Glowing Glyph

Player Character Creation

Some aspects of making an Adventurer’s Guild player character will feel familiar if you’re accustomed to Dungeons & Dragons. Here’s the theoretical broad strokes outline of what you need to do.

(Please understand that some mention of rules and examples, though they don’t paint the full picture, are meant to act as allusions to help your imagination bridge the gaps between this version and the game you know.)

1. Select a character class
   As usual, a class will best reflect your character’s abilities. Later you will pick powers (much as you would in 4e D&D). Consider also what ability scores the class favours by noting what ability score feats are associated with the class. Regardless, each class has a class feat. This feat typically represents hallmark entry-level capabilities of a character class such as a fighter’s proficiencies or a wizard’s rituals.
2. Select a character race
   Also highly important to your character’s identity is choosing a race. Each race presents racial powers that you can choose alternately to your class powers. Just as with classes, each race comes with a racial feat  that grants a universal ability such as an elf’s low-light vision. Furthermore, all races have ability score feats. For a straightforward character, choose a race that grants feats for having the same high ability scores for which your class awards feats.
3. Buy ability scores
   In a similar manner to 3e and D&D editions hence, at character creation you will spend points to derive your ability scores. Although it remains constant that the bonuses these scores give to you improve at even numbers (12, 14, 16, 18…) you attain ability score feats at the odd numbers , starting at a score of 13, possibly from your class and/or race in addition to a selection of general feats.

   Ability Score Number	Pt Cost	Bonus	Feats Gained
   11	1	0
   12	2	+1
   13	3	+1	Minor feat(s)
   14	5	+2
   15	7	+2	Major feat(s)
   16	-	+3
   17	-	+3	Supreme feat(s)
   18	-	+4
   19	-	+4	Major feats(s)
   20	-	+5
   21	-	+5	Minor feats(s)
   22	-	+6

4. Pick your ability score feats
   Now you’ll pick minor feats for each of your ability scores that is 13 or higher. Automatically you’ll pick one from a selection of general feats. If your class offers minor feats for that ability score, you’ll also pick one of them. Finally if your race has minor feats for that ability score, you’ll gain one of them as well.

   For example, if you were playing a dwarven fighter with at least 13 strength, you would choose a general minor strength feat such as Wrestler, a fighter minor strength feat such as Heavy Hitter, and a dwarf minor strength feat such as Burly Tank.
   

   For each ability score you have of 15 or higher, you’ll repeat this process but with respect to major feats.When in the course of your character’s career you raise an ability score to 17, you’ll repeat this process but for supreme feats. (For that matter, you’ll gain minor feats when you improve ability scores to 13 and to 21, and you’ll add major feats when you improve ability scores to 15 and later to 19.)

5. Choose recharge and knack powers
   From the options given for your class and your race, pick one recharge power. This is an option you can take as your standard action. Knacks, on the other hand, are smaller, complementary abilities that you can execute as a bonus action. You can regain use of one recharge or knack power when you take the basic attack action, full defense action, or recover action. When you take a short rest or long rest, you regain the use of all your recharges and knacks.
   As your character attains new levels, so too will he gain new powers including reflex powers and grand powers.
6. Select a background
   To flesh out your character, pick a background. Not only will this add a theme to your character’s history, you will gain a background feat. An example of this is Artisan’s Hand from the artisan background.
7. Buy and equip / ready equipment
   Start with (sum TBD) gold pieces with which to buy equipment. Regarding weapons, implements, and armour; most have ability score prerequisites in order to be proficient with the item. A broad rule of thumb is to simply choose armour and a weapon / implement that has the highest requirements you can meet. Another aspect to consider is that some purchases including poisons, bombs, hirelings, and animal companions require you to use your attunement slot in order to use them.

   Every member of the Adventurer’s Guild is awarded a Guild Harness, a useful customizable magic item that includes a backpack and belts / bandoliers with room for scabbards, loops, and pouches. Its power is to compress the volumes and lighten the encumbrance of the many items stored in the harness while keeping a selection of those items readily available to be drawn to hand or stowed back away.

   Thus a guild member may ready one (1) great item such as a halberd, greatsword, longbow, staff, or kite shield; up to two (2) moderate items such as a longsword, light crossbow, rod, quiver, or heater shield; and up to three (3) slight items such as a dagger, sling, wand, potion, or buckler shield. (Smaller items can be readied in the place of larger ones. You can ready six items, and one of them may be great or moderate, and two more may be moderate.)

8. Finalize your bonuses (and penalties)
   The basic bonuses from your ability scores are easy to find. This number is generally applicable to attacks, skill checks, and saving throws associated with that ability score; but there are areas next to the basic bonus where you can note specific bonuses usually covered under the umbrella of that ability score. For example, you might have a 16 charisma and thus a +3 bonus. You also might possess a +1 flute that adds +1 to your charisma attacks, and through feats, you may have a further +2 bonus to saving throws versus fear as well as a +4 bonus to perform skill checks. In addition to noting your general +3 charisma bonus, you must note on your character sheet your more specific +4 bonus to charisma attacks, a +5 bonus to fear saving throws, and +7 to perform skill checks.

   Every ability score is associated with a defense. Therefore a character has a strength defense (StrD or verbally “Strength Dee”), a dexterity defense (DexD), and so on. It’s most often equal to the character’s ability score. Therefore, a character with a wisdom of 14 generally also has a WisD of 14. There is space on your character sheet to note if your basic ability score defenses are different, including specific cases. For instance, a character might have a 15 ConD generally but 19 ConD versus poisons.

   Next you can figure out your armour class (AC). Add to 8 any AC bonuses you get from armour, shields, feats, and any other sources.

   Hit points (HP) start at 12 for player characters and then are augmented by feats.Figure out then your bloodied number by dividing your hit points in half. Just as in 4e D&D, when you’ve aggregated a total amount of damage equal or greater than your bloodied value, you are in a bloodied state. Next, your surge value can be derived by dividing your bloodied number in half. Again as in 4e, surge most often relates to healing through powers or items. You may have one or more sources of temporary hit points (tempHP) to record. Adding together your HP and tempHP gives you your maximum hit points (MaxHP). Adventurer’s Guild differs from typical D&D in that damage adds together rather than translating to a loss of hit points, and when your damage is equal or in excess to your maxHP, you are rendered unconscious.

   Player characters (and indeed many monsters) have 12 stamina. Your stamina might be improved by feats and other sources. This new concept is tracked with tokens. Your tokens should be of two different types (ex: green and red). These tokens will be spent on standard actions, bonus actions, and reactions.

   The standard speed of player characters is 6 squares (or 30 feet). Some factors might speed you up (such as the +1 speed from being an elf with the Spry Step feat) or slow you down (such as the -1 speed from being a dwarf with the Dwarf racial feat).

   Figure the damage of your weaponry and your powers. Typically there is a base value that’s augmented by one of your ability score bonuses and possibly feats and magic items. Also figure out the critical values of your weaponry and your powers. Fewer sources improve this number. Rogues in particular have feats and powers related to improving your critical hits.

9. Leveling up

   Level	Ability Score Improvement	Power Gained	Attunement Gained	Tier (and bonus)
   1	-	Recharge, Knack	Low
   2	Maximum 14	Reflex
   3	Any	Knack
   4	Maximum 12	Grand
   5	-		Medium	Heroic Calling (+1)
   6	Any	Reflex
   7	Maximum 16	Recharge
   8	Any	Knack
   9	Maximum 14	Grand
   10	-		High	Paragon Path (+2)
   11	Any	Reflex
   12	Maximum 18	Recharge
   13	Any	Knack
   14	Maximum 16	Grand
   15	-		Godly	Epic Destiny (+3)
   16	Any	Reflex
   17	Maximum 20	Recharge
   18	Any	Knack
   19	Maximum 18	Grand
   20	-		Medium	Deific Mantle (+4)

   As you complete adventures, your character will rise to higher levels. Many such “level ups” prompt an ability score increase by 1. If the increase is listed in the leveling up chart as ‘any,’ naturally you can improve any one ability score you wish. If a limit is listed (such as ‘Maximum 14’), you may not increase an ability score higher than the number listed. This ability score increase may result in the gain of feats as detailed earlier.At levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, you reach new tiers: heroic calling, paragon path, epic destiny, and deific mantle. At each new tier, you get a cumulative +1 bonus to initiative, all defenses, saving throws, attacks, and skill checks. At such time you will also gain a prestige based on the tier you’ve attained. These can reflect a specialization, multi-classing, favour by a god or other super-entity, or exotic changes like becoming a lycanthrope or construct. When you take a prestige, you also gain a prestige feat. Furthermore, whenever you gain a power, you may choose from either your class or one of your prestiges.

   On the same levels that you advance to new tiers, you gain more attunements. The new attunements are usually of a higher potential, allowing you to use more powerful magic items, maintain more potent rituals, keep greater hirelings, and so on (though you may use an attunement for a lesser purpose). As an example, a 10th level character has available one high, one moderate, and one low attunement.

   As to gaining powers, that is something you will do on most levels that you attain. Knacks differ from recharge powers in more ways than using a bonus action instead of your standard action. When you spend a knack power, you may actually use any knack power you have, spent or not. An 8th level character could spend each of his three knack powers as though they were all the same one, two of one and one of another, or one apiece. (When you regain use of a knack and later use it, it can act as any knack that you have, of course.)

   Reflex powers require the use of a reaction. You regain use of spent reflex powers when you take a short or long rest, but you can’t regain them with the basic attack, full defense, and recover actions as you could recharge and knack powers. Grand powers are the most powerful, but they come with restrictions. Often they cost more stamina, and you only recover their use through long rests. Additionally, you may only use one grand power per encounter until you’ve achieved milestones in your adventure. (Milestones are much as they were in 4e D&D. More on this later.)