Character Generation

This page outlines a basic guide to making a character. The guide on leveling a character is here.
==Quick Character Generation Guide==
#Race
#Class
#Details
#Ability scores - 6d10, +10 to each die, +1d6 spending points
#Racial Abilities
#HP
#Base Attack
#Grapple
#Saves
#Speed (both land and others if applicable)
#Class Abilities
#Feat(s)
#Skills
#Magic
#Equipment
#AC
#Attack (weapons and damage, etc.)
#Max load
#Equipment weight
==First Timer Character Generation Guide==
#Figure out what kind of character you want first, whether it be a fighter, rogue, wizard, human, minotaur, dragonborn, or any combination therof, or even none at all, there's a way to get what you're looking for, and be who you want. That's what makes Dungeons and Dragons the best game ever, even if it is mostly your imagination.
#Now that you've figured out what kind of character you want, it's time to fill out the basic details of your character. The best place to start is by choosing a race , whether it be naeroth, dragonborn, human, or one of the other races described elsewhere, and if none of them are what you want, work something out with your DM. Keep in mind the abilities of the race you pick, as most have ability score bonuses and/or penalties, and it's a good idea to stack bonuses and abilities that are important to the character you have in mind if you want to maximize efficiency, but it can be just as much fun, if not more so, to role-play a character that doesn't exactly fit the mold of that kind of class's characters, or choose a class that normally doesn't find itself common among that particular race of people, such as an Orc Bard. For example, you could play a rogue that is really klutzy (really low Dexterity) but was pulled into his profession because of how much you know about locks and the opening of them, or because you ran with a bad crowd when you were young, and were required to be one.
#Now that you've chosen your race, you need a class . Common melee classes are fighter and ranger, common mage classes include wizard and cleric, common ranged classes are rogue, ranger, and fighters that specialize in ranged, and common skill based classes count the rogue and bard. These are just a few examples of the most common but versatile classes, but there are others that offer specialized features, such as the druid, which is much like a cleric, or barbarian, which is close to a fighter. Note that you may call whatever class you do decide to take whatever you want. For example, if you want to be a ranger that focuses more on archery and less on outdoor wilderness skills, you could call yourself an archer, or a marksman. Or you could be a wizard, but prefer to be called warlock, that's perfectly acceptable. You could even be a little halfling wizard, and call yourself a Knight-Errant of the Imperium, though most may doubt your sanity. The given names of the classes are basically just for correct reference for game rules, so it's a good idea to write the normal name for your class in parentheses next to the name you've given it, if you've given it a different name. Remember also that you can multiclass, so you have an added level of creativity in character design. For example, if you want to be a front-line warrior tank, but want more than the meager skills allowed fighters, you could multiclass as a rogue now and then to enhance your skills, as well as gain the sneak attack.
#As a side note, if your DM is up for it, and you're prepared for a lot of trouble with your character, you can create your own class with the help of your DM, if they allow you to do so. You can also "mix-n-match", taking the abilities of certain classes and trading them out for others. For example, trading the rage ability of the barbarian in exchange for the ranger's favored enemy, or swap a fighter's bonus feats for the wizard's spellcasting ability, but keep in mind that either of these options are at the DM's discretion in terms of abilities and overall game balance.
#Double side note, there are also prestige classes , classes that require you to meet certain prerequisites or require a teacher before you can take them, so if you want to take a prestige class, have a look to see what it's requirements are, so you can build towards them early on.
#Now it's time to flesh out your character's looks and attitude. This is where you decide things such as who or what your character worships, if anything, skin tone (or fur, feather, or even scale color and pattern for less human-like characters), eye color, special tattoos, scars, or similar unique traits, height, weight, and so on. Also when you pick your alignment, which is important because it determines your character's general mindset. If your character has any other special tics, such as getting twitchy or nervous around gems, it's a good idea to list them here. You don't need a reason for them, but you can have one, or several, or may decide later on through role-play of your character why they do as they do. You can come back to this step anytime, should you decide you've forgotten something, or want to add or change something due to an ability or stat your character has recieved, such as gaining the feat Alert, then deciding that your character now jumps everytime someone comes up behind them or yells out suddenly, or that your character suddenly got fat due to a loss in Strength or an increase in Constitution.
#Now that you have the general overview of your character, it's time for specifics, starting with the basis of all ability, ability scores. These determine how quick or clumsy you are, as well as how strong or weak, smart or dumb, all around fantastic or just shy of terrible at everything. The Dracaniss campaign setting is probably the most forgiving in the method it uses for determining these scores, the reasoning being that, even though I try to communicate what I see as a realistic-as-possible-in-a-high-fantasy-setting portrayal of magical elves, dragons, wolf-men, and other such things, this is based in fantasy, and so I try to let players get as much of an advantage as they feel they get and then still provide a challenge for their "perfect" characters.
#In any case, here you roll 6d10, adding 10 to each die (for example, rolling 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10, making your results 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, and 20), then distributing these scores as desired among Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Then roll a bonus 1d6, and distributing that result as extra points where desired, for example, getting a 3, and so putting an extra 2 in Constitution and 1 in Strength, or all 3 in Intelligence. There is no cap on ability scores, so even if it seems lopsided, you could make a minotaur (with the highest racial stat bonus at +16 Strength), put a perfect 20 roll into his strength, making it 36, and then roll a 6 on his bonus die, and put all 6 into Strength, for a grand total of 42 whopping starting Strength, which is quite high even by this setting's standards, at least in early game.
#If you are unsatisfied with your stat roll at this point, you may start over, rolling a new 6d10+1d6, though if you decide to reroll, you cannot go back to previously rolled numbers. However, you may continue re-rolling at this point until either you're satisfied or the DM cuts you off, whichever happens first.
#It is worth noting that though this method applies to most campaigns, there may be special rules in any particular campaign, limiting the number of rerolls or removing them entirely, or even changing how ability scores are rolled entirely.
#Now that you have the basic stats, it is time to roll Luck. This stat may or may not have any effect on your campaign at your DM's choice, but commonly affects d% rolls of most kinds, and may be used to influence the fates themselves in any situation, for good or bad. Roll only 3d6 for this (under the DM's watchful eye), and the result you get is your character's Luck score. Once you have rolled Luck, there's no going back, and if unsatisfied, must scrap the entire character and make a non-similar charcter with enough difference that its obviously not just a ploy to get better luck. For example, elf wizard to elf cleric is OK, elf wizard to elf sorcerer is not. Minotaur fighter to nacatl barbarian is fine, minotaur fighter to minotaur barbarian isn't. Note that you can put your ability score point from leveling up into luck, and can also gain a feat to raise luck, so a bad luck score isn't the end of the world, it's just a bit harder than if you had rolled a good luck score.
#Now you must fill in the already determinable aspects of your character, as informed by your shiny new ability scores, race, and class. Fill in your hit points (note that you automatically recieve the maximum amount of health for you class's hit die at 1st level, rather than rolling for it), base attack bonus, grapple, saves, speed (make sure to note all forms of travel available to your character, such as normal land speed, fly speed, climb speed, etc.), initiative, languages your character knows, and any special abilities granted by your race, such as natural armor or darkvision. Note that some of these may change if you select certain feats, such as initiative gaining +4 because of the feat Improved Initiative, and it would be wise to leave these blank if you're debating taking such a feat.
#Skills must now be selected. In the Dracaniss campaign, a new character chooses a certain number of skills to be the skills he or she is good at to be treated as "Expert Skills", as informed by their class, plus a number of skills as bonus Expert skills as decided by their base intelligence modifier. All other skills are considered "non-proficient skills", though they may gain additional Expert skills by raising their base intelligence or multiclassing into a class with more base Expert skills. Once you have chosen which skills to be expert skills, you cannot unchoose them.
#Now you must spend Skill points. At first level, you get 4 skill points for every Expert skill you have, and expert skills have a max rank of 4 at first level. You can put your points in non-proficient skills, but a point put into a nonproficient skill only buys half a rank, and the max rank of non-proficient skills is half that of expert skills. When you level up, you only get 1 skill point per expert skill, but your expert skills' max rank also only goes up one. Raising your base intelligence or multiclassing into a class with more expert skills grants more points retroactively, spent as soon as possible.
#To make this simple since most characters won't care about skills to that degree, essentially you just pick the expert skills you want based on how many your class and intelligence allows and keep them at max rank, which is your character level+3. Gaining extra skills instantly maxes them out this way.
#Now you must choose your feats. This is a fairly simple process, but may take long if you don't know what you want, which is common when beginning a new character, even for advanced players, as you may not know what you need to get what you want. If this should happen, ask your DM what is required to get what you want, or ask what kinds of feats there are that achieve what you want, such as the Weapon Spec. path to do more damage, or the Ironhide/Steelscale path or Agility path to increase AC (Ironhide/Steelscale is for natural AC, Agility is for Dex. bonus, or "dodging", AC). If you don't know what you want at all, feel free to study the feats, and choose which ones seem the best or most fun to you, then invest in those feats' starting paths (like getting Two Weapon Fighting if you want to get Dual Weapon Master). All characters start with at least one feat, with certain classes and races, such as fighters and humans, recieving one or more bonus feats.
#Choosing Equipment can be hard, as your DM may make it so by requiring you to have essentials such as food, a backpack to store things, etc. before going adventuring. Every character starts with 500 gold, unless the DM just sticks you somewhere without anything excepting the clothes on your back, so that you must build up your character from complete scratch (if so, skip this). But, to quote from the PH (Player's Handbook), "It's not like your character just walked into a random store and purchased the items from a shelf. It's more like the starting gold represents the equipment and money you've saved up through the years of your childhood, recieving this helmet from a visiting uncle, or that sword as a birthday gift from Father." Feel free to create backstory to your equipment if you want to, as well as making up details that make your items unique, such as the gnarled branch of a quarterstaff belonging to a wizard just as twisted differing from the standard straight stick monks are liable to use, or your armor being crafted especially for you, and has sculpted dragon heads for pauldrons, or a wolfshead motif that represents your family's crest engraved into the chest plate.
#But to go on with the basics, generally you must first choose your weapon of choice (or spellbook, if you are a wizard). If you know what you want, you "buy" it and record it. Next is probably armor. After all, you gotta cover your nudity, don't you? This involves figuring what kind of armor you want, whether it be light, medium, heavy, or even none at all, to allow maximum Dex. bonus and to avoid arcane spell failure. Should you decide on not wearing armor, you must choose what kind of clothes your character wears, whether its the fine silks of a noble (expensive, in case you didn't figure that one out), the tight, yet flexible leather bodysuits that are donned by expert rogues (which, while they allow for maximum freedom of movement and don't get in the way like normal clothes do when performing acrobatic stunts, don't offer any real protection), or even the regular clothes worn by cityfolk (and vacationing adventurers). Again, don't be afraid to get creative with the details of your equipment, at least as long as it doesn't get too out of hand, or it may annoy your DM.
#Now that you've got the basics, you may either keep the rest as "saved money", generated over the years, or spend it on essentials like a backpack, maps (at least, maps of the areas you are familiar with or start in), map/scroll cases, food, potions and/or scrolls (if you can afford them at this point, and your DM allows), a spellbook, which is important if you are a wizard, and just plain cool to have even if you're not, waterskins, a bedroll, a tent, flint and steel, etc. You could even purchase things such as a ladder, rope, portable battering rams, the proverbial ten foot pole, a horse and/or horse accessories, such as feed, a bit and bridle, a saddle, etc. Just look over the Goods & Services table in the Player's Handbook to see what is available, and pick what you like, or think you might need. After this, fill in the stats on your newly equipped stuff if you didn't already, adding your special details/history in the notes if you want to, then record the remaining amount of money in the appropriate place.
#The final step is filling in  your AC, Attack(s), and weight of equipment, as well as your max load if your DM requires it. If you are a spellcaster, this is when you choose your spells, and if you are a cleric or wizard, this is also when you choose your domain(s) or specialization, respectively, though wizards may opt not to specialize in a school of magic, which is common, and recommended for first time wizards. Record the name of your spells (if you're a divine spellcaster, you already have access to all spells, so just write down the ones you can cast that are your favorites). It helps if you also record a small description of what the spell does, so you don't forget and have to look it up in the middle of a pitched battle (i.e., Cure Light Wounds - heal 1d8+lv. max+5, or Acid splash - 1d3 acid rng. touch att.).
#You're done! Now it's time to get with your DM and some friends and play!