Character Creation

## The Basics

* **Level:** Characters will begin at level 6, roughly enough to begin with 1, maybe 2, levels of a prestige class, if desired.
* **Ability Scores:** Choose one of the following-
	+ Generate a set of six scores by rolling 5d6, rerolling 1s, and adding the three highest for each roll. Tell me what you roll, and I'll add it below. Any player may take any set rolled, whether they rolled it or not.
	+ Choose one of the following sets-
		- 18, 16, 16, 14, 13, 10
		- 16, 16, 16, 15, 14, 13
		- 18, 18, 15, 13, 12, 10
		- 16, 16, 15, 15, 15, 13
	+ Use the Pathfinder point buy rules with 45 (which the above sets were fit within)
	+ Yes, these are quite powerful. To me, D&D is a power fantasy :)
* **Races:** See The Peoples of Oerth for the fairly prominent races of the setting. Any of these races are fair game. Races from published D&D 3.5 books which I haven't replicated are likely fine, but give me a heads up and let me take a look before you set your heart on them. Races from the Pathfinder SRD are likewise probably fine, but I want to take a look, even if just to figure out how they fit into Oerth and let you know what regions they would be likely to come from
* **Classes:** Overall, I don't have a problem with any class from D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder. That said, let me take a look at anything that isn't from D&D Core or the Complete books, or a pathfinder version thereof, and with Pathfinder classes, if you're looking at any archetypes, just let me look those over. Keep in mind, you *can* use multiple archetypes on the same class, provided they do not trade out the same ability for different things (although, I'm generally cool with making such things work, you'll just get only one of the archetype abilities that affect the single trait).
* **Skills:** I tinker with skills so much that one of these days I should probably look at how much I actually like 3.5... That said, I'm using a condensed list of skills for this game, so make sure to look at Skills when you get to that point of your character.
* **Feats:** I don't think core D&D gives enough feats. I'm not *necessarily* sold on the idea I've seen in some places where each level gives a feat, so instead, I'm going to use Pathfinder's feat rate, you get a feat at every odd level. Additionally, all player characters receive a bonus Regional feat at first level.

## Character Background

If people want, I can add height and weight charts for the various races, but honestly, you can just put down something that sounds right. Likewise for age.

### Region

You should also choose a region your character comes from. It is 100% valid to choose your bonus regional feat, and then say your character comes from a valid region. I will not (likely) be adding Region pages to this wiki. Because it's a lot of work, even copy/pasting. However, there are Greyhawk wikis that do cover them, check out the following-

* Greyhawk Wiki (Fandom)
* Greyhawk Online
* GHWiki
* The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer PDF (3.5, possibly the easiest, most accessible, but I won't promise that)

Keep in mind, I've advanced the timeline of Oerth to... a point only really hinted at in a pretty obscure, like, OD&D publication. So things might change. Anything major, like what's going on in the the Rift Canyon, that is particular to my take on Greyhawk, I will eventually try to get an article about up on here.

### Background Traits

I'm debating on including background traits. And whether that will follow Pathfinder's model (unlikely) or the Tome model (more likely if I decide to add in traits). But I'm undecided on this, so I'll keep y'all updated.

### Alignment

I am of the strong belief that it is important for both GM and players to be on the same page about what alignment means in the game. I don't expect alignment to be *particularly* important in this game, but I should still explain my views on it.

#### **Good and Evil**

The best way to describe Good and Evil, in my opinion, is as a matter of priority. **Good** generally prioritizes others over the self--although accepts well-reasoned self-prioritization as a means of helping others. Putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others, so to speak. **Evil** generally prioritizes the self over others, but an intelligent evil person recognizes that often having connection to others improves the self. No person is an island, and all of that.

While in-universe, all kinds of connotations and associations to Good and Evil exist in the minds of intelligent beings--trafficking with fiends being associated with evil and being good with children with good, for example--outside of the world of the game, the above is all that Good and Evil mean.

#### Law and Chaos

There is a lot of baggage with Law and Chaos in D&D, and simply bringing them up can lead to debates, arguments and diatribes. Within my game, Law and Chaos are very simple. **Law** means that a person believes there is a single "correct" way to live, and all people should live that way. This doesn't necessarily mean the lawful person *themselves* lives that way, just that if they don't, they think they are not living "correctly." **Chaos** means that a person believes every intelligent person has the natural right to decide the way of life that fits them, but also to deal with the consequences of it. This does still lead to some... circular paradoxes, where "is the belief that everyone should choose their own way to live Lawful, because it applies one belief to everyone, or Chaotic, because it says everyone gets to choose their own way?" but... largely that's a philosophical masturbatory exercise.

People within the world of Oerth likewise have a lot of connotations and associations with Law and Chaos. They frequently believe Lawful people are honorable, trustworthy and just, and Chaotic people are unreliable scoundrels, but the cruel tyrant is often Lawful, and the freedom fighter who is a staunch advocate of justice is frequently Chaotic.