Character Creation

This section will guide you through creating your own character step by step. There are a number of decisions that you’ll be asked to make, and some choices will be mechanically better than others. As you gain familiarity with the rules, you’ll be able to create more powerful characters with more synergy. This is intended, and deliberately rewards system mastery. Another option is to pick options based on archetypical tropes, this is also fine! The game tries to make sure that the archetypes are viable (but maybe not optimal).

If creating your own character isn’t your thing or you want inspiration, check out the pre-built characters. I’ve also included a worked demonstration.

Table Of Contents

Character Creation Steps

Adventuring is a profession, and all Characters have undergone extensive training to become 1st level. They can clean and sharpen weapons, set up camp, cook meals, ride mounts, perform first aid, know the value of coins, trade goods, treasure, and identify common magical effects and monsters.

  1. Generate Attributes. For each of the five Attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom), assign them a score of 3d6 in order. So your first 3d6 is your Strength, your second is your Dexterity, and so on.

  2. Choose a character concept. Discuss what your role will be in the team. A well-rounded party needs a way to deal with melee enemies, a way to deal with ranged or flying enemies, a way to deal with mundane security measures (guards, locked doors, traps), a way to deal with magical security measures, and a way to keep everyone healthy when things go south. A team of a melee-focused Warrior, Sneak-focused Expert, utility-focued High Mage, and Partial Warrior/Healer is well-rounded, but part of the fun is trying out other compositions.

  3. Raise an Attribute to 14. With your role on the team in mind, choose an Attribute to raise to 14.

  4. Record Skills. There are 9 Skills: Exert, Heal, Know, Magic, Notice, Sneak, Brawl, Shoot, and Stab. Record the name of each skill and write -1 next to it, to represent an initial lack of training.

  5. Starting Improvements. Make a total of 4 Improvements to your Skills or Attributes. To improve an Attribute, raise it by 1 to a max of 18. To improve a Skill, raise its level by 1 to a max of 1. All skills start at level -1. A single Attribute or Skill can be improved multiple times. Brawl, Shoot, and Stab are primarily used for making Attack Rolls. All skills are used for making Skill Checks.

  6. Choose a Class. Pick either a full Class or combine two Partial Classes. Warriors are great at combat, Experts are great at Skill Checks, and Mages have specialized powers or spells.

  7. Choose Feats. Each Class gets a different starting amount of Feats at first level, detailed in the class’ “Feats” column. Some Feats, like Alert grant a Bonus Skill. Raise that skill by one level to a maximum of level 1. If that skill is already level 1, make a free Improvement.

  8. Record Attribute Modifiers. Each Attribute has a Modifier, ranging from -2 to +2 based on its score. This modifier is added to Skill Checks, Attack Rolls, Damage rolls, Shock damage, and Saving Throws.

  9. Generate Maximum Hit Points. Each Class gets different amount of Hit Points (HP) at first level according to their HP Progression. Roll based on your class, add your CON, and +2 if you chose the Die Hard Feat.

  10. Record Attack Bonus. Your character has a certain degree of basic combat competence based on their class. This bonus increases as you advance in character levels and is added to your attack roll. A new character’s attack bonus is usually +0, though Warriors start with a +1 attack bonus.

  11. Record Derived Statistics. Record your Physical (exhaustion, poison, etc), Evasion (explosions, traps, etc), and Mental (mind control, tests of will, etc) Saving Throws.
    • Your Physical score is 15 minus the highest of your STR and CON.
    • Your Evasion score is 15 minus the highest of your INT and DEX.
    • Your Mental score is 15 minus the highest of your INT and WIS.
    • Record your maximum System Strain, which is equal to your Constitution.

  12. Choose Starting Gear. Gain 3d6 x 10 gold to spend on gear (ignoring Equipment Availability), noting their Encumbrance and whether they are Readied or Stowed. You may carry Readied equipment equal to half your Strength rounded down. You may carry Stowed equipment equal to your Strength. Other party members may be willing to Stow gear for you.

  13. Record Weapon Statistics. For each weapon (or special Art) you attack with, record its properties.

  14. Record Armor Class. Record the Armor Class (AC) of the armor you normally wear. AC is modified by DEX. For example, a character wearing plate armor with a DEX of +2 has 18 AC.

  15. Mages Choose Starting Spells. High Mages, Elementalists, and Necromancers begin play knowing Spells based on their Arcane Tradition. These spells are chosen from any spell list available to them. Full Mages choose 4 starting spells, and Partial Mages choose 2. A new full High Mage, for example, would pick four first-level spells from the High Magic spell list, while a new partial Elementalist could pick two spells total from either the High Magic or Elementalist spell list.

  16. Mages Record Effort. All Mages start with a pool of Effort specific to their class. Refer to your chosen Arcane Tradition section for how to calculate it. For example, an Elementalist refers to Elementalist Arts.

  17. Mages Choose Starting Arts. All Mages select Arts based on their Arcane Tradition. Refer to your chosen tradition for specific details. For example, a Duelist refers to Duelist Arts.

  18. Record Level and XP. Characters start at Level 1 with 0 XP, and need 1500 XP to advance.

  19. Create Descriptive Details. Imagine an appearance, brief history, personality, mannerisms, and motivations, and Alignment for your character. Bear in mind that your character will be going on adventures and will be part of a team. Endeavor to create a character that wants to go on adventures, and wants to be part of a team.

Alignment

Alignment interacts with various magic items. Creatures in bestiaries often have an alignment, which helps interpret their moral outlook. Characters don’t choose an alignment; they live it. If a magic item functions only for Lawful characters, then the character must act Lawfully for it to work (subject to GM discretion).

Law vs Chaos

Lawful: Lawfulness emphasizes adherence to moral rules or duties, regardless of the consequences. Lawful individuals believe that certain actions are inherently right or wrong based on the nature of the action itself, not its outcomes. They prioritize principles like honesty, promise-keeping, and respect for autonomy, even if following these rules leads to undesirable results in specific situations.

Neutral: Neutrality focuses on cultivating virtuous character traits like wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Neutral individuals aim to develop good character and make decisions based on what a virtuous person would do. Their goal is to become morally exemplary, consistently acting in line with virtues to lead a fulfilling life and contribute to society’s well-being.

Chaotic: Chaotic individuals argue that the moral value of an action depends on its actual outcomes rather than the intentions behind it or adherence to moral rules.

Good vs Evil

Good: Good individuals believe in acting selflessly to benefit others without expecting anything in return, often at personal cost.

Neutral: Neutral individuals believe an action is morally right if it maximizes their self-interest. According to this view, the only moral obligation is to promote one’s own well-being, considering the interests of others only when it benefits oneself.

Evil: Evil individuals actively seek to harm and exploit others for personal gain or pleasure. They lack empathy, disregard others’ rights and well-being, and may even derive satisfaction from causing suffering.

Advancement

Characters accumulate Experience Points (XP) by defeating monsters, gathering coins and treasure from dungeons, and making it back to a settlement. The party collects XP during an adventure, and all surviving members receive a share of the total XP upon returning to town. Each Character gets a full share, while Henchmen receive half of a share.

Coins and treasure award 1 XP per 1g worth of value, regardless of whether the treasure is sold or the coin is spent. The treasure simply needs to reach town.

For example, if a party of 4 PCs and 3 Henchmen defeats monsters worth 300 XP and returns with 1500g of treasure, the total XP is 1800. With 4 + 3/2 = 5.5 shares, each PC gets 1800 / 5.5 = 327 XP, and each Henchmen receives half that, or 164 XP.

XP for Monsters

Monster HD Base XP Bonus XP / Ability
Less than 1 5 1
1 10 3
2 20 5
3 35 15
4 75 50
5 175 125
6 275 225
7 450 400
8 650 550
9–10 900 700
11–12 1,100 800
13–16 1,350 950
17–20 2,000 1,150
21 2,500 2,000
21+N 2,500+250•N 2,000+250•N

XP Thresholds

Once a character has enough XP to level up and is in a settlement, they may level up.

Level XP Level XP
1 0 6 24000
2 1500 7 48000
3 3000 8 100000
4 6000 9 200000
5 12000 10 300000

Advancement Benefits

More HP. To determine their new maximum, characters roll their HP Progression for each level they possess, adding their CON to each die. No individual die can be reduced below 1 point, even with a negative CON. If the total roll exceeds their current maximum HP, they take the new total. Otherwise, their maximum HP increases by one.

Better Saves. Their saving throw scores decrease by one, making it easier to succeed on saving throws. For example, a first-level character has saving throw scores of 15, but reaching second level lowers them to 14, modified by their appropriate attributes.

Improved Attack Bonus. Their attack bonus improves according to their level and chosen class.

Gain Advancement Points. Characters gain three Advancement Points, which can be spent on improving Skills or attributes. Experts and Partial Experts gain an additional Advancement Point (via Quick Learner), giving them four points per advancement.

The cost for improving a skill is listed below. Every skill level must be purchased sequentially. For instance, to reach level 1 in a skill, they must first pay one point for level 0, then two points for level 1. Certain skill levels require minimum character levels:

Skill Level Point Cost Min Character Level
0 1 1
1 2 1
2 3 3
3 4 6
4 5 9

Characters may also spend Advancement Points to improve their Attribute scores by 1, recalculating their Attribute Modifier as needed:

Advancement Point Cost Min Character Level
1st 1 1
2nd 2 1
3rd 3 3
4th 4 6
5th 5 9

Gain a new Feat. At levels 2, 5, 7, and 10, characters may add a level to an existing Feat or choose the first level of a new Feat.

If this is their first level in the Feat, they may receive a Bonus Skill. During character creation, this functions like a standard skill Improvement. However, when acquired through advancement, it counts as three Advancement Points spent toward a skill.

This bonus can increase a level -1 skill to level 1, or raise a level 1 skill to level 2, even if they do not meet the minimum level requirement.

If the Advancement Points aren’t enough to raise the skill, they remain as credit for future advances. If applied to a skill already at level 4, the points can be spent on any other skill.

More Spells and Arts. Mages gain new arts, increase their ability to cast and prepare spells, and automatically learn new spells as they advance, based on their Arcane Tradition.

Pre-Built Characters

Cleric

We want to make sure we have enough DEX to not decrease our AC, and plan on wearing heavy armor. We’re able melee combatants, so we want to have good Strength for bonuses to hit and damage.

We take Gifted Chirurgeon mostly for the improved odds at fixing Fraility. We take Die Hard because we’re frequently the only ones invested into healing others and if we die there’s no one to help us. Die Hard makes sure that we live so long as the fight is won.

As we level up, we can look at picking up Close Combatant so that we can leave the fray to pick up wounded comrades.

Defensive Fighter

We prioritize DEX over STR because each point of AC is more valuable than the last. Close Combatant makes us immune to Shock (otherwise we need to be scared of maces), and lets us feel comfortable surrounded by hoards of enemies, which is exactly where we’ll want to be to maximize the benefit of Whirlwind Assault.

Our equipment is set up for traversal. We have rope to get up and down, a crowbar and pickaxe to get us through stuff, and torches to light the way.

As we level up, we keep doing more and more shock damage due to Killing Blow. We’ll want to pick up Armsmaster, the second level of Whirlwind Assault, and Valiant Defender.

Offensive Fighter

We prioritize STR over DEX because our aim is to kill stuff before we get hit back. We have enough Shock damage to kill most 1 HD creatures on a miss, and get to attack twice a turn if we do.

As we level up, we’ll want to pick up Armsmaster for the additional damage, Alert if no one else has it, and Shocking Assault for even more damage.

Magic User

We grab Impervious Defense to give us some much needed AC, and look at taking it again at level 2 to negate a hit and give us time to flee.

We want to have decent Shoot because we’re definitely not on the front lines, and can cast a very limited number of spells per adventure, so we want to make the other 95% of our turns better. In this vein, we can look at picking up Deadeye.

Thief

We want to be able to Notice hidden stuff, and use Sneak to it’s fullest (disabling traps, stealing things, picking locks). We pick up Deadeye to make us effective in a fight, and it synergizes well with the additional Improvements we get as we level up.

Our kit is chosen to be able to interact with objects from a distance. Fish hooks and string to tug on stuff from afar, string+magnet to reel in distant metal things (like keys), 10ft pole for prodding, mirrors to look in places you couldn’t otherwise.

We throw in some iron spikes because they tend to be very useful for disabling traps - hammering a spike into a trap’s mechanism tends to work a lot.