Generating New Characters

All new characters and most NPCs follow the character generation rules I'm about to describe. This provides a detailed description of the Netgame rules, which are exceptions and additions to the standard D&D rules.

To roll your characters, you'll need the 3rd Edition Player's Handbook. To expedite character generation you can download the D&D Character Generator off the Wizards of the Coast website. But it's a big file, so you can do so when you have time to start the download and walk away. But you don't HAVE to do this. The book alone is sufficient.

Ability Scores:
In D&D 3rd Edition you have six ability scores that determine your character's personality: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma. In 1st Edition Unearthed Arcana, they advocated the ability score of Comeliness, which determines how good-looking your character is. In 3rd Edition I also use this ability score.

Further, I've added one other ability score: Luck. Luck is mysterious and can't be counted on, so having high Luck does not modify hit rolls or affect your spell casting. Instead, it determines a probability of such dumb things as falling off a cliff, only to be snagged by a branch or, if you're really Lucky, caught by a nymph flying on the back of a giant eagle! The similarly Unlucky character might find that he's incriminated for a crime that he didn't commit. All good and bad Luck makes for good adventuring, so the worst Luck you can have is average.

Thus, we have eight ability scores in my World: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, Comeliness and Luck.

To put all characters on an even footing, the campaign uses a method of buying ability scores. Each character starts with 37 points to buy their abilities for the eight ability scores. This works as follows:

For example, using the full 37 points, a character's attributes might be purchased as follows:

Apply racial modifiers to ability points after the base scores are determined. Thus, ability points range from 8-18 for humans, and 5-20 for nonhumans. Remember, in 3rd Edition you gain ability scores as you advance in level, so don't worry if you don't have straight 18's like you used to get in ye olden days of gaming. I'm not having you fight Fog Giants at 2nd level either! If you don't mind your characters being butt-ugly you can pad the other categories anyhow. But see if looks don't matter...

Racial modifiers for Comeliness are:

Starting Experience Points:
Your characters are talented amateurs. You start at 1st level with no experience points. This does not mean you've never cast a spell, swung a sword or picked a lock. It just means you've never done it as it matters.

Starting Money and Equipment:
This will depend highly upon the background for your character. So come up with a background and we'll figure out how wealthy you are to start. But remember, this is an established World. You don't get to start as the king's son. Please try harder than that!

Time:
In the game, time does pass. You will choose a starting age and birthday, and will age the character as the game progresses. That also means you'll have living expenses. The lifestyle costs are divided according to the economic level that your character wants to maintain, and there are Charisma and Comeliness-related penalties and bonuses for maintaining certain lifestyles.

• Destitute: You have no living space, and must carry all your gear everywhere. You stink and are undernourished. You suffer a -3 on Charisma and Comeliness-related skill checks.
• Poor: You sleep in the common room of an inn, or perhaps the loft of a stable. Your clothing is generally worn and patched. You suffer -2 on Charisma and Comeliness-related skill checks.
• Low: You rent a small room at a tavern, perhaps shared with one or two other individuals. If you own a home it is a one-room shack. It wouldn't be wise to leave anything of value laying around. You suffer -1 on Charisma and Comeliness-related skill checks.
• Medium: You are moderately successful, and your equipment is plain but sturdy. You have your own room in an inn or boarding house, where you can leave items of moderate value without worrying about them disappearing.
• High: You rent a roomy house or apartment, or own a nice home. You own clothes for many occasions, and can entertain anyone without feeling overly ashamed. You receive a +1 bonus Charisma and Comeliness-related skill checks.
• Luxury: You have the best of everything - spacious living quarters, exotic food, expensive clothes. Your success is the envy of many. You have a +2 bonus on Charisma and Comeliness-related skill checks. Equipment left at home is generally quite secure.

Fame and Foreigners:
In the game, as you perform certain acts that give you notoriety, you gain Fame. Fame is a temporary adjustment to your Charisma-related skill checks. Fame also has a radius of influence. Those a 1000 miles away may never have heard of you, while those close to home consider you "It". Further, there will be reaction adjustments to foreigners as well. Some places are "cooler" to be from than others, so the reaction is not always negative. As characters starting out from Corsica you're starting from a place viewed as "cool" in other lands. Corsica is a Mediterranean resort city, like Monte Carlo.

Charisma adjustments do not affect Bard and Sorcerer spellcasting. However, they adjust Skills checks.

Starting Hit Points:
I'm not going to mess around with people feeling gypped by the dice. At 1st Level you start with the maximum hit points for your Character Class, Race and Constitution.

Character Backgrounds:
Did I mention your starting money depends upon your background? Come up with something!

Races:
Stick with the ones in the Player's Handbook. You don't get to play a centaur or vampire. This isn't High Fantasy, remember?

In the meantime, happy rolling!
Jeem