Character construction

## The Impact of Progress

### A Walk Down Memory Lane

On Earth, a strange thing happens when modern folk visit old or ancient places: they find the doors are smaller. The hallways and stairways are smaller. Why is that? Is it because they didn't have enough rock to build a proper passage? They didn't have the engineering skill to keep the walls intact if they were a little higher?

Nope.

People back then were, on average, smaller. Less carbohydrates and less protein meant less growth. There were exceptions, but those tended to prove the rule. Since the advent of modern agriculture, people have gotten bigger and stronger. Likewise, since the advent of modern education, most people have gotten smarter.

In the Marquisate, and the Stonehearth-controlled areas of Baldur's Gate, the education from Books of Learning (and similar) has had a 150 years to build momentum. Likewise, the agriculture of Marquisate has progressed to near-modern efficiency, then blown past it with the addition of magic. Add in other points like consistent and safe magical enhancements and transformations and we find the Stonehearth labor pool is an order of magnitude more capable.

In another world, there might be worries of Stonehearth subjugating everybody else. In this world, there are so many threats that could literally end the world that this cultural drive for self-improvement may be the only thing that saves them.

### Baby Steps

Exactly how a new character grows into their adult self needs to considered – and role-played a bit. This doesn't have to be complex, nor does it have to be DM/GM-guided, but if the player is going to have fun, they need to set their expectations to be in tune with what the scenarios can offer. Two key questions:

* Is the campaign tailored to start with a level-1 character?
* Does the player want heavy role-play or fast action? If it's a balance, what the proportion?

The primary campaign is tuned for Stonehearth Marquisate natives, with the possibility that PCs who strike that balance of luck and skill could rise through the ranks of the Stonehearth Arms and be rewarded, possibly with a grant of title and lands.

### Do This First...

If they haven't already, players should read the short "Crucible" page for an idea of how they'll want to play through this campaign, then discuss it with the DM/GM. Once they've negotiated the pacing, action and role play, they'll know the best type of character to create to match those expectations for this gaming experience.

After that, we'll follow the Player's Guide template for step-by-step campaign-flavored characters. Players might want to have an idea of where their in-game persona is heading before even choosing a race, with a name and thoughts of how their background ties in to the world...

## 1) Choose a Race

In the Stonehearth Marquisate, humans are the overwhelming majority, but there is a significant minority of other races that is growing as the word spreads of Stonehearth inclusiveness. The biggest non-human race is the shortest: *gnomes*. Much of this comes as former refugees from Lantan (now with roots) after the Spellplague, to emigres from the same since establishing the cross-world trade. If a character is part of the House itself, they're probably human, but if a player can role-play a different plausible path, it could make for a fun, interesting story.

Marquisate Demographics
 Other

## 2) Create a background

During this phase, it's good to have a sense of the character's background as well. A player is about to choose a class, but the background helps inform *why* that character chose that class.

* **Creating a Cleric?** Perhaps they were an "acolyte," a church functionary that was taking care of the paperwork before they mustered up the courage to try channeling divine power.
* **Creating a Fighter?** Is this fighter an "independent contractor" (wandering hero) or a soldier of Stonehearth? Are they graduating from working as a bouncer or were they bullied and have since learned how to defend themselves? There are *sooo* many directions this can go.
* **Creating a Wizard?** Were they in a scribe's job in a merchant's office before and realized they could be making so much more scribing magical scrolls instead? Are they a young apprentice, about to make that breakthrough in understanding the arcane forces?

For players new to D&D/D20, the background actually has an effect on the character, granting them some additional insight or capacity they carry with them into their new adventuring career. For more on a character's pre-game origin-story, check out "**Background**."

Note that Marquisate or Commonwealth natives will likely begin with extra skills and likely an extra feat. Keep that **feat** handy when making class-build choices, especially if you're making a character above level-1.

 A Wizard's Lost Levels
 Partial casters (bard, druid, paladin, ranger) that are ready to pay the steep Intelligence toll for primal spell access have a shallower re-learning curve. They lose one level.

## 3) Choose a Class

The backbone of the missions are designed for either Stonehearth Arms-customized Fighters or ArCorps Wizards. The missions can be adapted to/from by any creative DM. On the opposite end, there are some missions designed for characters and classes outside the Stonehearth system.

For more details on how class construction evolves in the Primal Magic world, check the rundowns below. Or, for a different kind of tutorial, take a walk through a guided short story of how a street urchin became Stonehearth Arms soldier...

* Caster classes: Classes that live and die by casting. These are the most-likely to benefit from additional intelligence to enable Primal Magic.
	+ Cleric
	+ Sorcerer
	+ Warlock
	+ Wizards
* Mixed classes: Classes that are an efficient hybrid of casting and hands-on dirty work. With scores needing two primaries, making room for primal-necessary Intelligence is a particular challenge. In the Marquisate, it's an *achievable* challenge.
	+ Bard
	+ Druid
	+ Paladin
	+ Ranger
* Melee classes: Even the melee classes get a touch of casting, especially with the "Wandist" feat found in this campaign. Before that, though, there has been plenty of spell-slinging cross-over with the sword-swinging.
	+ Barbarian
	+ Fighter
	+ Monk
	+ Rogue

* Wandist classes: those trained in enough arcana to know what a spell is... without the danger of channeling it through their own mind. The wandist classes are particular to the way primal magic works.

## 4) Determine Ability Scores

Leaning on the Player's Guide, we recommend one of two methods.

Rolling the dice: Like the PHB sets out, roll 4 d6 and keep the 3 highest. Do this for 4 of the 6 traits. For the other two traits, roll 5 d6 and keep the 3 highest. If a character a wizard, for instance, they probably want to do this with Intelligence.

Point Pool: the original recipe is a 27-point pool to distribute among the six scores, with graded cost increases per point (Player's Handbook, pg. 13). Min/Maxing by this scale would result in scores of 15/15/15/8/8/8 in whatever prioritization the player prefers to fit into this character. Certain race or class selections may also impact this pool.

* For characters who are a part of (or employed directly by) House Stonehearth: a 33-point pool. Stonehearth reflects their *We Will Make You an Equal* employment policy. Min/Maxing by the default point pool chart would give a character of 15/15/15/10/10/10 – which is comparable to the untrained averages of the marquisate who feel "a calling" to certain adventuring professions.
* Stonehearth Marquisate natives or in the extended baronial holdings: 31-point pool. A Min/Max of 15/15/14/10/10/10 – as marquisate folk are more wary of weak spots than overcompensation
* Commonwealth of Light natives (Halruaa or Lantan), or folk otherwise in the halo of (and open to) Stonehearth's influence (i.e.; Baldur's Gate, etc.): 28-point pool. This might look like an extremely respectable 14/14/14/11/10/10.

### Ability Score Point Cost

As the character progresses, there are already natural points of trait bonuses, but under the magically modern Stonehearth-influenced system of education, training and conditioning, those bonuses will increase.

### Starting a character Beyond Level One

Campaigns that will hit the ground running may choose to roll characters of a higher level. If this is the case, the DM/GM will notify players that they're entering a high-hazard situation and a more experienced character would be appropriate. Players should go through the progression of character building to reach the appropriate level, including the increase in Hit Die/HP, class feature selections, and trait bonuses or feat selection.

Speaking of **feats**, Stonehearth/Commonwealth insiders have an evolved and *Book of Learning*-enhanced educational system that allows training in their downtime, with a wide variety of schools. Players should consider additional training "between levels" and ask their Dm if feat-training is right for them.

## 5) Describe the Character

The Primal Magic character creation is a little more involved than most introductory campaigns. By the time a player reaches this stage, the character will be describing what they look like to the player. Take the time to listen and write it all down.

Alignment will be fairly clear, though beginning players may want to list the ideals, bonds and flaws as they flesh out how their character went through the Stonehearth experience. The physical traits can be specified, too: hair, eye and skin color. Any notable scars, old wounds or tattoos.

This is primarily where inspiration for deeper family background may be "discovered," with the old roots in Halruaa or Cormyr before their family emigrated to Baldur's Gate 80-some years ago, only to emigrate again to North Point.

## 6) Choose Equipment

This will be partially dictated by the character-building process.

If a player is piloting a fresh-faced 18-year old character into the Stonehearth Arms, they've probably just left home and have little speak of to their name. Alternately, if a character is born as a level-6 Infantry Soldier (Fighter variant) just completing their first 6-year tour in the Arm's Fire Companies, and is now retiring to become a Private Military Contractor, that character now has a pension and either a modest cottage of their own in the marquisate highlands, a decent savings account, or a great story of how they've drunk through enough gold to buy a pirate ship...

The other point: if a player creates a good backstory of a professional driven to adventure, give points for that. Say they've got a cottage in the Stonehearth marquisate highlands and now they're feeling the patriotic drive to sign up and defend it. Maybe they've been a terrible parent and now they're trying to be a good example. If it's a smart story, we're liking it.

## 7) Come Together

The personal story of the characters is the centerpiece of the gaming narrative – and that should be the springboard for diving into the campaign.

If players are coming together to play this campaign as a group, they have the option of meeting as strangers for a common cause, having a shared background, or some combination.

Shared backgrounds are exceptionally easy in this campaign. It might stretch back to growing up in the same town and maybe even enlisting together. Perhaps they met in the Arms three years in, after somebody transferred units, and they survived another three years as squad mates. Now they can complete each other's sentences.

Combination backgrounds mix and match levels that characters know each other. Maybe two were former soldiers, Dragoons of the Arms, while two more were from the vaunted Stonehearth ArCorps – the feared and respected wizards – while somebody else is a Cleric of the Light, one of the controversial post-deity divine casters.

A great deal of this will also depend on the kind of campaign the players have negotiated with the DM/GM to run. A group of private adventurers will have a slightly different story than a campaign that starts with troll-hunting missions designed for soldiers still in the arms...