Post/Author/DateTime	Post
aj_morphius 04-29-06, 08:21 PM	hello all i am new to d&d and i want to play with some people i just met but first i need to figure out how to make a character. i just bought the d&d adventure game and they have some already made characters in it but they seem lame to me. so any advice or help or even a point in the right direction would help. thank you
Priest_of_Shaundakul 04-29-06, 08:28 PM	Lame in what way? In character story, or their numbers aren't very high?
aj_morphius 04-29-06, 08:29 PM	well they just seem low in numbers. i just really feel like i want to have my own story, my own character. not something already made up. i used to play shadow run and if i remember right we had to make our own characters. its more fun to me that way.
FlameLover 04-29-06, 08:59 PM	Well I don't have the set on hand, but i'd assume it's 25 point buy. So first pick a race: human, gnome, halfling, elf, dwarf, half-orc or half-elf. Humans and Half-elves can be nearly anything, Gnomes make the best bards, Halflings the best rogues, Dwarves the best fighters ans Elves the best Wizards (that's a big generalization but it'll suffice). Once you have race, pick class. They are Fighter, Paladin, Monk, Ranger, Bard, Barbarian, Wizard, Sorceror, Rogue, Druid and Cleric. If you go with a race other than Human or Half-elf, pick the class i mentioned above relating to them. Otherwise go with whatever sounds cool. Onto ability scores. You have 25 points, and scores cost as such (you start at 8 btw): 9 - 1, 10 - 2, 11 - 3, 12 - 4, 13 - 5, 14 - 6, 15 - 8, 16 - 10, 17 - 13, 18 - 16. Which you buy high, and which you keep low, depends on class. Here are the scores you want to focus on, in order of importance: Barbarian: Con, Str, Dex Bard: Cha, Dex Cleric: Wis, Con, Cha Druid: Wis, Con, Dex Fighter: Str, Con, Int (or Dex, Int, Con if you go ranged) Monk: Wis, Str, Dex Paladin: Cha, Str, Wis Ranger: Dex, Str, Wis Rogue: Dex, Int, Con Sorceror: Cha, Con, Dex Wizard: Int, Con, Dex I'd aim for 16 first listed (costs 10), 14 second (6), 14 third (6), 10 for others (2 each, 6 total). So you'll want to have them as 16, 14, 14, 10, 10, 10 with the first 3 scores in the three listed above for class. Then you just place skill points and feats. For skills you have class + int bonus to choose, and each will have 4 ranks. Your classes skill points are: Barbarian: 4+int Bard: 6+int Cleric: 2+int Druid: 4+int Fighter: 2+int Monk: 4+int Paladin: 2+int Ranger: 6+int Rogue: 8+int Sorceror: 2+int Wizard: 2+int EDIT: Whoop! Forgot skills listing :) The skills you can pick are listed and described here: http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/skills.htm For feats you get 1 no matter what, 1 if your human, and 1 if your a fighter. Look through http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/feats.htm to see your options. Once you've done all that post what i've got and i'll make it into the final stats.
aj_morphius 04-29-06, 09:15 PM	thanks alot ill work on that now and repost in a few
aj_morphius 04-29-06, 09:40 PM	ok this is what i have half elve fighter strength 16 dex 10 con 14 intel 14 wisdom 10 char 10 combat reflexes and i am not too sure how many skills i can have
Whitewolfe 05-01-06, 03:20 PM	ok this is what i have half elve fighter strength 16 dex 10 con 14 intel 14 wisdom 10 char 10 combat reflexes and i am not too sure how many skills i can have Why in God's name do you want to use Point buy? Roll 4d6 and then drop the lowest.
kelvinaw273 05-01-06, 03:40 PM	Because point buy is how Shadowrun works, and that is a system this player is familiar with. With point buy, you always get workable characters and you always get balanced parties. Point buy is not suceptable to cheating or good or bad luck. I ALWAYS use point buy, rolling dice for characters went out sometime in the dark ages ...
aj_morphius 05-01-06, 03:46 PM	well the way i see it is i have to stick with what i know. but i do thank the people here that have been a great help with this. :)
Whitewolfe 05-02-06, 10:56 AM	Because point buy is how Shadowrun works, and that is a system this player is familiar with. With point buy, you always get workable characters and you always get balanced parties. Point buy is not suceptable to cheating or good or bad luck. I ALWAYS use point buy, rolling dice for characters went out sometime in the dark ages ... So you can't handle the concept of rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest??? I see, that's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too hard. Balanced parties? This is not first addition, you can place any score anywhere.There isn't a more balanced system then standard dice rolling....so munchkins that can't handle low scores use point buy, not much at role-playing either that's why the got into shadowrun I guess....the dark ages...yeah you must be stuck back in basic.
Robert_Fox_Kitsune 05-02-06, 11:21 AM	Whitewolfe- it almost looks like you're trying to start a flame war with that post. Don't criticise other players methods, ok? I roll 4d6 and drop the lowest, but can you see the lack of cruel sarcasm in my post? Unless you can conjure up a terribbly compelling reason for us to believe that point buy is indeed a horribble concept, then stop being so damned mean about it
Witch 05-02-06, 12:03 PM	So you can't handle the concept of rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest??? I see, that's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too hard. Balanced parties? This is not first addition, you can place any score anywhere.There isn't a more balanced system then standard dice rolling....so munchkins that can't handle low scores use point buy, not much at role-playing either that's why the got into shadowrun I guess....the dark ages...yeah you must be stuck back in basic. Point buy is more balanced. If you use rolling, one person ends up with 18 1716 14 13 12, and the other ends up with 8 12 14 13 15 12. Needless to say, that's not fun to play. That's why, when I DM, I make people roll chars with Point Buy. A high point buy, but still. It's more fun for everyone to be equal in chances.
Azezel 05-02-06, 12:08 PM	As much as I fear that I'm feeding the trolls - real men roll for abilities. (er, women too)
Merestil Haye 05-02-06, 12:52 PM	ok this is what i have half elve fighter strength 16 dex 10 con 14 intel 14 wisdom 10 char 10 combat reflexes and i am not too sure how many skills i can haveA fighter gets 2 skill points per level, plus his Int bonus. 14 gives +2, thus you get 4 every time you talke a level of fighter. When dealing with the character's first ever level (as we are here) multiply that number by 4. So you have 16 skill points to spend. Skills fall into two groups for you. Class skills, and crossclass skills. Class skills areClimb (Str) Craft (Int) Handle Animal (Cha) Intimidate (Cha) Jump (Str) Ride (Dex) Swim (Str)One skill point buys one rank in the skill, and you can have a maximum of 4 ranks. Cross-class skills are those skills not on the list, and they cost 2 skill points per rank. You can pay 1 skill point and buy ½ a rank. As for feats, you get two. One because you are a first level character, and the other because you are a 1st level Fighter, and one of the benefits of taking the first level in Fighter is to get a bonus feat. So, you need to pick another. While on the subject of feats, your Combat Reflexes feat will not help you muh, because part of its effect depends on you having a high Dexterity, and 10 is average. Also, fighters often have little use for skills. Having better Dexterity and / or Wisdom is more important to a fighter. Thus, I would change some abilities round. Instead of having 14 Int, I would have a Dexterity of 12 and a Wisdom of 12. The former allows the character to make better use of his Combat Reflexes feat, as well as reducing the chance he will be hit in combat by increasing his AC. The latter is to increase his chance of making Will saves against spells that can take him out of a battle completely. The other feat I would take is Improved Initiative, as that allows you to react much more quickly to impending danger. This might be a lifesaver the next time you meet a rogue, and is useful in every combat.
aj_morphius 05-03-06, 01:05 PM	well i can see that SOME people are willing to lend a newbie a hand and be decent while others just choose to flame away. it doesnt bother me that one person thinks the way he or she does. its all a matter of preference. i left my character sheet at my freinds house or id post it but it is real close to what everyone thinks. so thanks to you.
starfire311 05-03-06, 01:25 PM	ok this is what i have half elve fighter strength 16 dex 10 con 14 intel 14 wisdom 10 char 10 combat reflexes and i am not too sure how many skills i can have This is cool... some things you get 2 feats at 1st level, 1 becasue all 1st level characters get a feat, and 1 for a bonus fighter feat at 1st level. at 1st level fighters get (2+int mod)x4 in skill points the skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str) Other skills cost 2 skill points per rank, and you can have at most 4 skill points in a skill at 1st level So since your Int Mod is 2, you would have 4x4 or 16 skill points to spend at 1st level For the feats you choose, combat reflexes, this may be a mistake as it really only benfits you if you have a high dex... I would recommend picking Weapon Focus with your favorite 2 handed weapon since you got that high str, and take power attack or Iron Will also.
Darko 05-03-06, 01:39 PM	Having high intelligence may be cool for roleplaying purposes, but mechanicaly it's not that useful to a fighter. I'd recomend you to lower your int to 13, just enough to qualify for combat expertise. Take another point out of charisma and upgrade your dexterity to 12, it will be useful for cranking up your armor class. Offcourse, there are just suggestions. If you feel that the scores you selected reflect your character concept better, keep them as they are. They're not underpowered.
degoran 05-03-06, 01:50 PM	My god, people, stop it already. whitewolfe made his suggestion, then kelvinaw made a comment about dark ages (which I take offense to) and whitewolfe retaliated rather ham-fistedly. The newbie asked a question and people responded. This isn't a friggin' pit fight to see whose method is the best. It is here to help someone new to the game. I'm old school; straight-up 3d6 roll for each ability and that's that. I use this method because I run games with experienced players. They know how to roleplay low scores AND high scores WITHOUT deteriorating into a bicker-fest over "who's more powerful". When it comes to creating a character for a newbie, I allow them to roll 4d6 and drop the lowest number so they can end up with average-above average scores. Everyone at my table is happy with this. However, my main point is to just give the kid some advice, not froth at the mouth over personal preference.
hmmmm 05-03-06, 01:56 PM	So you can't handle the concept of rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest??? I see, that's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too hard. Balanced parties? This is not first addition, you can place any score anywhere.There isn't a more balanced system then standard dice rolling....so munchkins that can't handle low scores use point buy, not much at role-playing either that's why the got into shadowrun I guess....the dark ages...yeah you must be stuck back in basic. Huh. Well I would agree with you if you didn't post it in such a negitive way. Plus I use both point buy and rolling 4d6.
degoran 05-03-06, 02:08 PM	Huh. Well I would agree with you if you didn't post it in such a negitive way. Plus I use both point buy and rolling 4d6. Surely not atop one another, I would hope.
degoran 05-03-06, 02:21 PM	Other skills cost 2 skill points per rank, and you can have at most 4 skill points in a skill at 1st level So since your Int Mod is 2, you would have 4x4 or 17 skill points to spend at 1st level. Please note that you can max out at only Rank 2 in a cross-class skill at 1st level. And you would have 16 skills points.
starfire311 05-03-06, 02:55 PM	Please note that you can max out at only Rank 2 in a cross-class skill at 1st level. And you would have 16 skills points. doh, typo meant 16... yeah, I almost said that explicitly about max 2 ranks in non-class skills, but I figured the max 4 skill points in a skill and non-class skills cast 2 skill points per rank.
hmmmm 05-03-06, 03:00 PM	Surely not atop one another, I would hope. Nope, I would never do that.