Hey, ZukoChris here.
Got another character build for ya, something hopefully a little less fiddly than Cyberpunk RED. The fact that I'm using this as an intro to a Pathfinder character isn't meant to be a dig, I swear.
Maybe a little, though it didn't start that way.
Anyhow, I'd have done one of these sooner, but I've been a little lapsed from Pathfinder and Starfinder. I've got a stack of Pathfinder 2E books I haven't had a good chance to use as it is, and now there's a 2.5 coming out. So I waited for the Archives of Nethys site to get the 2E Remastered rules up. Some of this stuff is 'Legacy' content but it's all still compatible.
Also, I wanted to hold off on spending the time and energy finishing and posting this until I completed my drafts for the upcoming Alchemicals book for Exalted 3e, but that's out of the way now. I wrote up a bunch of this post between drafts and just held off on doing the character sheet, so if there's anything at AoN that's updated in that time that's led to inaccuracies here, I apologize. (Though if anything's been adjusted or changed there in a way that would affect this character or if I got anything else wrong, feel free to let me know.)
But today, I make the plunge -- I give in to the purest essence of being Furry Trash and essentially write up my fursona as a Kitsune Bard. So let's do this thing.
Step 1: Create a Concept
So I know my concept. Wandering kitsune musician-adventurer with a trickster element to him, seeking knowledge and excitement. Probably someone spiritual but not extremely devout, offering regular prayers to Daikitsu (store-brand Inari), Sivanah (goddess of illusion and mysteries), and possibly Desna (goddess of dreams, luck, stars, and travelers). Daikitsu's worshipped in the Tian Xia, Sivanah is worshipped primarily in Avistan, and Desna is worshipped in both. I'm thinking this character's originally from Tian Xia, probably Minkai specifically, and picked up the Sivanah stuff in his travels.
I'll work out the rest as I go, as best I can keeping in mind that I'm not creating this character with a group.
Also, I should name him. I don't have a lot of 'canon' about the character for the most part as I don't have any stories in which he properly appears and just RP him here and there, but since I can't have him going around calling himself 'MythicFox' in-character (though in some modern settings I've played the "Just call me 'Myth,' it's an old nickname that stuck" card), I should give him a mundane name. Let's go with a name I've used for him before, Mokkangakki (which means 'woodwind'). Maybe it's an adventuring alias but I'm already overthinking it so let's move on.
Step 2: Start Building Attribute Modifiers
This version of Pathfinder just tosses the Ability score numbers and sticks with the modifiers, which I'm totally fine with. So in this step I note default modifiers of +0 in everything and be aware that it's going to be adjusted as we go. Apparently I'm supposed to think ahead of time about where I want to focus things, but I've done this sort of thing before and have an idea of what I want to build.
Step 3: Select an Ancestry
I start with Ancestry, which is -- wait for it -- Kitsune. This determines my size, Speed, languages, etc. I also pick a heritage, and I've got a few different options -- Celestial Envoy could be interesting, as could Empty Sky Kitsune. The former suggests a connection to the divine, and gives me a bonus to saves to resist divine effects. The other is much more focused on the mystical side of things, boosting my access to magic. I think I'm leaning towards the latter, actually. Empty Sky Kitsune it is. Also, that establishes my alternate, tailless form is based on the local humanoid population where I grew up (though I have not yet decided exactly where that is), likely human.
Now I record my ability boosts. Kitsune have a default of a boost to Charisma and a free one that I'll put into... let's go with Dexterity, a classic for bard/rogue-ish types. I could just pick an alternate, or even take a flaw for another boost, but nah. No need.
BTW, my heritage also gives me the Kitsune Spell Familiarity ancestry feat, which lets me add my choice of daze, figment (technically the text says ghost sound, but it's been renamed for the Remastered version), or forbidding ward to my cantrip list each day. Nice.
Oh, that reminds me, I also get an ancestry feat at level one anyways. Let's go with... Kitsune Lore. I'm good at navigating social situations and keeping secrets, making me trained in Diplomacy and Deception (if something else would also make me trained in those it doesn't stack, and I redistribute it). I'm also trained in Kitsune Lore.
During all this I'm supposed to note languages as well, which for kitsune are... Common, plus extras based on my Intelligence modifier, and anything else prevalent in the region. I'll revisit this once I actually have an Intelligence modifier.
Step 4: Pick a Background
Okay, backgrounds, let's see the list... There's a few that could work, including some that are suggested in the Kitsune write-up. But let's go with Entertainer. That gets me an ability boost to Dexterity or Charisma, and a free one. I'll pick Charisma, and put the free one in Intelligence. I'm also trained in the Performance skill, and Theater Lore, and I get the Fascinating Performance feat.
Step 5: Choose a Class
Bard. Moving on.
...
Oh, right, I've got choices to make here... or do I? As I look at the outline, apparently I'm just supposed to make a note of what I want to play and what it's good at, mark down an attribute boost, move on to finish those up, and then come back for the rest. Okay, then. Being a bard gives my character a Charisma boost.
Moving on.
Step 6: Finish Attribute Modifiers
At this point I add four more attribute boosts to the ones I've already selected. I'm gonna go with another each in Dexterity, Charisma, Intelligence, and... hm... Wisdom.
This gives me a total of Str +0, Dex +2, Con +0, Int +2, Wis +1, and Charisma +4.
As I said above, I'd revisit the issue of languages later on. It is now 'later on.' Like I said, I want to play someone who came from, we'll definitively say, Minkai. (I'm willing to work around this if the GM's got an issue with it depending on the context of the campaign, natch.) But that means the subject of 'what counts as Common' is complicated. 'Common' in Avistan and Garund generally means 'Taldane.' In Tian Xia, it means 'Tien.' For the sake of flavor, I'm more than willing to just say heck with it and buy both. Beyond that, it gets a bit fuzzy depending on the campaign and such. For the moment, for the sake of filling out the sheet, I'll spend that last slot on Minkaian. (There's a book that references a specifically-Kitsune language, but I'm 99.99% sure that's a mistake since it's the only one across the whole of the game's publication history.)
Step 7: Record Class Details
Okay, now I make some bardic choices. But first, I mark down my starting HP: 8 for being a bard (plus my Con modifier, but that's 0), plus 8 for being a kitsune. So I start with 16.
Now, there's initial proficiencies for skills, saves, etc. There's a bunch of stuff that's set as default so I'm not gonna go over the whole list and instead save that for the character sheet. However, being a bard gives me training in Performance, which as I've noted before doesn't stack with the training I got before, so I have to pick another skill. So I'll put that into Stealth. I'm also trained in additional skills equal to 4 plus my Intelligence modifier, so 6. So we'll go with, in no particular order... Survival, Society, Religion, Acrobatics, Arcana, and Nature. I'd get Occultism as well but that's on the default list.
I make note of my various class abilities, like my spellcasting and such. For those of you unfamiliar with Pathfinder 2e, there are four basic spell lists that 99% of casters use (arcane, divine, occult, and nature), and the Remaster uses 'rank' to denote spell power versus 'level.' Some spellcaster classes can actually access different lists depending on a class feature -- a sorcerer's bloodline determines which list they use, for instance, which honestly is a touch I really like. As a bard I use the occult spell list, plus I also get access to 'composition' spells, which are a special extra classification of bard spells that usually use Performance. (There's some separate mechanics that tie into these but I'm not gonna get into that here.)
I establish my spell repertoire, which has two 1st-rank occult spells and five occult cantrips. Starting with cantrips, let's go with... detect magic, figment, guidance, haunting hymn, and infectious enthusiasm. Figment is already available via my Kitsune Spell Familiarity feat, but I think I'd want access to it readily enough to spend a slot on it. My starting first-rank spells are going to be charm and force barrage (known, in past editions and other games, as 'magic missle').
And then I start with the counter performance composition spell, and the courageous anthem composition cantrip (which is the Remastered version of inspire courage).
Next, I select a muse, which is the thing, person, philosophy, etc. that inspires me to go adventuring. This works kinda like a sorcerer's bloodline or a cleric's faith, adding some extra mechanics and access to certain abilities. My choice of muse also gives me a specific bard feat and adds a spell to my repertoire.
(For those of you familiar with D&D 3/3.5e and Pathfinder 1e, this is how 2e and the Remaster handle classes where you choose features and/or archetypes that swap them out -- a lot of stuff is treated as a feat for mechanical consistency, like rogue talents and barbarian rage powers.)
The list of muses is short, but I'm having trouble picking one. So let's narrow it down. Warrior is definitely out. That leaves us with Enigma, which is all about mystery and the secrets of the multiverse, Maestro, which is all about artistic perfection,' and Polymath, which is a jack-of-all trades try-everything sort of thing. I mean, we're going off of a version of MythicFox as he appears in my head, and as I mentioned before there isn't a lot of canon, but 'artistic perfection' has never been a priority. So Maestro's out.
Eh, looking at the other two... yeah, let's go with Enigma, I'm liking the 'secrets of the multiverse' angle. Also, it comes with Bardic Lore as a feat, which I prefer over Versatile Performance. I also get sure strike as a muse spell. I should also work out just what the character's actual muse is, and my first thought is that perhaps it's a complicated text that could be a book of riddles, or perhaps a confusing story from which one may derive occult truths... something like Ulysses. Maybe it was a gift from a relative or mentor.
And I think that covers all of my starting stuff for the class.
Step 8: Buy Equipment
As I've said before on other posts, I find buying equipment in RPGs a chore. Though it's a little more bearable in fantasy games at least, because it usually doesn't have to be as detailed or granular. Also, there's a suggested list of gear for first-level characters by class -- the Archives of Nethys write-up could be a little clearer whether this is Remastered or not, but heck with it.
I start with 15gp worth of stuff. To save time, I'm starting with the 'bard kit,' which includes a set of studded leather armor, a dagger, a rapier, a sling, ammo for the aforementioned sling, an 'adventurer's pack' (which has a bunch of basic traveling/survival gear in it), and a handheld musical instrument (which I'm thinking will be a shakuhachi). All this costs 7gp, 5sp, and 2cp.
So I've got 7gp, 4sp, and 8cp left. And to be honest, I'm not seeing a lot I'd consider essential that's not already part of the kit. So let's branch out and... oh, I know. I'm assuming I start with clothing, the online rules aren't as explicit as they should be, but I am gonna drop a couple of gold on a set of 'fine' clothing for fancy situations. And I'm gonna get a deck of playing cards -- if I was playing the character in a game, I'd be asking if I could have a deck from back home, something that doesn't match the normal Avistani card setup as a conversation piece.
That gives me... 4 gold, 9 silver, and 8 copper left. I think I'm gonna drop a few gold on an alchemical item as well, just sort of an 'in case of emergency break glass' thing. I'm thinking either an elixir of life (good old-fashioned healing potion) or a lesser smoke ball (basically what it sounds like). The elixir will probably be more broadly-useful, so I'll get that for three gold and save the rest of the cash for in-game.
Step 9: Calculate Modifiers
And now I do some more math.
First, my Perception modifier, which is based on my training, which is... (looks up Bard entry) ...expert. So the proficiency bonus (4 + level, so 5), plus my Wisdom modifier (+1), giving me a Perception modifier of +6.
Next are saving throws. I add whatever bonuses I've got from class training and appropriate Ability modifiers. I'm trained in Fortitude and Reflex and Expert in Will, so that means I've got +3 to Fortitude saves, +5 to Reflex saves, and +6 to Will saves. I don't think I've got any other modifiers from any of my other traits, but I'll work it out if it comes to it.
And the rest of this step is... looks like primarily recording the math for combat and skill rolls, so I'll just do that when I fill out the sheet.
Step 10: Finishing Details
Alright, here's where I'd note stuff like edicts and anathema (religious codes) either for flavor or because a class (like cleric) requires it. I also note patron deities here, or at least one patron deity, which I touched on earlier and will fill out on the sheet. Most of what's left is little character sheet details (age, gender, pronouns), noting that I start with a Hero Point, that sort of thing. Some of those I'll probably hold off on filling in, if I ever have a use for the sheet (for instance, I'm not sure what the appropriate age, height, and weight would be off-hand).
There is still a little math left -- there's my class DC, which is the difficulty to resist class abilities and such. I'm considered 'trained' in my class DC (so that'll be +2 and my level, which is 1, for a total of 3), and then I add my modifier for my key Attribute (Charisma), and all that is added to 10, for a class DC of 17. And then I work out my Armor Class, which is 10 plus my Dex modifier (up to my armor's cap), plus proficiency bonus with my armor (2 + level), and the armor's own bonus (+2), and that comes out to 17. Also I notice that because my Strength mod is a +0 I'm gonna suffer a penalty to some stuff, but eh. We'll work that out as we go. Finally, I work out my Bulk limit (encumbrance), and I can carry 5 + my Strength modifier (as noted a moment ago, 0), so I can carry 5 Bulk. I'll check to make sure that's not a problem while I'm filling out the sheet. (Looks like I'm right at the limit, actually.)
But at that point I think that does it, aside from the sheet itself. So let's put this thing up here. (Apologies, I don't know who made this sheet, I just found it via the forums.)
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