Overwhelmed

[Beiro]

So me and a friend decided to get into the RPG side of Dresden and sat down today to try out some character creation.  Hell's Bells there's a lot of information.  Is there a step by step walkthrough of how to create your character?  The character phases worksheet seemed straight forward enough, but still a little shaky on it.  The actual Character Sheet left us flipping through pages over and over... mostly over Items of Power, Skills, Stunts, Supernatural Powers and Consequences.

*Sorry if there are really obvious links/posts that answer all these... I searched around, but I think my brain is fried after a first attempt at character creation* 

If anyone would like to help me out, these are the big questions I have (in spoilers, to keep the post all neat):

(click to show/hide)

So, just to test the waters, we were messing around with the example in the book of an Autumn Court of Faerie, with her being a last survivor type character and me being her champion.  I went with the Emissary of Power template with "Marked by Power -1" in the "Musts" section.  We then started doing the phases, one of which involved her making/giving me a charm that allows Channeling (I -think- it was Item of Power +1 because of the size, with Channeling -2 on it).  I'm still unsure of how this plays into my refresh points with all the other options I picked (99% sure I messed it up).

We just followed the Submerged Power level with Superb skill cap, 35 skill points, and 10 base refresh level.

For the Stunts and Powers:
Inhuman Recovery -2 (Catch: 0, just general constant recovery)
Inhuman Toughness -2 (Catch: 0, again, just general amped up toughness)
Supernatural Strength -4 (forgot if there was a catch on this, I didn't write one down though)
Marked by Power -1
Item of Power +1 (With the Channeling -2 bonus) ***Not even sure if this needs to go here***

So with this do I have -8, or does the Channeling add into it and go over my point allotment?

Also, how do you go about picking stunts?  The book was very thorough on what they do, but not how many you are allowed to pick or how many points they cost, if any.  Do they just inherently come with your skills?  Say I wanted the "Wall of Death" stunt, would I have to give up other powers?

Character Items:  How does this work?  Do you just state "My character has this weapon, this piece of clothing..."?  If they have 'extras' like imbued powers how do you go about that?

For my skills I have:
+5: Weapons
+4: Endurance, Discipline (chose this for mental defense... which I figured was magical defense, but doesn't seem like it on the Stress section)
+3: Athletics, Scholarship, Alertness
+2: Contacts, Driving, Might, Survival
+1: Stealth, Resources, Fists, Lore, Investigation

I just followed the pyramid pattern on Dresden's sample sheet, but I've seen a few posted characters on here don't follow that.  Are there multiple ways/rules of doing this?

Consequences... I don't even... 

Thanks so much in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this stuff!

[UmbraLux]

Is there a step by step walkthrough of how to create your character? 

Here's a very basic outline listed in the order presented and numbered in the order I often use:
 - (1) Come up with some idea / concept.
 - (4) Choose a template.
 - Create your aspects:
 - - (2) High Concept
 - - (5) Trouble
 - - (7) Phases
 - (6) Choose your Skills.
 - (3) Choose any Powers.
The phase aspects are typically done as a group so it makes sense to put them last.  The order, in general, isn't going to be strict either.  If I have aspect ideas I'll note them and if concepts change things will get modified to fit...or vice versa.  Powers and Templates are often done in concert - makes getting any 'musts' easier.  Everyone will have their own preferences, this simply made it easier for me. 

For the Stunts and Powers:
Inhuman Recovery -2 (Catch: 0, just general constant recovery)
Inhuman Toughness -2 (Catch: 0, again, just general amped up toughness)
Supernatural Strength -4 (forgot if there was a catch on this, I didn't write one down though)
Marked by Power -1
Item of Power +1 (With the Channeling -2 bonus) ***Not even sure if this needs to go here***

So with this do I have -8, or does the Channeling add into it and go over my point allotment?

Recovery and Toughness powers must have a Catch.  Usually the catch will be worth a rebate and save you some points. 

I'd be leery of putting Channeling into an Item of Power, mostly because spellcasting is extremely skill dependent.  Doesn't really make sense unless you've come up with a unique background twist.    Items of Power do count towards your refresh.

Also, how do you go about picking stunts?  The book was very thorough on what they do, but not how many you are allowed to pick or how many points they cost, if any.  Do they just inherently come with your skills?  Say I wanted the "Wall of Death" stunt, would I have to give up other powers?

Stunts cost 1 refresh each so you'll need to pay for them.  Generally you'll only have one or two with other refresh being put in powers or saved for fate points. 

Character Items:  How does this work?  Do you just state "My character has this weapon, this piece of clothing..."?  If they have 'extras' like imbued powers how do you go about that?

Are you talking about magical items or mundane equipment?  The former you pay for with refresh and need to meet your high concept.  The latter are going to be a combination of what makes sense for the character to have and your Resource level.  If you have focus or enchanted items (granted by spellcasting powers) you'll choose what they are or leave a few as empty potion slots.

I just followed the pyramid pattern on Dresden's sample sheet, but I've seen a few posted characters on here don't follow that.  Are there multiple ways/rules of doing this?

You've got 35 points in skills - that meet the cap you're starting at?  There are multiple ways, the general rule is "You cannot have more skills at a higher level than you have at each and every lower level."

Consequences...

Consequences are your health...sort of.  In any case the only thing you need to know about them during character creation is how many you have.  That's going to be one each of Mild, Moderate, Severe, and Extreme unless you have skills, stunts, or powers granting you extra.

[Sanctaphrax]

Welcome to the forum, Beiro.

Is there a step by step walkthrough of how to create your character?

I've heard good things about Rick Neal's blog, though I haven't read much of it myself. Might be worth checking out his Character Creation articles.

For the Stunts and Powers:
Inhuman Recovery -2 (Catch: 0, just general constant recovery)
Inhuman Toughness -2 (Catch: 0, again, just general amped up toughness)
Supernatural Strength -4 (forgot if there was a catch on this, I didn't write one down though)
Marked by Power -1
Item of Power +1 (With the Channeling -2 bonus) ***Not even sure if this needs to go here***

So with this do I have -8, or does the Channeling add into it and go over my point allotment?

Channelling adds into it, I'm afraid.

Item Of Power is basically a modifier attached to your Channelling Power. It reduces the cost of your Channelling Power by 1 point.

When building a character with Powers that come from an item, you buy the Powers that the item grants and then attach the Item Of Power Power to the Powers that come from the item to reduce the cost of the item's Powers. (Not the clearest sentence I've ever written...hope it makes at least some sense.)

Also, how do you go about picking stunts?  The book was very thorough on what they do, but not how many you are allowed to pick or how many points they cost, if any.  Do they just inherently come with your skills?  Say I wanted the "Wall of Death" stunt, would I have to give up other powers?

Each Stunt costs 1 Refresh.

You can have as many Stunts as you want as long as you can afford them.

Character Items:  How does this work?  Do you just state "My character has this weapon, this piece of clothing..."?

Yes.

Sometimes the GM will say no to your statement, though. That's what the Resources skill is for.

If they have 'extras' like imbued powers how do you go about that?

You can often just put an Aspect on the item that reflects its magical-ness.

But if you want a real mechanical effect you'll have to spend Refresh on an Item Of Power or an enchanted item.

For my skills I have:
+5: Weapons
+4: Endurance, Discipline (chose this for mental defense... which I figured was magical defense, but doesn't seem like it on the Stress section)
+3: Athletics, Scholarship, Alertness
+2: Contacts, Driving, Might, Survival
+1: Stealth, Resources, Fists, Lore, Investigation

Mental defence isn't the same as magical defence. Mental defence is useful against torture, emotional vampire shenanigans, and mental magic. For fireballs and the like, use Athletics.

I just followed the pyramid pattern on Dresden's sample sheet, but I've seen a few posted characters on here don't follow that.  Are there multiple ways/rules of doing this?

Yes.

You can arrange your skills any way you like, as long as the total number of points is 35 and the number of skills at level N is never greater than the number of skills at level N-1.

Consequences... I don't even... 

Whenever you get hit, you can absorb some stress by creating an Aspect related to how the attack affected you. This can keep you in a fight when normally you'd be taken out.

A normal character can have one consequence of each level at a time. Each level of consequence absorbs a different amount of stress. The more stress a consequence absorbs, the longer it lasts and the more awful it should sound.

So you can absorb 2 stress by taking a WINDED Aspect for a scene or two. Or you can absorb 6 stress by taking a BROKEN RIBS Aspect for a couple of sessions.

[Beiro]

Thank you guys so much!  I'm sure I'll run into more questions later 

[Lirielle_Fae]

Hello all! I'm the friend mentioned in the original post    I was just wondering, is there anyone in South Orange County area who is interested in joining our group? We would love to have a seasoned veteran show us the ropes on our first adventure

[UmbraLux]

That would be a 2400 mile hike for me.    I do have a few cheat sheets you're welcome to, PM me if you want 'em.

[Lirielle_Fae]

That is quite the hike! haha I would love to get those cheat sheets! Thanks