implement Users with a spare feat can take Superior Implement Training to gain +1 Attack with their Implement.
There are also multiple other Superior Implement Trainings with benefits, such that the +1 Attack only applies against a particular defence (Fortitude, Reflex or Will) but it has additional effects (more forced movement, more psychic damage, etc)

8. Select your Powers

You will generally start with 2 At Will Powers, 1 Encounter, and 1 Daily.

Ideally, they will all be either Implement or Weapon, so you can benefit from your Expertise for all of them.
And they will use the same Stat to Attack, and if their effect is dependent on a 2nd Stat, then to be dependent on the same 2nd Stat (that should also be one of your 2 High Stats).

That's it!

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If you've made it so far, Congratulations.
You probably have a solid and playable Level 1 Character that can hopefully make it through the long haul.

[Zyraen]

This is a supplement to the above, and deals specifically with Stats and Classes, and relevant Races to pick as well.

STAT-BASED CHARACTER GENERATION

This List is intended to help a Player create a Character based on desired Stats, which are in turn related to Desired Skills. While it is mainly aimed at New Players, it might also help Experienced Players create Effective Characters that are proficient in Skills that they wish to bring out in their RP as well. It also helps New Players find the suitable Race to get started with.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Some Races and Classes are omitted, possibly by accident, and possibly by intent.

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Skills & Stats

For those that care about Skills, the following Skills are linked to following Stats.

Strength (STR) - Athletics
Constitution (CON) - Endurance
Dexterity (DEX) - Acrobatics, Stealth, Thievery
Intelligence (INT) - Arcana, History, Religion
Wisdom (WIS) - Dungeoneering, Heal, Insight, Nature, Perception
Charisma (CHA) - Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Streetwise

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Select TWO Preferred Stats

After your Selection, just go to the appropriate section in the following List.

Recommended Race is provided, where the Race matches the EXACT Stats you want. You don't really have to look up the Race if you don't want to, just ask the DM.

Recommended Class(es) is provided, with mention of the Class' Role, and which books to find Info / Power Selection for it.

We don't generally encourage new players to start with two stats in the same NAD (Fort, Reflex, Will), except maybe WIS / CHA for certain specific builds.

Hence there are no STR / CON, INT / DEX notes here. Generally speaking, selections that result in Low AC are also omitted.

A) STR / DEX
Race: Half-Orc (PHB2), Bug Bear (MM), Thri-Kreen (DSCS)
Class:
Fighter(Defender) in PHB1, MP1, MP2, DSCS, HotFL (for Knight-Defender, Slayer-Striker)
Ranger(Striker), Rogue (Striker), Both can be found in PHB1, MP1, MP2.

B) STR / INT
Race: Genasi (FRPG)
Class:
Wizard (Controller) in PHB1, AP, HotFL (for Mage), HotFW (for Witch)
Swordmage (Defender) in FRPG, AP
Warlord (Leader) in PHB1, MP1, MP2

C) STR / WIS
Race: Goliath (PHB2), Longtooth Shifter (PHB2)
Class:
Fighter(Defender) in PHB1, MP1, MP2, DSCS, HotFL (for Knight-Defender, Slayer-Striker)
Cleric (Leader) in PHB1, DP, HotFL (for Warpriest)
Paladin (Defender) in PHB1, DP
Seeker (Controller) in PHB3
Warden (Defender) in PHB3, PrP

D) STR / CHA
Race: Dragonborn (PHB1)
Class:
Sorcerer (Striker) in PHB2, AP
Barbarian (Striker) in PHB2, PrP, HotFW (for Berserker)
Paladin (Defender) in PHB1, DP, HotFK (for Cavalier-Defender)
Warlord (Leader) in PHB1, MP1, MP2

E) CON / DEX
Race: Halfling (PHB1), Revenant (HoS)
Class:
Monk (Striker) in PHB3, PsP.
Assassin (Striker) in Dragon Magazine 379. Not recommended for those without DDI access.

F) CON / INT
Race: Genasi (FRPG), Warforged (EPG)
Class:
Swordmage (Defender) in FRPG, AP
Warlock (Striker) in PHB1, AP, DSCS
Artificer (Leader) in EPG
Sha'ir (Controller) in HotEC, with Wizard options in PHB1, AP, HotFL, HotFW.

G) CON / WIS
Race: Half-Elf (PHB1), Dwarf (PHB1)
Class:
Battlemind (Defender) in PHB3, PsP
( Note that Druids, Shamans, Invokers are viable but will generally have to take Special Measures to avoid getting crippled by poor AC. Hence they are not recommended. )

H) CON / CHA
Race: Half-Elf (PHB1), Tiefling (PHB1), Dragonborn (PHB1)
Class:
Elementalist (Striker) in HotEC, with Sorcerer Options in PHB2, AP
Bard (Leader) in PHB2, AP
Battlemind (Defender) in PHB3, PsP
Ardent (Leader) in PHB3, PsP
Hexblade (Striker) in HotFK

I) DEX / WIS
Race: Elf (PHB1), Drow (HotFK), Razorclaw Shifter (PHB2), Thri-Kreen (DSCS), Githzerai (PHB3)
Class:
Ranger (Striker) in PHB1, MP1, MP2 and HotFL (for Hunter-Controller)
Monk (Striker) in PHB3, PsP
Druid (Controller) in PHB2, PrP, HotFW (for Protector-Controller), HotFK (for Sentinel-Leader)
Seeker (Controller) in PHB3

J) DEX / CHA
Race: Halfling (PHB1), Drow (HotFK), Pixie (HotFW), Revenant (HoS)
Class
Rogue (Striker) in PHB1, MP1, MP2.
Thief (Striker) in HotFL, with options in PHB1, MP1, MP2 for Rogue
Warlock (Striker) in PHB1, AP, DSCS
Hexblade (Striker) in HotFK, with options in PHB1, AP, DSCS for Warlock
Monk (Striker) in PHB3, PrP
Executioner (Striker) in HoS

K) INT / WIS
Race: Hamadryad (HotFW), Deva (PHB2), Githzerai (PHB3), Shardmind (PHB3)
Class
Wizard (Controller) in PHB1, AP, HotFL (for Mage), HotFW (for Witch)
Psion (Controller) in PHB3, PsP
Shaman (Leader) in PHB2, PrP
Artificer (Leader) in EPG

L) INT / CHA
Race: Eladrin (PHB1), Tiefling (PHB1), Shardmind (PHB3), Pixie (HotFW), Kalashtar (EPG)
Class
Warlord (Leader) in PHB1, MP1, MP2. Benefits from Eladrin Warlord feat.
Warlock (Striker) in PHB1, AP, DSCS
Bard (Leader) in PHB2, AP, HotFW (Skald)
Invoker (Controller) in PHB2, DP
Hexblade (Striker) in HotFK, with options in PHB1, AP, DSCS for Warlock
Psion (Controller) in PHB3, PsP

M) WIS / CHA
Race: Hamadryad (HotFW), Kalashtar (EPG), Deva (PHB2)
Class
Cleric (Leader) in PHB1, DP. Very Strong with Pacifist Cleric
Paladin (Defender) in PHB1, DP. Effective with certain Feats and Paragon Paths

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Special: One-Stat Classes

There are a few Classes that can function reasonably well with only 1 high Stat. Typically their Attack and Defence keys off this 1 Stat, and their Bonus Damage is independent of it. Those pointed out here typically have a reasonable Skill Selection, and most of their more useful Powers also do not depend on any other Stat, or have such bonuses they do not need that Stat to be especially high.

For Roleplay and even fulfilling most Combat purposes, they can be effective with the remainder of their Stat points spread roughly evenly into other Stats, such that their top 3 Stats correspond to 3 separate NADs.

DEX: Rogue, Thief (Rogue), Ranger*
INT: Wizard, Mage (Wizard)

* - Ranger is arguably not one-Stat, as quite a few notable powers depend on a Second Stat, and some of their Paragon Paths also are very dependent on a Second Stat.