Anyone want to share their strategies for character creation in RPG's?
Im curious to how other people deal with this, because i always get about 6 to 12 hours into a game before feeling unsatified with my character then end up restarting all over again.

Mine is based on the idea trhat I'll be playing multiple times. For any new RPG, I always make my first play through a fighter with reasonably good charisma since that's a good multirole class that should get you through all the fights and most of the conversation options. After the first play, I get a sense of what the other classes might be able to do and build from there, usually go for whatever magic type of character they have

One that suits my play style. I usually invest in thief like character with poison and arrows. I sneak mostly since I prefer to be the backstabbing asshole in the game. =)
Oblivion and Fallout 3 makes this possible for me.

With the exception of the particularly character-driven games (Planescape and The Witcher come to mind), I generally roll a character that I feel I can RP.
My usual process (which is a considerably less complex version of my PnP system) is the following:
Look at the options available to me
Rule out the ones I just don't like (Druids and Elves, usually :p)
See if any of the remaining options jump out at me.
From there, I think up a background to get me started. If possible, I try to get a spoiler-free look at the types of weapons available (Most RPGs tend to ignore polearms)
Once I have a background, I try to get a feel for a general idea of what I want to do. Sometimes it is as simple as "I want to blow stuff up", and sometimes I plan to be infected by a Lycanthrope and RP keeping the beast in check with my superior magical abilities.
After that, I am pretty much set with a character that I can go an entire Main Quest with.
Had a really fun barbarian that I ran through the AL series (the reason why I am glad I bought NWN: Diamond). Started as a generic glory-seeking warrior, but by the end of AL2, he was a man who fought to honor a good friend who had fallen. Was completely unplanned, too :p

I always start an RPG with a simple 'kill them all' warrior and get a feel for the game. After I learn specifics and mechanics within a game I go from there. I tend to be a guns sort of guy for futuristic and modern day games and ranged chemist/sniper sort in medieval games with a crossbow or pending on the game potions and explosives. Reason being is because in real life a sword would hurt and I'd prefer to shoot them dead.

Generally I go for a fighter character with good enough conversation skills to have most dialogue options available. Basically I like playing a character that can talk his way through most situations, but who can then completely tear up the battlefield if talking fails. This typically lets me enjoy as much of the story, dialogue, and role-playing opportunities as possible, while also avoiding any combat-based frustrations. I typically avoid magic or stealth based characters until I've at least played the game through once and have a good idea of both how the game's system handles magic and stealth as well as what kind of combat situations the game will be throwing at me (as unfortunately many RPGs will throw in at least one or two combat situations that magic or stealth characters have a very difficult time with).

If the game has a class which lets you summon creatures to fight for you, I usually choose that over the others. Such as the Alchemist in Torchlight or the Necromancer in Diablo 2. If there are no summoner classes then I go for a lock-picking/high charisma/stealth build.

I will be assuming complex CRPG ( i.e. baldur's gate, morrowind, not d2 or torchlight ):
Thief.
I always go thief first, unless there is a good permanent thief available for hire near the start of the game.
It gets me into trouble in combat unfortunately as in most games thieves are painfully weak in open conflict - thus my class somewhat becomes a mix between warrior and thief.
My main reasoning for going thief is that I play my games with the mindset of a perfectionist. This includes getting top gear as soon as possible, amassing a rather sizeable retirement fund and become the richest group of adventurers around. Generally the easiest way to get more cash in most RPGs is simply to swipe everything that ain't bolted down ;)
Also,
locked doors drive me nuts.
If I can't find out whats behind a locked door, I rage.
Thus I need a class that can make locked doors into not-so-locked-doors.
And unfortunately the idea of brute-forcing doors open has been declining.. so.. why hello there, "Pick Locks", you are paaaarticularly good lookin' today... =P
Edit: I should add that, if you do get a good thief early on, I would most likely pick Monk if available. If not, most likely archer. Cause kicking ass from a distance without being reliant on something as tangible as MP ? - F**k that. Arrows in your face.

What about stat allocation? how do you spread your points?
This is the part that concerns me most of all, in BG i can sometimes litterely take 2 hours deciding over my characters stat allocation & re-rolls.
In fallout 3, which im playing at the moment my stats are basically as follows.
Strength: 6
Perception: 7
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 5
Intelligence: 10
Agility: 6
Luck: 1
My intelligence is maxed out so that i have enough skill points each time i level to Adapt to the best equipment i have at that time... combined with perks my character grows by approx 30 skill points each level.
I play as a theif in BG, and simply max out strength, endurance, dexterity and forget everything else.

Yesterday, I made a warrior in Baldur's Gate. I wil dual class him into mage in BGII.
I spent something like hour to roll those stats:
Strenght: 18/00
Dexterity: 18
Endurance: 18
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 3
Now with ring od protection (+1 AC), necklace of protection (another +1 AC), Ankheg Armor found in Nashkel and Frostband stolen from Drizzt (thanks Imoen!) I'm well prepared to beat the game with a smile :).

The good thing about those stats, is that there is an item that gives you 18 charisma so he will make the perfect party leader once you find it, as both charisma & intelligence can effect speach options in baldurs gate i've noticed.
Stealing from a hero! *tsk tsk... isn't there some implication for doing this that comes back in BG2, i remember reading about it somewhere.
I would be re-playing BG myself if my disc wasn't scratched to buggery, i cannot find a replacement in the shops either :(

I tend to go caster (Wizard, Sorcerer, Mage, etc) first in every RPG I play. Lately, I've been inclined to go with the "Warrior Mage" approach, but not all RPGs allow you to do so in an effective manner.
I also tend to role-play, but I'm usually a Neutral Good kind of guy, so that's usually my character's behavior in most RPGs.

Every RPG is different . . my choice of character based on which one seems be the most fun to play . . .rather than a class/race.
My first play thru is usually a warrior/thief with some magic and hopefully the ability to use ranged weapons as well. If it is a really great game, I will leave it installed and play thru with several different characters over many years. Great RPG's don't come along that often so ongoing games in progress is the norm for me. . . .=)

I usually enjoy playing as specializing in magic, then branching out into some other fields later on into the game.

Uh... yep. He's... going to want those back. :D