Character Creation: Blind Style

An interesting idea, as a means of enabling players to create characters more authentic to their own personal interests (rather than flexing to 'fit' the group). Given the setting of the game, I think this might be a great idea as part of giving it a more natural feel, and it will further lend itself to the air of realism your setting is cultivating.

Simply put, perhaps you set it up where players make their characters without knowledge of the other players' class/archetype/race/etc choices, and they don't post at all about their character until everyone has completed their characters. Until then, they could communicate with you via PM if/when they have questions.

I know this would be a little more complicated, but we're only making characters once (ideally! I have no doubt you'll kill characters rather than baby/coddle them), and I think it would give the game, and the group's behavior/mindset/style a more natural feel. It would be interesting to see what kind of characters shake out in this kind of process, and what kind of group comes together. I especially like it because, in the end, every player will be playing a character that truly suits them, and it will be the kind of character they envisioned enjoying the most in the setting.

Also, I think there are enough choices from classes, archetypes, sub-races, feats, gods, weapons (aesthetics included), and armor, that we won't have a group of 4 clones running around.

No matter how it goes down, I'm positive that, once the characters were finalized, then simultaneously revealed to the group as a whole, backgrounds could be (further) fleshed out, including how/why the characters know one another.

Yeah. I think I like that. Do you think everyone else would buy in and not get weirded out or bogged down with a slower start?

It would be pretty cool to just get whatever characters shake out in everyone's fist choice. A team full of 4 Fighters? Fine. 3 Thieves and a Cleric? Fine. No one bites on Ritual Caster, Druid, or Cleric options? That's ok. (I think this is a real possibility by the way) No foreigners? OK. All foreigners? OK.

Like you said, at some point everyone reveals and we then talk about how the characters know each other, why they are together and where, etc. But that comes independent of character selection by each individual. Like you mentioned before, it would take away the pressure of some body or even more than one person having to say, "Alright. I'll play the Skill Monkey Healer since everybody else is already flexing out with all of the Damage Machines and the Tanks and we really need to game out the right balance to be prepared for all obstacles and all styles of adventure."

I'm a big believer in making the game fun for the characters who are actually THERE at the table, not some silly idea of planning for all diversities. (DM: "Sorry guys. This was one of those adventures where if you had an expert Thief, it would have been smooth sailing, and one that if you don't have an expert Thief, you're fucking DEAD!! Bad character distro planning on your part.")

Think it over one more time with extra scrutiny to see if there is some reason NOT to do it that way. Is there reason to go the normal direction just to accommodate tastes or preferences other than ours? I'll tend to defer to your experience and judgement on this; you have more background with the PBP crowd, kick-off culture, etc.

It might be a touch slower, but it might even go faster without everyone hashing out what they're going to be, wtc. Streamlined, minimal interaction.
Fuck yeah. Read my mind, and exactly what I was thinking when I wrote it. Whatever it is, it is. The cool part is that the group will mesh more naturally, and the dynamics will be more real, in terms of an RPG.
People play the character that they truly want to. Period. In a more selfish, harsher, unforgiving world, this makes even more sense.
We can always pick up NPC's, if and when needed, to fill gaps, even temporarily. E.g., that all important Ritual caster to do 'x', so the group can do 'y'.
With additional thought, in conjunction with your feedback, and how much I like this idea, not to mention it will be a refreshing change of pace, and top it all off with the fact that we're looking for like-minded gamers:

Let's do Blind Character Creation.

Right on. Dig it. Blind character creation.