Character Creation Guidelines
Hello, friends! As our new campaign is approaching, I thought I'd provide some guidelines for character creation so you can get started on making your new character!
The best website for referencing classes, races, backgrounds, and more is this one.
From that website, you can choose any race under "common" or "exotic". However, we will be using an alternate system for dealing with character race, which I will link here. Basically, you will have the physical traits of whatever race you choose, but everything else (like proficiencies and stat buffs) will be determined by the culture you grew up in.
For classes, you can choose any. Your subclass must be from the "source" section of the table (ex. no Unearthed Arcana). I've made an article here on how the different classes are viewed in Taifar (please read it!). This may inform how you play your character and may spark some inspiration in character creation.
For backgrounds, you can choose any under the "common" section, minus those under the "AL" subsections. If you have an idea that doesn't quite fit with one of the background or combines elements of both, we can work together to make a custom background.
Also, to build a backstory for your character that is more entwined in the world and to create a compelling character story for them, we'll be using a slightly tweaked version of the Heroic Chronicle from The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (a Critical Role D&D source book). We'll be using the system from the "family" section and onwards. You are welcome to roll randomly on the tables, choose a specific option, or use them as a jumping off point for your own ideas. Note that some of the options on the tables are specific to the Wildemount and won't be applicable to our game. We'll also look over this part of the character creation process together to make sure that it fits within the confines of the world and story (so some things you choose could potentially be changed/tweaked). But I thought I'd list it here for you to look at so you can start formulating loose backstory ideas. One of the most important things that we'll use from this is the "prophecy" section. Basically, it asks you to come up with three different goals your character has and wants to complete over the course of the campaign. When coming up with these, think about what sort of adventures you're interested in. If you're interested in murder mystery, maybe one of your goals is to find out who killed your childhood best friend. While I have a general idea of an overarching plot for this campaign, your backstories and goals will provide a huge influence on the course of the campaign and the different types of quests you go on or conflict you encounter. So this is your chance to shape the campaign!
Also, don't be afraid to leave some things in your backstory vague or open for me to add some things to surprise you. For example, maybe you have a long lost sibling, and that's all you know. Leaving it at that makes room for me to create an interesting storyline for you to uncover. Maybe they turn out to be the villain, or maybe they've been keeping an eye on you this whole time, but have stayed out of your life because they hold the knowledge to a dangerous secret.
And the same thing goes for me. If I give a vague snippet of information on a culture or concept, you're 100% welcome to take that and expand on it yourself! For example, I might come up with a brief bit of info on a city or culture you decide your character is from, and you're welcome to add more detail to it. This works especially well if it ties into your character's backstory and you have a specific idea in mind.
In addition, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, a D&D rules expansion book, has some alternate or additional features for classes, which we can discuss if you're interested. *cough* Ranger *cough*
I've also come across some additional rules for characters with disabilities. If you want to play a character with a disability (ex. chronic pain, ADHD, autism, stress/anxiety), you can check out the rules here. Furthermore, you can find a ruleset for the combat wheelchair here.
Another thing to consider when creating your character is considering their strengths and making sure they work well with the story we want to tell. Your skills will likely be informed by your character's goals and what they want to accomplish over the campaign (or maybe part of their goal is to acquire certain skills). Moreover, it would be good to consider what type of skills will be helpful for the overarching plot of the campaign. Without giving away too much, magic and potentially uncovering secrets about it will likely be a big part of the story. Additionally, you will be travelling much more than in our current campaign, and therefore you're more likely to interact with a wider variety of cultures and people. Therefore I'd say that characters with high Intelligence, Wisdom, and/or Charisma would be fitting for this campaign (of course the other abilities are definitely useful as well, I just think these may come up slightly more). That being said, some skills that may be useful/important for this campaign specifically are:
Finally, we will be starting the campaign as you are travelling to the town, Kaylong, so please come up with a reason why your character is taking a journey here. For reference, you will be with a group of people travelling to Kaylong via wagons that are taking people there. Some potential reasons your character may be on this chartered journey to Kaylong are:
The best website for referencing classes, races, backgrounds, and more is this one.
From that website, you can choose any race under "common" or "exotic". However, we will be using an alternate system for dealing with character race, which I will link here. Basically, you will have the physical traits of whatever race you choose, but everything else (like proficiencies and stat buffs) will be determined by the culture you grew up in.
For classes, you can choose any. Your subclass must be from the "source" section of the table (ex. no Unearthed Arcana). I've made an article here on how the different classes are viewed in Taifar (please read it!). This may inform how you play your character and may spark some inspiration in character creation.
For backgrounds, you can choose any under the "common" section, minus those under the "AL" subsections. If you have an idea that doesn't quite fit with one of the background or combines elements of both, we can work together to make a custom background.
Also, to build a backstory for your character that is more entwined in the world and to create a compelling character story for them, we'll be using a slightly tweaked version of the Heroic Chronicle from The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (a Critical Role D&D source book). We'll be using the system from the "family" section and onwards. You are welcome to roll randomly on the tables, choose a specific option, or use them as a jumping off point for your own ideas. Note that some of the options on the tables are specific to the Wildemount and won't be applicable to our game. We'll also look over this part of the character creation process together to make sure that it fits within the confines of the world and story (so some things you choose could potentially be changed/tweaked). But I thought I'd list it here for you to look at so you can start formulating loose backstory ideas. One of the most important things that we'll use from this is the "prophecy" section. Basically, it asks you to come up with three different goals your character has and wants to complete over the course of the campaign. When coming up with these, think about what sort of adventures you're interested in. If you're interested in murder mystery, maybe one of your goals is to find out who killed your childhood best friend. While I have a general idea of an overarching plot for this campaign, your backstories and goals will provide a huge influence on the course of the campaign and the different types of quests you go on or conflict you encounter. So this is your chance to shape the campaign!
Also, don't be afraid to leave some things in your backstory vague or open for me to add some things to surprise you. For example, maybe you have a long lost sibling, and that's all you know. Leaving it at that makes room for me to create an interesting storyline for you to uncover. Maybe they turn out to be the villain, or maybe they've been keeping an eye on you this whole time, but have stayed out of your life because they hold the knowledge to a dangerous secret.
And the same thing goes for me. If I give a vague snippet of information on a culture or concept, you're 100% welcome to take that and expand on it yourself! For example, I might come up with a brief bit of info on a city or culture you decide your character is from, and you're welcome to add more detail to it. This works especially well if it ties into your character's backstory and you have a specific idea in mind.
In addition, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, a D&D rules expansion book, has some alternate or additional features for classes, which we can discuss if you're interested. *cough* Ranger *cough*
I've also come across some additional rules for characters with disabilities. If you want to play a character with a disability (ex. chronic pain, ADHD, autism, stress/anxiety), you can check out the rules here. Furthermore, you can find a ruleset for the combat wheelchair here.
Another thing to consider when creating your character is considering their strengths and making sure they work well with the story we want to tell. Your skills will likely be informed by your character's goals and what they want to accomplish over the campaign (or maybe part of their goal is to acquire certain skills). Moreover, it would be good to consider what type of skills will be helpful for the overarching plot of the campaign. Without giving away too much, magic and potentially uncovering secrets about it will likely be a big part of the story. Additionally, you will be travelling much more than in our current campaign, and therefore you're more likely to interact with a wider variety of cultures and people. Therefore I'd say that characters with high Intelligence, Wisdom, and/or Charisma would be fitting for this campaign (of course the other abilities are definitely useful as well, I just think these may come up slightly more). That being said, some skills that may be useful/important for this campaign specifically are:
- Arcana
- Investigation
- Survival
- Insight
- Perception
- Persuasion or Deception
Finally, we will be starting the campaign as you are travelling to the town, Kaylong, so please come up with a reason why your character is taking a journey here. For reference, you will be with a group of people travelling to Kaylong via wagons that are taking people there. Some potential reasons your character may be on this chartered journey to Kaylong are:
- they are part of the crew in charge of driving or navigating
- they have been hired as a body guard to a particular traveler
- they are visiting a friend or family member in Kaylong
- they plan to visit the Faewalker Ruins (as a tourist, researcher, etc.)
- they are on a longer journey and Kaylong is one of the stops on their way to their final destination
- they've heard rumours of the Faewalker Ruins and that has piqued their interest
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