How do you try to make your first 3 colonists?

[CreepyD]

I always start with just a single colonist, but make sure they have at least something in every skill.

There's something special starting with one in an ice sheet and struggling to survive alone.

[humblebundle]

Did i miss something? You can start with less then 3? I always think about start with one and kill the other two, but if (s)he  get a disease, it's over so it is nice to have 3 at start.

[Mkok]

Did i miss something? You can start with less then 3? I always think about start with one and kill the other two, but if (s)he  get a disease, it's over so it is nice to have 3 at start.

With Edb prepare carefully mod, you can start with as many colonists as you like.

But only 1 colonist is too hard. You get frostburn, or something punches you, and you die, as you cant heal yourself. 
When I was playing on ice sheet for the first time, an evil ship actually forced me to survive entire winter with only one colonist (the rest were in cryosleep). I was so scared of his fingers freezing, that I literary walled him in in my hydroponics for half a year (Couldnt afford the electricity bill for heating up more rooms  ). But hey, in my defence, you get frostburn too easily, when its -100°C outside, and you are naked cold lover   

[MajorFordson]

I simply look at the "Incapable" section and refresh each colonist until they're all capable. Can't afford to have a starting colonist who can't do something.

It's fun, because only after I start do I actually look to see what sort of colonists I've ended up with!

[mumblemumble]

Incapable in artistic,  research,  or even crafting is fine in my book, as these are super specialized.

Besides that,  no significant health issues,   and try to get combat,  cooking,  building,  medicine,  mining,  and growing reasonably high by someone.

Incapable in violence is my biggest thing i won't take,  I've had colonies fall because 2 or 3 people refused to use a gun... Even someone with cataracts can shoot or throw a punch,  even if they suck...

[AllenWL]

At first, I went with one warden/cook, one shooter, and one doctor, no incapabilities, no scars or cataracts, and preferably high in craft and build too.

Then I accepted a few scars or some jobs they won't do as long as they could cook, fight, and heal(all put together).

Now, as long as one person can heal(even if they have 0 skill and double cataracts), I don't care. I have more fun trying to make a thriving colony with an abrasive noble, a really old veteran, and a farm oaf all struggling and clunking along than with three more or less perfect 'colonizers' who run like a well-oiled machine.

Plus, it makes each colony slightly new, slightly different. Not enough to be annoying or require new strategies or whatever, but just new enough to keep things fresh and not have the start be 'repeat the exact same thing for the 10+th time, making minor adjustments for landscape'

[SpookyMunky]

Iv not played a huge amount of games but I kinda like having someone that is good at melee at the start, helps with getting new people .. a doc to patch them up without failing catastrophically and lopping off both legs is helpful too hehe. You just have to remember not to equip your melee dude/dudette with a sword that will lop a potential new colonist's arm/leg/head off !

People with great shooting skills are handy and all, but a prisoner with a bullet in the brain isn't much use

Edit: http://i.imgur.com/6G2oMfz.jpg ... my best starting character ever , doesn't seem that hot and I doubt his skill have changed much over the years, he has saved my colony from ruin a hundred times tho !.

I should probably give him a legendary sword someday, lol.. sadly he hardly gets near anyone to hit these days, just unleashes the animals when my ace sniper / assault rifle bionic army gets overrun hehe. Doesn't even train the animals, guess he is retired for the most part

[Endoric]

All absent of restrictions on any task.
At least one pawn with one or more of the below.
7 cook
10 animal trainer
8 medical
7 grower
8 social
8 crafter

All above 3 shooters, construction, mining.

None of those negative mood or mental break traits.

[AllenWL]

I started a new A13 colony. I have a trigger-happy mother, a abrasive daughter, and a chemically interested sniper. All three have skills 1, 1, and 2 in construction, respectively, and some jobs they won't do.

It's great fun.

[Negocromn]

In the first alphas I used to always accept the first 3 colonists, I would only look at them in game, sometimes you would get a noble (arguably even a good thing) and that's it. Now it's the other way around, you need to be very lucky to start randomly with one or two colonists that can actually work or fight, as there are so many possibilities of pawn fuck ups now that your pawns are bound to have some of them.

And the game isn't even harder for the most part when you start with incapable colonists, because threats are calculated to your wealth level which is going to be low, it's just really, really slow and boring because nothing gets done.

[keylocke]

1 careful shooter, 1 trigger happy, 1 brawler.

all of them are healthy, no negative trait, and incapable of nothing.

they're the 3 pillars of my military. haha.

[RazorHed]

I keep telling myself that one day I will do a play through with no one under age 80 ... maybe 90 if they go that high .

Normally though ,  no one over 45 , no injuries , and try to get as few bad traits as possible.

[RX2000]

I usually take whoever the game throws at me. Part of the challenge is trying to play with 3 people at the beginning who honestly probably arent all that good. If they survive long enough tho you can eventually skill them up in pretty much anything (unless that have something thats disabled of course.) I always hate it tho when I only have like 1 person who is capable of hauling/cleaning. Thats never fun. But its also not fun sitting there for 20 min hitting the random button trying to get just people that are good.

Maybe I should get the Prepare Carefully mod.....

[dawngael]

My first three are along the following lines:

Miner with some construction
Grower with cooking and medical
Constructor with social and crafting and research

All three can shoot and put out fires and haul

Everything else is divided up or waits for additional folks.

[Mathenaut]

I always take at least one doctor, one good at social/growing, and one that can shoot. At a minimum.