Watch the Footage

Right. I'd better make a thread so this can be organized. Blur, Tohr, Scarab, Eli, sound off in this thread or something. I dunno.

ANYWAY. First thing I think I should do is throw a couple links out. You're under no obligation to read them, but you probably should read the first, and the second is a resource that you'll be using when building your characters. The third I include for completeness, but it's more of an advanced resource that I don't think you'll need, nor do I recommend trying to parse it (still, feel free to take a look if you want to).

*This is a good, beginner-friendly overview of character creation. I'll be going over it again, but this is a nice summary.
*The System Reference Document for D&D 3.5. In other words, this is almost all the mechanical stuff you'll want/need. (Also completely legal)
*The Crystalkeep D&D archive. A very comprehensive archive of D&D stuff from a wide variety of first-party sources. (Also very much not-legal, but still very useful)

Alright, now I'll give a quick overview of the adventure as I am conceiving it (I hope that it will stay relatively on the rails, but expect the unexpected). It will start in and around the medium-sized town of Sunvale, a fairly generic D&D town that grew up around an ancient temple to Pelor (god of strength, healing, and the sun). You can choose to make characters that are natives to Sunvale, but it might work better if you are all new to the area (though that is up to you).

My preference is that all your characters know each other or have some background to keep them together, to make interactions a bit easier. You should all be more or less Good as well - Evil characters generally require special adventures and this isn't really one of them. It would be ideal to have all the main roles covered between the four of you (divine caster, arcane caster, tank, skill monkey), but that's entirely optional and I can work around that easily enough so really just play what you want to.

Unless anyone has any major objections, we'll be starting at level 3.

I think that's a good basics. Any immediate questions as of yet?

I'll join. Give me some time to think, though.

I'm sorry, but this isn't a call for players. I already have them. This is just a thread to help organize things.

The first article is not complete yet, right?

And is unlikely to ever be completed, but what it does have is good solid info.

Alright, I already read most of it and have a general idea for the character I want to play, but I'll wait for everyone else. :p

Taking a look through them now.

hi.

Alright, just need to get Scarab in here, and we'll begin!

Sorry folks! I'm here now and have a rough idea what to do (nobody else wants to play a Fighter, right?)

I mean, I'll take a magic role or a cleric if nobody else wants it, but I play a sorcerer in Pathfinder and I'd like to try something... non magical for once.

Scarab wrote:Sorry folks! I'm here now and have a rough idea what to do (nobody else wants to play a Fighter, right?)

I had a rough idea, but I can work with anything, so you can go ahead Scarab

I was thinking of playing a druid

Alrighty, everyone's here, let's get to character creation! As before, if you have any questions or confusion, please bring it up so that it can be addressed as soon as possible - You all have my Twitter, and that's probably the fastest way to get an answer to the question.

NOW, Character Creation time. I'm assuming you all have at least some idea of what you want to play, and I will include a quick description of these classes. (Note: I'm only going over the core stuff here - if you have questions about another one you ran across in the links I provided, let me know)

[*]Barbarian: Melee warrior, with their main class feature being the ability to fly into a Rage, boosting their damage-dealing -abilities at the cost of decreased defense and being fatigued afterwards.
[*]Bard: A class focused around using musical and magical abilities to support allies and mess with foes. Notable for being one of the only arcane casters in the game with actual healing spells natively.
[*]Cleric: Someone who gains divine spellcasting abilities from the god the worship. Their spell list and ability set is slightly customized depending on who they worship, and they have the ability to either weaken and destroy undead or strengthen them, depending on their alignment.
[*]Druid: Casters who get their spells from nature. They also gain the services of an animal companion who fights alongside them and eventually the ability to transform into an animal (though this ability would likely only be gotten at the very climax of this adventure, if the expected leveling curve holds).
[*]Fighter: The prototypical warrior, they don't gain any special abilities of their own, but rather get a lot of bonus feats to allow them to expand their combat abilities in just about any direction.
[*]Monk: Your semi-typical kung-fu action monk, fighting without armor, bare-handed.
[*]Paladin: Lawful Good (core, that's the only alignment they can be, but there are alternate options for some other alignments) fighters for justice and lawfulness. Their signature abilities are the ability to "Smite Evil", gaining a bonus to attack and damage against an evil opponent, as well as the ability to detect evil. They gain a small amount of spellcasting ability a little later on as well.
[*]Ranger: As the Paladin is to the Cleric, the Ranger is to the Druid - a warrior to their caster. They specialize in a particular combat style (two-handed or ranged in core) as well as being good at tracking and moving through the wilderness. They also gain an animal companion as the druid does as well as a small amount of spellcasting later on.
[*]Rogue: Sneaky and skilled, Rogues both have the best skill list out of any core class and the ability to get bonus damage when they attack an enemy who is distracted - "Sneak Attack". They also can find and disarm traps better than any other class.
[*]Sorcerer: An arcane spellcaster who casts spells "impromptu". They know a certain amount of spells, and can choose on the fly which one to cast when they do the casting (for instance, 1st level Sorcerer knows 2 spells of the 1st level, and can cast 3 1st level spells per day. They can cast one spell three times, one twice and the other once, or the other three times, and make those decisions on the fly). This is unlike any other core spellcasting class, who has to prepare their spells ahead of time (at the start of the day, they "prepare" a spell in each slot, and then have it there for the rest of the day). They also gain a familiar, a small creature who can do all sorts of things with them, but isn't really combat-oriented.
[*]Wizard: A "prepared caster" version alternate of the sorcerer, they collect and prepare spells each day from their spellbook. In addition, they can choose to specialize in one of the 8 different schools of spells, being able to cast more spells per day of their specialized school, at the cost of being unable to cast any spells of one or two other schools. (Schools of spells are Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, and Necromancy. There are a few spells that belong to the "universal" school, but that is not a school per-say, and it cannot be specialized in)

Again, this is just a quick overview, so ask if you want more specific information about any of them.

And at the same time, let's go over the core races as well. I'll list the stereotypical things that they're good at, which is generally supported by their racial traits, but you are under no obligation to make a character that aligns with them.

[*]Dwarves: Short, stocky, and unyielding, dwarves are hardy and tough, as well as good in stone environments.
[*]Elves: Graceful, keen-eyed, and possessing some skill with "elegant" weapons regardless of class.
[*]Gnomes: Short humanoids who possess a strong affinity for illusions as well as burrowing creatures.
[*]Half-Elves: Caught between two worlds, they are strong diplomats while retaining a touch of the elves' keen eyesight.
[*]Half-Orcs: Strong, but not very smart.
[*]Haflings: Small, lucky, plucky, and very good with thrown weapons.
[*]Humans: Versatile, adaptable, and good at just about anything they put their minds to, while not being particularly bad at anything.

Also, here is the character sheet. Or a version of it, at least. It looks like a lot, but it does most of the math for you (though I have noticed a few small bugs that I'll clarify), and we'll be going over it step by step, so don't freak out, alright? I'm always willing to answer questions you may have.

So, got ideas or questions about what race or class you want to be? Need help working out what your idea best fits in? *opens the floor*

I'm thinking dwarf, either rogue or wizard.

I'll probably go with a half-elf cleric for this one.

I was thinking halfling druid

Half orc fighter, for me.

Blurred, with you as cleric we'll be covered for magic and healing too, I say go for it

Scarab wrote:Half orc fighter, for me.

Blurred, with you as cleric we'll be covered for magic and healing too, I say go for it

XD Yeah, I should have said that I was definitely going to go with that :p

So um... I wanted to fill the character sheet but I drew a blank XD do I follow the instructions on the previous link or something ?

Alrighty, sorry this took so long to get up, I apologize and should have gotten it out faster.

ANYWAY, character class/race recap, in no particular order:
[*]Scarab: Half-Orc Fighter
[*]Blur: Half-Elf Cleric
[*]Eli: Halfling Druid
[*]Tohr: Dwarf Wizard or Rogue (have you decided on one yet?)

Right, next on the character creation process - ability scores! There are six of the: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma, Wisdom.

[*]Strength: Generally a measure of a character's raw physical...uh, strength. This ability affects your Climb, Jump, and Swim checks, and is used to determine melee attack rolls. If you're playing a melee character you want a decent score in this.
[*]Constitution: Generally quantifies a character's stamina and resilience. Boosts the Concentration skill, but more importantly is used to determine your Hit Points as well as boosting your Fortitude saving throw.
[*]Dexterity: Your physical dexterity and general reflexes. It increases your Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, and Use Rope checks, and is used to determine ranged attack rolls and damage, as well as initiative checks (which determines order of battle in combat). It also increases your Reflex saving throw and can affect your AC (Armor Class, what you roll against to determine if you hit or not).
[*]Intelligence: Your character's intellect. Used to determine the number of languages you know, the the number of skill points you have, and Appraise, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Forgery, Knowledge, Search, and Spellcraft checks. Wizards use this as their spellcasting stat.
[*]Charisma: Your character's force of personality. Used to determine Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device checks. Sorcerers use this as their spellcasting stat.
[*]Wisdom: Your character's willpower, awareness and common sense. Used to determine your Will saving throw and Heal, Listen, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks. Clerics, Druids, Rangers, and Paladins use this as the stat for their spellcasting.

Spellcasting stat means that stat determines what level of spells you can cast (to cast a spell, you need a spellcasting stat of 10+spell level, so a cleric would need a Wisdom of 13 to cast 3rd level spells), as well as determining bonus spells per day and the DC (Difficulty Class) of your spells.

Now, there are two ways to determine ability scores: rolling for them, and point buy. Rolling for them generally rolling at least 3 six-sided dice (or 3d6) and then adding them together for one score, repeat five more times. This is the "traditional" way to do it, but also has the possibility of someone being screwed over by bad rolls while someone else gets really good rolls. Thus, we aren't doing it this way.

Instead, we are using what is called point buy - named so because you have a pool of points that you spend to increase your ability scores. While I don't remember specifically what the rules are for point buy, there are innumerable calculators online for you to use, such as this one. Use the DnD 3.5 one, not the Pathfinder one (as I hope should be obvious but better safe than sorry I suppose). We're going to use 32 point buy, so you want the points thing to total up to 32. For example....*throws random numbers at the calculator*

Strength of 10 (2 points), Dexterity of 14 (6 points), Constitution of 16 (10 points), Intelligence of 14 (6 points), and a Wisdome and Charisma of 12 (4 points each) totals up to 32 points.

This is all before racial ability score modifiers, which are applied last. Races can have them, which provide bonuses or penalties to certain ability scores depending on the general racial profile involved. For you all, I will list them here for ease of access though presumably you sorta know them already from when you were looking at the races.

[*]Half-Orc: +2 Strength, -2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence
[*]Half-Elf: No changes!
[*]Halfling: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength
[*]Dwarf: +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma

So....go figure out your ability score array! Bombard me with questions, and when you have your array, post it here! Up next, hopefully tonight will be a quick guide to the pantheon involved (since interest has been expressed in learning about this), but I'm cutting this post here.

Right, we'll be using the generic D&D pantheon for 3.5, which is basically the Greyhawk pantheon (generic D&D 3.5 is vaguely Greyhawk, but that's not especially relevant here). The God's alignment will be in parentheses after their name. Clerics and worshipers in general have to be within one "step" on the alignment chart from them. (If you imagine the alignment chart as a 3x3 chart, a cleric's alignment has to be orthogonal to their diety's alignment) True Neutral is Neutral/Neutral, for reference.

[*]Boccob (True Neutral): Lord of magic, mostly uncaring to mortals beyond promoting magic.
[*]Corellon Larethian (Chaotic Good): God of elves, governs things elves put high esteem on: Magic, music, arts & crafts, poetry, and warfare. Hate's Gruumsh.
[*]Ehlonna (Neutral Good): Goddess of the woodlands and those who protect the wilds. Bit of a rivalry with Obad-Hai due to differing alignments.
[*]Erythnul (Chaotic Evil): God of slaughter and savagery.
[*]Fharlanghn (True Neutral): God of travelers and wanderers.
[*]Garl Glittergold (Neutral Good): God of gnomes, humor & wit, gem-cutting and jewelrymaking. Also a joker. He once played a prank on Kurtulmak, the god of kobolds by collapsing his cavern, after which time they were sworn enemies.
[*]Gruumsh (Chaotic Evil): God of orcs, big on the survival of the fittest, the strong overpower the weak, etc. Hates Corellon Larethian, who is the reason he has the title One-Eye.
[*]Heironeous (Lawful Good): God of valor, chivalry, and honor (god of ideal knighthood basically). Enemies with his half-brother, Hextor.
[*]Hextor (Lawful Evil): Six-armed god of tyranny, conflict and destruction. Wants to overthrow his half-brother Heironeous.
[*]Kord (Chaotic Good): God of strength and athleticism, especially unarmed wrestling.
[*]Moradin (Lawful Good): God of dwarves. Likes forging stuff, and governs smiting, metalworking, engineering and war.
[*]Nerull (Neutral Evil): God of death and the ending of life. Very necromantic.
[*]Obad-Hai (True Neutral): God of nature, rules nature and and those who live in harmony with nature. Bit of a rivalry/conflict with Ehlonna due to their differing alignments.
[*]Olidammara (Chaotic Neutral): God of pranksters, theft and such things.
[*]Pelor (Neutral Good): God of the sun, opposer of all that is evil. Probably the most well known diety.
[*]St. Cuthbert (Lawful Neutral): God of law and punishment. Hits evil people more often than good because evil people are more likely to break laws, but is neither good nor evil, and his clerics can't be evil.
[*]Vecna (Neutral Evil): God of secrets, magic, and things men were not meant to know. His lost eye and hand (his lieutenant Kas was responsible) are famous D&D artifacts, and apocryphal tales of his head being an artifact are in the community (Story found here).
[*]Wee Jas (Lawful Neutral): Goddess of magic and death and death magic. Very demanding.
[*]Yondalla (Lawful Good): God of halflings, a nurturing deity who espouses harmony with other races and stalwart defense when harmony isn't possible.

So, again, as me if you want more specific information on any particular god here.

Ok, here are the cleric's stats :

Str -> 12 [+1]
Dex -> 12 [+1]
Con -> 12 [+1]
Int -> 12 [+1]
Wis -> 16 [+3]
Cha -> 14 [+2]

Alright, Blur posting that reminded me that I was very remiss in explaining how ability scores work mechanically. Which I shall do now.

Ability scores give a modifier to rolls involving them - higher scores have a higher modifier. The modifier is found by the equation (modifier) = {(ability score) -10}/2, rounded down. Thus....

Score(s) - Modifier
8, 9 - -1
10, 11 - 0
12, 13 - +1
14, 15 - +2
16, 17 - +3
18, 19 - +4

And so on and so forth.

Thus, mechanically, there is no particular reason to raise an ability score to an odd number unless you just have spare points. I don't want this to seem like I'm pushing lots of character optimization, I just don't want you to have unnecessarily bad arrays. The choice is up to you in the end, but I do wish to make sure that your character's are mechanically deficient just because you're new to this.

Okay well, here's to breaking the mould, one half orc fighter coming right up.

Scores Modifier

STR - 16 3
DEX - 7 -2
CON - 17 3
INT - 14 2
WIS - 12 1
CHA - 8 -1

Viva la revolution.

Dwarven wizard. ^^

STR - 15 [+2]
DEX - 12 [+1]
CON - 14 [+2]
INT - 14 [+2]
WIS - 8 [-1]
CHA - 14 [+2]