Creating a Player Character

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to serve as a guide to creating a character in Second Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Following this guide should allow a player to create a newly minted character with minimal input from the DM. Characters must always be submitted to the DM for approval.

Included in this guide are brief descriptions of some of the aspects of the characters. This information supersedes any information given in the Player’s Handbook.

The goal of the game is to have fun. Don’t worry about what you may feel are party needs, or knowing all the rules. Create a character that you want to play, even if that takes several attempts, and no matter if you end up being the fifth thief in the group. The point is for you to be satisfied with the character you created and want to play that character.

There is a file named MI_AD&DCharForm46.pdf on Discord. This is a character sheet that is a form, so it can be filled out and save with a different filename (or it can be printed and written on). This is a good place to start if you do not want to use notebook paper.

Step-by-Step

Step 1: Ability Scores

The first step to creating a character is to roll ability scores. This is detailed in the chapter called Generating Ability Scores. These scores will define your character's physical and mental characteristics.

Generating Ability Scores

Step 2: Race

After generating character ability scores, race needs to be determined. There are many races to choose from, some normal and mundane, others exotic, and it may be a bit overwhelming. If you are new to the game, it is best to limit your choices to the standard races; Human, Half-Elf, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, or Halfling.

However, for those with more experience, there is a whole set of humanoids and monsters that can be played as characters, if you are looking for something different. Choose carefully, because some of these races are not very well received in the world of humans, elves, and dwarves.

When looking the different races over, the first thing that needs to be considered is whether or not your character qualifies to be that race. Each race has minimum and maximum ability scores they have to meet to qualify for that race.

Humans

Dwarves

Elves

Gnomes

Half-Elves

Halflings

Hoomanoids

Humans have the advantage of being any class, however, while other races may be restricted in the number of classes available, they do have their own advantages to make up for this, such as the ability to Multiclass. The closest thing to multiclassing that humans have is Dual-Classing.

By rule, though, demihumans and humanoids are limited in how high of a level they can achieve. While this rule is not used in this campaign, it will be documented for completeness.

Keep in mind that your character’s race may prohibit you from playing certain classes. See the full list of racial class restrictions.

Additionally, each race except for humans has minimum and maximum ability score requirements. See each individual race for more information.

After the basic race has been chosen (human, elf, dwarf, etc), refer to the Social Class section and follow the instructions there to determine the characters social class, circumstances of birth, and where they were born. For most humanoids, consult the DM.

Once Ability Scores have been determined, choose the race and the class of the character. Race and class are intermingled with each other. When decideing what race and what class you want your character to be, keep in mind that some races are not allowed to become certain classes.

For example, if you want to play a wizard, your character's race cannot be Dwarven, as these races are, for the most part, severley non-magical in nature. A result of this is that they cannot cast spells.

Let's start by looking at the different races.

At the most basic, playable races fall into one of six categories: human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, and humanoid. Humans are the race on which all others are judged, ability score-wise. To play anything other than a human requires adjustments be made to the initial ability scores.

Each article linked below leads to racial ability score adjustments, as well as minimum and maximum ability scores for a given race, height & weight tables, and other information needed to play the character's race.

Humans

Main article: Humans

Humans do not make adjustments to their ability scores. See the main article for information on the various subraces, height, weight, starting age, and Min/Max Ability scores.

Elves

Main article: Elves

Half-Elves

Main Article: Half-Elves

Dwarves

Main Article: Dwarves

Gnomes

Main Article: Gnomes

Halflings

Main Article: Halflings

Other Characteristics

Main article: Other Characteristics

Classes

The various races determine what classes are open to them. For example, dwarves and halflings cannot be wizards of any stripe, while gnomes are restricted to the illusionist specialty. No race but humans may be paladins. Only humans and half-elves may become monks.

These are the currently playable classes:

Warrior Class

Fighter

Ranger

Paladin

Priest Class

Cleric

Specialty Priests

Druids

Crusaders

Shamans

Mystics

Monk

Wizard Class

Mage

Specialist Wizard

Illusionists

Wild Mages

Rogue Class

Thief

Bard

Multi- & Dual-classing

Main Article: Multi- & Dual-Classing

Another advantage demihumans have over humans is the ability to multiclass. Demihumans can be up to three separate classes simultaneously, depending on their race. For example, dwarves can be a fighter/cleric(priest) or a fighter/thief, while elves can be fighter/wizards or fighter/wizard/thief (as an example). While multiclassing allows for a character to have multiple skillsets, it also means that advancement will be slowed. The more classes a character has the slower the advancement.

Humans, on the other hand, can dual-class. A human starts with one class, and at some point, the player decides to change classes. The skills that have been earned to this point are not lost, but the character starts over at first level in the new class, with all restrictions of the new class. The character cannot use any skills or weapons from their old class, otherwise, they gain no experience when they use old skills.

Once the experience level of the new class equals the experience level of the old class, the character can begin to use both classes again, however, there are some restrictions in place. A fighter/thief cannot perform thief abilities in metal armor, nor can a fighter/wizard cast spells in metal armor.

Alignment

The alignment system in AD&D can be complicated and convoluted at times. Not everyone agrees on how alignment should work, in any game of D&D.

The PHB definitions of alignment can be found in the Alignment section. There is also links to more information on alignments for assistance.

Alignment most impacts priests, paladins, and rangers. These are the ones that need to be more strict, but players of other classes who play fast and loose with their alignment will undergo an alignment change.

Kits

Main article: Kits

Warrior Kits

Priest Kits

Wizard Kits

Rogue Kits

Bard Kits

Dwarf Kits

Elf Kits

Gnome Kits

Half-elf Kits

Halfling Kits

Proficiencies

Weapon Proficiencies

To use a weapon is one thing, to be able to use it effectively is another matter entirely. To become proficient with a weapon, weapon proficiency slots must be dedicated to its use:

Weapon Proficiencies

Fighters (not Rangers or Paladins) may specialize in any weapon. In addition, some specialty priests (not clerics or other cleric subclasses) may specialize in some weapons. Priests of those deities who venerate, combat and war may also take weapon specializations:

Weapon Specialization

Every class is eligible to learn or specialize in a fighting style:

Fighting Styles

Elves may choose to specialize in the Bladesong fighting style:

The Bladesong Fighting Style

Nonweapon Proficiencies

Characters will be created using Nonweapon Proficiencies, not secondary skills. Do not use the secondary skills table. Non-weapon Proficiencies (NWP) represent additional skills or knowledge that the character may have.

Money, Equipment, Encumbrance, and Movement

Starting money

Money. Starting funds can be found on Table 43. If the player has taken a kit, starting money for the character can be found as part of the kit description, and may be different than Table 43.

Encumbrance

Everything weighs something. Encumbrance. This is an optional rule and is not in use at this time.

Movement Rate

Base movement rates can be found here: Movement.

The Basics of Combat

Armor Class

Armor Class (AC) is one of the things in AD&D that throws new players. There are 21 different AC levels, starting at 10 for no armor and going all the way down to -10 for the best. I’m not going to go into the history of this and why it is the way it is.

AC 10 represents no armor at all. AC 5 is chain mail, and AC 0 is full plate mail and a shield. Table 46 in the Armor section shows the different AC levels for each type of armor. Dexterity can modify the AC of a character. A dexterity of 15 or higher ( or 6 or less) is required to get an AC adjustment. A thief with a dexterity score of 18, wearing no armor, would have an AC of 6, not 10, because an 18 Dex gives them a -4 bonus to AC. That same thief wearing leather armor (AC 8) would have an AC of 4, because of the benefit of the high dexterity. Remember, the lower the AC number, the better the AC.

Saving Throws

Saving throws are not based on abilities. There are five categories for saving throws: Paralyzation, Poison, and Death Magic (PPDM Rod, Staff, Wand (RSW), Petrification & Polymorph (PP Spell (Sp), and Breath Weapon (BW). Table 60 in The Saving Throw section shows the different save targets. They are based on class and level.

THAC0

The most common thing to confuse new players is THAC0, or “To Hit Armor Class 0”. Every 1st level character starts with a THAC0 of 20. This is the number (or greater) that would need to be rolled to score a hit on an enemy combatant.

Attacking & THAC0

Critical Hits & Fumbles

When a natural 20 is rolled during combat, a critical hit has occurred. Roll percentile dice and I will inform you what has just happened. Be aware, however, that critical hits aren’t just for the players. Enemy combatants get the benefit of critical hits as well.

The opposite of critical hits is Fumbles. This is a roll of a natural 1. This roll means something bad happens, whether it be a stumble, or a weapon slipping out of your hand. If this happens, it takes a little bit of time to recover.

Rarely, you may strike and friend, or even more rarely, stab yourself. If you fire a missile (arrow) into an area that is occupied by friendly troops, if you miss the target you are aiming at, there is a chance you could strike a friend instead. This is not a fumble, but firing into a crowd is dangerous work.

How the Die Rolls Work

The interpretation of a twenty sided die is not the same every time it is rolled. The desired result may be high, or it may be low depending on the circumstance.

A high die roll is desired when rolling for the following reasons: ‘To Hit’ and Saving Throws.

A low die roll is desired in the following circumstances: Ability checks of any sort, including perception, and non-weapon proficiencies.

Conclusion

This is everything you need to know to create a character and start playing AD&D Second Edition. There is much, much more and only the basics are covered here. Just like the PHB covers the basics and updates and adds rules via the so-called “splat books” (the class and race handbooks) it is beyond the scope of this document to explore those books in depth. It is up to the player to utilize the information within those books (with DM approval) to maximize their character's abilities. Not utilizing those books is selling your character short. AD&D is not only about combat, but about using your skills to their utmost to survive and advance.

A backstory, if desired, may be created by the player. Your backstory may be as short and simple or as complex as you want (but keep in mind that your PC is young and doesn’t have a lot of life experience). Try to answer a few basic questions:

1. I chose this life because…
2. I will fight someone if…
3. My vice is…
4. My biggest fear or weakness is…
5. I would fight to the death/die for…
6. What one thing would I never want my friends/allies to know about…