6. Note Saving Throws and 10.

Buy Equipment
Class Abilities Your character has 3d6 × 10 gold pieces
(see Wealth, p90). Consult the equip-
Record any special abilities possessed by
ment lists (see p94) and decide what to
your character as a result of their class, as
purchase with this initial wealth.
well as your character’s saving throws. If
your character has a spell book, ask your Remember: Your chosen class may
referee which spells are recorded in it. restrict your use of some equipment (e.g.
The referee may allow you to choose. weapons and armour).

Weapon Proficiencies (Optional Rule)

If using the optional rule for weapon
proficiency (see p23), select which
weapons your character is proficient with,
choosing from the list of weapons usable
by the character’s class.

7. Roll Hit Points

Determine your character’s hit points 11. Note Armour Class
by rolling the die type specified for your
class. Modifiers for high or low Consti- Your character’s Armour Class is deter-
tution apply (see Ability Scores, p20). mined by two factors:
Characters always start with at least 1 hit ▶  Armour: The armour worn deter-
point, regardless of CON modifier. mines your character’s base AC. See the
equipment lists under Equipment, p94.
Re-Rolling 1s and 2s (Optional Rule) ▶  Dexterity: See Ability Scores, p20.
If you roll a 1 or 2 (before applying any
CON modifier), the referee may allow Unarmoured AC
you to re-roll. This is in order to increase If your character has no armour, their
the survivability of 1st level PCs. base AC is 9 [10].

8. Choose Alignment 12. Note Level and XP

Decide whether your character is Lawful, Your character begins play at 1st level
Neutral, or Chaotic (see Alignment, with 0 XP.
p22).
13. Secondary Skill (Optional Rule)
9. Note Known Languages If using the optional rule for secondary
Your character’s class determines their skills (see p25), determine which skill
native languages. This always includes your character has.
the common tongue and your character’s
alignment language. Characters with high 14. Name Character
INT may also choose additional languag-
Finally, choose a name for your character.
es. See Languages, p24.
You are now ready for adventure!

17
 Creating a Multiple Classes (Optional Rule)
If using the optional rule for multiple
classes (see p15), you may select more

Character: than one class for your character as long

as their ability scores meet the require-

Advanced Method ments of all selected classes.

4. Adjust Ability Scores

To create a character, you’ll first need If you wish, you may raise your charac-
a character sheet—a sheet of paper on ter’s prime requisite(s) by lowering other
which to record all information about the (non-prime requisite) ability scores. For
new character. every 2 points by which an ability score is
A selection of different character sheet lowered, 1 point may be added to a prime
PDFs is available at necroticgnome.com. requisite. The following restrictions apply:
These may be downloaded and printed ▶  Only Strength, Intelligence, and Wis-
for use in your games. dom may be lowered in this way.
▶  No score may be lowered below 9.
1. Roll Ability Scores ▶  Some character classes may have addi-
Roll 3d6 for each of your character’s abili- tional constraints.
ty scores: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom,
Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. 5. Note Ability Score Modifiers
See Ability Scores, p20.
Now that your character’s ability scores
Sub-Par Characters are fixed, make a note of any associated
If you roll a character with very poor bonuses or penalties (see p20).
ability scores—for example an 8 or less in
every score or an extremely low rating in 6. Note Attack Values
one ability—the referee may allow you to The level progression chart for your
discard the character and start again. character’s class lists your THAC0 score.
This indicates your chance of hitting
2. Choose a Race opponents in combat, as determined by
Select one of the races available (see the Attack Matrix, p241.
p78), bearing in mind the minimum For quick reference, it is convenient to
ability score requirements of some races. look up the values in the attack ma-
Ability score modifiers: If the selected trix row for your character’s THAC0
race lists ability score modifiers, adjust (determined by class and level) and
your character’s ability scores as indi- record them on your character sheet.
cated. These modifiers cannot raise an 1st level characters have a THAC0 of 19
ability score above 18 or lower it below 3. [0], resulting in the attack values shown
opposite.
3. Choose a Class Ascending AC (Optional Rule)
Select one of the classes available to your If using the optional rule for Ascending
race, bearing in mind the minimum ability AC (p13), record your attack bonus on
score requirements of some classes. your character sheet, instead of the attack
matrix quick reference.

18
1st Level PC Attack Values
Attack Roll 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
AC Hit 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

7. Note Saving Throws and 11. Buy Equipment

Class/Race Abilities Your character has 3d6 × 10 gold pieces
(see Wealth, p90). Consult the equip-
Record any special abilities possessed by
ment lists (see p94) and decide what to
your character as a result of their race
purchase with this initial wealth.
and class, as well as their saving throws. If
your character has a spell book, ask your Remember: Your chosen race and class
referee which spells are recorded in it. may restrict your use of some equipment
The referee may allow you to choose. (e.g. weapons and armour).

Weapon Proficiencies (Optional Rule) 12. Note Armour Class

If using the optional rule for weapon
proficiency (see p23), select which Your character’s Armour Class is deter-
weapons your character is proficient with, mined by two factors:
choosing from the list of weapons usable ▶  Armour: The armour worn deter-
by the character’s race and class. mines your character’s base AC. See the
equipment lists under Equipment, p94.
8. Roll Hit Points ▶  Dexterity: See Ability Scores, p20.
Determine your character’s hit points Unarmoured AC
by rolling the die type specified for your If your character has no armour, their
class. Modifiers for high or low Consti- base AC is 9 [10].
tution apply (see Ability Scores, p20).
Characters always start with at least 1 hit 13. Note Level and XP
point, regardless of CON modifier.
Your character begins play at 1st level
Re-Rolling 1s and 2s (Optional Rule) with 0 XP.
If you roll a 1 or 2 (before applying any
CON modifier), the referee may allow 14. Secondary Skill (Optional Rule)
you to re-roll. This is in order to increase
If using the optional rule for secondary
the survivability of 1st level PCs.
skills (see p25), determine which skill
your character has.
9. Choose Alignment
Decide whether your character is Lawful, 15. Name Character
Neutral, or Chaotic (see p22).
Finally, choose a name for your character.
You are now ready for adventure!
10. Note Known Languages
Your character’s race determines their
native languages. Characters with high
INT may also choose additional languag-
es. See Languages, p24.
19
 Ability Scores Dexterity (DEX)
Agility, reflexes, speed, and balance.
A character’s score in each ability deter- ▶  AC: Modifies the character’s AC (a
mines whether they have any bonuses or bonus lowers AC, a penalty raises it).
penalties associated with various actions ▶  Missile: Applied to attack rolls (but
in the game. The tables opposite list the not damage rolls) with ranged weapons.
modifiers associated with each ability ▶  Initiative: Modifies the character’s
score, with the effects described below. initiative roll, if the optional rule for
individual initiative is used (see Combat,
Strength (STR) p234).
Brawn, muscle, and physical power.
▶  Melee: Is applied to attack and damage
Constitution (CON)
rolls with melee weapons. Health, stamina, and endurance.
▶  Open doors: The chance of success ▶  Hit points: Applies when rolling a
with attempts to force open a stuck door character’s hit points (i.e. at 1st level and
(see Dungeon Adventuring, p222). every time a level is gained thereafter). A
character always gains at least 1 hit point
Intelligence (INT) per Hit Die, regardless of CON modifier.
Learning, memory, and reasoning.
Charisma (CHA)
▶  Spoken languages: Denotes the num-
ber of languages the character can speak. Force of personality, persuasiveness, per-
sonal magnetism, physical attractiveness,
▶  Literacy: Indicates the character’s abili-
and ability to lead.
ty to read and write their native languages.
▶  NPC reactions: Applies when hiring
Wisdom (WIS) retainers and when interacting with
monsters.
Willpower, common sense, perception,
▶  Max # of retainers: Determines the
and intuition.
number of retainers a character may have
▶  Magic saves: Is applied to saving at any one time.
throws (see p217) versus magical effects.
▶  Retainer loyalty: Determines retain-
This does not normally include saves
ers’ loyalty to the character.
against breath attacks, but may apply to
any other saving throw category.
Prime Requisite
Each character class has one or more
prime requisites—ability scores of special
importance to that class’ function. A
character’s score in their prime requisites
affects how quickly they gain XP.
▶  XP modifier: Applied to all XP
awarded to characters with a single prime
requisite. The modifiers for classes with
multiple prime requisites are noted in the
class description.

20
Strength Modifiers
STR Melee Open Doors
3 –3 1-in-6
4–5 –2 1-in-6
6–8 –1 1-in-6
9–12 None 2-in-6
13–15 +1 3-in-6
16–17 +2 4-in-6
18 +3 5-in-6

Intelligence Modifiers Wisdom Modifiers

INT Spoken Languages Literacy WIS Magic Saves
3 Native (broken speech) Illiterate 3 –3
4–5 Native Illiterate 4–5 –2
6–8 Native Basic 6–8 –1
9–12 Native Literate 9–12 None
13–15 Native + 1 additional Literate 13–15 +1
16–17 Native + 2 additional Literate 16–17 +2
18 Native + 3 additional Literate 18 +3

Dexterity Modifiers Constitution Modifiers

DEX AC Missile Initiative CON Hit Points
3 –3 –3 –2 3 –3
4–5 –2 –2 –1 4–5 –2
6–8 –1 –1 –1 6–8 –1
9–12 None None None 9–12 None
13–15 +1 +1 +1 13–15 +1
16–17 +2 +2 +1 16–17 +2
18 +3 +3 +2 18 +3

Charisma Modifiers Prime Requisite Modifiers

Retainers Prime
CHA NPC Reactions Max # Loyalty Requisite XP Modifier
3 –2 1 4 3–5 –20%
4–5 –1 2 5 6–8 –10%
6–8 –1 3 6 9–12 None
9–12 None 4 7 13–15 +5%
13–15 +1 5 8 16–18 +10%
16–17 +1 6 9
18 +2 7 10

21