Creating your character; Guidelines, Q&A
Classes
Although I'm not going to prohibit people from
playing the class that they want, I'd like to make a few things clear
in advance. First off, the campaign at large is low-magic, and is
going to have institutionalized, societal superstition surrounding
magic. As such, mechanical solutions are the norm in this
society, and mages are few and far between. It is not that arcane
magic does not exist, but rather that it is feared and persecuted,
usually, where it is found. The counter to this is divine magic;
clerical magic is viewed with wonder and awe, and frequently considered
miracle. Clerical magic is accepted, but remember that the
populace will still see you as an outsider if you display such
talents. If choosing to play a magic-using class, keep that in
mind.
The scope and nature of the campaign will hopefully
involve political machinations, epic battles on a wide scale, and much
more freedom of choice in actions. As such, it is likely in every
player's best interest to keep their characters more balanced and less
specialized; in a diverse campaign, a character with diverse options
will likely succeed far better. An easy way to approach this is
to consider a variety of activities, hobbies, interests, etc. for your
character to pursue. A fighter could be more to a party than just
a sword-arm; his skill options could allow him to be a stablemaster, a
rooksman, or one of numerous kinds of craftsmen, from bowyer to smith
to chandler; skills such as ride, swim, climb, and jump give the
fighter the basic abilities to become a proficient scout or courier,
and the with good choices among the cross-class skills, a fighter can
fill a variety of other roles. Multi-classing, too, is greatly
encouraged, as it will add greatly to any character's uses.
In general, the classes most common within the setting are
barbarians, clerics, fighters, paladins, rangers, and rogues.
Druids, monks, sorcerors, and wizards are rare within this setting,
either for their magical talents or their unusual combat
training. I will not outlaw these classes, but be aware that
social and political stigma are attached to them, and you will be
treated within most established communities as either an outsider or a
vagabond if you choose such a class.
Alignment
A character's alignment is something of a general
conception of his moral outlook and general nature. It is not,
however, a precise description of all characteristics which define your
character, and should not be thought of as anything more than a
guideline. A good character can be perfectly stingy and
pessimistic; he just does the right thing when forced to make a
decision. Likewise, an evil character can be honorable and
friendly, he just has bad goals at heart. Keep in mind that
alignment shouldn't dictate all of your decisions, but it should make a
notable impact on any important ones.
When it comes to the law side of matters, keep in mind
that your character's attitude towards authority, personal discipline,
and sense of justice are the most important considerations. For
the most part, a character with no clear sense of respect, discipline,
or honor will gravitate towards chaotic alignments, whereas those
qualities in high dosages represent lawful alignments well. In
many respects, your character's most socially expressed mannerisms are
represented by the law alignments. And remember, if all else
fails, choose neutral; it's hard to go wrong with that.
When choosing your alignment, please please PLEASE don't
think about what the rest of the party wants or needs. Think
about what you want to get done, and what sort of character you have in
mind. If you're going to play a malicious thief who has no
compunction with stealing from the poor, than you should be evil.
Likewise, if you see your character upholding justice at every turn, be
sure he's lawful. Be true to the design of your character, not an
artificial preference.
Unlike most settings, alignment is going to be more
amorphous in this circumstance. The various alignment detection
spells will not work on targets that do not radiate some form of clear
indication of their alignment. Clerics, paladins, and
extraordinarily powerful characters (level 16+) radiate auras of clear
evidence of their alignments. Although not detectable by
non-magical means, these characters will shine like beacons to
detection spells. In addition, any spellcaster able to spell high
power spells (4th+ level) will also be easily detectable by such spells.
Personality
Unlike most other campaigns, I am going to insist on a
well-defined personality. Here is a little Q&A to help you
get thinking about your character, and therefore how to represent him
both in roleplay and in the rules.
What is the character's gender and race?
How tall is your character?
How much does your character weigh?
What is the color of your character's hair?
What style is your character's hair?
What is the color of your character's eyes?
Does your character sport facial hair?
What sort of clothing does your character wear?
Does your character have any scars, birth marks, or other
distinguishing features?
Does your character have an accent?
Does your character have any colorful euphemisms or phrases that he
frequents?
Does your character have any nervous habits?
What are your character's hobbies and interests?
Does your character believe in a god? If so, which god? How
strong is his faith?
If woken up in the middle of the night, what would the first words out
of your character be?
Is your character friendly and open-minded, or reserved and
stand-offish?
Is your character more comfortable at a nobleman's table, or at the pub?
Does your character keep any pets?
Does your character have a husband or wife?
Does your character have any children?
Does your character have any siblings?
Are your character's parents alive? If so, what are they doing
now?
Who does your character know? What sort of friends would he have?
Does your character have connections to any organizations, factions,
noblemen, guilds, etc.?
If not adventuring, what would your character do for a living?
What can your character do better than most people? What is he
particularly bad at?
Are your character's services negotiable, or does he live by his
principles?
Does your character consider self-sacrifice in the name of comrades and
country a noble effort?
What is your character's name?
If you can go through and answer these questions, then you have a
pretty solid personality ready for your character. For more tips,
try checking out this
thread.
Perks and Flaws
In this campaign, we are going to be
making use of a perk/flaw system. All characters are required to
take at least one perk, and one flaw. From there, you may
continue to take additional perks relative to flaws. Certain
perks and flaws are worth more in exchange; they are noted as
such. If you decide to take additional flaws, you can trade them
for one of two other advantages; more skill points, or additional
feats. Perks and flaws can and will be awarded over the course of
the campaign, and cannot be 'earned' any other way; they will be
rewarded corresponding to events that merit them. Likewise, perks
and flaws can be stripped from your character over the course of the
campaign.
Perks and flaws come in a few types; supernatural,
extraordinary, natural, and chance. Supernatural references a
force magical or divine in nature; something has touched the character
and left an indelible mark. Extraordinary references abilities
above and beyond the normal abilities of men; incredible endurance,
amazingly weak bones, an ingrained ability to see bizarre solutions to
complex problems, and other such capabilities are representative of the
extraordinary. Natural abilities acknowledge common advantages or
disadvantages seen among every walk of life, from a simple leverage
advantage for lifting heavy objects to having over-large hands for
normal tools. Perks and flaws among the chance category show up
seemingly at random, or appear for no other reason than good, or poor,
luck, such as happenstances of birth to strange coincidences in life.
This list is just an example list; if you want to
hammer out a more specific perk or flaw with me, let me know.
Artifact [supernatural] (5 perk points)
An artifact can be a
family heirloom, something given to the character by a mysterious
stranger, or something found on an expedition or at random.
Artifcats represent large amounts of contained magical power, and can
frequently provide numerous benefits. The nature of an artifact
can be quite varied, but mostly tends to be subtle; a ring or amulet
that provides certain protections, a map that always shows you the way
to your intended destination, or boots that let the wearer run at
incredible speeds. An artifact can also be a curse, however, and
unless protected carefully, it can highlight the character to
xenophobic people.
Perk: An artifact is any magical item worth up
to 25,000 gold, as defined by the DMG. Unlike normal magical
items, it can break certain rules. Artifacts may not be weapons
or armor as a perk, but any variety of lesser item is available.
If you have a specific function or intent in mind, speak to me, and we
can hammer out a more unique artifact than the normal D&D
enchantments provide.
Flaw: As a flaw, an artifact is cursed in some
manner, and frequently makes its presence very clear to casual
observers. Flaw artifacts can be weapons and armor, in addition
to other kinds of object, but must have some kind of importance or
value to justify the player's continued use of them. A flaw
artifact could be cursed in such a manner that it cannot leave its
owner's side, in addition.
You may take extra flaws in exchange for additional
skill points and feats. Each flaw translates to two skill points,
and for five flaws you may pick an additional feat.
Divine Support [supernatural] (2 perk points)
Some god likes you. Apparently, quite a
bit. This god may display their appreciation for you in varying
ways, thought it can greatly depend upon the god himself.
Perk: Once per session, you can change an
opponent's critical hit to a standard hit, or change your critical
failure to a standard failure. In the case of skill and reflex
checks, you may change a roll to a natural 10 once per session, if it
is lower. Once you have used the support of your deity in either
form, you may not for the remainder of that session.
Divine Enemy [supernatural] (3 perk points)
Somehow, you've made an enemy of a god. He
will do his best to throw trouble in your way, sometimes at incredibly
inoppurtune moments.
Flaw: Once per session, the DM can cause any
action you take in a single round to fail. He may use his
dicretion for this, and coincidentally can choose some greatly
unfortunate moment. The DM may not make changes to any check
which rolls a natural 20, and may not affect saves. Skill checks
and attacks, however, can be turned to failures. When a check is
turned to a failure, it becomes the lowest possible failure; thus,
instead of rolling a 15, you roll a 1.
Spelltouched [supernatural] (5 perk points)
At some early age, a wandering wizard, druid, or
cleric managed to permanently enchant you in some manner. You
might be bigger, stronger, faster. Or perhaps you've been damaged
in some manner; your every step may be a clap of thunder, or you may be
unable to speak or see do to this curse.
Perk: Pick a buff spell of up to 2nd level to
be permanently effecting your character. This spell functions all
the time, any time, but will not function in conjunction with another
such buff spell or magical items. For example, a character who is
permanently effected by a bull's strength spell will not gain the
benefits of another such spell cast on him, and cannot gain the
benefits of any items which buff his strength, unless they buff him in
excess of 4, in which circumstance the larger buff is used.
Flaw: Pick a de-buff spell of up to 2nd level
to permanently effect your character. This spell functions all
the time, but will not function in conjunction with another such
de-buff spell or cursed items. Magical items which provide a
bonus to a stat, or similar, can work to counteract the effects of a
stat de-buff.
Amazing Dexterity [extraordinary] (2 perk points)
You are nimble and quick. Your abilities give
you a natural advantage over most people when it comes to matters of
skill.
Perk: You gain a +2 bonus to dexterity checks,
reflex saves, and dexterity-based skills. In addition, if you
critically fail with a ranged weapon, you do not lose further attacks
in the round.
Carved By Angels [extraordinary] (2 perk points)
You are gorgeous, with a face beyond compare.
As a woman, men
become weak at the knees just looking at you. As a man, women
swoon at
your mere presence. Either way, you are one sexy bitch.
Perk: You have a +2 bonus to all charisma
checks and
charisma-based skills. In addition, people react one step more
favorably to you at all times.
Clumsy Beyond Belief [extraordinary] (2 perk points)
Ever since that time that you dropped your father's
favorite beer stein, people have avoided letting you handle delicate
objects. Either because of uncoordination or happenstance, you
seem to break any breakable objects near you on a regular basis.
Flaw: You have a -2 penalty to all dexterity
checks, reflex saves, and dexterity-based skills. In addition,
you tend to drop delicate objects; each time you handle something
easily broken, roll a dexterity check, of DC 12, to keep your hands on
the object. On any failure, you drop the object and it breaks.
Economy of Movement [extraordinary] (3 perk points)
You always seem to see the most efficient way to
place your feet and how to get the most out of your steps.
Likewise, you rarely seem to be in anyone else's way when you don't
want to be.
Perk: You gain a bonus 10 feet of movement in
the round. In addition, you may, once per session, avoid a
grapple attempt, charge, or bull rush. This must be declared
before any dice are rolled.
Great Reputation [Extraordinary] (2/3/4 perk points)
Either due to actual amazing displays or because of
the pecularities of the rumor mill, people seem to think you're
something else. Your amazing reputation means that people
recognize you wherever you go, and probably have some amicable
nick-name for you. Likewise, people have a natural respect and
admiration of you - and tend to trust your word and intents more easily.
Perk: You gain a +2/+4/+6 bonus to your leadership
score, and NPCs respond to you 1/2/3 steps more favorably at initial
meeting.
Special: Because you are so well known, it's hard to
go incognito. For each level of this perk, NPCs able to get a
good look at you gain a +2 bonus to opposed spot checks if you are
disguised.
Hallucinations [extraordinary] (2 perk points)
For reasons no one has ever managed to ascertain,
you occasionally have strange and otherworldly visions. Sometimes
gods speak to you; sometimes toadstools. Whether they're the
cryptic messages of a forgotten deity or just an inexplicable neurosis,
they provide you with plenty of free entertainment!
Perk: An otherworldly creature has chosen to
communicate bits and pieces of the future to you. The visions you
see will be difficult to understand and entirely cryptic, but can be
laden with important information. If you are able to decipher
them, you can gain vital hints as to the progression of your
goals. Unfortunately, you don't really know when you'll be seized
by them; upon encountering a new dungeon, person, or global problem
(consult DM for clarification on what's what) roll a d20; on a result
of a 19 or 20, your character passes out for one hour and experiences
these hallucinations.
Flaw: Your hallucinations have nothing to do
with anything, really. They come upon you at random, can last for
minutes or even an hour, and often leave you dazed and confused for a
while after they're done. Once per session, the DM can strike you
with a hallucination; he rolls a d100. You hallucinate for half
the marked number +10 minutes, and spend half that number in a dazed
state, with a -2 penalty to all actions made.
Note: The DM cannot place a hallucination on
you in a 'life or death' situation (IE, where you are the only one that
can keep yourself alive), and if he declares so in the middle of
combat, you may make a will save DC 15 to negate until the end of
battle.
Infamy [Extraordinary] (2/3/4 perk points)
Something you did, or at least something that was
attributed to you, hangs over your head, dogging your footsteps.
You are at least shunned, if not actively sought by the authorities.
Flaw: NPCs react to you 1/2/3 steps less
favorably at initial meeting. In addition, people are usually on
the lookout for you; at 2 perk value, you are sought as per most wanted
criminals, with wanted posters and a general bounty. At 3 perk
value, NPC bounty hounters will regularly come after you. At 4
perk value, you are considered an illegal, to be brought in at all
costs; bounty hunters, men-at-arms, and adventurers will come after you
frequently, trailing you mercilessly and eternally seeking your head -
no quarter given.
Phobia [extraordinary] (1/2/4 perk points)
Something really scares you. Your
ability to cope may vary greatly.
Flaw: Pick something to be afraid of (heights,
spiders, wolves, one-eyed men, enclosed spaces, wide open spaces, sharp
objects, magic, water, etc.). When the circumstances seem
appropriate, you must make a will save of DC 12/15/20 to keep yourself
under control. If you fail the check, you are struck as per a
normal fear effect, and you run from whatever inspires your fear until
you are out of sight range or you succeed in getting yourself under
control. Even if you pass the check, you are left shaken, and
make actions at a -2 penalty while the thing is still in sight.
Note: There can be circumstances where there
is no reason for your character to be shaken. For example, if
your character has a fear of wide open spaces, he has little reason to
feel anything other than discomfort while looking at a wide open plain
from a castle tower's window. Likewise, while your character may
have a fear of some creature, if it's contained in a safe manner, it's
unlikely to make your character flee in fear.
Renowned Tactician [extraorginary] (1/2/4 perk points)
Battles unfold in certain patterns, always tied to
the terrain of the field and the men who lead. You are intimate
with reading and responding to these patterns, and frequently your
superior planning crushes your opposition.
Perk: You apply a +1/2/4 bonus to the morale of all
troops on your side in large scale battles. This bonus applies
universally, and not just to the unit you command. In addition,
you have a +2/4/6 bonus to spot checks to detect enemy ploys.
Special: Because of your reputation for tactical
prowess, soldiers and nobles react one step more favorably to you.
Snake Eater [extraordinary] (1 perk point)
You have an unnaturally high resistance to poisons.
Perk: You have a +4 bonus to all fortitude
saves made against non-magical poisons.
Weak Metabolism [extraordinary] (1 perk point)
Your body functions at a bizarre and irregular rate,
and seems to deal with the food you eat and liquids you drink in
haphazard ways.
Perk: You have a -4 penalty to all fortitude
checks against poisons.
Arrogant [natural] (2 perk points)
You're very confident. So confident, in fact,
that you're
confident that others are inferior. They probably don't mean to
be,
it's just the lamentable circumstance of their poor birth, disfigured
physiques, and nigh non-existent intellects. But that's what
you're
here for - to lead the plebeians.
Flaw: Your arrogance puts people off. You have
a -2 penalty to all
diplomacy and gather information checks. In addition, once per
day,
the DM or a fellow player can activate a particular spate of arrogance;
when this occurs, your character mouths off about his own amazing
qualities to a disgusting extent, frequently angering or disturbing
those nearby.
Brittle Bones [natural] (1 perk point)
You've got weak, brittle bones, which seem to break
at the slightest provocation.
Flaw: You take an extra point of damage from
every melee attack you take, and falling damage.
Bruiser [natural] (1 perk point)
You're big and strong, and you hit hard in melee
combat. At the same time, you're a little slower than most.
Perk: You deal an extra point of damage on
every melee attack you make, and gain a +1 bonus to fortitude
saves. However, you lose 5 feet of movement in the round.
Fast Hands [natural] (1 perk point)
You've got the quickest hands in your home
town. Whether you apply this to feats of prestidigitation or
thievery, your natural dexterity gives you a distinct advantage.
Perk: You gain a +2 bonus to pickpocket
checks. In addition, you can produce any object of small size or
less as a partial action, so long as you have it with you. In
other words, objects stashed in your pack no longer take large
quantities of time to pull out mid-battle.
Fumble Fingered [natural] (1 perk point)
Your large hands make it hard it for you to handle
small objects.
Flaw: You have a -2 penalty to all actions
made with objects one or more size category smaller than you.
Good Pheromones [natural] (1 perk point)
Apparently regardless of your actual appearance, you
seem to attract the opposite sex with great ease. For the
permiscuous, this is, of course, handy. Of course, it also means
that people of the same sex can become more than a little jealous when
the women flock to you.
Perk: You have a +2 bonus to all charisma
checks and charisma-based skills when dealing with the opposite
sex. This applies to your leadership score as well.
Unfortunately, those of the same sex react to you one step worse at
initial meeting.
Hot Temper [natural] (1/2/4 perk points)
Your ire is easily raised. Ever since you
struck that serving wench for bringing you the wrong kind of ale,
people have known to steer clear of you.
Flaw: Every time something frustrating happens
to your character - being refused service, being given the wrong drink
order, taking a lot of damage in combat, etc. - your character stands a
chance of losing it. Make a will save of DC 12/15/20 to hold your
temper in check - if you fail, you fly into a rage, attacking
heedlessly the source of your frustration. Each round further you
can take another will save to try and get your temper under control.
Lazy Eye [natural] (1 perk point)
One of your eyes tends to wander on its own,
not necessarily focusing on anything. Your resultant lack of
depth perception can make some tasks inordinantly difficult.
Flaw: You have a -2 penalty to the use of
ranged weapons against targets more than 30 feet away. In
addition, your vision is limited to 20 feet in low-light conditions, as
opposed to the 30 feet characters without this flaw may see.
Lecherous [natural] (4 perk points)
It's said that a person who doesn't notice a pretty
face is dead, for all intents. Safe to say you've never had that
problem.
Flaw: You have trouble resisting the urge to make
advances on the sexier creatures of your species. The more
beautiful they are, the harder it is for you to resist. When a
pretty face or a nice ass wiggles into your view, you must make a will
save of DC 10/12/15/18/20, based upon the charisma (or, as the case may
warrant, the DM's discretion) of the hottie in question.
Special: Whether your advances succeed or not, when
your lecherous nature is exposed, it can sometimes have a detrimental
effect on your social standing.
Old
Injury [natural] (2/4/6 perk points)
Years of dodging axes and making incredible feats of
skill have left an indelible mark on you; you bear some notable injury,
something potentially debilitating.
Flaw: Pick an extremity on your body (right
and left arms, right and left legs, torso, and head) and a degree of
injury. For the arms, any checks made with the injured arm is at
a -2/-4/-6 penalty, and takes 1.5x/2x/3x the amount of time to
complete. For the legs, speed is reduced by 5/10/15 feet, and
reflex saves are made at a -2/-4/-6 penalty. For the torso, you
take an additional 1/2/4 points of damage per hit, and apply a -2/-4/-6
penalty to fortitude saves. For the head, pick a notable
side-effect (blindness in one or both eyes, impaired hearing, or a -2
penalty to intelligence and wisdom checks at large). In addition,
characters with head injuries must make a fortitude save of DC 12/15/20
to avoid unconsciousness when they are struck by a critical hit.
Unconsciousness lasts for d4 rounds.
Overconfidence [natural] (2/4/6 perk points)
You're good, and you know it. No, let's be
honest, you're not just good, you're better than those sub-sentients
and incompetents any and every day of the week. So of course, you
tend to show them that whenever they doubt you, just to keep them in
line.
Flaw: Whenever you are taunted, shown up, or
otherwise have your talents called into question, you must roll a will
save of DC 12/15/20 to avoid leaping head-first into whatever challenge
is before you. In addition, once per day, the DM or another
player can choose to activate this flaw, even if the circumstances seem
generally mundane.
Sickly [natural] (1 perk point)
You're slight and sickly in nature, and have
been known to injure easily. Although not necessarily weaker than
the next man, you seem to catch cold much more frequently.
Flaw: You have a -2 penalty to all fortitude
saves against disease.
Small Frame [natural] (1 perk point)
You're a petite size, to say the least. Your
small body means you carry a little less weight, but you're a lot
quicker.
Perk: Although your effective strength for
carrying is 1 less, you gain a +1 bonus to reflex saves and a bonus 5
feet of movement in the round.
Tough as Nails [natural] (1 perk point)
You've always been hardy and tough. For
whatever reason, pain just doesn't give you as much trouble.
Perk: You ignore one point of damage on every
attack you take. This does not stack with class abilities, such
as the barbarian's DR
Dirt Poor [chance]
(3 perk
points)
You've pulled yourself up by the bootstraps
throughout your life. Your poor family was a pitiful framework
for your ambitions, so you've piled up debts in your efforts.
Flaw: Your starting gold is halved, and
you have a 50,000 gold debt to your various creditors. If you
cannot make a 1000 gold monthly payment, then various 'repo men' will
come to extract the money out of you - by whatever means are necessary.
Fabulously
Wealthy [chance] (3 perk
points)
You were born into a wealthy family. You
haven't had to worry much about money at any point in your life.
Perk: You have a larger base wealth, and gain
some incomes from your family's holdings. You begin with 500
spare gold pieces, and are provided with 100 gold pieces per month.
Good Luck [chance] (2/3/4 perk
points)
Things just seem to go well for you. For
reasons unclear, your life just seems fortunate.
Perk: You seem to do well at anything you set
your hand to - when making untrained skill checks, reflex and fortitude
saves
against non-magical effects (magic exceeds luck), and all base stat
checks you gain a +1/+2/+3 bonus. In addition, regardless of
step, your critical hit range is always increased by one. IE,
regardless of weapon, your critical threat range will always be at
least a 19-20.
Poor Luck [chance] (2/3/4 perk
points)
It seems that no matter how hard you try, there's a
tangible limit to how good your efforts can really be. At times
you've never been able to do as well as you know you can - that the
odds always seem to be against you.
Flaw: Things never go quite right for you -
when making skill checks, reflex and fortitude saves, and all base stat
checks you suffer a -1/-2/-3 penalty. In addition, regardless of
step, your critical hit range is always decreased by one, to a minimum
of 20. IE, with a longsword, your threat range is just 20.