Brent P. Newhall's Musaeum of Fantastic Wonders

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Here's a simple walkthrough for creating a character for 4^th edition D&D:

1. Think about your character's background and personality.
2. Print out a character sheet.
3. Choose your character's class. See p. 60 for more detail, but briefly:
   1. Cleric - A warrior and healer
   2. Fighter - A classic barbarian type
   3. Paladin - A holy, righteous warrior. Always fights for good.
   4. Ranger - At home in nature
   5. Warlock - Does lots of damage to individual foes
   6. Wizard - Focuses on area spells, affecting many individuals at once
   7. Warlord - A natural leader who can direct and assist comrades
4. Choose your powers (2 at-will, 1 encounter, 1 daily) from the appropriate place in the book
5. Choose your character's race. See p. 34 for more detail, but briefly:
   1. Dragonborn - A humanoid dragon, fierce and powerful
   2. Dwarf - Solid, absorbs lots of damage, difficult to move
   3. Eladrin - Faerie-type creature; magical, graceful, and intelligent
   4. Elf - Tied close to nature
   5. Half-Elf - Flexible, combining the benefits of humans and elves
   6. Halfling - Dexterous, lucky, and very handy
   7. Human - Very flexible (you get several extras of your choice with this race)
   8. Tiefling - From ancestors who made a demonic pact; vicious, intimidating, and often deceptive
6. Generate your ability scores. You have six numbers: 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, and 10. Assign them to Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Modifiers are +0 for 10-11, +1 for 12-13, +2 for 14, and +3 for 16.
7. Look at your class to determine what skills you can choose. See p. 176 or sheet.
8. Select a feat from the list on page 196.
9. Choose your equipment on page 212.
10. Fill in the remaining numbers:
    1. Initiative: Dexterity modifier plus 1/2 level (0)
    2. Max HP: See your class.
    3. Surges per day: See your class.
    4. Armor Class: 10 + armor + class + feat?
    5. Fort, Ref, and Will: 10 + abil? + class? + feat?
    6. Speed: See your race.
    7. Senses: See your chosen skills.
11. Flesh out your character's background, personality, and physical characteristics.
12. Choose a Burning Question that your character wants to have answered. Were his parents killed by an unknown force? Does she have no memories before the age of 12? Was he given a mysterious amulet by his mother? Was she trained by a mysterious group? Is he trying to understand why people kill?