Character Creation

Rolling Up A Character
I used a point array as an experiment, but I have noticed that the point arrays are too low to make a viable character, so I am removing the point array and returning to rolling characters up using dice again. This is the method to rolling up a character now for all of my game lands.

Roll 4d6, taking the top 3 dice.

Roll three full sets this way for Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.

Choose the best stat in each category from those three rolls. You can place those stats wherever you feel you can use them best.

This is no point buy system, so whatever you rolled is what you get.

Hit Points for Characters
Like the point array above, there will be some changes to the way hit points are generated for player characters (and yes, for the monsters, too). Lately, we’ve gotten into the habit of using the maximum number of hit points available for the characters and for the monsters. I want to change this so that we make the game a bit less predictable. Depending on the fantasy setting, there will be a different way to generate the hit points for the characters.

You will use the Average or Better hit point generation, meaning, you will roll for your hit points, but should the roll be less than the average number for that hit dice, you can take the average instead. For example, as a Fighter, you roll a d10. Average for a d10 is 6. If you roll a 5 or less, you take 6 instead. If you roll above a 6, you get what you rolled. Add in your Constitution modifier and that is the number of hit points your character gets at that level.

To help with the average score of hit dice, the following is the average score for each hit dice.

D6 = 4; D8 = 5; D10 = 6; D12 = 7

Choosing Your Proficient Saving Throws
The following is my chart for starting gold and how you obtain starting equipment. The Player’s Handbook does not do a good job at this. In the book, they do not address how you came by that armor or that weapon, or what’s in your pack. They touch on some of it, but not all. I want to clear this up for everyone. Under the assumption that the struggle is real, you will be assigned starting gold, and you will buy your armor and your weapon, unless you choose the lowest standard of each. Meaning, if the book says that you can wield a greatsword or a long sword, the cheapest is the long sword and that is what you would have without cost. If you want a greatsword, you have to buy it. Same goes for armor. The lowest armor class is free, the higher one costs you.

The reason for this is simple. Where did you get that full plate armor? Your trainer sure didn’t buy you a 1,500 gold piece set of armor. Even if you take the Noble background, you still couldn’t justify expensive armor and weapons. If you do, then the struggle isn’t real. I want players to earn their way to the top, not have it handed to them. There is no formula for this starting gold and all classes will get the same amount, to make it fair. No rolling dice required, either.

Alignment
When you play a particular alignment, remember what that alignment truly means to your character. Those who choose Lawful must remember that they believe in order above chaos. If your character starts doing things randomly, without any thought, they are not Lawful. As the DM, I reserve the right to make alignment changes to characters who I feel are not playing their alignment as they should. I will give you a warning if I feel you're stepping outside of the alignment you chose for your character, but after that I will be keeping a closer eye on how that character is played and may make you change your character's alignment.

Ability Score Increases
When players get an ability score increase, if they do not have an ability they want to increase they can instead put 2 points into a skill that they are proficient in, or one point on two skills they are proficient in. You cannot put those points on saving throws. Characters used to be allowed to take a feat instead, or put 2 points into spell DC, but this is no longer allowed.

Aging
As a character ages, they begin to lose some of those important attributes due to age. During their adult life those attributes are at their prime, but once they reach the Venerable stage some of those stats start to go down.

Venerable: Lose 2 points of Strength, 2 points of Dexterity and 1 point of Constitution. They gain 1 point of Intelligence and 1 point of Wisdom.

End of Life: Lose 2 points of Strength, 2 points of Dexterity and 2 points of Constitution. They gain 2 points of Wisdom.

These losses and gains are cumulative, which means that both apply. Refer to the Players Handbook for what is considered aged for each of the different races. However, it is also up to DM discretion.

Starting Equipment
The following is my chart for starting gold and how you obtain starting equipment. In the Player's Handbook book, they do not address how you came by that armor or that weapon, or what’s in your pack. Under the assumption that the struggle is real, you will be assigned starting gold, and you will buy your armor and your weapon, unless you choose the lowest standard of each. Meaning, if the book says that you can wield a greatsword or a long sword, the cheapest is the long sword and that is what you would have without cost. If you want a greatsword, you have to buy it. Same goes for armor. The lowest armor class is free, the higher one costs you.

Currency
100 copper equals 1 silver

100 silver equals 1 gold

50 silver equals 1 electrum

2 electrum equals 1 gold

10 gold equals 1 platinum

Starting Gold
The starting gold for all classes is 250 gold pieces. The reason for this is that the Player's Handbook, for most classes, grant you 5d4 times 10. That's 200 gold. Since I'm placing some restriction on items you get to start, I am making this higher so you can purchase those better items if you wish.

Tool Proficiencies
This is one area that I have really struggled with since I began playing in 5E. There is little information on how a player progresses through use of tools in the game. Yes, they get a proficiency with them, but they didn’t really get into how that works. I understand the premise a bit better now and I wanted to put my spin on how those will work in my game worlds.

First of all, not all races or classes get to choose a tool skill, such as blacksmithing, tailoring, leather working, etc. Some do, some don’t. But this shouldn’t exclude anyone who really wants to do something like that. If a player wishes to work on a particular skill, they are free to do so. Certain criteria need to be addressed before I will allow this.

If a player wishes to take a tool proficiency, even if their class or race says they can, they need to explain this in their backstory. You don’t magically learn a skill. Did you apprentice to someone? How long did you work on this? What did they teach you? These are important questions. If your race or class does not grant you proficiency with a tool kit, you can still take one, but those questions must be answered for me to allow it.

The minimum amount of time you can spend and gain proficiency in a tool kit is 5 years. It takes that long to learn it from scratch. In your backstory, you need to allocate at least 5 years to those skill. This is just your base proficiency in that skill.

As it says in the Player’s Handbook, what you are making will determine which ability modifier I require for you to check the skill. In this case, on your character sheet, you will only put down your Proficiency Bonus for that tool skill. When I ask for a check, I will tell you which ability modifier to add into that number.

As with all artisan crafting, you can progress beyond the basics and move toward more lofty goals. In such a case, it will require the player to devote six months of time to that craft with no distractions to move from basic proficiency to expertise proficiency (double proficiency bonus). This means that you must practice only that skill for those six months. By no distractions, I mean you can only work on that particular skill, nothing else. You cannot double up on anything else.

To reach Mastery level craftsmanship, you must spend an additional 18 months with no distractions to move to Mastery (triple proficiency bonus). When you reach this stage, you can craft master items of exceptional quality, and charge very high prices for the sale of those items. This is the only skill in Greyfeather that you can gain a triple proficiency bonus in.

To this end, you can be a Master crafter before you begin adventuring (5 years + 6 months + 18 months = 7 years). You would need to get that approved through your DM (me) and have it incorporated into your backstory as to how you spent 7 years working under a Master crafter before adventuring. When it comes to making something with the Master crafter skill, you'll need to give the DM (again, me) a detailed description of what you wish to make and then we will come up with a list of materials you'll need to accomplish this. When the time comes to combine those ingredients, I will have you make your skill check (at Epic Advantage = 3d20, take the highest roll) to make your item. From there, we will determine just what this master craftsmanship does to the item (armor might give a higher AC than the book, or a weapon might give a higher "to hit" and "damage"). If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.