Character Creation
Building a Pathfinder character involves seven decisions made in a specific order — each one shapes the choices that follow. Ability scores come first because racial bonuses modify them; race comes before class because it affects which class features are relevant; skills and feats depend on knowing your class. Work through the steps below in sequence.
The Seven Creation Steps
Determine Ability Scores
The six ability scores — Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma — underlie every roll you make. Generate them first, before choosing race, so you can see exactly how racial bonuses and penalties land. Three methods are standard: 4d6 drop lowest (random), point-buy (spend a budget of Race Points to set scores precisely), or a standard array chosen by the GM. Apply racial modifiers after generation; a score below 8 after racial adjustment is a genuine penalty, not a dump stat.
Ability Scores — full rules & point-buy calculatorChoose a Race
Race applies permanent bonuses and penalties to your ability scores, fixes your creature size and base speed, grants special senses (darkvision, low-light vision), sets your automatic and bonus languages, and gives you a bundle of racial traits — passive abilities that last the entire campaign. Many races also offer alternate racial traits: you can swap standard traits for alternatives, one-for-one, to customize your ancestry. Finally, race determines your favored class, which grants a bonus HP or skill rank every level you take in that class.
Choose a Class
Class defines your role and determines your hit die (how much HP per level), Base Attack Bonus progression (full +1/level, ¾, or ½), saving throw progressions (good or poor for each of Fort/Ref/Will), your list of class skills, and the class features you unlock each level. Class also sets your skill rank budget: you receive (class base + INT modifier) skill ranks per level, minimum 1. Choose class before assigning skill ranks and feats — both depend on knowing what your class provides.
Browse all classesAssign Skill Ranks
Spend your skill rank budget across any skills. Putting at least one rank into a class skill grants a permanent +3 competence bonus on top of your ranks and ability modifier — a significant advantage worth prioritizing. You can invest ranks in cross-class skills too, but they get no +3 bonus. At 1st level you receive your full per-level budget; the same amount recurs every subsequent level. Ranks cap at your current character level.
Choose Feats
Every character gains 1 feat at 1st level, then another at every odd level (3, 5, 7…). Humans gain a bonus feat at 1st level. Many classes also grant bonus feats from a specific list. Feats have prerequisites — minimum ability scores, BAB thresholds, other feats, or skill ranks — check them before building a feat chain. Feat types (Combat, Item Creation, Metamagic, General) don't restrict selection but matter for class features that interact with specific types.
Select Traits
Traits are permanent minor bonuses — think of them as half-feats with no prerequisites — that reflect your character's background before the adventure began. You choose 2 traits at character creation. Traits belong to categories (Basic: Combat/Faith/Magic/Social; Campaign; Race; Regional; Religion); you can't pick two from the same Basic subcategory, and campaign traits are capped at one per character. If your campaign offers a campaign trait, it counts as your 3rd selection.
Purchase Equipment
Each class provides a starting gold range — either roll the listed dice or take the average. Spend it on armor, weapons, and adventuring gear. Key constraint: you can only wear armor you are proficient with (check your class's proficiency list). Carrying too much gear causes encumbrance penalties; heavier armor imposes armor check penalties on many skills. Don't leave with less than 1 week of rations and a bedroll.