CREATING A CHARACTER

Copyright information

This document makes repeated references to and contains material derived from various publications of TSR Inc. These references and derivations include, but are not limited to, The Players' Handbook, The Dungeon Master's Guide, Oriental Adventures, The Complete xxx Handbook series, and Unearthed Arcana. TSR retains full rights to these referenced publications. Additionally, certain tables have been excerpted from these works, some with alterations, others without, for purposes of editing, clarity and completeness.

All other material, unless otherwise noted, is copyright 1999 by Carey A. Mueller, all rights reserved. Permission is given for personal use only. This material may not be distributed without my express permission. If you want a link to this webpage, please contact Guardian. Link exchanges are actively encouraged!

INTRODUCTION

This section gives instructions on how to create a character for my campaign world of Avamor, The Illithid War campaign. These are basic guidelines; they are not laws set in stone. You may want to refer to the HOUSE RULES section for specifics on character classes, spell alterations, and on the various Handbooks TSR has published for the classes. It is best to have the DM’s attendance when you are creating this character, as he is a most knowledgeable sage and can offer much advice.

ABILITY SCORES

Roll 4d6 seven times (once for each ability), rerolling all ones, and choose the three highest. Then assign the scores to the abilities however you wish. You can transfer from one ability to another on a two for one basis. For example: You roll a 17, 16, 14, 8, 15, 11, and 7. You want to play a Magic-User, so you assign the scores as follows: Strength 15, Intelligence 17, Wisdom 8, Dexterity 16, Constitution 14, Charisma 7, and Comeliness 11. However, you want your mage to be able to cast 9th level spells and that requires an Intelligence of 18. So you take two points off of Strength (making it a 13) and add one to Intelligence (making it an 18). Or you could take one point from each of Wisdom and Dexterity and add one to Intelligence.

If you come out with ability scores that you feel are unacceptable, feel free to roll up another set. I will not, however, accept a character with all 18’s and/or 17’s. Characters with high scores in all abilities are not very fun to play. In general, you want to have scores that average together to about 14-15. You’ll want an 18 (for your primary stat), a 16 or higher, two or three scores that range from 10-15, and the rest in single digits. THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT!!! I’ve had players run characters with two 18’s and a few 10’s, with the rest being 15’s or 16’s. I’ve also had people run strictly average Joes, except for one or two stats in the 16-18 range.

Note: I do not believe in limiting the female character’s ability scores as the rules state in both the 1st and 2nd Editions. Female characters can have an 18/00 percentile strength just like the males.

Racial Modifiers

Most of the demi-human races get modifiers to some of their stats. Strength bonuses/penalties will add/subtract 10% to Strength scores of 18 per +/-1 (Example: A Half-Ogre Fighter with an 18/79 strength would get 18/89 with the +1 Str, a Half-Orc priest with an 18 Strength would get 18/10, a Tatheari warrior with an 18/91 Strength would get 19, a Halfling warrior with an 18/17 Strength would get an 18/07). Where necessary, roll for exceptional Strength before adding racial strength bonuses/penalties. Here’s a compiled list. It’s by no means complete, but please be aware that playing a really exotic race (like a mind flayer) is likely to result in a very early death for the character (even other mind flayers don’t like mind flayers). In short, if you want to play something that’s not on this list, talk to me.

Any listing that has an "or" in it means it’s the player’s choice as to which stat the bonus or penalty applies to.

Table 1: Racial Ability Score Modifiers

Race	Modifiers	Race	Modifiers	Race	Modifiers
Ci’thas	+1 Dex or Con/ -1 Str or Int	Elf, Drow	+1 Dex or Int / -1 Con or Int	Half-Orc	+1 Str, +1 Con / -2 Cha
Drakken	Varies depending on die rolls	Elf, Peacewood	+1 Dex or Int / -1 Con	Halfling	+1 Dex / -1 Str
Duanan	+1 Dex / -1 Con	Elf, Silver Forest	+1 Dex or Int / -1 Con	Human	No Modifiers
Dwarf (any)	+1 Con / -1 Cha	Gnome	+1 Int / -1 Wis	Illdarin	Choose two: +1 Int, Wis, Str/ -2 Cha, -1 Con
Elf, Avernian	+1 Dex or Str / -1 Con or Int	Half-Elf	No Modifiers	Mraas	+1 Wis / -1 Cha, -1 Con
Elf, Desert	+1 Dex / -1 Con	Half-Ogre	+1 Str, +1 Con / -1 Int, -1 Wis	Tatheari	+1 Str, +1 Con / -2 Dex
Thri-kreen	+2 Dex / -1 Cha, -1 Con

Comeliness

I will also be using the Comeliness score presented in Unearthed Arcana. Bonuses for Charisma are as follows: Charisma of less than 3 = -8 to Comeliness, 3 = -5, 4-5 = -3, 6-8 = -1, 9-12 = no adjustment, 13-15 = +1, 16-17 = +2, 18 = +3, 18+ = +5. Racial modifiers are listed below. Remember, comeliness is physical appearance, and all of the modifiers relate to human perception. Write the score for your base comeliness (die rolls + charisma modifier), and the modified score (from the table below) down on your character sheet. Use the first number when dealing with your character’s own race. Use the second number for dealing with other races.

Table 2: Comeliness Modifiers by Race

Race	Modifier	Race	Modifier	Race	Modifier
Ci’thas	+1	Gnomes	-1	Mraas	-7
Drakken*	Special	Half-Elves	+1	Orc, Kobold, Goblin, Hill Giant	-6
Dwarves	-1	Half-Ogre, Half-Orc,/TD>	-3	Ogre	-5
Duanan	+2	Halflings, Humans	0	Tatheari	-8
Elves: Avernian, Desert, Sea, Sylvan	+1	Illdarin	-10	Thri-kreen	-6
Drow, Grey, High, Peacewood, Silver Forest	+2
* Drakken have a special reaction penalty because of their Draconic heritage. If this magical aura is somehow overcome, the Drakken’s normal comeliness score is used.

Age By Race

Below is a chart showing the age ranges for the various races in the Avamor Campaign.

Table 3: Age by Race

	Young Adult	Adult	Middle Age	Old Age	Venerable
Ci’thas*	34-67	67-300	301-750	751-900	901+
Drakken**	13-34	35-49	50-91	92-112	113-117
Duanan	15-22	23-60	61-150	151-200	201-250
Dwarf (Any)	24-38	39-120	121-300	301-400	401-480
Elf (Any)	150-300	301-800	801-1,500	1,501-1,900	1,901-2,000
Gnome	20-30	31-90	91-127	128-138	139-160
Half-Elf	18-25	26-140	141-250	251-300	301-350
Half-Ogre	12-18	19-40	41-80	81-110	111-140
Half-Orc	13-19	20-33	34-50	51-62	63-70
Halfling	21-35	36-60	61-92	93-115	116-128
Human	14-20	21-30	31-55	56-80	81-110
Illdarin	12-33	34-55	56-80	81-90	91-100
Mraas	8-17	18-34	35-70	71-95	96-127
Tatheari	23-80	81-250	251-400	401-450	450-?
Thri-kreen	5-8	9-28	29-42	43-50	51-60

*Ci’thas live as long as their tree does. Their overall physical condition reflects that of their linked tree. They are therefore immune to the normal effects of aging. In other words, their stats don’t change unless their tree does.

**There is a lot of variation in Drakken lifespan. What is given here is a rough approximation. Obviously, Drakken who inherit exceptional lifespans from their Dragon parent will have longer lives.

What the above chart means is that as a character gets older, there may be some changes in physical and mental stats. No stat can go above or below the racial maximum/minimum, barring magic. No stat can go below the minimum required for a given class.

How to Use the Aging Chart

This chart is for use in adding some character to your character! You can reasonably argue that the older your character is, the higher level she, he, or it should start at. Remember, though, that the body tends to degrade with age, so your character might start at higher level, but certain stats such as Strength (for exceptional strength, +/- 10% per point of bonus/penalty), Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Comeliness, may go up or down.

It’s also just plain helpful to know how far along in the racial life cycle your character is.

Immortality

Under some situations, a character may achieve virtual immortality. All immortality means is the character stops aging at the Adult category (unless conditions dictate otherwise - such as a mage getting a drake familiar when he’s in his seventies). Sounds great, eh? This is one of the reasons why mages try very hard to get drakes as familiars - they get the drake’s lifespan. Now, magical aging will still affect the character, causing his/her physical body to age. This can put a character into the next age category, with its attendant ability score adjustments (senility in a mage is a dangerous thing). By the same token, magics which remove years can reduce the character to a lower category (even that of a child, or less - a particularly nasty way to die).

Go to Section 2 - Character Background

Last updated 11/02/00.