Character Creation and Development

Campaign Flavor
Origin of Heroes
Knighthoods, Wizards' Guilds, and other organizations
Game Mechanics
Character Background Questions

Campaign Flavor

Creating a campaign with this feel requires both opportunities for the heroes and player characters who are capable of taking advantage of those opportunities.

Heroic Characters

1. a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life
2. a man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person
3. a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits

1. worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious
2. surpassing the ordinary especially in size or scale
3. showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort

There are times and places for caution and for care; there are times and places when heroes know that everything hinges on chance and the proverbial throw of the dice. The heroes in this campaign should be capable of heroic actions; it's not expected that they are reckless or willing to throw away their lives on a whim, but they should be capable of bold, daring actions when the situation calls for them.

That doesn't mean that the heroes think of themselves as such; nor does it mean that they want to do such actions. It only means that they do them when necessary. A reluctant hero is as much a part of heroic tales as someone that sets out to be a hero, and is often the more interesting as we watch him develop and deal with a part of him hitherto buried.
 

Pace of advancement and awarding of XP

Note: many of the guidelines listed in the Greyhawk Campaign rules still apply; I will revise and move them over here in a future version of this document.
 

Return to top.

Origin of Heroes

Return to top.

Knighthoods, Wizards' Guilds, and other organizations

Return to top.

---

Game Mechanics

• Character attributes are defined using the point-buy system defined in the Dungeon Master's Guide, with 32 points to spend.
• All characters must be non-evil. CN is allowed as long as that character does not have a negative or disrupting influence on the game.
• Characters get the maximum hit points for their class at first level; at each level thereafter each character receives 75% of the maximum hit points for their class, rounded down.
• All races in the Player's Handbook are permitted. The following races from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting are permitted:
• Humans
• Dwarves: Gold Dwarves, Shield Dwarves
• Elves: Moon Elves, Sun Elves
• Gnomes: Rock Gnomes
• Half-Elves
• Half-Orcs
• Halflings: Lightfoot Halflings, Strongheart Halflings
• All classes in the Player's Handbook are permitted. See the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting for preferred class regions.
• Prestige classes are permitted. See Expansions - Prestige Classes for details.
• All feats in the Player's Handbook are permitted; as are most feats in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. See Expansions - Feats for details on those and feats in other expansion books. Note that regional requirements must be met for acquiring regional feats.
• All skills in the Player's Handbook are permitted, as are most skills in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. See Expansions - Skills for details on those and spells in other expansion books.
• All domains in the Player's Handbook are permitted; as are most feats in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. See Expansions - Domains for details on those and feats in other expansion books.
• All spells in the Player's Handbook are permitted, as are most spells in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. See Expansions - Spells for details on those and spells in other expansion books.
• Wizards start with all of the 0-level spells and 3+Int mod 1st-level spells, and 2+Int Mod spells for each level after 1st.  (Hence, a 3rd-level wizard with an 18 Int would have in her spellbook all of the 0-level spells, 13 1st-level spells (3+4 at 1st-level and 2+4 at 2nd), and 6 spells of either 1st  or 2nd level (another 2+4).)
• Gold piece costs for writing spells into a wizard's personal spellbook are waived. However, the time requirements as listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide are still in effect.
• Please inform the DM of any spells chosen that are not from the Player's Handbook.
• All deities in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting are permitted; some deities in Faiths and Pantheons may also be permitted. All Clerics must have a patron deity and all characters should have a patron deity if they wish to be raised or resurrected.
• Each 1st-level character begins play with the maximum amount of starting funds as defined by their class. For characters starting at levels above first, this amount is replaced by the amount in Table 5-1: Character Wealth by Level, page 145 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. From this amount the character must purchase all equipment, and may purchase magic items, subject to the DM's approval.
• One of the starting equipment choices listed under the character's home region in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting may be chosen with DM approval. Note that items inappropriate for a character's class or background will not be permitted.
• Special, superior, masterwork, and magic items are not available for general purchase except as starting equipment, and then only with the approval of the DM. There will be in-game opportunities to acquire them later.
• Characters are initially permitted to begin this campaign at third level. As the average party level increases, new characters will be permitted in at a level (tbd; less than the average but possibly higher than the initial starting level). Note, however, that the players have expressed concern about high turnover of characters, and thus this should not be taken as encouragement for players to change characters frequently.

Special Notes for Creating a Hero

• The Forgotten Realms has the concepts of preferred regions and regional feats. All of the feats in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting are tied to regions, races, or deities. If your starting region, race, or deity does not match one of those specified on the feat, you may not take that feat. In addition, only certain classes, races, and deities are preferred for a region; again, if you do not qualify, you may not take the feat. (It is possible to qualify for a regional feat by spending time in the region and taking at least 2 ranks of Knowledge (<specified region>), providing the hero meets the other prerequisites for the feat.)
• Prestige classes often have feat or skills requirements; if your character concept is such that one or more Prestige Classes may be appealing, you may wish to consider preparing for that PClass by planning when to take those feats or when to spend skill points on the skill ranks.

---

Character Background Questions

Return to top.

© Copyright Maryrita Steinhour, 2002.