Attributes –
Players have 2 options to pick from, and Each Player, themselves, select which of the two options to use. They can even mix it up for both the characters they create, one going by point buy, one going by die rolling. There is NO need for a “Group consensus on this.
Method 1; Die rolling - Roll TWELVE sets of stats out in a row (or circle), rolling each via 4d6, dropping the lowest, then select ANY Consecutive six scores (the stats roll around so one could select stat 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 1, or stat 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and, but must pick 6 in a consecutive order. THESE stats must be rolled in front of the DM. And a player cannot roll up, 'multiple' lines for multiple characters, then select the 'one I want'. Once done, the player has the option of doing ONE 2 for 1, by dropping ONE stat (not below racial or class minimums) to increase one stat by 1. Once the six stats are selected, the player assigns those stats in any order, to the six attributes as he selects.
Method 2; Point buy - Each of the first five attributes, Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity and Constitution start out at 3, while the sixth, Charisma starts out at 9. Then the player has 58 points, plus a single die roll of 1d4 bonus points, to allocate as desired to build their character. Raising a stat from 3 to a 16, it takes one point per point allocated, After that, it takes two points to shift from a 16 to a 17, and another 3, to go from a 17 to an 18. So it would take a total of 18 points allocated, to raise a stat from a 3 to a 18. If percentile Strength is desired, it costs 1 point per 15%. NOTE: Using this method, only TWO stats can be maxed out at 18 (or 17 if the racial max is lower), and this is BEFORE racial modifications are done. Also the roll of the 1d4, is done before the DM.
HP/HD rolls:
For first level, all PC's start out at max HP. For level 2 and 3, they get a minimum of 50%. For levels 4 and beyond, roll HP as normal (ignore a roll of 1 though, move it up to a 2hp min). Add con bonus as applicable. As an option, the player can ask the DM to roll the same HD type as he does, and he can then opt, if he dislikes his roll, to take what the DM rolled, but he doesn’t get to see what it is, before he takes it, and if his roll is LOWER than his, Oh well.
For Multi-class Pcs, look in the HR section on an alternate method for rolling HP. If instead, they opt to go Core on HP, roll each class separately, add in con, then divide by 2 (or 3). Keeping with Max for 1st level, min 50% for 2nd and 3rd. I.E. A fighter/mage who has a 17 con would roll (1d10+3/2) + (1d4+2/2) for hp. Keep track of .5hp, as when you add in a 2nd .5hp, you round up.
Class/Race
All common races and classes are allowed, though Halflings are limited. Gnomes no longer have a presence in Kalomm, they've all gone back to the mainland.. Halflings are only allowed to be Stout sub race. Additionally, Lizard men and Gnolls are allowed as PC races, due to the realm having treaties with several lizard men caves and 3 Gnoll towns..
Any race can have clerics even if normally not allowed by the book, Gnolls and Lizard men priests have to select a human deity..
Neither the Lizard-man or Gnolls, can be multi-class characters.
For Gnolls and Lizard-men;
For Lizard men use the following stats: Base AC 5, Size M, ranging from 5ft to 7ft (60 inches +2d12). They can be Clerics (7th lev), Fighters (12th lev), Mages (4th lev) or thieves (11th lev). They cannot Multi-class. For clerics, they can take Laranni, Balkao and Sarajin as gods. For mages they can be Water or Earth Elementalist specialists, besides that, they can be NO other mage specialty, and if they are the Elementalist, they can go to 6th level. They have no stat adjustments, but do have racial minimums of 8 for Str and 6 for Con, and racial maximums of 17 for Int and 16 for Cha.
Lizard-men CAN wear armor, Only if it is ‘specially made’ for their body types, as most normal armors are very uncomfortable to wear, due to the tail. This costs at LEAST 2 times the normal cost, and takes 50% more time to create, (They can’t just be bought off the shelf).
If Lizard-men, do choose to wear armor, they do suffer a NPC reaction penalty, due to their kind normally disliking armor. This penalty is -3. They also drop 1 from their dexterity while wearing armor.
Because of their ungainly way of walking, they have a base land move of 6, but can swim at a rate of 12 if lightly or unencumbered (no need for the Swimming NWP, though if they have it, they increase their move to a 15) also the tail prevents them riding pony's, horses or donkeys. This is why their caves, often ally with large (Giant) lizard mounts, that they can ride. These are rare however. In melee, Lizard-men can use their natural weaponry, with no Non-weapon penalty. Claws they gain 2 attacks a round, dealing d2+strength (max bonus of +2 per claw) with no “Two weapon” fighting penalty. They can also sweep with their Tails, causing a d6 damage, and forcing the opponents to need to make a dexterity check or fall over. Some even specialize in their natural weaponry, (one slot), increasing the claw damage to d4. They can’t mix in their claws And tail, but can attack with a weapon, and their tail. But this does suffer the standard two weapon usage penalty.
For Gnolls use the following stats: Base AC 10, Size L - 7ft to 8ft (84 inches +1d12). They can be Clerics (9th), Fighters (11th) and Thieves (11th). They can also be shamans or witch doctors (both 5th). For the RARE few who have the stats for it, they can also become rangers up to 6th level. For gods, they tend to focus on Peoni, Sarajin, Balkao and Vorka, though a rare few have taken Laranni, this is mostly due to the Gnoll's favored weapon being their great bow. Those who do become priests of Laranni, are often shunned by other gnolls, due to their dislike of bows.
Due to taking damage as size L creatures, Gnoll PC’s gain a +2hp kicker at first level. They add +1 to Str, and take a -1 penalty to both Cha and Int. For racial stat minimums they have 6 in Str, and 5 in both Dex and Con. For racial maximums they have a 14 in both Cha and Int, and 16 for Wis. They can use their natural claws in combat, dealing d2 damage. Their land move is 12 as normal. They cannot ride mounts due to normal mounts not being able to support their size or great weight. Gnoll PC’s are of the “Blue fur” variety. (Red-brown are the evil ones!)
For players wishing to be a specialist mage, the main PHB options along with the Elementalist and Wild mage specialties from the Tome of Magic are allowed. No changes to what is printed in regards to their powers/weaknesses etc.
Classes are still limited otherwise to each race and class combo by the book and/or racial handbook. Barbarians and non-human handbooks are the only ones not in use, however just because some kits are used from a racial/class handbook, does NOT mean anything else is. NO KIT from the Complete bards are used, that clash with a core rule, such as 'you cannot multi-class from a sub to a core class (such as the Gypsy). Additionally, Paladins cannot be dual classed INTO our OUT of.
Level limits/Racial XP Penalty – This is the 2nd spot the players get to pick which option they wish to go with. Unlike the attribute option above, this is a group decision and everyone abides by the pick. They can go by the normal book where each race and class are limited to the levels as given in below chart. Optionally level limits won't be used but every demi-humans pays an XP penalty based on their race:
Hill dwarves/mountain are 45%, while Sundered dwarves are 50%
High elves are 50%. Stout Halflings are 50%
Gnolls and Lizard-men are both a flat 50% penalty. Half elves are a flat 30% penalty.
SO FAR everyone has voted to use Racial XP penalties
Starting PRIMARY PC.
Every player CAN make up two characters, a Primary and a Back-up ((NOTE There is no requirement for a player TO MAKE UP THEIR BACK UP, its given as an option for those who want to have a ready-made character, to take over should the Primary die!))
Note: If the Primary pc is a Multi-class, the BACK UP must be a single class.
IF the primary is a Single class, the back up CAN BE multi.
Starting Primary PC's are BUILT as if they had 10,000xp to allocate to their class(s). BUT START actual game play, having only EARNED 3,000xp. SO if they made a 2 class Multi-classed character, they would have 5,000xp to allocate to what their starting Level is, but each class would only have 1,500xp starting out.
They get IF A MAGE (OR bard) pc, 8 first level spells, Plus Detect magic, Read magic, and Cantrip for their spell book, and IF 3rd or 4th level, 3 second level spells, of their choice for their spell book. THEY Still must roll their chance to know for these spells. AND any roll of 00 for a spell, indicates they can NEVER Know that spell, unless they research it themselves. Additionally this is based on their INTELLIGENCE Max # of spells they can know.
All spells they chose to roll for, must COME From the Tome of magic, or PHB. Spells from the Wizard handbook (that are allowed), spells and magic, or home made ones, MUST BE FOUND in game.
For starting magic items, they gain 3 items total. 2 rolled for (and no armor/weapon will be higher than +1 value), and one item as a "choice". IE for warriors, generally the choice is armor or weapon. Mages its generally protective, or defensive.
Starting Money for primary pc's are based on what Class they are.
Warriors gain 800gp
Mages 200gp
Priests 600gp
and Rogues 500gp
Psionicists if being allowed, start at 300gp
Multi-class characters, AVERAGE the two above values, OR 500gp, which ever is higher.
Back up Character
Once done with making up the primary PC, everyone can THEN make up their back up character.
Back up characters, ONLY are used, if the # of active players for a session is 4 or under, AND ONLY AT THE PLAYERS decision. IF they feel overwhelmed running two characters, they do NOT have to play their back up.
Back up characters, as for right now, are built at 5,000xp, but start game play only having earned 1,500xp. They get 2 magic items, both rolled for and if a mage/bard, they gain 5 first level spells (on top o the DM/RM/Cantrip trio) for their spell book.
Starting cash for backup characters, is MAX FIRST level, +40gp.
Note #1: If the # of ACTIVE players, who show up to an individual session, is 4 or less, all those players are allowed to have BOTH their primary and back up PC active.. ASSUMING that both their primary and back up character's are in the same area. Thus, if say one player had his primary PC staying in town/city, to train or do spell research, while the back up was on the road 3 weeks away, if in the following session, only 3 or 4 players showed up, that player's 'inactive' character could not join in, as there would be NO logical way for him to get there. For when 5 or more players show up, only their Primary (or back up if the primary is indisposed due to training or other endeavors), and any henchmen they have, are used.
PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS the player's choice. If they wish to only keep one active, they are fully allowed to do so. This is so 'newer players' don't feel overwhelmed by running multiple PC's at the same time…Once they become comfortable with running multiple (due to say having a henchman, or having to take over playing another player’s character for a missed session), they now have the option to go ahead and make up their back up and play him.
This 'rule' is in place, to keep the # of 'active characters' up, to where the loss of one player's character(s), wouldn't be an undue burden to the remaining players. If the # of active PC's is still only at 4 or 5 (due to only 2 players showing up), the DM will run a “DMNPC” who will act, but not 'lead'. This DMNPC can be any of the inactive or 'retired' characters, or just a made up character. If used, they only gain ½ the XP, like henchmen, but do gain full individual xp awards. This will always be a Fighter, that the “Crown” assigns to the group, for a short while (till the # of active characters gets to be six or more), but not for longer than six months. HE IS NOT considered a Henchman, where the party needs to pay for his services, but they ARE required to pay for his training if he levels up!
NOTE #2: IF both characters are “in the field” when this occurs, the one in the 'inactive status', goes back to 'camp', (I.E. to guard the horses), IF the way the prior session ended, allows for something like this to occur. The character doesn't just “Poof” away. Just like a character doesn't “POOF” into being. There will be situations though, where this cannot occur, so both characters still can be played. BUT AT THE SOONEST chance, where one can be 'inactivated', the player needs to take it. (IE when they get back to proper camp, or a town etc)! However, often the group takes ALL active PC’s when transiting between towns and cities.
If both characters are being played by a player at the same time, they earn full XP for the adventures. If a player is having to play more than his own two characters (cause someone misses a game, or cause someone dropped out and the remaining players decided to pick them up, to keep the # of characters high) those other 'characters' are treated as group NPC's and earn 1/2xp as if they were henchmen. IF both a player's characters die off (say due to a TPK), when they make up new characters, they start FULLY AFRESH at primary and back-up status.
IN THE RARE OCCASION, of enough time passing, where players run only ONE of their characters (IE 10+ game sessions where 5 or more players show up), where enough time has gone, that the ACTIVE CHARCTER LEVELS UP, the 'inactive character, also levels up, SLOWER though. For every 2 levels gained by the “ACTIVE character”, the Back up (Inactive PC) Gains 1 level (set his new XP total to being 100xp, above what that class would require to gain that level). THIS IS for times where both the primary and back up are single class.
IF the primary (ACTIVE) PC is multi-class, and the back up (Inactive) is a Single class, 1 level is required to be gained in BOTH the primary's classes, before the back up goes up one level. HOWEVER if the roles are reversed and the Primary is single, while the Back-up is a Multi, only ONE class of the B/U gains a level per 2 the primary gains, going in order of Least XP needed, THEN the other class. I.E Jake is playing a Multi-classed Fighter/Thief as his primary, and a Bard as his back up. His primary currently is 4th/5th level, his back up is 3rd. When his primary hits 5th/6th level, his back up is now 'considered' 4th level.
Where as Carl has a 5th level fighter primary, and a 2nd/2nd level fighter/mage as his back up. Once carl's fighter hits 7th level, he gets to add one level, to his fighter/mage, going in order of Fighter, then mage.
In the rare occasion the primary is a Triple class while the b/u is single, Give the B/u 30% of all XP earned by the primary. If the roles are reversed, to where the primary is single, and the B/u is triple-classed, they earn 60% of the earned XP of the primary, but then need to split it 3 ways.
TERTIARY or replacement characters.
Once a primary (or back up) Dies, or is retired out (for what ever reason the player desires) A) Their back up shifts up to primary status, and they B) MAKE up a new back up character, considered to be their Tertiary character. XP for what they are made up as, Currently has them coming in at 2,500xp for the build but starting with NO magic. Four spells in a spell book (if a mage or bard), and Starting gold is Max +40gp.
Note though, if someone DIES within the first 5 GAME SESSIONS after creating their primary / back up character, ANY NEW character comes in as if they were making up their normal back up, so starts at 5,000xp..