Nick’s guide to basic character creation

Thank’s for considering playing in our new D&D group! I understand that
tabletop roleplaying can be a confusing and convoluted space to try to learn so I
am creating a guide to condense all the information you need in a digestible
document you can use to build your character. This guide will show you what
choices you need to make as well as what they mean and how they will define your
character and their capabilities. On the next page will be an empty character sheet
followed by a resource for understanding each statistic you will be filling out to
reference back to. Feel free to print out the blank and fill out as you go along, or
record your choices and info and a character sheet will be provided for you to fill
in before we start playing. DO NOT READ THIS WHOLE GUIDE. That would
take you forever and you would be no closer to understanding the game. Most of
this guide is reference info. If I am writing it? Read and follow along. If it's a page
from a book? Find something that looks cool? Read a bit about that thing. Still
sounds cool? Pick it! Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in the details. There
are the contents of 3 books in here. The color books are rules expansions and thus
classes will have extra spells on the spell lists in color and they will be found in the
spell descriptions in color.
Character Sheets
Race
Race!

There are a bunch of race options in D&D. This is your first big decision in
what character you want to play as. I am going to just paste all the information
of the various races across all the books. There will be statistical changes or
abilities that affect each race differently but try not to focus on that. Instead
focus on something cool, something weird, or anything that sparks any
creativity about what kind of person you could be! Once you have decided on
one, write it at the top of your character sheet. Below you will find the available
races.

Note: Many races have subraces. You will need to choose one of the variants of your race that
fits your character. When we get to stat calculation many races will have their own abilities,
cantrips or spells that subraces add on with more I.E. All elves have the darkvision ability which
allows them to see in the dark. The drow has superior darkvision which allows them to see even
farther in the dark. But the speed of a drow is no different than other elves so its stat is the same
as the other subraces as listed on the main page for elves.
Class
Once you have your character’s race written down, it’s time to pick a class. A class is
sort of a role you fill whether it be job, calling or skill set. Many of these come with their
own rules so be wary of what style of gameplay you want to participate in. Generally
classes can be boiled down into a few types. Close combat fighters: Barbarian, Fighter,
Paladin Monk; Stealth or ranged characters: Rogue, Ranger; Spellcasters: Sorcerer,
Wizard, Animancer; and hybrid classes: Druid, Warlock, Cleric, Bard. Many of these
classes also make you choose a variant of that class. I.E. A patron as a warlock, or the
oath you have taken as a Paladin. These can change your abilities and the way you define
your character. The flavor and options of how you approach situations in and out of
combat is largely defined by your class but please note some classes have harder to follow
restrictions than others. I.E. Paladins must follow the creed of their chosen oath or
suffer penalties up to and including losing their divine spellcasting abilities and other
negative effects at the DM’s discretion. If choosing a paladin or cleric I would ask that
you also choose a traditional D&D alignment befitting of your class, any other class may
choose an alignment at their own discretion.

Note: There are extra subclasses, spells and features in the colored pages. These are
from other books so information may be out of order but they function in the same way
as the black and white pages but with alternate options! Make sure you consider them.
Fill in Your Sheet
Now that you have selected both a race and a class we can start filling in your character sheet!
Starting at the top we can give your character a name, fill in the class you are playing, your level
(1), the race you have chosen, your real name and put 0 above experience points. Easy stuff is
done.

Attributes:
On the left hand side of your character sheet are your ability scores or attributes. These each
represent various things about your character.

Strength = Your physical prowess, ability to wear heavier armor, how much you can carry and
how good you are with weapons that rely on strength.

Dexterity = Essentially a measure of your reflexes and coordination. Reflects how hard you are
to hit, how nimble you are, how stealthy you are and how could you are with finesse weapons

Constitution = A reflection of the shape you keep your body in, helps with staving off most
conditions, giving yourself more hit points and healing more.

Intelligence = How smart you are, also what Wizards use to cast spells

Wisdom = How wise you are, also the casting stat for multiple different classes

Charisma = how charming and personable you are as well as a casting stat for Warlocks +
others

Each class has a stat listed on their page of this guide that they use the most often. For
Barbarians its strength, Warlock's Charisma, Wizard Intelligence and so on. As we take the step
to assign attribute scores I would recommend (although you may decide differently) to make
sure that stat is among your highest. It will make your life easier.

To calculate your ability score either using real dice or an app or website roll 4 1d6 die and add
up the highest three numbers. Do this 6 times until you have 6 distinct numbers you can assign
each to an attribute of your choosing. No cheating! (unless you get generationally fucked here
then go ahead and use your best discretion)

The average human ability score for each of these is around 10 or 11. Underneath the bubble
where you write your score you will have space for what’s called an “ ability modifier” this is for
calculating what those abilities mean in game terms when you decide to use them. For every 2
points above 10 you would get a plus 1 to that ability modifier. For example a Dexterity score
of 16 would get you a +3 Dexterity modifier. You would write this under your total score. Same
goes in the negative: an 8 Dexterity score would net you -1 as an ability modifier.
Note: Some races give a bonus to ability scores. I.E. Elves have a dexterity bonus of +2 and the
elven subrace Drow has a charisma bonus of +1. A drow would get both of those bonuses
added to their total ability score. Affecting their modifier in the same way.

We can move on to Proficiency Bonus which will be listed on your class’s page. For example a
Barbarian will get a +2 proficiency bonus at level 1 so you would write +2 in your box labeled
proficiency bonus. These will affect the skills section we will get into next.

Saving Throws: Next is our saving throws, these are for checking our ability of the same stat
against an opponent or trap. Every class has two saving throws they are proficient in. Find
yours and fill in the empty circle next to it. Now add your ability modifiers on the line next to it
and for each saving throw you are proficient in, add your proficiency bonus to that score.

I.E. A warlock has a Charisma of 16, and is proficient in that saving throw so their saving throw
modifier would be +3 from their attribute and +2 from their proficiency bonus for a total of +5.
Negatives work in the same way here. A Wizard with a strength score of 8 and is not proficient
in it would have a strength saving throw modifier of -1.

Skills: Your skills are exactly that, things your character is knowledgeable or good at before
even coming to the table. You get a few choices you can pick from on your selected class page,
you can select two for that class. On top of that you can choose 2 of your own choice based on
your character's background. We will get into backgrounds later in this section, think about who
your character was before he has his first adventure and try to choose skills that fit with the kind
of person they are, or the history they have. Fill in the blank circles on the skills you have
chosen. Now add your ability modifiers to all skills and your proficiency bonus for the skills you
have chosen to be proficient in.

Passive Wisdom (Perception): This is how observant of your environment you are. The
calculation is 10 + Wisdom Bonus (including negative bonus). If you choose the perception skill
you may add your proficiency bonus to this.

I.E. A monk has a Wisdom of 14 and is proficient in perception. 10 as a baseline score +2 for his
wisdom modifier +2 for his proficiency bonus.

Other Proficiencies and Languages: Your race, class or other bonuses may allow you to
speak other languages or grant proficiencies not labeled on your character sheet. You would
write those in this box. All species speak a common language but others can fluently read, write
and speak others. I.E. Elves can also speak elvish. Any additional features like this will be listed
on your race or class page.

For now leave armor class blank. Initiative will stay blank until your first fight.

Speed: speed is a general calculation of how much ground your character can cover in any
given turn. This is always listed under your race page but may be modified by your subrace or
class. These are always clearly labeled on the page they are contained on. Do not try to read
the entirety of your class, or race page to try and find some hidden bonus.

I.E. an elves base speed is 30 so they would write 30 in the box labeled speed.

Current hitpoints: Each class has a clearly labeled “Hit die” to be used for calculating your
hitpoints, or, how much damage you can take. Roll the die indicated (I.E. a warlocks hit die is
1d8) and then add your constitution modifier to that roll. That is your maximum hitpoints and
your current hitpoints until you are hurt in-game.

Leave Temporary Hit Points alone until gametime.

Hit Dice: Record the hit dice you used for rolling your hit points here. Not the score you got, just
what dice you used. Then add one to the amount section on top. This will determine how many
more hit points you get every level up.

Leave Death Saves blank for now.

Attacks and Spellcasting: All weapons have a basic attack that use your class specific hit dice,
once we determine your starting equipment you would list that here. On top of this, classes will
either have special attacks they can use and/or spells. Any class specific attacks will be listed
on your character sheet. Be sure to record the attack name, any bonus and what kind of
damage it does in the box. On top of this most classes have access to both cantrips and or
spells. A cantrip is a spell you can cast as an action at any point while adventuring or once a
turn while in combat. These don’t cost any resources and can be used freely. If your class is
capable of learning and using cantrips (listed on your class page) you may select as many as
your class allows at level 1. The list of cantrips available for each class is listed on page 273
of this guide and the descriptions of those cantrips are in alphabetical order starting at page
281. Spells are also something you may have access to. Those generally require expending
spell slots to use, which will regenerate after either a long or short rest. (More on resting in
the basic rules of play section). Classes with spell slots will gain additional and higher power
slots as they level up. For now refer to your class page to see how many spells you may learn
at level 1 and if applicable flip back to the class spell list at page 273 and the spell descriptions
at page 281. Now record the cantrips and spells you may have learned here and also on the
third page of the character sheet where you will have a lot more space to record what the spell
does and your own notes on it.

Equipment: Each class has their own choice of starting equipment clearly labeled on the
class page. For the sake of brevity in this already too long guide I have decided not to include
the available starting equipment as a list but if you have any questions a google search will do
you just fine. Take note however that different classes have different proficiencies with
different weapons as well as some race proficiencies to factor in as well. A wizard can’t use
anything except simple weapons without a large penalty whereas a fighter can use most
weapons in the game. If you haven’t already done so, list your proficiencies in weapons and
armor in the other proficiencies and languages box and be prepared to pick equipment you
can actually use! List that equipment in the bottom middle box.

Armor Class: Once you have picked your starting equipment you can now calculate your
armor class. Armor class is your ability to avoid wounds when hit. This is determined by your
armor’s armor class (leather armor = 11 for example ((google is your friend, or just text and
ask))) plus your dexterity modifier (unless wearing heavy armor in which case you would NOT
add your dexterity modifier).

I.E. A fighter wearing Hide medium armor has a base ac of 12 plus his dexterity modifier of +1
for a total AC of 13

I.E. A paladin wearing Ring Mail (Heavy Armor) has a base ac of 14 but because it is heavy
armor he DOES NOT add his dexterity modifier.

Note: Most heavy armors have a strength prerequisite to be able to wear them without
penalties. Without a high enough strength you can still wear the armor but you will be subject to
both speed and attack penalties that may make the extra AC not worth it.

In the features and traits section feel free to write anything you want to remember about your
abilities or class or race you want to make sure you have at the ready. As you level up you will
eventually be able to select feats. These feats grant you new abilities you will also write in this
space.

The rest of the character sheet is yours to fill out. Your personality, your ideals, your bonds, your
flaws. Then on the backside a more in depth history of your character, their associations and
what made them who they are today. I ain’t expecting Shakespeare but I do expect you to fill
these sections out and to have an idea of who you are roleplaying as so as to better facilitate
the group and story as a whole. I look forward to you sharing it with me before we get started!

A general rules overview will be gone over before our first session but until then the D&D basic
rules are officially free and available at the Dungeons and Dragons website. Thanks for working
through this guide and now that the hard part is over we can have some fun!
Per Class Spell Lists
Spell Descriptions
Feats
Racial Feats