Pathfinder Character Creation

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So you are ready to start a campaign... The first thing you need to do is create a character. This can be intimidating at first, but if you take it step by step it isn't too difficult. With a little bit of thought, you can make a unique and rewarding character to play.

This lecture will take you step-by-step through the creation of a standard level one Pathfinder character. When creating your character, make sure you consult your GM for any special rules or guidelines you need to follow. Throughout this process, you will need to be able to access the Pathfinder rules. I recommend d20pfsrd.com for that purpose, as it is quite a well organized database.

As I explain this process, I will be creating a sample character, an elven ranger, at the following link:
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetvie...sheetid=645245

Getting Started

To build a character, you will first want to start a character sheet. Ideally, you should use a Pathfinder character sheet, since it will be able to do calculations of some of your stats for you. You can find such sheets on sites such as Mythweavers.com.

Once you have started a sheet for your character, you can start by filling in the basic information at the top of the sheet. Much of this is flavor detail that is completely up to you. This is also the time to select and record the race and class you will be using. Don't worry about race or class features just yet. Generally speaking, GMs will allow you to make whatever choices you would like regarding the appearance of your character. Age, weight, and height are occasionally generated randomly. If this is required of you, go to the race page you have chosen and use the charts there to determine what rolls you need to make. Generally, you will roll a given die, then use any given multipliers or added factors on the result of your roll.

Alignment will be part of the top of your sheet as well. There are two components of alignment. The first is the lawful-neutral-chaotic axis. A lawful character generally follows rules and is against anything too random or uncontrolled. A chaotic character may break rules to achieve a goal or thrive on chaos. The other axis is Good-Neutral-Evil. A good character seeks to help and protect others, while an evil character might try to make trouble or be ruthlessly self-interested. In both cases, neutral falls somewhere in between. You will need to choose one step on each axis. For example, I might have a Lawful Evil character. These are normally abbreviated with the first letters of your alignment. For example, LE. A character that is neutral for both components is called true neutral, which is abbreviated as N. Most campaigns ban evil characters, but all other alignments are usually fair game. If the class you have chosen has alignment restrictions, such as clerics, who must have alignments similar to those of their deities, be sure to consider those, as you can lose certain abilities when you have an incompatible alignment for your class.

Also at the top of your sheet, it is important to note your character's size, which is listed under racial features. This is normally abbreviated S, M, or L. You should also note the speed at which you will be gaining xp for the campaign if that information is available. If you are not told otherwise, assume a medium progression, as opposed to fast or slow.

Set your current xp to 0 and your level to 1 unless you are told otherwise. The "Next Level XP" field will autofill. The box marked "XP Change" should be left empty. During the campaign, when you gain xp, you can type the amount of xp you gain into that box and it will add it to your total automatically.

As you begin entering your information in the top of the sheet, numbers will begin to appear elsewhere on the sheet. Don't worry, that is completely normal. Never change or delete a number that appeared automatically unless you know for sure that it is incorrect.

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Ability Scores

The next step to building your character is generating its ability scores. Ability scores are the core numbers that give you bonuses on certain types of rolls during the game. There are six abilities:

STR- Strength is the ability that modifies melee fighting rolls. It also helps determine carrying capacity and a few physical skill modifiers.
DEX- Dexterity modifies ranged fighting rolls, reflex saves (used to escape certain types of traps and effects), AC (armor class), and some skills.
CON- Constitution modifies HP (hit points) and fortitude saves (used to prevent sicknesses and other health-related effects).
INT- Intelligence gives you additional skill ranks (points you can add to your skill modifiers). It is also the core stat for some casters.
WIS- Wisdom modifies will saves (used to prevent certain mental effects) and many skills. It is also the core stat for some casters.
CHA- Charisma modifies social skills and is the core stat for some casters.

Most GMs will tell you upfront how they want you to calculate your ability scores. Some GMs have you use point buy, where you get a certain number of points to buy certain scores. This does NOT mean you just put those points into abilities. Rather, there is a chart in the character creation part of d20pfsrd.com that explains how many points it costs to get certain scores. Other GMs will have you roll your scores, as I am about to do.

The most common method for rolling scores that is used is to roll 4d6 six times, then drop the lowest die in each set. Some GMs will allow you to reroll ones, but many do not. Check with your GM for instructions. For my example, I will be rerolling ones.

There is a separate tutorial available for rolling dice on these forums, but for the system I described above, I will use the following formula six times, with the asterisks removed:

[roll*]4d6rb3[/roll*]

Here are my example rolls:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

Once this process has been completed, you generally may assign the scores to whichever abilities you want. Each class will have different needs for this. My ranger will be focused on ranged fighting, so I need a high Dexterity score, for example. Casters will generally want to put their highest ability score into their core casting ability. Read through your class features to determine what will be most important to your character and which abilities you can put lower scores into. Many combat characters prefer to drop mental stats like charisma, while casters normally don't need high strength, for example.

You should also note that your race will provide certain bonus and penalties to your ability scores. Make sure you consider those when assigning your ability scores, and apply them to your final scores before you type them into your sheet. For example, elves take a -2 to CON, but gain a +2 to DEX and INT. Some races, like humans, allow you to choose where to put your bonus. Each race lists their specific bonuses on its page at d20pfsrd.com.

After you assign your ability scores, write them in the "score" column on the sheet, next to the appropriate abilities. A modifier will automatically appear. Essentially, the "average" score for an ability is 10. For every two numbers above or below that your ability score is, you will get either a bonus or a penalty point, depending on whether your score is higher or lower than 10. Those modifiers are used very frequently, so make sure you pay attention to what your are. More numbers will begin to appear, which you should leave alone for now. You can ignore the temporary score and mod spots for now as well. They will not be used except in campaigns in specific situations. Your GM will instruct you on that if necessary.

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Racial Features

The next step in creating your sheet is to add in any additional racial features. There are special traits listed as alternatives on the race pages, and those can be used as written with the permission of your GM, but it is generally easier to stick to the standard racial traits. The alternatives are never going to be much more powerful than the standard traits, and they can come with significant draw backs.

To add the racial features to your sheet, go to the appropriate race page on d20pfsrd.com. Scroll down to where it says "Standard Racial Traits". You simply go down the list, adding each trait to your sheet as you go. You will have already added some of the features listed first, such as size and ability score bonuses. You will see your race's speed listed. That can go in the special box on the sheet labelled "speed". You will also see languages listed. You will get Common and sometimes one other language for "free" at the start of the game, and you can write these in the "languages" section towards the bottom of your sheet. You also may add one other language from your race's list for every point of your intelligence modifier. For example, my elf gets Common and Elven automatically, and can take three additional languages with her +3 intelligence modifier. You can ignore "type" for now, even though it is listed. You will not need that on your sheet.

Once that is done, continue down the page to the defensive and other standard features. Any conditional bonus or special feature that is described in words should be written in the "Feats & Special Abilities" section of the sheet. For example, my elf gets a +2 bonus on saves against enchantment spells and effects, so I write "+2 saves vs. enchantments" on my sheet. Try to keep it short and simple, so that you can quickly reference your sheet to see any bonuses you might get. Abbreviate when you know you will remember what it means to keep your descriptions shorter. Bonuses that ALWAYS apply to a certain skill or save can be added directly to that modifier. For example, the +2 bonus to perception that elves get is added to the "Misc Mods" column for the "Perception" skill. Weapon familiarity will be important, but you don't have to write it on your sheet. You won't need to know it much, and you can always just go back to the race page when you choose weapons to make sure you are proficient in what you choose.

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Class Features

Now we can start adding in class features. Go to your class's page on d20pfsrd.com. Once you scroll past the description, you will see any restrictions on alignment. Double check that your alignment is appropriate for the class you have chosen. Next, you will see "Hit Die". We will use this to calculate starting HP (hit points). For the first level, you get maximum HP automatically unless your GM says otherwise. Add the highest number on your hit die (10 if it is a d10, etc.) to you CON modifier. Keep in mind you are looking for the single-digit modifier, not the score. That is you initial HP. Type that into both the Current HP and Total boxes, as you haven't taken any damage yet. You can also type a 0 into the nonlethal damage box as you haven't taken any, and you can add that you have 1 hit die, since that number should always be equal to your level. Unless your race or class specifically says otherwise, you should not have any DR and should put a 0 in that box.

We will deal with wealth management a bit later, so skip that section for now.

Skills

We will now handle skills. This section tends to trip people up, but it really isn't as complicated as people tend to think it is. First, check off the "CS" box next to any skill that is listed as a class skill for your class. Once that is done we can add skill ranks. You get a certain number of ranks to add based on your class and you intelligence modifier. This is listed on the class page. You may add up to your class level in ranks to any one skill. Since you are level 1, that means that you can only put 1 rank into any given skill. You will notice, however, that you get fewer ranks than there are skills. You will need to choose ranks based on which skill you need and are good at. Each skill is modified by a certain ability, so that can help you find which skills you can be good at. Also, class skills are special, because the first time you put a rank into those skills, you gain an additional +3 to that skill which is automatically added to the modifier. Do NOT try to add this again! That bonus means you should stick to class skills when possible. To add a rank, simply type the number of ranks you are adding (1) to the "rank" column next to the appropriate skill. This will be added to the class skill bonus if applicable as well as to any miscellaneous bonuses you might have added from your race. The skills in italics are special in that they cannot be used "untrained", meaning that you can't use those skills unless you have at least one rank in that skill already.

Now is also a good time to add your favored class bonus. Your favored class is generally the class you take at Level 1. Each time you gain a level in that class, including your first level at character creation, you get either 1 additional HP or 1 additional skill rank. You can choose either one, and you make the decision separately at every level, so you could take a hit point at level 1, but a skill point at level 2 if you wanted. There are race- and class-specific alternatives to this bonus as well, but again it is simpler to stick to the basic bonuses for now.

The Chart

Below the skill information on the class page on d20pfsrd.com, you will see a huge chart. Don't freak out! You only need the first line of the chart, marked level 1, for now. We need to add the information on the chart to our character sheet. Start with Base Attack Bonus (BA. This number, which is added to all attack rolls, goes on your sheet in the combat calculations, right above the weapon section. Type it under the "Base Attack Bonus" column for one type of combat, and it will automatically appear for the other types as well. Next, we similarly add base saves to the sheet. Each save gets its own base that should be typed into the "Base" column next to the appropriate save. Since these are different from each other, you will need to type each one in separately. The saves are right below the ability scores on your sheet.

There is also a column marked "Special" on the huge chart. That box lists the class features that your character gets at that level. Those can normally be typed in the "Feats & Special Abilities" part of your sheet. Make sure you read over your whole class page to understand how the class works, and make sure you make any choices you need to make for class features, like bloodlines for sorcerers or either positive or negative channeling for neutral clerics. Many class features are complex, and you will need to know how they work. For example, Favored Enemy gives many different bonuses to rangers. To keep track of more complicated class features, write the name of the ability in the "Feats & Special Abilities" section, then copy the description of the ability into the "notes" section on your sheet. That way you can reference it if needed without scrambling to find the class page on d20pfsrd.com.

You will also see spell numbers on the huge chart if your class casts. Each casting class is a little bit different, so make sure to follow directions for casting carefully. Information for casting goes in the "Spells" section of the sheet, and you will want to select the appropriate number of spells from your class's spell list as well. I will do a class-specific caster creation guide a bit later on. At level 1, rangers don't cast, so you will see that the example does not have any casting information listed at this time.

Don't forget to look at proficiencies. Certain classes grant proficiency with certain types of weapons and armor. Either record these on your sheet, or remember to look them up later when we choose equipment.

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Feats

The next step in building the character is adding feats. The number of feats you receive at first level is pretty simple: You get 1 feat automatically and 1 additional feat if you are either human or a fighter. As such, my elven ranger gets 1 feat, while a human fighter would get 3. A dwarf fighter or a human sorcerer would each get 2 feats at first level.

Feats give your character a significant in game advantage. You can find all sorts of guides online to which feats are good for which types of characters, but you can also just search through d20pfsrd.com to pick what you like. I will also include a very brief guide to some simple low-level feat choices for different types of characters later on.

Once you have selected your feat(s), type them in the "Feats & Special Abilities" section of the sheet. Be sure that you meet any prerequisites of the feats you choose before you add them to your sheet! If your feat adds a straight bonus to a skill, save, or other number, go ahead and add that to the appropriate row on your sheet. If the bonus is conditional or not just a stat change, then just write down what the feat does under notes for your reference.


Traits

The next step to building your character is to add traits. Most campaigns allow a total of 2 traits, but ask your GM to be sure. There are multiple types of traits, such as combat or religion, and they are all listed in categories on d20pfsrd.com. Each of your traits should be from a different list, so that you couldn't, for example, have 2 combat traits.

Mechanically, traits function as approximately half of a feat, and they should be recorded in the same way. Traits, however, are not intended to grant a major mechanical advantage. They are there for flavor and role playing. Make sure that the traits you choose reflect your character accurately. It is perfectly okay to choose a less useful trait for the flavor, but it is never okay to choose a trait that is not applicable to your character just for a good bonus. Try to be creative in designing your character's personality around their backstory and traits and sticking to it, and you will have a good start in being a good RGP player!

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Backstory

Many campaigns require you to submit character backgrounds along with sheets. For this, anything goes. Try to be detailed about at least a few parts of the backstory, so that the GM has something to draw from. The background does not need to be a dissertation, but it should contain the basics of who your character is and if you were given the campaign's premise, why he is in the situation he is in. It is also a good idea to consider how your character will role play. Make sure you know how they would act in various situations. Remember that when you are playing your character, you will sometimes need to make choices you would never make yourself. Play your character true to itself, because it will then be a much richer part of the campaign experience for you and for the rest of your group. If you need ideas, sometimes you can base your character on a character from a book or movie you enjoy. Never copy the character directly, however, and try not to make your character the same as any other character you have seen or played. It is better to play something unique every time you make a character to keep everything fresh.

Inventory

Your GM will specify how to generate your starting wealth. Many will simply have you take average gold for your class. This is listed on the class page on d20pfsrd.com. Once you have your starting gold, write that on your sheet in the "currency" section of the sheet. The currency in these games is primarily in terms of "gp", or "gold pieces", but you will occasionally see amounts written in other forms. All you need to know is that 1,000 cp (copper pieces) = 100 sp (silver pieces) = 10 gp = 1 pp (platinum piece). Most players just record their wealth as a decimal of gp, but you can do it however you can track it best.

Now that you have money, it is time to spend it! To begin, note that your character gets a free set of clothing worth less than 10 gp. Most GMs will also say that the weight of the clothes you are actually wearing don't count towards encumbrance as well. That will give you access to a few choices of outfits listed under "equipment" on d20pfsrd.com. Some classes also start off with extra free items, like a wizard's spellbook. If that is the case, simply write those items under "Other Possessions" without deducting any gold. Other than the clothes, carefully record the weight of every item and place it in the appropriate column. This will be important to determining what weight of load your character is carrying. Under "loc", record where you will keep each item. This is important in case something like a backpack is ever stolen. You will need to know what is missing and what you have on your person.

As you put items on your sheet, it is very helpful to write down what you paid for the item next to the item on the sheet. Not only does it help you confirm the amount of gold you have already spent easily and help you if you need to un-buy something during character creation to buy something more important, but it also makes it very easy for the GM to check your sheet. This is worth big bonus points from many GMs when they are choosing players, because they don't have to work as hard to see that you are following the rules. It makes you look more transparent as a player, and that is always good, and it also shows that you are organized, which is good too. Your sheet is frequently the GMs first impression of you, so make it a good one!

To begin, it is good to address your character's functional needs. Almost every character will want some form of weapon at level 1. This is obviously more of a priority for fighting classes than for casting classes, but it is still important. Even the wizard will want to be able to hit things when his spells run out. There are many, many choices of weapons for your character, and how you choose what you will wield is largely a matter of preference. The only things you will need to check are that you are proficient with the weapon you choose and that you can afford the weapon. It is normally good to have a few different weapons for different purposes. Ranged weapons are obviously necessary for ranged fighters, but they are also good for squishier, weaker characters who shouldn't be in melee. My example ranger will get a longbow because it has a good range, although this spends a good chunk of her starting funds. At the very least, your character should have a light weapon. Daggers are so cheap that no one really has an excuse to have nothing sharp on their person. At the same time, however, your wizard probably shouldn't have a great axe. Keep in mind that weapons can be heavy, and you want to choose weapons you will be effective with. Weapons are entered in the special "weapon" boxes on the character sheet. Once you choose your weapon and deduct the appropriate amount of gp for purchasing it, including ammunition when applicable, enter the weapons statistics into the box as well. The attack bonus for a standard weapon is either you melee or ranged (as applicable) attack bonus, which has been calculated for you just above that section on your sheet.

Getting a weapon's statistics onto your sheet should be very easy. After writing down the type of weapon and it's cost, you should enter the attack bonus as previously mentioned. Other statistics like range, damage type (p=piercing, s=slashing, b=bludgeoning, etc.), and weight are listed on the weapons page of 2d0pfsrd.com. You will need to write down the size of your weapon as well. This is very simple. If you are a medium sized character, like a human, then you need medium sized weapons. If you are small, like a halfling, you need small weapons. Most of the stats remain the same regardless of whether the weapon is small or medium, but the amount of damage changes. Damgage, unlike most rolls uses dice other than d20s. The damage a weapon does is listed in two columns on the weapons page. One column, labelled "Dmg (S)", is for small weapons, and the other, labelled "Dmg (M)", is for medium weapons. In addition to that die roll, melee weapons offer additional bonus to damage. In general, a melee weapon wielded in one hand adds your strength modifier in damage, and a melee weapon that is not light and is wielding in two hands adds 1.5 your strength modifier. Some weapons also have additional special properties listed. If your weapon has special properties, read up on them and make sure you understand what they do, then write them down under "special properties" on your sheet.

After weapons, anyone who is proficient in armor and who doesn't take spell failure chance from wearing armor should buy some armor. Keep in mind that armor check penalties are major tradeoffs if you would like to be good at riding, stealth, or otherwise being agile. Simply choose the armor with statistics that work well for you. Melee characters need higher AC, and can afford a lower max dex to get that. Druids can't have any metal armor, so make sure you don't choose something that uses metal like a chain shirt. Any armor heavier than light armor will slow you down as well. Since my ranger needs to be pretty agile in order to eventually ride and use stealth, I chose leather armor for moderate protection and no major drawbacks. Characters who have a one-handed weapon only or who otherwise have a hand free may choose to invest in a shield as well.

After those necessities, grab any other miscellaneous needs that your class requires. If you are a wizard, for example, you likely will need a spell component pouch. If you need one, get it now, while you know you still have money left. Once that is done, you can start getting less essential items. It is often good to start with a bag to put everything in. Backpacks and sacks are the usual level 1 choices for that. A belt pouch to keep money and other important items in and a waterskin or canteen for holding water also don't usually go amiss.

You will generally want some basic comfort items like bedrolls as well as some rations (usually at least 3 days worth if you can carry that much). Other than that, what you carry is largely a matter of flavor. Don't feel the need to spend all of your money. You will want to be able to buy some things on the road too!

Armor Class (AC)

Armor class is actually calculated for you on your sheet, so you will not need to modify it at all at this time. Your AC is the number that an attacker has to beat in order to hit you. It is calculated by adding a variety of bonuses to the base AC of 10. One such bonus is your DEX modifier, of which only an amount up to the "Max Dex" of your armor can count. Your armor and shield also add bonuses which the sheet automatically adds in. Small characters get a bonus to AC as well. This "Size Bonus" is also automatic on the sheet. There are some other bonuses too, but at first level, you like won't be dealing with many of them, as most come from various magical items.

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Recording Spells

I will discuss choosing spells separately, but recording them is another matter altogether. If you are a casting class, you either must prepare spells, or you are a spontaneous caster. I will explain this process for each type separately.

Spontaneous Casters

You will have two relevant sets numbers here. The first is spells known. You will know a certain number of different levels of spells, and this should be explained on your class page on d20pfsrd.com. Put those numbers in the blanks marked "Number of Spells/Powers Known", making sure to place the numbers in the correct spell level blank. The other set of numbers is spells per day. You should put those numbers along the side of the sheet in the column marked "spells/day". Just put the base numbers of spells there, and put any bonus spells per day you might have due to a high ability score in the next column, marked "bonus spells". You can also write down your spells' save DCs in the appropriate column. The formula for save DC is listed on your class page as well. Finally, simply choose your spells. You already wrote down how many spells of each level you know, and you can simply choose which ones you like. Be sure to write down the level of each spell, too, for future reference. Once you write these spells down, you won't change them except in very special circumstances. You can use the "# cast/mem column to keep a tally of how many of each spell you can in a particular day. That will make it easy to know when you have used up all of your spells of a certain level. Those numbers will refresh completely after you rest for 8 hours each night.

Prepared Casters

You can fill in the spells per day section just like spontaneous casters, but ignore the spells known/level blanks. You will not need those. Instead, You will simply write every spell in your spell book down on your spell list along with its level. If you can prepare any spell from your class list, like druids, just write down all of the spells you think you might use and add more as needed. Each night, when you prepare your spells, you get up to your spells/day in each level of spells. For each 0th level spell you prepare, simply place a "1" in the "# cast/mem" column. These spells can be used as many times as you would like once you prepare them once. For all other spell levels, for any spell you choose to prepare, type "0/1" in the # cast/mem box. If you prepare the spell twice, replace the 1 with a 2 and so on. During the day, when you use a spell you have prepared, change the first number from a 0 to a 1. If you use it again, change the 1 to a 2 and so on. Once the first number is equal to the second number, you can no longer cast that spell that day. You will need to prepare it again (which requires rest) in order to use it again.

Final Housekeeping

Your sheet should be mostly done now. You may have a few blank spots, and that is okay. Not every character has a number for every blank. For example, a caster will have a caster level of 1 at first level, but other characters need not fill in the "caster level" box under the ability scores on the sheet. If your game does not use hero points (ask your GM), you will not fill in that box on your sheet either. (If you are using hero points, every GM handles how many you start with differently, so make sure you ask!) By this point, you should have a great sheet for your character and be ready to play! If you want more specific guides to your particular class, there are exhaustive guides available all over the internet. Just google "pathfinder ranger guide" or something similar, and you should find what you are looking for. I will also add on class starter guides here as time goes on. The biggest thing to remember is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask questions! Creating characters is complicated, and no one will blame you if you need to ask for a bit of help. Good luck, and have a great game!

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This is just going to be my first example of a class-specific guide. I plan on doing these for all of the core classes and possible base classes, depending on whether we are allowing those in the academy or not. They will be exclusively level 1 specific, since if you go further, you need a lot more information anyway.

Quick Guide to Rangers
Races: Nothing is a really bad decision here, but keep in mind that small characters do less damage, which can be tough for ranged combat in particular.

Ability Scores: You will want a high STR and DEX and moderate CON. Don't dump WIS too low, since you need it for spells later on.

First Feat(s): Point-Blank Shot is nice for archers, Power Attack is good for melee. There are plenty of options, but you will want a combat feat for sure.

Equipment: Make sure you are well armed. I recommend at least 2 different types of melee weapons and a ranged weapon with plenty of ammunition. You will also want armor for sure. Leather or Studded Leather make good first choices. You don't require any special class-specific equipment.

Link to SRD page: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger
Link to complete ranger guide (3rd party): http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/commu...ide-to-rangers

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Quick Guide to Fighters
Races: There aren't any absolutely wrong choices, but you usually won't want a STR or CON penalty, and small characters deal less damage.

Ability Scores: You will want fairly high STR, CON, and DEX, depending on your specialty. Be careful dumping WIS, because will saves are important.

First Feat(s): Point-Blank Shot is nice for archers, Power Attack is good for melee. Toughness can be very helpful as well, and Combat Reflexes is a common prerequisite. Also consider any feats specific to the combat style that you will focus on. There are plenty of options, but you will want a combat feat for sure.

Equipment: Make sure you are well armed. I recommend at least 2 different types of melee weapons and a ranged weapon with plenty of ammunition. As a fighter, you will want to choose a style. You can focus on combat maneuvers, two-weapon fighting, two-hand fighting, or pretty much any other type of fighting. You will also want armor for sure. Get strong armor, but remember that it will likely slow you down and induce a serious armor check penalty. If you will have a hand free when fighting with your chosen weapon(s), consider a shield.

Link to SRD page: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter
Link to complete fighter guide (3rd party): http://kcmorris.hubpages.com/hub/A-Guide-to-the-Fighter-Pathfinder

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Quick Guide to Barbarians
Race: Don't pick anything with a STR penalty. Otherwise, anything goes. Keep in mind that small characters do less damage, though.

Ability Scores: You will need lots of STR and CON, and DEX should not be dropped. Otherwise, dump at will.

First Feat(s): Combat feats are the obvious choice. Toughness or Power Attack may be good choices. Combat reflexes is good as well.

Equipment: Get the nicest and biggest weapon you can afford. Barbarians might want back-up ranged and light weapons, but the big damage comes from the big weapons. Consider a two-handed weapon for sure. You'll need armor too, so don't forget that!

Link to SRD: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian
Link to full barbarian guide (3rd party): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...q2U/edit?pli=1

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Quick Guide to Bards
Race: You really can make pretty much anything work. If you plan on doing a lot of damage, a small character will be tougher, but if you are going to try to be primarily a caster bard, some of the best choices, like gnomes, are small.

Ability Scores: You will need CHA for casting. Other than that, it will depend on your focus. Ranged characters will want DEX, melee characters need STR, and if you will be near combat you will want CON to boost your HP.

First Feat(s): Combat feats, like Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, or Combat Reflexes are good. You can also go for weapon proficiency if you want to be flavorful and take an exotic weapon. You can also boost your skills by taking some feats like Skill Focus. Bonuses to Perform may be helpful.

Equipment: You'll want a weapon or two. At a minimum, take a light weapon and a ranged weapon. A specialty weapon like a net or a whip may work well for some bards, too, and bards can take normal weapons too. You will also want armor, but don't get anything too cumbersome. As a bard, you will also need to buy any instruments or other objects your class features require you to use. Make sure you remember to include those!

Spells: Make sure you take a variety of spells. Avoid taking more than 1 or 2 spells that allow saves, for example, or multiple spells that only work on a specific type of enemy. Versatility is key for spontaneous casters.

Link to SRD: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard
Link to full bard guide (3rd party): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1..._9pTIU4aE/edit