Ok so, this is the story of how I got back into roleplaying games after changing cities. To catch up, check out Chapter I.
Character Creation
So armed with my broken ability set, a level requirement, and a class I'm ready to get to work on a character. Now a bit about me at the time. I was what you might call a "Power Gamer". Every character choice I would make at the time was based around what would make me stronger. Yeah, I was that guy.
The concept was the most basic of basics, a human fighter. The only difference was that it would be the most fighter fighter that ever fighter'd, he is a chosen one. How else could you explain the ability score set he got. So the ability scores:
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 16
Intellect: 13
Wisdom: 13
Charisma: 12
Step one complete, I move on to class features and that most daunting of all the 3.5 choices, FEATS! So from my levels I had three feats to select. I pick up Dodge and Agile Riposte as my first and second feats. Dodge lets me pick a target and I gain a +1 to AC verses attacks that target makes. Agile Riposte lets me make an Attack of Opportunity against my Dodge target if they missed me with a melee attack. At third level I took Armor Proficiency (Light) to get the maximum Defense bonus out my chosen armor.
On to the Strong class options. All the base classes have talents related to various aspects of their core ability, like Fast talents improve your base speed or Tough talents granting extra Hit Points. That kind of thing. So I take Melee Smash at first and Improved Melee Smash at third level. This gives me a total of +2 to my melee damage rolls. At second level of Strong I get a bonus feat and I take Power Attack. Power Attack allows you to trade your Base Attack Bonus for damage. So that's it for class talents and feats.
Now in d20 Modern you get to pick an occupation. The occupation would give you some extra class skills, your starting wealth bonus, and sometimes an extra feat. So I pick Athlete. This gives me Balance, Drive and (most importantly) Tumble as class skills, +1 to my starting wealth, and the Archaic Weapon Proficiency feat.
And finally, skills. Short list here. I get 4 skill points per level, so not a lot to distribute. So every level I put one point into Tumble and Profession because those are my most useful skills. Then I alternate Jump and Climb with Balance and Drive. Why Tumble? Well Tumble would let you roll passed or through your opponents squares to setup that sweet sweet flank. Plus it put a body between me and the rest of the trigger happy party. Why Profession? Because d20 Modern doesn't use currency, it used this weird wealth check system. The main way you increased wealth was with a Profession check when you leveled up. So Profession was tied to how much money you could get.
Backstory
Now that I have the mechanics, I need the justification for why he is the way he is. So he had been trained as a fencer and gymnast. He had been trained since an early age in the ways of swordplay and combat by his father. He had to be. He was chosen. Creatures of shadow were going to destroy humanity. His family had been slayers for generations, keeping them at bay.
It was his first major mission, Halloween of '84. His father and uncle had tracked down a vampire lord. They brought him along for support, to help with the minions. Armed with a long swords and leather armor they worked their way through the daylight guardians, ghouls and enthralled humans. He was told to cover the rear while his father and uncle staked the vampire. He was covering the door when they opened the tomb, black mist spilling out. The vampire lord was waiting.
It wasn't a much of a fight, the vampire had centuries of experience. The vampire dispatched both of the interlopers who would dare disturb his slumber. But the boy, he had something special for him. The vampire lord pulls out the Black Heart of Death™ and trapped him with in it. And that is were he waits, trapped in a crystalline antechamber, until he is found by the party.
Now all I need was a name. This takes a while because I wanted something that could be easily shortened but had some pretentious family history. So I came up with William Tracey VIII. Easily shortened and pretentious, I love it. William is a strapping young lad of 15 summers. 6 feet tall (180 cm) and just shy of 200 pounds (90 kg) with pale skin and dark eyes. Since he was teen in the 80s he has his brown hair cut into a mullet.
Character created, I'm ready for the next game night. So ends chapter 2. As a question do you make a backstory before the character or vice versa? Let me know in the comments below.