One of the best ways to create characters and a whole party is what is often called “Session 0”. The goal of session 0 is not to dive headfirst into the plot, but instead to build up a party and a shared background and purpose. Players are welcome to bring character ideas and concepts but are not expected to bring a fully fleshed out and stated character.
The DMs will start by introducing the setting, the particulars of their campaign and any house rules or restrictions. A common restriction is the available sourcebooks for character options. My DM style is to allow all first party Paizo content and only allow third-party sources with a good reason and my approval. Next, the DM steps back and lets the players discuss among themselves until they have all figure out their classes and roles. Either as a natural part of the process or with DM prodding the characters will develop connections between each other and shared backgrounds. These connections can lead to smoother party cohesion and a much more impactful story. If players don’t do this on their own, then I give them an assignment to figure out how their character are connected to two other members of the party.
Once the character concepts, connections, and basic backgrounds have been created it’s time to stat out the characters. Experienced players can help others figure out what they want, but it is perfectly okay if they want to take the character home to figure out how to eke every little bonus out of their character concept as possible.
Finally, if all of the above goes smoothly, I plan some type of optional Session 0 roleplaying. The goal is not to advance the plot, but just to roleplaying the characters interacting with each other. Dice rolling should be light, especially if characters aren’t fully done yet. The important part is the characters just get to engage with each other. This is could be a stereotypically meeting in a tavern, getting together at a fair, or even a party. Finally right at the end of Session 0, end with a cliff-hanger that leads toward the plot to get them excited about the first session.
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