Character Creation

This forum is a place to talk about our characters! Post ideas and questions related to making your character in this forum!

RESOURCES

D&D Basic Rules, character creation rules start on page 6. Please read through the character creation process and ask me questions as you encounter them. If you already own other D&D books like the Player's Handbook, you can use that instead.

SPECIFIC RULES FOR OUR GAME

Starting level: We are all starting at level one. Your characters will gain in levels and power as the game progresses.

Attributes: Your character is measured by six attribute scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma. We will use the standard array method to determine our attributes: assign the numbers 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 to assign to your attributes as you please.

Allowed Character Races, Classes, and Backgrounds: Anything published in official D&D 5e books is okay. If you are new to D&D, you might want to stick to a class that does not cast spells at first level such as Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue.

SOME GREAT ADVICE

This article by one of my favorite D&D writers, Mike Shea, has some great advice about building fun characters. It has some specific advice about building well-rounded characters so that you can contribute to all aspects of the game, and some common pitfalls to avoid.

SOME EXAMPLES

Gideon, 1st level Human Paladin w/ Sage Background
Astraea, 2nd level Satyr Rogue w/ Folk Hero Background

As far as I can see, if I only have access to the D&D Basic Rules, it will be difficult to use a race or class not listed there - basically I would have to get the information about them from someone else (such as the DM). So, realistically, my options are either to buy the Player's handbook or work with the basic options. I'm still not sure which way I'll go with this. It depends to some extent on what other players are doing with their characters because I'd like some variety in the party.

I'm ready to be flexible and choose something completely different but, for the moment, I'm considering an elf or half-elf (if that's an option) using a bow as a weapon - either a ranger or a fighter.

Hmm, is the game centered around civilization vs chaos? Are monstrous or exotic races okay as well? Or the stat and proficiency swapping options from Tasha? (because from what I gather from wiki sites... wow we have a lot of options with all these books)

A sneaky bugbear barbarian sounds fun, but I would rather make sure that I match the party and theme. I like the idea of mage-knights too (seems like three options for it are eldricht knight, valor bard, and blade pact warlock?), or even something like a wizard-cleric mixture (durable jack of all trades caster).

As a general rule, anything from a published source is okay. Not everyone has access to all the books, and I think that is okay. It keeps things simple for your first character, and the power level is been pretty consistent. If you want to open up pandora's box, there is a site that has all the books revealed and is often used by people (copyright is sketchy there).

If you're not seeing something you like, tell me what you're thinking you'd like to play and I'll try to find something that would fit.

Astroloma: An elf or half-elf archer sounds fantastic, but let me know if you have something in mind that you don't see. I can forward you the Ranger and Fighter class details, just give me the word! In general, the Ranger will be more outdoorsy and survival-oriented whereas the Fighter will be a little more focused on combat.

Pitrio: Any race is okay. No intelligent race is considered inherently evil in this setting. You Arkasia . Bugbear would be totally okay, although a rare sight.

There are a lot of Mage-Knight type of options. Paladin could definitely fit that description as well as. Can't really go wrong with any of those options! Multiclassing can definitely be fun, but be warned: as an introductory game we will probably only get to third level, so it might not pay off by then.

I've posted a bit more details on the world in case this helps inspire your character design. It is intentionally felt vague to allow you to fit your concept and allow you to define pieces. For example, if you want to be the last member of an order of paladins, you can create all the details of the order and it will become cannon in this world!

Thanks Len, I'd like to try the ranger class so please send me those details.

These are the details for the Ranger class. FYI I've swapped in some optional features from a recent rules supplement to make the best possible Ranger. Please let me know if any of this doesn't make sense - it's like a whole new language when you first start! I'll also be sure to read over your character sheet to make sure you didn't miss anything.

You probably want to make sure that your character's Dexterity is maxed out, and their Wisdom score is strong. A decent Constitution is always handy too!

RANGER

HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: 1d10 per ranger level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st

PROFICIENCIES
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: All weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

STARTING EQUIPMENT
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

(a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
(a) two shortswords or (b) two simple melee weapons
(a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
A longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows[/spoiler]

DEFT EXPLORER
You are an unsurpassed explorer and survivor, both in the wilderness and in dealing with others on your travels. You gain the Canny benefit below, and you gain an additional benefit below when you reach 6th level and 10th level in this class.

Canny (1st Level)
Choose one of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses the chosen skill. You can also speak, read, and write two additional languages of your choice.

FAVORED FOE
When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can call on your mystical bond with nature to mark the target as your favored enemy for 1 minute or until you lose your concentration (as if you were concentrating on a spell).

The first time on each of your turns that you hit the favored enemy and deal damage to it, including when you mark it, you can increase that damage by 1d4.

You can use this feature to mark a favored enemy a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

This feature’s extra damage increases when you reach certain levels in this class: to 1d6 at 6th level and to 1d8 at 14th level.

Hey folks, I've also added some example character sheets to the bottom of the original post in this thread, in case that helps at all :)

Hey folks, let's aim to have characters done before Friday (PST time that is haha). They don't have to be perfect, first draft quality is fine.

Well, nobody’s mentioned a support/healer type of class, so perhaps I could play a cleric — probably human because I’m boring. I’ve got a Player’s Handbook already so, I can go through character creation maybe later today or tomorrow.

So far I had inspirations for these: bugbear barbarian (entertainer) [as striker-ish tank], human forge cleric (far traveler) [as tanky support], human warlock (great old one pact, guild artisan) [face-ish striker or control as needed], or satyr rogue (courtier) [face, skill monkey, sneaky stuff], but could go with some kind of wizard too. I am fine with either so could fill in holes as needed.

I have an interest in developing a wizard but am not familiar with how the rules on spells work yet, although eager to learn. I like how wizards in AD&D5e seem to have more power at lower level than they did in earlier versions of the game. I will choose a human if I play a wizard.

I love clerics. They come with clear roleplaying hooks right from level 1 and have plenty of offensive and defensive potential. Very flexible and fun!

All these are great ideas Pitrio! Feel free to pick whatever you think is appropriate.

Awesome, Wizards have definitely gotten stronger from the days when they started with 1d4 hit points and could be killed by a lucky roll from a house cat!

Here's how Wizard magic works in 5e! Each day you prepare a number of spells from your spellbook equal to your wizard level + your Int modifier. You also have a certain number of spells slots. When you want to cast a spell, you scratch off a spell slot. When you have no more spell slots, you can't cast spells (other than cantrips, which are minor spells that you can cast over and over forever).

For example, a Level 1 Wizard named Xortan has an Int of 16. This means they can prepare 1+3=4 spells per day. Let's say they prepare Comprehend Languages, Magic Missile, Shield, and Sleep.

First level wizards start out with 2 spell slots. So they can cast any 2 prepared spells throughout the day. It could be:

* two Magic Missiles, or
* Shield and Sleep, or
* Comprehend Languages and Magic Missile, or
* two Sleeps, and so on.

This is very different from how old version of the game worked, where you would have to prepare magic missile twice if you wanted to cast it twice in a day. Spell slots are completely generic and allow you to be flexible with your spells.

As you get up in levels, you will gain spells that are higher level and spell slots that are higher level. If you have a 9th level spell, you need to use a 9th level spell slot to cast it, you can't use a 1st level spell slot. However, some spells can be cast with a higher spell slot to get more damage or long effect. You only start with 1st level spells and slots, so you can learn this as you go.

Does this make sense? Ask more questions if you like!

I've filled in most of the character sheet but I have some queries:
* I don't know where to find the attack bonus for weapons
* Hit dice are given in the class description there's nowhere to put them on the sheet

I probably need to do some more work on the notes on personality but I'll submit the character so that you can give feedback.

Does it matter that the "label" I used when first creating the character is not the same as the character's name? How are each of these used? I can add a new character sheet and copy everything over if necessary.

You can change the label in the "all characters" page with one of the small icons at their right side. I had the same dilemma.

Attack bonus is usually proficiency bonus (if proficient with the weapon) + str/dex (finesse weapons can opt to use dex).

Hit die not sure where to write or if we even need it somewhere.

Since we have cleric, wizard, archer-ranger I'll either go with the barbarian or the forge cleric since they can be both quite tough for frontline (and i could flavour cleric different enough not to overlap too much).