Joined: Jun 21, 2014 Posts: 8338 Location: Singapore
I found out that http://www.nexttools.us/ has the entire Player's Handbook in free online format, if anyone is interested in more complex character building options. It includes:
Rules for playing as a dragonborn, half-elf, half-orc, gnome, or tiefling
The barbarian, bard, druid, monk, paladin, ranger, sorcerer, and warlock classes
Alternative archetypes for each of the four basic classes
Joined: Sep 22, 2013 Posts: 5699 Location: Inside my own head
Identity: Human
I definitely thank you for that, CKY, and yet at the same time that is kind of what has kept me from playing D&D for years. There's just such a glut of information that it's easy to get overwhelmed (it doesn't help that there's a lot of cross-referencing going on as well). Like, for instance, there's an entire section dedicated to personality & background, but I don't understand what all that is supposed to mean. Does it actually affect gameplay mechanics? Are you mandated to roll for all these quirks and traits? What happened to the creative process?
I actually wrote a blurb for my character last night before falling asleep and as such I've become somewhat attached to the typing. Here is said blurb:
Quote:
Bodrick used to be a distinguished member of the Dwarven army in his youth, before he retired. He passed on his knowledge and training to many, but his pride was his promising son, Derrik. Bodrick doted on his son and taught him all that he could, and when the time came that: Derrik went adventuring on his own, Bodrick let him go with all confidence. However, Derrik was killed in the wider world under suspicious circumstances, and Bodrick, stricken with grief and anger, has once more taken up his weapons on a quest to find his son’s killers and deliver their just rewards.
A quick glance suggests to me that I want the Soldier background, but I'm still kind of mystified as to what choosing a background is supposed to do.
Sorry that I haven't made any progress yet; I wasn't able to sit down and look at the rulebook/player's handbook today.
If you hit me up on steam, I'll see if I can help you in any way. I'm not incredibly well versed in 5E, but I should be able to dredge up any relevant information other than character optimization.
Elijin, I personally wouldn't suggest playing the same character in two games, at least not simultaneously. I'd probably imagine that it's going to cause confusion for you at some point, and since there's ideally going to be character development, or at least noteworthy differences in where the games are going, you won't be able to translate knowledge from one game to the other. So you have to keep two similar yet different characters in mind when posting. idk, personal observation. I haven't tried to before. also, I think you're supposed to roll damage in 4e right now.
Like, for instance, there's an entire section dedicated to personality & background, but I don't understand what all that is supposed to mean. Does it actually affect gameplay mechanics?
Your background affects your starting equipment and skills, but otherwise that section is mainly a crutch for less experienced roleplayers. If you think you already have a good character concept, you can pick the gear and skills you like and ignore the rest of the section.
I'm going for Chainmail, a Shield, a Morningstar, and the Defense fighting style, making my AC 19 and giving me 1d8 piercing melee damage.
Out of the three tools I have to choose, smithing makes the most sense to me, so I choose proficiency in Smith's Tools.
Now, first off I can't find any description for whatever Adventurer's and Dungeoneer's Packs are, so I have no idea what fits. Secondly, I don't really have the proper context for what all the abilities are, so I'm not sure which ones I want just yet.
So Bodrick is 307 years old, and it shows. He's kept his body in shape and still has a strong physique, but he can't move as fast as he once did and his old joints tend to bother him. I'm leaning toward making him a Mountain Dwarf for even more strength, since I'm going for high AC to try and mitigate the damage done to him, but I can see the advantages of using Hill Dwarf and haven't fully decided yet.
Explorer's and Dungeoneer's packs are basic packages of adventuring gear.
An Explorer's Pack contains a backpack, bedroll, mess kit, tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, a waterskin, and 50' of hemp rope A Dungeoneer's pack contains a backpack, crowbar, hammer, 10 pitons, 10 torches, a tinderbox, 10 days of rations, a waterskin, and 50' of hemp rope
So they're the same except the Explorer's has a bedroll and mess kit to the Dungeoneer's crowbar, hammer, and pitons.
The soldier background would gain you the following abilities: Proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation, tool proficiency with a gaming set of your choice and with land vehicles, some flavorful gear (in sblock below) and the feature Military Rank which means that rank and file of the military you were a part of will recognize your authority, you can requisition some supplies potentially, and gain access to military bases and camps where your service record is recognized.
Prizes
An insignia of rank, a trophy taken from a fallen enemy, a set of bone dice or deck of cards, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10gp
_________________
"Enjoy your screams, Sarpadia - they will soon be muffled beneath snow and ice."
I'm a (self) published author now! You can find my books on Amazon in Paperback or ebook! The Accursed, a standalone young adult fantasy adventure. Witch Hunters, book one of a young adult Scifi-fantasy trilogy.
Joined: Sep 22, 2013 Posts: 5699 Location: Inside my own head
Identity: Human
So I think I've got most everything down at this point, with a few exceptions. Here's a link to the page I made for my character. If there's a better way to organize the information on the page for all of you be sure to let me know.
The main things I think I'm missing are the secondary weapon and the traits/bonds/ideals/flaws area. I want to go with the crossbow, but I thought maybe a second piercing weapon wouldn't be a good idea? I'm not sure if it would be recommended to go with the handaxes or what. The latter stuff... I'm not sure if I can properly wrap my head around them yet. Even when I did the D&D game in the meat, I thought that was just character stuff and went with one- or two-word descriptions for each slot on the character sheet. What exactly are they for, just to define the character in your head?
(Also I went with Lawful Good because I figured it fit with what I had but honestly I'm not all that familiar with the system?)
Joined: Jun 21, 2014 Posts: 8338 Location: Singapore
An ability score of 13 only grants a bonus of +1, so you'll want to recalculate your HP and your Constitution and Wisdom. Apart from that, it looks all in order.
For your secondary weapon, I suggest the handaxes because throwing them will use your Strength instead of your abysmal Dexterity score. As you pointed out, they're also useful if you face a foe that resists piercing damage.
Your Trait, Ideal, Flaw, Bond are indeed pure guidelines. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. See my character in my signature, Rayyan bin Bahadur, if you want to see how I did up my own character's personality in a freeform style.
Joined: Sep 22, 2013 Posts: 5699 Location: Inside my own head
Identity: Human
Thanks for catching that. I corrected the stat bits. I took your advice and chose the handaxes (with some nested brackets for my own reference). I also added a few traits and stuff at the end. Hopefully I can cement the character a bit more in my head whether writing those down helps or not.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
So CKY has a character. Tevish has a character. Lord l'une as a character. Elijin is still working on one (need help?). Haven't heard from Urza in a while (guess he's not playing?).
I honestly just havent found the time to sit down with the rulebook for long enough to take it in. Given we're waiting for me at this point, feel free to spin me up one of those pre-mades you had lined up to fill a role gap in the party.
As a Noble, the Princess is automatically proficient in History and Persuasion, as well as with one type of gaming set. She's learned an additional language, and receives a nice set of equipment for her trouble. She also gets the feature "Position of Privilege", which entitles her to the reception due to the aristocracy. I could have taken retainers instead, but I'm trying to keep myself to moderate impact on day-to-day gameplay! Now it becomes time to work on the character's... well, character. The book has several options for Traits, Bonds, Ideals, and Flaws, but I doubt I'll be doing any truly straight from the book.
Traits - What's unique about her?
"Despite being a noble, I'm determined to take matters into my own hands whenever plausible. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
"I will not concede when I am wrong. Disengage without conceding the point, perhaps, but never concede."
Ideal - What does she believe in?
Reputation. Being born to a title isn't worth much if I don't do something to prove I deserve it.
Bond - What holds value to her?
"I crave nothing more than my father's approval. I can't be his daughter to the world, but at least I can be worthy of some recognition."
Flaw - What weakens her or holds her back?
Amusingly, one of the generic flaws is "I hide a truly scandalous secret that could ruin my family forever.", which kinda fits. In addition, I've been getting the feeling that she's... not the most cautious individual
"As the world is, no one can be allowed to learn my father's true identity." "When you're as good as I am, there's no need to be cautious... or even particularly attentive. These things will work out in my favor."
The Princess Human Sorcerer (Wild Magic), Chaotic Good Str 11; Dex 14; Con 13; Int 16; Wis 10; Cha 18 Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic Skills: Deception, History, Insight, Persuasion Weapons: Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, Light Crossbows. Saves: Con, Cha Abilities: Spellcasting, Wild Magic Surge, Tides of Chaos, Position of Privilege. Equipment: A simple weapon (Undecided), An Arcane Focus (Undecided), a Dungeoneer's Pack, and two Daggers; A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25gp.
Trait: "Despite being a noble, I'm determined to take matters into my own hands whenever plausible. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Trait: "I will not concede when I am wrong. Disengage without conceding the point, perhaps, but never concede." Ideal: Reputation. Being born to a title isn't worth much if I don't do something to prove I deserve it. Bond: "I crave nothing more than my father's approval. I can't be his daughter to the world, but at least I can be worthy of some recognition." Flaw: "As the world is, no one can be allowed to learn my father's true identity." Flaw: "When you're as good as I am, there's no need to be cautious... or even particularly attentive. These things will work out in my favor."
The Finishing Touches
Everything mechanical is pretty much finished, but I still need to apply some details: she's got the form of some of her specific items to pick, she needs a name, and since I went and made a noble she probably needs heraldry as well as a basic physical description. Since she's a caster, I also have to pick spells.
Gwendolyn Aroundight Human Sorcerer (Wild Magic), Chaotic Good Str 11; Dex 14; Con 13; Int 16; Wis 10; Cha 18 Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic Skills: Deception, History, Insight, Persuasion Tools: Gaming Set (Dragonchess) Weapons: Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, Light Crossbows. Saves: Con, Cha Abilities: Spellcasting, Wild Magic Surge, Tides of Chaos, Position of Privilege. Equipment: A shortbow, An Arcane Focus (an amulet set with a pale cyan crystal), a Dungeoneer's Pack, and two Daggers; A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse containing 25gp. Cantrips Known: Ray of Frost, True Strike, Prestidigitation, Dancing Lights Spells Known: Mage Armor, Witch Bolt
A young woman with pale skin, blue eyes, and red hair. She is taller than most and has a slender face, narrow jaw, high cheekbones, and a high brow. On the road, she keeps her hair in a tight braid and prefers "sensible" clothes -- a shirt, doublet, pleated skirt past knee length and high, sturdy boots.
Heraldry: Azure, an owlbear rampant Or, crowned and holding a sword, above a trimount Argent
Trait: "Despite being a noble, I'm determined to take matters into my own hands whenever plausible. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Trait: "I will not concede when I am wrong. Disengage without conceding the point, perhaps, but never concede." Ideal: Reputation. Being born to a title isn't worth much if I don't do something to prove I deserve it. Bond: "I crave nothing more than my father's approval. I can't be his daughter to the world, but at least I can be worthy of some recognition." Flaw: "As the world is, no one can be allowed to learn my father's true identity." Flaw: "When you're as good as I am, there's no need to be cautious... or even particularly attentive. These things will work out in my favor."
So I think I've got most everything down at this point, with a few exceptions. Here's a link to the page I made for my character. If there's a better way to organize the information on the page for all of you be sure to let me know.
The main things I think I'm missing are the secondary weapon and the traits/bonds/ideals/flaws area. I want to go with the crossbow, but I thought maybe a second piercing weapon wouldn't be a good idea? I'm not sure if it would be recommended to go with the handaxes or what. The latter stuff... I'm not sure if I can properly wrap my head around them yet. Even when I did the D&D game in the meat, I thought that was just character stuff and went with one- or two-word descriptions for each slot on the character sheet. What exactly are they for, just to define the character in your head?
(Also I went with Lawful Good because I figured it fit with what I had but honestly I'm not all that familiar with the system?)
It's hard to say how good each of the characters is without seeing how you roleplay the characters in question. Nearly any character can be fun if written and played well.
Incidentally, am I allowed to cast spells with a somatic component using my shield hand?
And Elijin, who wanted one of the premade characters to fill a gap. Elijin, I'm going to give you the Elf Ranger. I'll use the stats you rolled and I'll let you pick your age (between 30 and 100 years, Enialis is a young Elf) and alignment (Neutral is probably a good choice if you're unsure). Here is your character:
Enialis, Wood Elf Ranger
Enialis, Wood Elf Ranger Enialis is a graceful Wood Elf Ranger who effortlessly outmaneuvers his foes in combat while wielding a Sword in each hand. He hopes to honour his brethren by not returning to the glade that was his home until he has learned the ways of the world outside it. He has the Outlander background.
Hit Points (& Hit Dice): 10 (1d10) Armor Class: 16 (in scale mail, otherwise 13) Str 18; Dex 16; Con 10; Int 10; Wis 14; Cha 10 Speed: 35 feet Vision: Darkvision up to 60 feet Languages: Common, Elven, Goblin Proficiency Bonus: +2 Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Athletics, Nature, Perception, Stealth (note: you have disadvantage on Stealth checks made while wearing scale mail armor), Survival Tool Proficiencies: Pan Flute Armor Proficiencies: Light and medium armor, and shields Weapon Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons Saving Throw Proficiencies: Strength, Dexterity
Abilities
Mask of the Wild
You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
Fey Ancestry
You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.
Trance
You don't need to sleep. Instead you meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. After resting in this way you regain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Wanderer
You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth.
Speak with Wolves
You can cast Speak with Animals as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier (2), except it only works on Wolves. This ability comes at the cost of one of your known languages (you would have had four languages, but I thought it fitting to give you this instead).
Favored Enemey
Enialis' Favored Enemies are Orcs and Goblins. You have advantage on all Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.
Natural Explorer (Forest)
You are particular familiar with traveling and surviving in forests. When you make an Intelligence check or Wisdom check relating to forests, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill you are proficient in. When traveling for an hour or more in forests, you gain the following benefits:
-Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel. -Your group can't become lost by magical means. -Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking) you remain alert of danger. -If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. -When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would. -While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
Equipment: Scale mail armor (note: you have disadvantage on Stealth checks made while wearing this), two shortswords, a longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows, an explorer's pack, a staff, a hunting trap, a trophy from an animal you killed, a pan flute, a set of traveler's clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp.
Trait: I was, in fact, raised by wolves. I keep this secret as much as possible, even referring to my brethren back home as fellow elves when necessary. In fact, other elves are as much an enigma to me as non-elf races. You gain the Speak with Wolves spell-like ability, although you'd never use it in public. Ideal: The natural world is more important than all the constructs of civilization. Bond: My family and tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me. Flaw: Don't expect me to save those who can't save themselves. It is nature's way that the strong thrive and the weak perish.
@Elijin look your character over, if you have any questions/want to make any minor changes let me know.
Now that we have all four characters I will get this game started soon. I will either find time to do it tomorrow, or Wednesday (Monday and Tuesday are too busy for me). If I can get everyone to check in here to show they've seen this, so I know who to prod if need be, that'd be great.
Joined: Sep 25, 2013 Posts: 5149 Location: Toronto, Ontario
Identity: Spider-Man
Preferred Pronoun Set: Wtf is a "Jabber address"?
Also, since Urza disappeared I'm going to open this up specifically for any newcomers (not experienced D&D players) to join. I won't delay starting the game though, but if someone new wants to join after the game's been started I'll write them in.
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