Character Creation Guide (2024)

The process of creating a character in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous can be somewhat overwhelming. There are dozens of classes, hundreds of feats, and a seemingly endless amount of ways in which one can combine them. The following guide steps through the different parts of character creation, with links to other pages that delve further into the relevant areas.

Note this is not a guide for creating a specific kind of character or anything to do with optimisation - it simply outlines the process and provides links for further information as needed. Builds are a whole other topic, one that a) would not fit within the scope of a single article and b) is very subjective and player-specific.

Pregenerated Characters[]

The game offers a number of pre-generated characters to choose from, if you don't want to make your own. They can be a good way to test out the game without worrying too much about complicated builds, or to get an idea for how a build can work in the first place if you're unsure where to start.

Custom Characters[]

Of course, building one's own character is part of the appeal of RPG-style games, and the Pathfinder system provides an almost dizzying array of options to do so. The following sections outline the steps in the creation of a custom character.

Portrait[]

When you create your character, you can select from one of the portraits offered in game. If none of the built-in portraits suit the character you had in mind, you can also create a custom portrait and import it. The process for doing so is outlined here.

Class[]

The class of a character determines many things about them, namely their playstyle - whether that of a bold fighter, spell-slinging wizard or sneaky rogue, there are a huge array of options to choose from. This will by far have the biggest impact on how your character plays throughout the game.

Our list of classes provides an overview of the broad theme of each class, to help narrow down options or spark new ideas for playthroughs.

Race[]

A character's race determines their appearence, as well as a number of abilities or adjustments to stats. Many of the races have subtypes which alter the base abilities of the race, such as the Tiefling and Aasimar. A more detailed breakdown of the races can be found here.

Background[]

Your character's background indicates where they have come from prior to the events in the game. They add a little bit of flavour, and usually provide a few mechanical bonuses, like extra class skills, weapon proficiencies, or small boosts to certain rolls. A full list of backgrounds can be found here.

Ability Scores[]

Ability scores determine a character's base prowess in a given area. There are six in total - Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Each ability influences different aspects of the game.

During character creation, players use a point-buy system to determine their stats, where they allocate a certain number of points to each area. More details about ability scores and point-buy can be found here.

Skills[]

Skills represent the various non-class-specific things your character is good at, such as climbing, jumping or being persuasive. As your character increases in level, you will get a number of skill ranks to spend which improve your proficiency at these tasks, and your class, background or race may provide you with extra bonuses to certain skills. A breakdown of the skills in the game can be found here.

Feats[]

After your class, feats are the area with the largest impact on your game. This is how you determine your character's build, the areas they specialise in and excel at. Some are very powerful, while some are more situation dependent or build-specific. There are hundreds of them, and many, many ways to combine them into characters. Our Feats page provides an overview of the various kinds of feats available in the game.

Spells[]

If your character is a spellcaster, you will then be prompted to choose your first spells. Spells are another large topic and area for customisability for your character. An explanation of spellcasting and the different kinds of casters can be found here.

Deity[]

Many (though not all) people throughout Golarion worship a deity, a divine being of incredible power. A number of deities from a wide range of moral leanings are available for characters to choose from, or if they'd prefer, they can choose to worship no deity. For classes such as clerics, the choice of deity will impact their gameplay quite significantly, with different deities providing different abilities and spells. For other classes, the choice is largely for flavour.

Alignment[]

Your character's alignment is a shorthand for their moral leaning. There are nine options, based on the ideas of good versus evil and law versus chaos. Alignment can have a number of impacts on the game, from granting or barring access to certain classes to unlocking new options in dialogue or events. There is no "correct" choice - each alignment will simply approach the game in a different way.

Appearance[]

Here, you can customise your character's appearance. This is an entirely cosmetic part of the build.

Voice and Name[]

Finally, it is time to name your character, and select a voice for in-game dialogue lines.