I prefer being able to create characters in only a few minutes, with the option of putting more detail into specific characters, and thus increasing character creation time. So....five minutes for most characters, but maybe an hour or two for special ones.

If you include background and all, I'm willing to spend many hours fleshing out a good PC.  However, I insist on distilling all of that down to a character sheet and one page of background notes, and maybe one more page listing significant NPC's in the character's life.

If it has a lifepath system, I am willing that we should spend a whole session on it - you're really developing your character.

If not, just get it done ASAP, we haven't got all night. I am not interested in players going through a shopping list of traits and then desperately trying to come up with some vaguely plausible story to justify their munchkinist choices. "Why is Beserk a Disadvantage? Whatever, I'll take it."

Assuming the system is known and people don't dither over options, 30 mins max for a PC.  The system shouldn't require a computer program to get a decent "build."  If the system is brand new to folks, 1 hour.  So with friction you should be able to get a party together within 2 hours for the focused but uninitiated players and still have time for a quick toast before adventuring.

That all said, I've seen people dither over 3D6 in order systems taking an hour to decide between a staff or darts.  I'd certainly avoid to many conditional and preconditional options, as players may fret that if they don't really think things out they will end up down a path that locks them in or excludes them from something else.

Simple no-name NPCs, the speed I can write a sentence, 5 min. max.  More complex NPCs 15-20 min. max. Since I assume the system will let me build a lot with out serious min-maxing or conditional and preconditional items.

In our JAGS game we do have a pretty decent computer program to help build characters.  With it, it will usually take 15 minutes to stat out a basic guy.  However, we still usually do all the character building stuff before hand over email, so that we can take the time to work up backgrounds, and get them all over to the GM before the first session.

That way we can just start playing.

We kicked off a PBEM Amber game 3 months ago and 1/2 the characters still aren't complete so that might be too long

I wrote a game one with 3 Charagen options. Fast Medium Slow.

The aim was to produce characters from each system that were comparable.

All characters rolled stats 4d6 highest 3 arrange across 7 stats.

Then the fast system you point bought skills. Everyone had set skill points and (you could opt to put points against stats which required a roll to increase - roll 2d10 over a stat to incease it by one)
Equipment could be bought off lists but you could buy equipment bundles which I had on printed lists.
You rolled 2 life events random
Charget 15 minutes.

In the medium system you just added careers this gave you some free skills but skills outside a career were more expensive and you got less skill points than in option 1.
Careers had their own life events. 2 random rolls.
Equip the same.

Time 30 mins

In the full system there was a "traveller" lifepath system with events in each year that were similar to the randowm ones you could roll. You tracked money and all sorts across lifepaths. You got skills each year etc .

Time 1-4 hours

In general the system worked in that characters from the 3 systems were compatible.
Easy build Pcs had less stuff and less detail (obviously). Lifepath Pcs tended to be older I tried to fix this with some adolescent lifepath stuff. AS a result of the system aiming to get lifepath PCs out of char gen at 32-35 and a number of them doing more years they tended to be older than the other guys and have a few more skills although the skill system was built on a curve (10% per point up to 50% then 5% up to 80% then 2% up to 90% then 1%) so Lifepath PCs tended to have lots of skills in the 30-50 range which didn't get a lot of play but moreorless the same top end skills

In any case most players opted to use the full method and we had whole 1:1 sessions to build characters. I ran games with this system for about 10 years and in that time probably created 40 PCs and I would say 30 used the full system 5 the medium and 5 the fast. (obviously some of the players were the same in these cases)

BTW, what are people playing currently, and how much time did it take to make that character? Or is this a GM-fest?

I am playing in a Spirit of the Century game and WoD's Scion.

I find SotC has a very stressfull character generation system. The game kind of assumes you know exactly the sort of character you want to play.

In Scion we are using pregens which is just as well because it looks like a lot of work.

Quote from: jimmyswill;338788BTW, what are people playing currently, and how much time did it take to make that character? Or is this a GM-fest?

In my JAGS game that just broke up (long painful story), the character took about an hour to build using some software tools.

The background and personality and stuff took .. longer.

30 minutes tops, it doesn't matter if it's a PC or an important NPC. Usually it will take longer because my crew loves to argue about their PCs and how they got together or whatever, but the mechanical part must be done under half an hour.

I ran a con game last Saturday and the six players were able to generate their PCs in the first 20 minutes.
That included the game introduction and the setting intro also.

Doesn't this all depend on how long you plan to be playing for, and how common PC death is in your game?

Quote from: Jeffrey Straszheim;338980Doesn't this all depend on how long you plan to be playing for, and how common PC death is in your game?

I don't think so, but maybe. Can you talk more about that?

I've spent all night rolling up a character I know I will never play. Does your idea encompass this -- character creation that is fun in isolation from the game it's for?

Quote from: Halfjack;338981I don't think so, but maybe. Can you talk more about that?

I've spent all night rolling up a character I know I will never play. Does your idea encompass this -- character creation that is fun in isolation from the game it's for?

Well, I guess if that is your thing

However, if I'm playing a game where I expect to run the same character for months, it seems worth putting a few hours of work into her.  On the other hand, if she is unlikely to survive past level 1, then 15 minutes is more like it.  Also, if it is a one-shot game, I'd like to get the character done quickly.

It is just a matter of the efficient use of time.

YMMV

The question is what can the character that took a few hours to create do that the character that took 15 minutes cannot?

Okay, I am sort of kidding here, but the truth is I've played a lot of games in which the character sheets had pages of stats,  and very little of actually comes up in play. A similarly the things that made my characters memorable were rarely found on the character sheet.

But then that;s me. I little light, fast paying rules. I'm not one for detailed simulation.