Character Creation Guidelines

Welcome to the campaign! This page will describe the steps needed to make a character using this RPG system. If you need additional information, ask your DM!

## Tips for Character Creation

Examples include "failing a tournament as a child", "an old school rival I haven't seen in years", "the secret I have which I never tell anyone", "the thing I treasure most", etc.
These things are what make role-play come alive and what create meaningful in-character experiences.
[original 'knife' article]

* Make a character that can be shaped by new experiences, not one that has been there, done that, and gotten the T-shirt.
* If you're struggling to make a character you can role-play, make a character that shares a key similarities with yourself.
* Use your backstory to give the DM the opportunity to create meaningful experiences for you and your character - "knives", as it were.
* Choose a character that you want to explore, not one that you feel obligated to play.
* ^ This goes for your class too. Choose a class you think is fun, even if someone else is already playing that character class.
* Come up with a couple of ideas for your character BEFORE you settle on one. If you end up disliking the character or the group, or the character ends up dying, this will help you through that experience.
* Don't intentionally make a character that will clash with the rest of the party.
	+ It's hard for the DM and the players to come up with reasons for the party to stay together on adventures.
	+ Make a character that is NOT a lone wolf. That sort of character is a classic in stories, but in RPGs it is difficult to create a fun shared experience if one or more party members keep wandering off by themselves, or refuse to enter social situations.
	+ This is not to say you can't have angsty characters, or even "strong-silent" characters - just remember that the line between "interesting" and "killjoy" is fine and easy to cross with that sort of thing.
* Have the character's goals align with "being an adventurer" or "traveling" in some way. It's hard for a character to find reasons to stay with the party if their motive is something like "Find a home and settle down" or "join a famous college and learn all I can".

## Step 1: General Concept

Some players like to come up with a character and/or backstory idea, then pick their class and traits to go with it. If this is you, then by all means, come up with different ideas! Read the race and class options if you like, and read any information about the campaign that you have, until you are struck with inspiration on some level. Jot down a couple of ideas, and see which one appeals to you most.

Other players might prefer to pick class and other traits first, and develop a backstory afterwards. This is also perfectly valid! If this is you, proceed onwards.

## Step 2: Race

Pick your character's race. Each race has different traits and skills - some races will be better suited for certain classes or roles than others, but you shouldn't let that influence your decision. Often the most interesting characters come in the strangest shapes - a goliath wizard, for example!

A complete list of available races and their rules can be found HERE.

## Step 3: Class

Every character has a unique skillset that gives them abilities, both in and out of combat. Choose a class that reflects the style of play you prefer, or that reflects the idea you have in mind for your character.

Below is a table that outlines the base classes and their roles and feels during gameplay. Click on a class to be taken to its page, or click HERE for a complete list of classes and subclasses.

All classes have "subclasses", which are further customization options that you can choose. For example, a Wizard can choose to specialize in Transmutation, Necromancy, or adopt the Bladesinger tradition. Each subclass has a slightly different feel to it, and grants you abilities that make you stand out even among other characters that have the same class. Once you choose a subclass, however, you cannot change it or multiclass into another subclass of the same parent class.

If you like the feel of more than one type of class, you can choose to split your character's progression between as many classes as you like! Ask your DM about multiclassing, or see this page.

## Step 4: Background / Backstory

[1]

Your character’s backstory reveals where you came from, how you became an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled soldier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an artisan. Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild thief or commanded audiences as a jester.

This ruleset offers you a choice of Background to reflect what backstory you pick. A background is a set of minor abilities and stat boosts built around a specific theme. Were you an orphan in a large city? Choose the Urchin background. Did you have a history of wandering and travel? Choose the Outlander background.

Many of the D&D vanilla backgrounds work for the Astral Reach setting, but some have been customized, and others added. You can even build your own custom background with the DM if you so desire. A complete list of available backgrounds can be found HERE.

## Step 5: Roll Stats

There are two methods to picking the actual scores for your character's abilities (Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, and so on). Each has its benefits, but ultimately it is up to the DM to decide which method you must use.

* ***Rolling Method.*** With this method, six ability scores are generated randomly. Roll four 6-sided dice and record the total of the highest three dice on a piece of scratch paper. Do this five more times, so that you have six numbers. These six numbers may be assigned to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma as you please, but you may only use each number once.
* ***Point-Buy Method.*** With this method, you purchase scores from a table. Each player gets 61 points to spend - higher scores cost more points than lower ones do. See this page for more information, and for a spreadsheet that can calculate costs for you.

A score of 10 or 11 in an ability represents the perfect average score. A character with a Strength 10, for example, would get no bonus or penalty to rolls for Strength: their total for a Strength check would equal the value on the dice. Scores lower than 10 suffer a penalty to those checks, while scores above 11 gain bonuses to those rolls. Choose where you assign your scores carefully to get the most out of your abilities.