This section gives instructions on how to create a character for my campaign world of Avamor, This Sundered Land campaign. Character creation rules for The Illithid War are available here. These are basic guidelines; they are not laws set in stone. 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.
If you are a veteran of previous Avamor campaigns, you will notice that there are several sections missing - most notably the spell point system. For now, we employ the standard 3rd Edition magic system. During the course of the campaign, I may re-implement a spell points system. We'll also be trying out a few new things with 3rd Edition. Just be aware that all of this stuff is subject to change - sometimes perforce during play. I will definitely discuss such changes with the affected players before the change is implemented.
Use the following published books. Most of these comprise the core rules for D&D, 3rd Edition. Others are supplements, and you need to talk with me before using the rules from those. Please remember to download the errata and FAQs from the Wizards site for each of these books.
Make sure you check out the House Rules. I put clarifications and changes to these various books in that section.
Roll 4d6 six 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, 12, 7, and 15. You want to play a Magic-User, so you assign the scores as follows: Strength 15, Intelligence 17, Wisdom 8, Dexterity 16, Constitution 14, and Charisma 7. However, you want your mage to be able to cast 9th level spells and that requires an Intelligence of 19. So you take four points off of Strength (making it a 11) and add two to Intelligence (making it a 19). Or you could take two points from each of Wisdom and Dexterity and add two 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.
There is no experience point bonus for exceptionally high stats.
Note: I do not use gender limits for stats. This is a fantasy game, after all!
Race |
Stats |
Skills |
Saves |
||
| Ci’thas | +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Str | +4 Hide, Move Silently, Wilderness Lore (Forest only)) | +4 Poison, -4 Plant spells | ||
| Drakken | Use the Half-Dragon template found in the Monster Manual and the ECL modifiers found in the Dungeon Master's Guide | ||||
| Duanan | +1 Dex, +1 Cha, -2 Con | +2 Balance, Move Silently, Tumble (Agility) +2 Listen, Sense Motive (Hearing) +3 Wilderness Lore (Racial aptitude) |
|||
| Dwarf (Any) | +2 Con, -2 Cha | +2 Stonecunning +2 Appraise for rare/exotic items +2 Craft for stone/metal (Racial aptitude) |
+2 Poison +2 Magic |
||
| Elf (Any) | +2 Dex, -2 Con | Proficiency: Longsword or rapier Proficiency: longbow, shortbow, comp. longbow, or comp shortbow +2 Listen, Search, Spot |
Immune to Sleep +2 Magic - Enchantments |
||
| Gnome | +2 Con, -2 Str | +2 Listen +2 Alchemy (Smell) |
+2 Magic - Illusions | ||
| Half-Elf | +1 Listen, Search, Spot | Immune to Sleep +2 Magic - Enchantments |
|||
| Half-Ogre | |||||
| Half-Orc | +2 Str, -2 Int, -2 Cha | ||||
| Halfling | +2 Dex, -2 Str | +2 Climb, Jump, Move Silently +2 Listen (Hearing) |
+1 All Saving Throws +2 Fear (Morale bonus) |
||
| Human | |||||
| Illdarin | |||||
| Mraas | +2 scent-based skills (Scent) +2 Climb (Claws) Blindsight (Vibration sense, bonus feat) |
-2 vs. Cold (Racial) 15hp. Fire Resistance (Racial) |
|||
| Tatheari | |||||
| Thri-kreen | |||||
Below is a chart showing the age ranges for the various races in the Avamor Campaign.
| 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.
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.
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).