Two Salient Points

One:  The topic of what character choices are allowed in this campaign is quite relevant now considering that you need characters to play and right now our tentative Game Date is Aug. 12th.  So time is of the essence.

So without emailing me or leaving me texts or phone messages about what is allowed and what isn't, I thought I would make that clear in this post.

This is an idea that was brought up at the beginning of the Crucibal Beyond campaign back in 2011 when we switched from D&D 4th edition to Pathfinder.  Back then it was Core only!  But some weird stuff got through the cracks and we ended up with some wild character variants out there.  Clerical godling dragon disciple liches, daemon-possessed assassins, extraterrestral Aw'Zenti gish, immortal barbarians and hobgoblin machinegun alchemists.  They were all fun ideas (even if only a few ever got airtime in the campaign), but provided they were built on concepts and not gimmicks, they were okay.  I'll cover that topic soon enough, but right now here's the skinny:

Allowed - All Paizo products except campaign settings (I'm looking at you, Horror Realms and Inner Sea)  The default Golarion stuff is okay.  Basically, just look at the bottom of the screen and if it says 'Campaign Setting' or anything non-Paizo then No Way!
Not Allowed - see above.

Two:  Let's talk turnkey.  I mean turkey, sorry.  We are all aware that there is power creep in any game system that makes it past the magic three years of its inception, and Pathfinder has been around for 12 years!  That's four times the magic number, meaning four times the power creep?  Well it's not that bad.  Let me preface this by saying that 'Anyone anywhere at anytime can make a 'broken' character with any class with any archetypes and any prestige class and any feat or skill choices'.  But any fool can see that there are some choices that are more optimal than others.  I mean, if you know the campaign is undead-infested then bringing in a cleric or paladin is a no-brainer and you would expect those classes to shine, but there are some choices that make no difference what the environment is; flat-out, they are just better.  There is NO problem with that.  The system is designed to be min-maxed.  Why would anyone waste a feat purely for 'role-play' or 'immersion'?  Especially if you're getting your ass handed to you in-game.  This is why I introduced background skills because I wanted more skills reflecting your characters' backstory without taking from valuable skill points that need to go to Acrobatics, Spellcraft, or dare I say it... the old chestnut, Perception.

I guess my beef is with people who build characters around a gimmick or mechanic rather than a character concept found in a favorite movie, graphic novel, book or your own imagination.  I had one guy a few campaigns back who centered his build on Critical Hits, heightening their frequency and their power.  I had another who built his around the Trip manuever:  using a whip or halberd to trip up opponents then auto-attack them as they attempted to get back up with a +1 for higher ground to boot.  Btw, this tactic has since been eliminated by the Pathfinder ruleset, that tactic worked with D&D 3.x .  But the thing I remember most about these characters is not what they accomplished in the campaign, or who they met, what plot hooks they invented or how they added to the RP experience; quite the opposite.  I remember how they taxed my game to the point of rolling my eyes every time their 'central focus' activated, how they started fights confident in their mechanical superiority, or subtracted from the fun everyone was having at the table.

Don't make characters that do that.

Here's my secret to making a memorable character.  I guarantee it works.  I know it works because its found in every mother-fucking piece of literature or visual medium ever created by any human...ever.  The Heroic Flaw.

Every Superman has his Kryptonite.  Oedipus Rex was proud to a fault.  Spider-Man is a smartass kid.  Darth Vader loved his mother and his wife too much.  Ned Stark was a slave to tradition.  The Comedian wasn't funny.  Batman has to break the law to protect Gotham City.  Admiral Thrawn loved collecting artworks and trusted his Noghri bodyguards implicitly.  Gilgamesh lost his best friend going after an ancient spirit he wanted destroyed.  A protagonist or hero that has no weakness holds no interest in those who hear of his/her exploits.  No one cares.  The hero's success is a fait accompli, a foregone conclusion; where's the tension in that?  And tension = fun. (That's a corollary rule to the Heroic Flaw, btw).  No tension = boring.  So how does one bring that out in a character concept?  Here are some humble ideas that are by no means exhaustive:

Choose an Ability and blast the fuck out of it - What about a fighter with a 5 Dexterity?  Impossible to survive, you say?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Think of the pride you'd have in having a 12th level fighter with a 5 Dexterity!  or Charisma!  Strength??  Are you crazy?  Such flaws work both mechanically and in roleplay and you can have some very memorable events coming from these weaknesses.  Maybe not a 5 in one but an 8 in two abilities?  Maybe your bard carries lots of books because he can't memorize his songs with his 7 Intelligence.  Obviously, you don't want to crutch your prime attribute, but a little number goes a long way in making a memorable character trait.

Choose a phobia or philia -  Is he afraid of spiders?  Why?  Is it possible that later in the campaign he could overcome this fear?  That would be worth a hero point plus a few hundred XP.  Suppose his loved one, or companion or child is being threatened by driders and the player decided that this time he was going to override his fear and deal with these evil abominations.  That would be not only memorable for games to come, but also forces the character to grow from his accomplishments.  Maybe your sorcerer is a collector of fine paintings.  First, you need a place to put them.  Then you spend your downtime seeking like-minded collectors to make some acquisitions.  Granted, its an expensive hobby, but that's what makes it interesting.  And it should be heavily noted that the GM WILL use these elements in the game.  Maybe an early painting by the elf Fage the Kexy hangs in an djinni's private quarters.  Seems he's a lover of art as well.  Maybe that can start negotiations that would otherwise have ended in bloodshed, or the party getting their ass kicked or at least using up precious resources in a needless fight.

Maybe you have seen your death in a prophecy or a dream - When the GM looks at you and says, "These lava pits seem familiar", you shudder, for that is what your dream foretold.  My favorite trick is to have the player pick a random word from an online generator and that's all he knows about his dream!  For example, "Peach" could mean anything.  Will he slip on a peach, eat a poisoned one, get hit with a peach with a deadly spell on it.  Maybe a female evil cleric whose name means "Peach" in Undercommon is enough to set off warning bells.  It will be fun to see how the character reacts to peaches from this point forward.

Choose an addiction or delusion - I had a Star Wars character who was addicted to a squishy weed found only on three systems in the galaxy.  I had to pay top credit to get that stuff and I had to chew it and when I did I roleplayed my ecstasy in the delicious flavor finally attained.  Did the GM make me do that?  Did I roll that up on my background?  Nay and nay.  I did it myself for no other reason to make it interesting for me to roleplay and for the party and GM to play off of it.  Maybe your character believes he is the best archer in all Hylas.  How does he respond when he misses his mark?  When he fumbles?  Or when he Crits?  Maybe you have some stock phrases he says when these eventualities occur.  Which leads me to the next item...

Choose a catch phrase or trademark sound or accent - I know.  Accents are hard to get right and even harder to keep doing game after game.  Even Princess Leia loses her British accent halfway through A New Hope.  Hell, Kevin Costner in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, didn't even bother.  But, if you can manage one, go for it.  Maintaining it will be rewarded, trust me.  How about a catchphrase or euphemism like, "By the Doors of Drez'Zur!"  or "I am NO messenger!"  or  "Such is life on Hylas!" or "Bamm!  Cradlerock style!"  or whatever!  Remember, repetition and good timing are key to memorable turns of phrase like these.  Even strange sounds or grunts can be memorable though I wouldn't qualify any of these as weaknesses or flaws, unless the sounds are gross and ill-timed, or the accent is deemed provincial by the nobility, or too high brow for the peasants.

So I hope you've gotten the gist of what I am proposing.  Just play around with these ideas or maybe your own or a mix of the two and see how far the rabbit hole goes...

I hope I have given you enough fodder for your active and fertile imaginations.  Have fun and remember, in the end... Do What Thou Wilt...but be cool.