Quote Originally Posted by 2D8HP View Post
Either I'm emulating a specific character from fiction, or combining traits from more than one, or I'm emulating abilities.
Nice. I do something similar. I will start with a specific favorite character, and then decide exactly how mine will differ from the literary one.

I built an 2E thief based initially on Tarzan - emphasis on climb, hide, move silently, jungle lore, etc., as an orphan loner who was uncomfortable in cities or crowds, and had no knowledge of his parents or background. He had elven abilities, but heard the word "elf" for the first time at third level. [Then he was changed even further, becasue we got to the table and the others were a Fighter, a Ranger, and a Paladin, and I quickly turned Treewalker into a Thief/Wizard, just to get some spells in the party.]

My Dr. Strange version superhero was Dr. MacAbre (John MacAubrey, Ph.D.). But he had a multiform he didn't have complete control over - he would occasionally change into a wolf, a bat, or a mist, So being concerned that he might be becoming a vampire, he joined a super group (the other PCs) so he could be taken down if he became evil.

Doli and Felix were two dwarf brothers, out to get powerful enough to take revenge on the ones who had slaughtered their five brothers. [You have to think in terms of other languages to recognize Doli and Felix as Grumpy and Happy.]

Jean-Louis was a Flashing Blades character - a street rat based on Disney's Aladdin. But his Secret (every FB character must have one) was Secret Origin. He had no idea why he was left as a baby on the steps of Notre Dame. [Years later, when Disney's version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame came out, I was bemused that I had built a climbing orphan raised at Notre Dame based on a Disney hero, before Disney came out with exactly that.

Pteppic was a 1e wizard based on Terry Pratchett's Pteppicymon. He was a son of the Pharaoh, trained in an exotic skill, but obviously a wizard, not an assassin. Nonetheless, I gave him a foreign frame of mind from his schooling, and he never trusted the vizier.

But in each case, I worked with the GM to make optimize the characer's connection to his world, and I optimized the skills to fit that role as effectively as possible.

And my examples started with each of the three things I try to optimize. Treewalker's character came first, Dr. MacAbre's powers did, and Pteppicymon started by trying to fit into the DM's ancient Egyptian world. But in all cases, I ended up with optimized character, optimized mechanics, and optimized place in the world (to the best of my ability).