Other Characteristics

After you have selected a race, you may want to fill in the details of your character. You are not required to do so, but there are many situations in which this information is vital or useful to role-playing.

The sex and name of your character are up to you. Some people feel it is important to know whether their character is right- or left- handed, or ambidextrous. This has no bearing on play of the game, since all characters are assumed to be reasonably competent with either hand (that doesn't mean everyone is trained to fight with two weapons). It is easiest to say that your character has the same handedness as you. This will result in the normal ratio of right- to left-handed people. However, handedness must be determined before the first game session. If it is not, the character will be right-handed.

On occasion it may be useful to know your character's height and weight. The best way to determine height and weight is to choose the appropriate numbers, subject to your DM's approval. If you want a short, pudgy human fighter, you can select an appropriate height and weight. Otherwise, heights and weights can be generated randomly using height and weights tables found with the various races and subraces. Take the appropriate base score and add the die roll modifier. As with all tables, this can create some ridiculous results (one of the problems with randomness) and, at the same time, cannot account for the full variety of mankind (or demihumankind). The table only reproduces a fairly average range for each race.

That being said, the palyer can choose to be shorter or taller. For height, roll an additional 1d6 and add or subtract as desired. For weight, roll an additional d20 and add or subtract for overweight and underweight characters.

There are a number of other personal characteristics your character has—hair and eye color, body shape, voice, noticeable features (such as scars, moles, twitches, etc.), complexion, and general personality. There are no tables for these things, nor should there be. Your job, as a player, is to add these details, thereby creating the type of character you want. You probably know some from the start (do you want to play a towering, robust warrior, or a slim, unassuming swordsman? others, especially your character's personality, will grow and take form as you play. Remember, you are an actor and your character is your role!

Background

It is up to the player to determine their character's background. 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). All characters begin the game at 1st level, theu they should not be a dragonslayer of great renown throughout the world.

A pprtion of the background will be determined randomly, things such as social class, circumstances of birth, and where the character was born. Family will also be determined randomly. These are things the character has no control over.

As an example, a person born into the noble or royal class are unlikely to be a farm hand or blacksmith, unless there is a compelling reason for this character to be doing this kind of work. On the opposite end, a person born in the lower classes are unlikely to be rubbing elbows with kings and queens. Keep the background logical.

When crafting the background try to answer a few basic questions. The answers to these question should be given to the DM as part of the character background, but this does not need to be shared with the other players.

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…

Circumstances of Birth

Before determining a kit, it may be helpful to determine where your character comes from. After all it doesn't make much sense for a barbarian to originate from civilized lands.

Social status, parent's marital status, and even how many children are in the family is beyond the control of the player, along with the location of their birth.

The first thing that will be determined is the characters Social Status. This is applied to all characters, both human and non-human.

Next, determine the character's family..

Finally, determine where the character was born and their likely alignment by checking the Land of Birth section. The character does not have to conform to the given alignments. This is just a guide to how people of various nations are aligned. For more information on the birth nation, consult with the DM.

Starting Ages

Players may also want to know their characters' starting ages. Characters can start at any age that is agreeable to both the player and the DM. However, all beginning adventurers are assumed to be at least 16 years old, since they must grow physically, emotionally, and in practical experience before they are ready to undertake the rigors of an adventuring life. Each race/subrace has its own determination and can be used to give a starting age (add the variable die roll to the base starting age to get the character's starting age) and the possible life span of a character, assuming a quiet and peaceful life. The maximum age for a character should be secretly determined and recorded by the DM if desired. Player characters may have an idea of how long they expect to live, but do not know their true allotted life spans.

Aging

As a character ages, his ability scores are affected. Upon reaching one-half of his base maximum age (45 for a human), the character loses 1 point of Strength (or half of his exceptional Strength rating) and 1 point of Constitution, but gains 1 point each of Intelligence and Wisdom. At two-thirds of his base maximum age (60 for a human), the character loses 2 more points of Strength (or all his exceptional Strength and 1 point more), 2 points of Dexterity, and 1 more point of Constitution, but he gains 1 point of Wisdom. Upon reaching the base maximum age. the character loses 1 more point from each of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, while gaining 1 more point in both Intelligence and Wisdom. All aging adjustments are cumulative. These adjustments are shown on each individual age table.

There may be times when a magical device or spell adds years to or subtracts years from a player character's life. This magical aging can have two different effects. Some magical aging physically affects the character. For example, a Haste spell ages those it affects by one year. This aging is added directly to the player charactees current age. He physically acquires the appearance of himself one year older (a few more wrinkles, etc.). Characters who increase in age from magical effects do not gain the benefits of increased Wisdom and Intelligence—these are a function of the passage of game time—but the character does suffer the physical losses to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution associated with aging. These are breakdowns of the body's systems. Physical age can also be removed in the same manner. Some potions give years back to the character. In this case, the physical appearance of the character is restored. The character can regain lost vigor (Str, Dex, and Con) as his body is renewed but he does not lose any of the benefits of aging (Wis and Int).

Magical aging can also work to increase or decrease the life span of the character. In such a case, the actual age of the character is unaffected. All adjustments are made by the DM to the character's maximum age (which only the DM knows). For example, a human finds a magical fountain that bestows great longevity (10 to 60 years more). The DM has already determined the human will naturally live to 103 years (base +2d20, in this case 13). The water of the fountain bestows 40 more years so that, unless the character meets a violent end, he will live to 143 years. He still suffers the effects of aging at the usual ages (45, 60, and 90 years, respectively), but the period in which he would be considered a venerable elder of his people is extended for 40 years.

[Player's Handbook]
[Circumstances of Birth tables were taken from Dragon Magazine, issues #52 (cover date August, 1981) by Lenard Lakofka & #70 (cover date February, 1983) by by E. Gary Gygax]