• Chapter 1: Steps in Character Creation

��l �r-�,,'-".�ner or later you will want to make up your his ability to do such things as break down next to the names of the abilities.
.. • wn new character. Before you start, get a locked doors. High ability scores can help the character in
pencil and the multisided dice used with the Intelligence (Int) is the character's mental cenain things. For example, high Suength al­
D&l)ti game. You will also need a blank charac­ might. It affects the number of languages the lows a character to deal out more damage in
ter sheet (or a piece of notebook paper) to keep chatacter can learn. combat; a !ugh Constitution helps a character
track of the details. A sample character sheet is Wisdom (Wis) is the chatactcr's strength of survive injury; a high Chaiisma helps a character
found in Appendix 3. understanding of the world, the way things attract friends. Low scores have exactly the oppo­
If you are using a blank piece of paper, copy work, the forces of nature, and so fonh. It affects site effect. We'll discuss these effects in the Bo­
the form of the character sheet onto it-in other the character's natural ability to resist magical nuses and Penalties for Ability Scores Table.
words, aqow a space for your name and the char­ spells. You can adjust the ability scores in Step 3
acter's name at the top left. a place for character Dexterity (Dex) is the character's nimbleness ("Adjust Ability Scores"), but first you must de­
class, level, armor class, and hit points below and grace. It affects the character's ability to cide what class your chatacter will be.
that, and so forth. The Dungeon Master should wield missile and thrown weapons (such as bows
be present and should watch the creation of any
player character, including all dice rolls.
and throwing knives) and can make it harder for
enemies to hit the character.
Prime Requisites
Yout fim try at creating a new character will Consciwcion (Con) is the character's physical Each character class requires prowess in one of
probably take an hour or so. Even when you are health and vigor. It affects the character's hit the abilities-in other words, each class has an
used to the procedure. it will still take 10-30 points score (i.e .. his ability to survive being in­ ability that is of utmost imponance to that class.
minutes. If the Dungeon Master is just begin­ jured). (For example, a fighter's most imponant ability
ning a new campaign, he should call everyone Charisma (Cha) is the character's force of per­ is Suength and a cleric's is Wisdom.) These ate
together for a session where all players create sonality and presence. It affects the way other known as prime requisites.
their characters and where he describes the cam­ characters, especially nonplayer chatacters con­ Each character class has its own prime requi­
paign world in which the others will be playing. uolled by the DM, react to the character. site. This means each class is talented at cenain
Once the campaign is underway, a player You roll dice to find each ability score. This is things, such as fighting (fighters because of their
shouldn't try to create a character at the begin­ done by rolling the six-sided die three times and Strength), healing (clerics because of their Wis­
ning of a play-session (unless the OM specifically adding the results. Or, if you have three six­ dom). sneaking about (thieves because of their
asks him to)-it delays the start of the game. All sided dice, roll the dice together. (This is nor­ Dexterity), and so on. The higher a character's
the rolling, adjusting, buying, and so forth mally referred to in the text as "rolling 3d6 .") prime requisite score, the more skill he will have
should be done beforehand. For example, if you roll ones each time, then in his class (his "job"). Prime requisites for each
The following is a list of the steps to take when the total score is 3, the least score possible. If you class are listed with the character class.
making a new character; each step is then ex­ roll all sixes, then the total is 18, the highest
plained in detail. score you can have.
You should end up with six numbers, each be­
Choose a Character Class
Steps to creating a character: tween 3 and 18. These are your character's ability A chatactcr class is a character's main profes­
1. Roll for ability scores scores. Write the scores down as you roll them, sion in the campaign. Think of each character
2. Choose a character class
3. Adjust ability scores
4. Roll for hit points
5. Roll for money
6. Buy equipment
7. Determine other numbers and rolls
8. Note adjustments for ability scores
9. Choose character alignment
10. Select name, personality, and back­
ground
11. Determine character height and weight
12. Earn experience

Roll for Ability Scores

Roll 3d6 fo, each abiliry:
Suength
Intelligence
Wisdom
Dexterity
Constitution
Charisma
t• { I �
I I

Many of the attributes that make up a

character-for instance, his physical might and ,,
his level of intelligence-arc represented by ; 1 1 1 1(# :
numbers in the game. Six of these are the charac­
'A
ter's abilities: Suength, Intelligence, Wisdom, I
Dexterity. Constitution, and Charisma.
Strength (Ser) is the character's physical
might. It affects the amount of damage the chat­
acter docs with hand-to-hand weapons (such as
swords and clubs) and thrown weapons (such as
thrown spears and knives), affects his chance to
hit with hand-to-hand weapons, and determines
 Chapter 1 : Steps in Character Creation •
class as a son of stereotype . For instance , all war­ law and order throughout the campaign world. arc Strength and Dexterity. Also , a mystic char­
riors in books and movies have some features in The cleric wields magic, and he can use almost as acter must have scores of 13 or better in both his
common and those specific features, translated many weapons and armor types as a fighter. The Wisdom and Dexterity abilities.
into the D&D® game terms, are what make up cleric's prime requisite is his Wisdom . All these character classes will be described in
the fighter character class. A Fighter is a character whose main skill is his greater detail in Chapter 2. If you don' t yet
The player character (PC) classes available for prowess at arms. A fighter can be a heavily ar­ know enough about these classes to decide what
you to choose include four human classes (cleric, mored knight or a lightly armored swashbuckler, your new character should be, you can skip
fighter, magic-user, thief), three dem.ihuman but it's his extraordinary skill in combat that ahead to Chapter 2, then return here and make
classes (dwarf, elf, halfling), and two special makes him speciaJ. In the game, a fighter's your choice. When you 've decided what charac•
character classes (druid, mystic). prime requisite is his Strength. ter class your character will be:, continue with the
You've probably noticed that the names of the A Magic-User is a character who wields magic. next step.
demihuman character classes sound more like He has little or nothing in the way of fighting
race or species names than professions. That's
because demihumans are more limited in their
ability, and in the early part of his career he has
little in the way of magical ability either. But as Adjust Ability Scores
options than humans are , so the entire race can he gains in experience, he becomes a powerful
be represented by a single character class. character and can wield powerful magicaJ spells . You can trade two points from an ability
The magic-user's prime requisite is his Intelli­ score you don't want to raise your prime req­
Types of Character Classes gence.
A Thiefis a character who has spying abilities.
uisite by one point. You can perform this
trade as many times as you want , so long as
Most characters will be humans. In most D&D Whether he actually makes his living stealing you do not lower any ability below a score of
game campaigns, humans are the most wide­ from other people, he has many skills appropri­ 9. You cannot lower your Dexterity, Constitu­
spread of all intelligent beings. Any new charac­ ate to that livelihood . He can move stealthily, tion, or Charisma. You can only raise your
ter can belong to one of the human classes climb sheer surfaces, pick locks, and so forth . He character's prime requisite score .
(cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief), regardless of has combat abilities bener than a magic-user's,
his ability scores. but he's not a strong combatant. The thief's Once you've rolled your character's abilities
prime requisite is his Dexterity. and decided on his character class, it is possible
Character Classes and Ability Requirements A Dwarfis a sturdy, squat dernihuman . He re­ to raise his prime requisite by lowering othe.r
Table sembles the fighter in many details, but has ability scores. This is son of like training hard to
Character Prime Other many special abilities-and spcciaJ restrictions­ improve one skill while letting others become
Class Rc:quisite(s) Requirements that set him apart from human fighters. The neglected. (For example, a magic-user might
Cleric Wisdom None dw�s prime requisite is his Strength . Also, a spend all his time studying hard, neglecting his
Fighter Suength None dwarf character must have a Constitution score exercise; he'd end up with a higher Intelligence
Magic-User Intelligence None of 9 or more. If the character you' re creating has and a lower Strength . )
Thief Dexreriry None a Constitution of 8 or Jess, he cannot be a dwarf. These are the rules for exchanging ability
Dwarf Strength Constitution 9 An Elfis a lean, nimble demiliuman. He is a points :
Elf Strength , Intelligence 9 very capable combination of the fighter and
Intelligence magic-user classes. He's not quite as tough as a l . The prime requisite goes up 1 point for each
Halfling Strength, human fighter, nor will he ever achieve the great 2 points chat another ability score goes down .
Dexterity 9,
Dexterity Constitution 9 magical ability of a human magic-user, but he If a character has two prime requisites , both
Druid Wisdom Neutral align­ does have mosc of the abilities of both classes . can be raised.
ment , obtain He has other special abilities and restrictions that 2. Constitution and Charisma points cannot be
9th level as a set him apart from the human classes . The elf exchanged with others .
cleric has two prime requisites: Strength and Intelli­ 3. Dexterity cannot be lowered (but it may be
Mystic Strength , Wisdom 1 3 , gence, and the Intelligence score must be 9 or raised for a thief or halfling character).
Dexterity Dexterity 1 3 more . If the character you • re creating has an In­ 4. No score can be lowered below 9. If it is al­
telligence of 8 or less, he cannot be an elf. ready 10 or less, it cannot be lowered .
A Halfling is a small demihuman . He has
Dcmihuman characters (dwarf, elf, and half­ many abilities similar to a fighter, but he is also Example: An elf has Intelligence and Strength
ling) should be a linlc less common : these races noted for his ability in woodsmanship. He 's not scores of 12 and a Wisdom of 1 3 . His player
are supposed to be somewhat reclusive and mys­ as tough as a fighter, and he has speciaJ abilities wants him to be both stronger and smarter. He
terious. They are known as " dcmihumans" be­ and restrictions that set him apart from the drops the Wisdom score by 2, to 1 1 , so l point
cause they are so similar to humans . Each fighter class. The halfling has two prime requi­ can be added to Strength. Then he drops the
demihuman character class has specific ability re­ sites: Strength and Dexterity, and the Dexterity Wisdom again, to 9, and adds 1 to Intelligence.
quirements. If a newly created character doesn ' t score must be 9 or more . Also, a halfling charac­ This results arc Intelligence and Strength scores
have high enough scores in some specific abili­ ter must have a score of 9 or bette.r for his Consti­ of 13 and an adjusted Wisdom of 9.
ties, he can' t belong to the demihuman classes. tution . A cleric with Strength and Wisdom of 1 5
The speciaJ character classes (druid and mys­ A Druid is a speciaJ type of spellcaster who de­ drops the Strength by 6 (to 9) and raises the Wis­
tic) technically belong in the set of human char­ votes himself to the needs and preservation of dom by 3 (to 1 8).
acter classes, but they have such stringent Nature . However, you can ' t start a character off
requirements and unusual guidelines that as a druid. A druid character must start off as a If you want to exchange any ability score
they ' re set aside for you to look at separately. cleric-in fact, as a cleric of the NeutraJ align­ points, you must do that now before you go any
The OM might not want to use them in his cam­ ment (alignments are discussed in Step 9, further in making the character. No such adjust­
paign; it's easier for him to make and enforce "Choose Character Alignment" )-and earn a ments can be made later. Remember that you do
this decision if they ' re set aside . lot of experience (up to 9th experience Jevel) as a not have to adjust any ability scores. This is an
cleric . Only at that point can he become a druid . option, not a requirement.
Descriptions of Character A Mystic is a type o f warrior-monk. H e lives a
Classes monastic life, devotes himself to philosophy and
the mastery of his physical body, and trains him­ Roll for Hit Points
A Cleric is a human character who has dedi­ self to become a master of unarmed fighting. Your character's hit point score represents his
cated his life to a great and worthy cause . Often, Mystics are not appropriate to aJI campaigns, so ability to survive injury. The higher his hit point
this cause is the cleric's alignment. A Lawful cler­ the DM has the option of refusing to allow mys­ score, the more damage he can sustain before
ic, for example, would be dedicated to spreading tics in his world. The mystic's prime requisites dying. Characters who survive long enough to
 • Chapter 1: Steps in Character Creation
gain a good deal of experience typically gain mor at all and can only use a few typcS of weap­ ments to your armor class from your Dexterity.
more and more hit points; therefore, an experi­ ons. It would be a waste of money for a character Find your Dextctity score on the Bonuses and
enced character lasts longer in a fight or other of this class to buy a sword or shield; instead, his Penalties For Ability Scores table. For every + 1
dangerous situations than docs an inexperienced money can be saved or spent on oil, torches, and on the table, subtract 1 from your armor cws.
character. other items. Thieves, however, must buy For every - 1, add 1 to your armor class.
A character's prof<:fflon (his character cws) dra­ thieves' tools to use their Open Locks ability.
matically affcas the number of hit points he re­ On a piece of piece paper, write down all the &ample: If you are wearing chain mail and a
ceives. Fighters and dwarves receive a lot of hit equipment you want to buy and add up the cost. shield (AC 4), but have a Dexterity score of 15
points. Magic-users and thieves receive only a few. If it costs more gold pieces than you have, you ( + 1 bonus), your armor class number improves
The other classes receive a medium amount. must erase something from the list. When you and goes down, to 3. If you arc wearing plate
Find your character's class on the Character can pay for your list of equipment, subtract the mail and shield (AC 2) but have a Dexterity
Class and Hit Diec Table, and then roll the type cost from your money, and write the equipment score of 5 (-2 penalty), your armor class worsens
of die indic:ued in order to find your starting hit down on your character sheet. and goes up to 4.
points. Note that your character's Constitution Be careful when shopping! You may forget to
score can affect the number of hit points he will buy rope, for example, and suddenly find a need Remember: The lower the AC number, the
have. Look for the Bonuses and Penalties for for it during an adventure-and if you didn't harder you arc to hit. A penalty to armor class
Ability Scores Table and apply the appropriate buy it, you don't have it. Ask the other players actually raises the number, making you easier to
number to the number of hit points rolled for and your OM for advice on what to buy-and hit. If your AC is even better than zero, then
your character. what not to buy. Remember that money can be negative numbers, or "minus" numbers, arc
saved for buying expensive equipment later. used. For example, a character with a Dexterity
Character Class and Hit Dice Tobie Score of 18 (a + 3 bonus, which translates to - 3
Dice for Don't Forget Spells to the AC) and wearing plate mail and shield
(AC 2) would havc an AC of"minus onc" (-1).
Character Class Hit Points If your character is a spellcastcr, he will also
Cleric ld6 need to equip Jiimsclf with the spells he knows.
Fighter ld8 Magic-users know one spell at their first level of Attack Rolls
Magic-user ld4 experience, while clerics learn their first spell at An attack roll is a number representing how
Thief ld4 second level. Ask your DM for the spells which easy or difficult it is for your character to hit oth­
Dwarf ld8 your character knows. er targets.
Elf ld6 Magic-users also need to have spell books to In combat, when your character is trying to hit
Halfling
Druid
ld6
• record the spells they know. A magic-user's first
spell book is free, a gift of the wizard who taught
another character, you roll ld20; this is known as
his attack roll. (In some game supplements, it's
Mystic ld6 him. Clerics do not need spell books. also called the "hit roll," "to-hit roll," or"roll to
* Does not apply. hit.") Once you know the number you've rolled
Determine Other on the die, you add any bonuses your character

Roll for Money Numbers and Rolls gets from high ability scores, magical weapons,
or other factors. You'II compare that final result
Armor class, attack rolls, and saving throws arc­ to the number required to hit the armor class of
numbers-numbers which you'll calculate from your character's opponent. If you reach or exceed
Roll 3d6 and multiply by 10 to find your that number, your character has successfully hit
character's starting gold pieces. the character's other attributes or find on provid­
ed tables-which arc imponant to the way the his opponent.
character performs in combat. But how do you find out what number you
Your character starts out with no possessions need to hit a ccnain armor cws? That's simple
except for normal clothes and a little money,
saved up over many years. You will need to go Armor Class enough: We provide it to you on handy tables.
Take a look at the Attack Rolls Table on page
shopping for equipment, but first you must find Amlor class, sometimes abbreviated as AC, is 106. Go ahead and flip forward to that table and
out how much money you have. a number indicating how tough it is to hit your return here when you've looked at it.
Roll 3d6 (three six-sided dice), and multiply character. With the armor class, unlike most To use the table, cross-reference your charac­
the total by 10. (For example, if you roll 12, the numbers in the D&D game, a low number is ter's experience level and character class with his
total is 120.) This is the number of gold pieces good for a character, and a high number is bad. opponent's armor class. On the table, "MU"
(gp) that you start with. Write that on your char­ Your armor class is a combination of the type stands for magic-user, "C,T,D" stands for "cler­
acter sheet. If you're using a hand-written sheet, of armor you arc wearing, plus any adjustments ics, thieves, and druids," "F" stands for "fight­
write down the word "Money" on the back and due to Dexterity. First, find your armor type on ers" (and also includes mystics and low-level
put beside it the number you've just rolled. the Armor Type and Armor Class Table. dcmihumans), and "DH" stands for "dcmi­
humans" (and is used for high-experience demi­
Buy Equipment Armor Type and Armor Class Table humans ). The numbers "19" through " - 20"
stand for the opposition's armor class.
Now that you have your money, you can spend Armor Type Armor Class A 1st level fighter attacks an enemy with an
it on the equipment you need to go adventur­ No armor 9 armor class (AC) of 2. On the Attack Rolls Table
ing. There is a complete list of equipment in Leather armor 7 in Chapter 8, go to the"F" (for fighter) column,
Chapter 4 later in this book. Be sure to ask your Scale armor 6 go down to where it says "1-3" (which means
Dungeon Master if everything on that list is Chain mail 5 "Experience Levels 1 through 3"), and then go
available in his campaign. If his campaign devi­ Banded armor 4 right to the column corresponding to AC 2. You
ates a lot from the "standard" D� game Plate mail 3 need to roll a 17 to hit that armor class.
campaign, he could have a very different list of Suit armor 0
equipment, which he should provide for you. Shield Subtract 1• Attack Rolls Tables vs. THACO
There arc restrictions on what items your char­ * If using a shield, subuact l from the AC Now, record your character's attack rolls on
acter is allowed to have, especially on armor and number. Example: chain mail alone is AC 5, the character sheet. There arc two ways to do
weapons. Before you go shopping, be sure you but with a shield it is AC 4. this. One is for beginning players and for players
have read the full description of your character who sometimes have a hard time juggling num­
class, later in this chapter. Once you know your armor class as provided bers; the other is for experienced players who
For example, a magic-user cannot wear any ar- by your armor type, you can determine adjust- don't have trouble juggling numbers.
 Chapter 1: Steps in Character Creation •
Amick Kolls: With the first way, you write down
your character's rolls to hit several armor classes.
Saving Throws nuses, while low ones give the character special
penalties. Below arc the character's abilities and
Instead of recording all the listed armor classes notes on what sorts of adjustments high and low
(19 to - 20), we usually record only ACs 9 to Find your character's class and experience abilities will bring him.
- 5; these are the armor classes most commonly level on the Saving Throws '!able in Chapter When you have high scores in abilities, note
encountered in a game. 8. Move across to the column representing the specific adjustments which result from them;
On your character sheet, you'd make a small, the type of attack your character is sustain­ if you're not using a character sheet which al­
simple table listing the attack rolls for your char­ ing. The number shown in that column is ready has blanks for these adjustments, place
acter's level and character class. An example is your saving throw. Roll that number or bet­ them beside the abilities (Strength, etc.) which
given on this page of the attack rolls for a first ter on ld20 to avoid or diminish the effects of grant them to the character. The Bonuses and
level fighter; for all characters, refer to the main the attack. Penalties for Ability Scores '!able shows ability
table in Chapter 8, then write down the peni­ adjustments.
nent information on your character sheet. This A saving throw represents your character's at­
way, when your first level fighter is attacking an tempt to avoid the effects of some son of unusu­
Bonuses and Penalties for Ability Scores
AC of -2, you'd be able to look down on his al attack-poison, magical spells, the flaming
character sheet and sec immediately that he breath of a dragon, and so fonh. A successful Ability Score Adjustment
needs to achieve a roll of 20 to hit his target. saving throw means that the character either sus­ 2-3 -3 Penalty
tains a reduced amount of damage or suffers no 4-5 - 2 Penalty
THAC0: The abbreviation TI-IA.Co stands for harmful effect at all, depending on the type of 6-8 - 1 Penalty
"To Hit Armor Class O." There's nothing myste­ attack. An unsuccessful saving throw means that 9-12 No adjustment
rious about it: It's just the number your charac­ the character sustains the full damage or effect of 13-15 + l Bonus
ter needs to hit armor class 0. On the table the attack. The saving throw is rolled on ld20 16-17 +2Bonus
when specified by the DM. 18 +3Bonus
immediately above, for example , you see that a
1st level fighter needs to achieve a roll of 19 to A character doesn't have just one saving throw
hit an armor class of 0; therefore, his THAC0 is number; he has a different one for each of five Now, let's go through each of the abilities and
19. different categories of unusual attacks. Those see what high scores will do for each ability.
Some experienced players will not want to categories include "Poison or Death Ray," "Mag­
have an entire table cluttering up their character ic Wand," "Turning to Stone or Paralysis,"
"DragonBreath," and "Spells or Magic Staff."
Strength
sheets; they'll just record their characters'
THAC0 number. Additionally, many abbrevi­ Saving throws are based on your character's High Strength affects how well a character hits
ated descriptions of monsters used in D&D® class and experience level. You can find your with mclcc weapons-that is, hand-held weap­
game adventures will use the THAC0 number. character's saving throws on the Saving Throws ons. Ir affcets how much damage the character
To use THAC0, you have to do some adding '!able on page 109 of Chapter 8. Go ahead and docs with melcc weapons, and with thrown
and subtracting during combat. You subtract flip to that table, look it over, and return here. weapons like hurled knives and spears. And it af.
your modified attack roll (the number rolled on To find the saving throws for your character, fects how often a character can budge stuck door­
a 20-sided die plus any bonuses) from your simply look up his class and experience level. For ways.
THACO, and the result is the armor class your example, if your character is a 1st level elf, his The character's adjustment for a high
character hits. saving throws would be: Strength score is applied to any roll he makes to
For example, Ruggin is a 3rd level dwarf, and hie someone in melcc combat.
Death Ray or Poison: 12; Magic Wand: 13; Pa­ For instance, if a character has a Strength of 17
he's fighting a hobgoblin clad in chain mail (AC ralysis or Turn to Stone: 13; DragonBreath: 15;
5). Ruggin's THAC0 is 19, and he rolls a 16; (therefore, a + 2 adjuscment), and rolls a 9 on
Spells or Staff: 15 his ld20 to hit someone, he gets to add his
Ruggin successfully hits his opponent's armor
class (19. - 16 • 3) since he hit an AC 3 (two Write the saving throws appropriate for your Strength adjustment to that roll. He has actually
better than AC 5). character on his character sheet. achieved a roll of 11 (9 + 2 = 11). If the charac•
likewise, instead of figuring out which AC ter has a Strength of 8 (therefore, a -1 penalty)
your attack hits, you can use THACO to deter­ High Wisdom and Saving Throws and rolls a 9, he has to subtract his penalty; he
mine what number is needed to hit a specific ar­ If a character has a Wisdom score of 13 or has actually achieved a roll of 8 (9 - 1 - 8).
mor class. Subtract the defender's armor class more, h� r�civ':8 a bonus to one of his saving The character's adjustment for Strength is also
from the attacker's THACO. If the armor class is throws; if his Wisdom JS 8 or less, he receives a applied to damage he docs with mclee and
a negative value, add the armor class number to penalty. thrown weapons.
the attacker's THAC0. The result is the number 'lake a look at the Bonuses and Penalties for For example, let us say a character with
the attacker needs to hit his opponent. Ability Scores '!able below. If your Wisdom score Sucngth 18 (adjustment + 3) hies someone with
For instance, Ruggin the 3rd level dwarf needs is high or low enough for a bonus or penalty, re­ a sword and docs 8 points of damage. He adds
a 19 or better on a 20-sided die to hit a monster cord that on your character sheet beside your his Strength bonus to the damage, and so has ac­
with AC 0. Ruggin is facing a troll (AC 4) and he Wisdom score. This bonus or penalty affcets tually done 11 points of damage. likewise, a
needs a roll of 15 or greater to hit the monster your character's saving throws vs. spells. When character with a Strength of 5 (adjustment -2)
(19 - 4 • 15). rolling your saving throw vs. spells, you can add who rolls 8 points of damage has actually only
If you're a beginning player, you should stick the character's Wisdom bonus to his saving done 6 points of damage (8 - 2 = 6).
to the larger table; when you're comfonable throw ( or must subtract the penalty, if he has a Finally, the character gets his bonus or penalty
with it, you can practice using the THAC0 num­ penalty instead). to his Open Doors roll. The Open Doms roll is
ber. When you're equally comfonable with the character's ability to force open stuck doors.
THACO, you can stop recording the whole table
on your character sheet, and merely record
Note Adjustments for (The DM can optionally use it to decide whether
the character is strong enough to perform similar
THACO. Ability Scores feats of strength, such as moving obstructions.)
The Open Doors roll is rolled on a ld6, with a
You've already seen, on several occasions, that roll of 5 or 6 meaning success; the character with
high abilities give your character special bo- high Sucngth applies his adjustment to the
number he rolls on the die. However, a natural,
0 -1 - 2 -3 -4 -5 unmodified "6" on an Open doors roll will a).
AC: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Attack Roll: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20 20 20 ways open a door, despite any penalties to the
contrary.
 chapter 1 : Steps in Character Creation
him-when the character is talk:ing to them (but
Abilities and Adjustments Table not unless he is talking) .
Ability Adjustments To: lf he tries to hire retainers (bodyguards, assist­
Strength Attack Rolls (Mclee Weapons and Unarmed Combat), Damage Rolls ants, and so forth), his Charisma will determine
(Mclee and Thrown Weapons), Opening Doors the number he can hire, and how loyal they will
Intelligence Languages , General Skills (Optional) be. Your Dungeon Master will teU you if any re­
Wisdom Saving Throws vs. Spells tainers are available, and will play the roles of
Dexterity Attack Rolls (Thrown and Missile Weapons), Armor Class the retainers your character finds and (possibly)
Constitution Hit Points per Experience Level hires.
Charisma Reactions from NPCs
Charisma Adjustment Table
For example, a character with Strength 13 (ad­ If your campaign makes use of a lot of Charisma Reaction Max . No. Retainer
jusunent + 1 ) tries to budge a sruck door. On his languages-especially common in a campaign Score Adj . Retainers Morale
ld6 , he rolls a 4. This isn' t enough; it's not a 5 or where the player characters travel through a lot 3 -3 I 4
6. But he adds his + 1 adjusunent, his 4 be­ of foreign lands, or where there are a lot of talk­ 4-5 -2 2 5
comes a 5, and suddenly it 's enough: He can ing monster species-a character's ability with 6-8 -1 3 6
budge the stuck door. Similarly, a character with languages can be very imponant . 9- 1 2 No adj . 4 7
Strength 3 ( adjusunent - 3) tries a similarly 13- 1 5 +1 5 8
stuck door. On his ld6 , he rolls a 5, normally a
success. But he must apply his - 3 adjustment
Wisdom 1 6- 1 7 +2 6 9
18 +3 7 10
and his 5 suddenly becomes a 2, a failure . The effects of a high Wisdom arc discussed
above , under " High Wisdom and Saving
Intelligence Throws." Adjustments for high Wisdom scores
affect the character's saving throws vs. spells.
Whenever your character is talk:ing to any
creature (monster or character) controlled by the
High Intelligence affects the number of lan­ DM, tell the DM what your reaction adjustment
is. lf your Dungeon Master allows the use of re­
guages a character knows. If the DM is using the
optional general skills rules, high Intelligence al­
Dexterity tainers and you attempt to employ some , you
so affects the number of general skills the charac­ The effects of a high Dexterity are discussed will need to tell him your character's maximum
ter knows. above, under "Armor Class." Adjustments for number of retainers, as well as the Retainer Mo­
A human character of " average " Intelligence high Dexterity scores affect the character's AC . rale score (which is a measure of loyalty and cour­
(a score of 9- 12) knows two languages: the Com­ They also affect the character's ability to hit age) . Reaction adjustments due to high
mon tongue and an alignment tongue . The with missile weapons-any thrown weapons or Charisma never adjust any rolls you make; they
character can read and write those languages. weapons launched through the air. The charac­ only affect rolls made by the Dungeon Master, so
(The Common tongue is the "standard" tongue ter's adjustment for a high or low Dexterity is ap­ he needs to know this information .
for the campaign . A campaign set in modern plied to his roll to hit when he is using missile
America would have English as its Common weapons. Choose Character
Alignment
tongue, for example. ) Demihuman characters For example, a character with a 17 Dexterity
usually know additional languages, as described (adjustment + 2), using a bow, is trying to shoot
for each demihuman character class. a distant enemy. He needs a 13 to hit his enemY:­ An alignment is a code of behavior or way of
If the character recdves an adjustment from On his ld20 attack roll, he rolls a 1 2 . He has life which guides the actions and thoughts nf
an Intelligence over 1 2 (a bonus , in other failed. But now he adds his bonus for high Dex­ characters and monsters. There are three align­
words), this is the number of additional lan­ terity ( + 2) and his 12 becomes a 14: He has ac­
ments in the D&De game : I.aw, Chaos, and
guages the character can read and write. Your tually hit his opponent .
Neutrality.
Dungeon Master will tell you what languages are
Players may choose the alignments they feel
available. You must choose your added lan­
guages before you play the character in a game .
Constitution will best fit their characters. A player does not
have to tell other players what alignment he or
If the Intelligence adjustment is a penalty, Your Constitution score can affect the number
she has picked, but must tell the Dungeon Mas­
then the character has trouble writing and per­ of hit points you have . Look earlier in this chap­
ter. Most I.awful characters will reveal their align­
haps speaking. ter for the Bonuses and Penalties for Ability
ments if asked .
In either case, look at the Intelligence and Scores table, and apply the bonus or penalty to
When picking alignments, the characters
Languages '!able. the number of hit points you rolled . But what­
should know that Chaotics cannot be trusted ,
ever the adjustments, your hit points cannot be
even by other Chaotics. A Chaotic character does
Intelligence and languages Table lowered to O (zero); you will have at least 1 hit
not work well with other PCs.
point for each roll .
Intelligence Use of Alignments give characters guidelines to live
Each time a character gains a level of experi­
Score Languages by. They arc not absolute rules: characters will
ence (a measure of how experienced he is) , roll
3 Has trou ble speaking . cannot try to follow their alignment guidelines. but may
for more hit points. And each time you roll, you
read or write not always be successful. To better understand
adjust the roll according to your Constitution
4- 5 Cannot read or write Common the philosophies behind them , let's define the
score.
6-8 Can wrire simple Common three alignments.
Eventually, your character will stop gaining
words
dice of hit points every time he earns a level of
9- 1 2 Reads and writes native
languages (usually two)
experience, and will no longer gain bonuses for a Law (or Lawful)
very high or very low Constitution score. In­
1 3- 1 5 Reads and writes native I.aw is the belief that everything should follow
stead , he'll start getting a pre-set number of hit
languages, + 1 additional an order, and that obeying tules is the natural
points every level , and his Constitution bonus
language way of life . La.wful creatures will try to tell the
will not apply to that number. But that's off in
16- 1 7 Reads and writes native truth , obey laws that arc fair, keep promises, and
the future; don 't worry about it right now.
languages, + 2 additional care for all living things .
languages If a choice must be made between the benefit
18 Reads and wri tes native Charisma of a group or an individual, a I.awful character
languages , + 3 additional will usually choose the group. Sometimes indi­
A character's Charisma score will affect how
languages vidual freedoms must be given up for the good
others, whether characters or monsters , react to
 Chapter 1 : Steps in Character Creation "
of the group. Lawful characters and monsters of­ recognize when another alignment language is about his campaign-world than you do; you
ten act in predictable ways . I.awful behavior is being spoken, but will not understand it. Align­ know more about your character than he does.
usually the same as "good" behavior. ment languages have no written form . A charac­ The two of you have to work together to inte­
ter may not learn a different alignment language grate your character into his world .
Chaos (or Chaotic} unless he changes alignments . In such a case , the
character forgets the old alignment language
This means that the OM may recommend or
even insist on some changes to your character
Chaos is the opposite of I.aw. It is the belief and starts using the new one immediately. background in order to make him fit better into
that life is random and that chance and luck rule the campaign world. You should normally accept
the world. Laws arc made to be broken , as long
as a person can get away with it. It is not impor­ Select Name, any recommendations that don ' t seriously inter­
fere with your concept of your character, and
tant to keep promises, and lying and telling the
truth arc both useful.
Personality, and should ncgotiare on the ones which do.
To a Chaotic creature, the individual is the Background For example , you may have decided that your
character's family lived in a small fishing village
most important of all things. Selfishness is the You may have been thinking about this all in a small , distant island far, far away. Your OM
normal way of life, and the group is not impor­ during the character-creation process, but now may prefer that he lived in a small fishing vilJagc
tant. Chaotics often act on sudden desires and it's time to give your character his name. person­ on the coast of the main continent , not quite so
whims. They have strong belief in the power of ality, and background-the traits which make isolated . This probably won' t alter your charac­
luck. They cannot always be trusted. Chaotic be­ him a real character. ter's personality or pc.rso nal history, and will al­
havior is usually the same as behavior that could low your OM to fit your character more easily
be caJJed "evil." Each individual player must de­ into the campaign, so this is the sore of change
cide if his Chaotic character is closer to a mean , Name you can acquiesce to without any worries.
selfish "evil" personality or merely a happy-go­ You should give your character a name appro­ But let 's say your OM wants to establish some­
lucky, unpredictable personality. priate to the world in which he'll be adventur­ thing else about your character: That when he
ing . Ask your DM if his campaign sening is was ten, a werewolf with a distinctive rcd-and­
Neutrality (or Neutral} based on any real-world civilization ; if so, use a silver coat burst in through the door of the fami­
name appropriate to that civilization. (If you ' re ly hut and killed all the family except your
Neutrality is the belief that the world is a bal­ not familiar with that civilization , ask your DM character, and that your character was raised by
ance between Law and Chaos. It is important for help. ) Or if you arc adventuring in an Ara­ the family of your mother's brother.
that neither side get too much power and upset bian setting, such legendary names as Ali Baba, It 's obvious here that your DM is setting you
this balance. The individual is important, but so Sinbad, and Saladin are appropriate names. up for some future encounter with that selfsame
is the gtoup; the two sides must work together. M,?Dy campaigns arc suaightforward fantasy werewolf-perhaps it will be far in the future, or
A Neutral character is most interested in per­ with clements drawn from a number of sources, perhaps the hunt for that monster will be used as
sonal survival . Such characters believe in their yet these campaigns may not be strongly based the event which will bring all the player charac­
own wits and abilities rather than luck. They in any of those sources. In that case, you need ters together in the first place . Whichever, he's
tend to return the treatment they receive from merely make up a fantasy-sounding name and not trying to kill your character's family for frivo­
others. Neutral characters will join a party if they ask the DM if it sounds appropriate to his cam­ lous reasons, but for reasons related to plot.
think it is in their own best interest, but will not paign . Such names can be made up of However, you've been imagining that your
be overly helpful unless there is some sort of interesting-sounding syllabics like Adragan or character is emotionally strong and unscarrcd,
profit in it . Neutral behavior may be considered Nissia. Or, and especially in the case of lyrically and still has a good relationship with his parents
"good" or " evil" (or neither). named elves, they could be composed of descrip­ and siblings, and the DM's changes would seri­
tive words like Silvcrglade or Woodshadow. ously affect your concept of your character. You
Alignment Behavior Choose a name carefully. It should represent explain this to him. This is where negotiations
the character in some way, or at least be a name enter the picrure.
file this situation as an example: A group of He may counter, " All right , let's say instead
player characters is attacked by a large number of you like . You might find yourself playing this
character for years, and if you give him a silly or that the werewolf attacked the local pub, and
monsters. Escape is not possible unless the mon­ your father was among those killed. As the old­
inappropriate name , you might regret it later.
sters arc slowed down. est son, you suddenly had to become the man of
A Lawful character will fight to protect the
group , regardless of the danger. The character Personality the family, and now, after you've been the main
provider for years, your brothers and sisters are
will not run away unless the whole group docs so Alignment isn ' t all there: is to a character's old enough to take over, and you can leave to
or is otherwise safe. personality. You should think about your charac­ make a life for yourself at last."
A Neurral character will fight to protect the ter, about his mannerisms, the way he speaks, This still leaves your character with a tragedy
group as long as it is reasonably safe to do so. If the way he dresses, how he spends money, what in his past , but he didn't lose his entire family,
the danger is too great, the character will try to sore of people he likes, how he Ii.Ices to spend his and wasn't present to see his father destroyed by
save himself, even at the expense of the rest of non-adventuring time, and so on. The more at­ the monster, which would tend to leave him
the party. tention you invest in imagining your character, much healthier emotionally. So you could agree
A Chaotic character might fight the monsters with all his traits, virtues, and vices, the more in­ to this change, and both your purposes and your
or he might run away immcdiatcly-Chaotics teresting and " real " you will make him . Sure, OM's arc served .
arc , as always, unpredictable. The character may it 's useful for your character to be the mightiest Another thing you can do, and your OM may
not even care what happened to the rest of the warrior in the world . . . but none of the other be doing so as well, is co establish that your char­
party. player characters will care whether he lives or dies acter already knows some of the other player
Playing an alignment does not mean a charac­ unless he has a personality. characters. Talk with the other players to find out
ter must do stupid things. A character should al­ something about their characters . When the
ways act as intclligcndy as the Intelligence score
indicates, unless there is a reason to act otherwise Background players have come up with similar backgrounds,
you might suggest that those backgrounds inter-
(such as a magical curse). At some point , you'll need to decide on your sected with yours, and then try to work out the
character's background : where and when he was details. Perhaps another player thought of his
Alignment Languages born, how he was reared, who his family is, who character as growing up in a fishing village, in
his friends were, and what he did up until the which case you might suggest that it be the same
Each alignm�nc has a secret language of pass- time he enters play. as your character's. Perhaps another character
words, hand signals, and other body mouons. This isn't a solo cffon-it's a cooperative cf- h as been in the army, and you conceived of your
 • Chapter 1: Steps in Character Creation
you can put your character in the same unit. At the end of every game -session or complete
adventure story (the DM will decide which), the
Prime Requisites and
This son of thing helps establish connections
between your characters. These connections can Dungeon Master will award experience poin� Experience Points
keep an adventuring group from falling �pan (abbreviated as "XP") to the charactcrs _ _. Expcn­ ff your character's prime requisite is high
over trivial incidents of mistrust and confusion. cncc points arc awarded for accomplishing goals enough,he will get extra experience points. The
in the course of the adventure story. Experience Bonuses and Penalties Table will
Determine Character Every so often, a character will have earned
enough experience points to attain a higher ex­
serve as your rule of thumb for calculating how
much extra experience clerics, fighters, magic­
Height and Weight perience level; this is often referred to as "going uscrs, and thieves get foe high prime requisites.
up a level." Each cimc the character g� up a
The pb,fer can choose any height and weight level,he gains more abilities. Under no crrcum­
for his character which the DM agrees is appro­ stances can a character advance more than one Experience Bonuses and Penalties Table
priate. The Character Height �d Weight �ble level per advenrure; all experience beyond one
will give you an idea what height and weight Character Prime Requisite and
level of advancement can be retained up to one Class Experience Bonus
ranges arc average for character races. For use point short ofa two level advance. Any addition­
with later encumbrance rules, all character Cleric Wis 3-5: -20%
al experience is lost. Wis 6-8: -10%
weights are given in coin -weights: one coin file a look at the Fighter Experience Table on
equals one-tenth of a pound, so a character Wis 13-15: +5%
page 16, then return here. Wis 16-18: +10%
weighing 2,000en actually weighs 2 00lbs. As you can sec on that table ,a fighter with no Fighter Su 3- 5: -20%
experience points ( 0 XP) is a 1st level fightc!. Ste 6-8: - 10%
Character Height and Weight Table During his adventuring career, he'll earn expen­ Ste 13-15: +5%
ence points. Once he reaches 2,000 points, his Ste 16-18: +10%
Human Characters player should inform the DM that he's reached
Male Female Magic -User Int 3-5: -20%
his 2nd experience level; once he reaches 4,000 Int 6-8: -10%
Height Weight (en) experience points, he can tell the DM that he's
4'1011 1,100en 1,050 en Int 13-15: +5%
reached 3rd level; and so on. Int 16-18: +10%
5'0" 1,200en 1,100en The number of experience points the charac­
5'2" 1,300en 1,200en Thief Dex 3-5: -20%
ter must earn becomes proportionately greater Dex 6-8: -10%
5'4" 1,400en 1,250en and greater. Don't be alarmed by this. The char­
5'6" 1,500cn 1,300cn Dexl3-15: +5%
acter's rise through experience levels will slow Dex 16-18: +10%
5'8" l,550cn l,400cn down, but not as much as this table suggests. As
5'10" 1,650en 1,500en Dwarf Stc3-5: -20%
he becomes tougher, he can undenakc tougher Su 6-8: -10%
6'0" l,750cn l,550cn and tougher quests, which will earn him propor­
6'2 " 1,850en 1,650 en Str 13-15: +5%
tionately more experience points. Str 16-18: +10%
6'4" 2,000en 1,750en
Elf Ste 13-18and lnt 13- 15: +5%
Dwarf Characters Hit Dice and Hit Points Str 13-18 and lnt 16-18: +10%
Male Female Haffling Str 13-18or Dex 13-18: +5%
Height Weight (en) After a character reaches 9th experience level Ste 13-18and Dex 13- 18: +10%
3'8" 1,300 CD 1,250en (often referred to as "Name" level), the player Druid Wis 3-5: -20%
3'10" 1,400cn l,350en no longer rolls dice to gain additional hit points Wis 6-8: -10%
4'0" 1,500en 1,450en for the character: For each level of experience Wis 13-15: +5%
4'2" 1,550 en 1,500en earned,a given number of hit points (instead of Wis 16-18: +10%
4'4" 1,650 en 1,600en Hit Dice) will be gained. The number of hit Myscic Su3- 5: -10%
points gained each level ( after 9th) will be shown Su6-8: -5%
Elf Characters
Female later in the next chapter; it differs from character Str 13-15: +5%
Male class to character class.
Height Weight (en) Ste 16-18: +10%
4'8" 9 00en Each player will roll Hit Diec for his character
750en
from 1st experience level to 9th (or 8th, in the
5'0" 1,000en 800en For example, a fighter's prime requisite is
!,LOO en case of the halfling character, who can only go up
S'2" 9 00 en Strength. ff he has a Strength of 3- 5, he loses
5'4" 1,000 CD to 8th level). Staning with 10th level, �c c�ar­
1,200en 2 0% of all the experience points he cams. If he
5'6" l,300cn l,lO0cn actcr will receive a pre -set number of hit pomts
appropriate for his character class : has a Strength of 6 - 8, he loses 10%. If his
5'8" 1,400en 1,200en . Strength is 13-15, he cams an extr2 5 %. And if
Constitution adjustments to hit pomts apply
Halfling Characters only to the Hit Dice the player rolls; they do not
his Strength is 16 - 18, he earns an extra 10%.
Both Sexes apply to the hit points added at higher levels. If a fighter with a Strength of 16 were to be
Height Weight (en) given 100points of experience, his player woul�
2'10" 580 en Maximum Levels and Experience Points add in an extra 10% (for a total of 110 expen­
3'0" 600en Dwarves and elves may not progress beyond encc points) before writing the amount down on
3'2" 620 en 12th level. Halflings may only rise to 8th level. his character shc:et.
Druids may only achieve 30th level (and only
Calculating Experience Bonuses
then after a special challenge,which is described
Earn Experience in the next chapter), while mystics can only reach Unless your DM tells you otherwise, you will
always calculate your character's experience bo­
16th level. The other four human classes (cleric,
As characters go through a lot of adventures,
fighter, magic-user, thief) may continue all the nus . . . or experience: penalty. However, some
they gradually get better and better at what they way to 36th level. DMs prefer to keep a close eye on characters' ex­
do. Everyone learns to fight better (especially perience gains, and may dc:cidc to calculate all
Once a character reaches his maximum experi­
fighters). Everyone learns to withstand dam:i-&c ence level, he docs not stop earning expericnc_c such bonuses themsc:lvcs. In such a case,the DM
better (more hit points and better savmg points. Characters can always cam more cxpcn­ needs to tell his players about this decision ahead
throws), and so fonh. This is all accomplished cncc points. Players should keep records of all of time; otherwise they might accidentally add
through the use of experience points and experi­ the experience points their characters earn. in their experience bonuses again.
ence levels.