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  1. Notes

Character Creation

Quick Link

Your first step in 5e: Adept is to imagine and create a character of your very own! Your character is a combination of various statistics, role-playing hooks, and imagination. You choose a culture (such as Desol Midlander or High Pressian), and a class (such as Wizard or Paladin). You also invent the appearance, personality, goals, and backstory of your character. Once you have completed these steps. you have successfully created your representative in the game, your very own avatar in Adrovia!

Before you dive into step one below, it can be very useful to try and think of some character from pop-culture that you might want to emulate. For example, do you want to be like the Mandalorian, and track down people like a bounty hunter, covering your own tracks in the process? A ranger is a great fit. Or, do you have a specific concept in mind? Like a mad mage who wants nothing more than to gain more and more power, or a fervent cleric who's devotion for their deity is astronomical, or a sneaky rogue who waits for the perfect moment to assassinate an opponent. Or, might want to think about party dynamics (which is covered in a later section), and fill roles that your party lacks. As always, I will help you the best I possibly can.

Once you have a character concept in mind, go through these steps in order, so that they may reflect the type of character you would enjoy playing. The conception of your character may also evolve through this process, and give you ideas of what you would like to do that you had never thought of before. What is important, for everyone involved, is to be excited to play the game.

Building Cassius

Throughout this piece, to help you get a grasp of the rules, I will be building a character along with you. His name will be Cassius, a Clavian soldier turned assassin after an incident with his superior officer. You can find his finished character sheet here.

Step 1 -  Choose a Culture

Every character belongs to a culture, which is a group of people which share similar customs and appearances. The cultures available for play are found here.

The culture you choose contributes to your character's identity in an important way, from determining general appearances to nature talents granted by ancestry. Your character's culture grants special traits and boons, with anything from the ability to be faster, see in the dark, proficiency in certain skills, and even minor magical abilities. These traits can synergize well with certain classes. They also grant you languages to know, which you also mark down on your character sheet. A list of cultures can be found here.

Building Cassius - Step 1

Since Cassius comes from a military background, the Clavish culture is a great fit. It gives the boon Steady, which helps him against some battle manuevers. Secondly, the Clavish culture also gives the ability Unyielding Resolve. Thirdly, the Clavish culture gives fluency in languages of his choice. Lastly, Clavish gives 5 boon points, which are covered in step 3.

Step 2 - Choose a Class

Every adventurer is a member of a class. Class describes, broadly speaking, a character's adventuring vocation. They could have had a job as a cook, librarian, nobleman, or any other profession (or still work as one!). These classes describe the special abilities granted to the character, and the types of tactics they might use in social, battle, and exploration encounters. The list of classes can be found here.

Your character receives a number of benefits from your choice of class. Many of these features are class features, which are capabilities (including spellcasting) that set you apart from members of other classes. You also gain a number of proficiencies: armor, weapons, skills, saving throws, and sometimes tools. Your proficiencies note which activities your character is fairly capable of doing, from swinging weapons, telling convincing lies, or playing an instrument.

Level

Typically, an adventurer starts off at 1st level, and advances through the game by accomplishing feats and earning experience (not experience points, or XP). An adventurer at 1st level is inexperienced in the realm of adventuring, even if they are accomplished in their own right as a soldier, bandit, or priest who may have done dangerous things before.

Sometimes, I may have your character start at higher levels, to signify that they have been through a few harrowing adventures before. Most of these occasions are if you must create a new character to join the party later in their adventuring careers.

Record your level on your character sheet under the "Attributes" tab. If you are starting at a higher level, record all of the abilities you would be given as if you had started at level 1 and gained those abilities from leveling up. 

Leveling up does not happen immediately after you accomplish a feat (in most occasions). It happens after your character has rested, and let the experience they had harrowed sink in.

Hit Points and Hit Dice

Your character's hit points represent their toughness, and both physical and mental stamina. They can be used both in combat scenarios, and other dangerous scenarios. Your hit points are determined by your Hit Dice (which stands for Hit Point Dice).

At 1st level, your character has 1 Hit Die, which has a size determined by your character's class. You start with hit points equal to the highest roll of that die, as indicated in your class description. You also add your Constitution modifier to this total, which you will determine in step 3. This is also your hit point maximum. Mark this all on your character sheet.

Proficiency Bonus

The table that appears on your class description shows your character's proficiency bonus, which is +2 for a 1st-level character. This bonus applies to many of the numbers you will use on your character sheet:

  • Attack rolls using weapons you're proficient with
  • Attack rolls with spells you cast
  • Ability checks using skills you're proficient in
  • Ability checks using tools you're proficient with
  • Saving throws you're proficient in
  • Saving throw DCs for spells you cast (explained in each spellcasting class)

Your class determines your weapon proficiencies, saving throw proficiencies, and some of your skill and saving throw proficiencies. Your culture may give you certain proficiencies as well. Be sure to note all of these on your character sheet.

Your proficiency bonus cannot be added to a die roll more than once. Occasionally, your proficiency bonus may be doubled or halved before you apply it. If circumstances dictate that your proficiency bonus should be added more than once, you nevertheless add it, multiply it, divide it, or subtract it only once.

Building Cassius - Step 2

I imagine Cassius as a nimble man who is cunning and precise. Therefore, I mark him as a Rogue and mark down his 1st-level proficiencies and class features.

As a 1st-level Rogue, Cassius has 1 Hit Die, a d8, and starts out with 8 hit points + his Constitution modifier. I note this on his character sheet, and will note his final hit points when I figure out his Constitution modifier. I also not the 1st-level proficiency bonus of +2.

Step 3 - Determining Ability Scores

Much of what your character does relies on their six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each ability has a score, which is a number you must record on your character sheet.

You determine your ability scores by picking one of three arrays. You assign each number in the array to an ability score of your choice.

Array 1 - 9, 9, 10, 10, 13, 16

Array 2 - 8, 10, 10, 12, 14, 14

Array 3 - 9, 10, 12, 13, 13, 13

After you find your scores, determine your ability modifiers using the Ability Scores and Modifiers table below. To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the result by 2 (round down). Write the modifier next to each of your scores.

Ability Scores and Modifiers

Ability Scores and Modifiers

Ability Score Modifier Ability Score Modifier
1 -5 20-21 +5
2-3 -4 22-23 +6
4-5 -3 24-25 +7
6-7 -2 26-27 +8
8-9 -1 28-29 +9
10-11 0 30-31 +10
12-13 +1 32-33 +11
14-15 +2 34-35 +12
16-17 +3 36-37 +13
18-19 +4 38-39 +14

Ability Score Summaries

Strength

Measures: Natural athleticism, bodily power

Important for: Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin

Dexterity

Measures: Physical agility, reflexes, balance, poise

Important for: Monk, Ranger, Rogue

Constitution

Measures: Health, stamina, vital force

Important for: Everyone

Intelligence

Measures: Mental acuity, information recall, analytical skill

Important for: Wizard

Wisdom

Measures: Awareness, intuition, insight

Important for: Cleric, Druid

Charisma

Measures: Confidence, eloquence, leadership

Important for: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock

Building Cassius - Step 3

I will use the first array of scores (15, 13, 10, 10, 9, 9) for Cassius' abilities. Since he's a Rogue, I'll put the highest score, 15, in Dexterity. The next highest, 13, goes in Constitution. Cassius' ability scores and modifiers look like this: Strength 9 (-1), Dexterity 16 (+3), Constitution 13 (+1), Intelligence 10 (+0), Wisdom 10 (+0), Charisma 9 (-1).

Cassius' final hit points are as such: 8 + his Constitution modifier of +1, for a total of 9 hit points.

Step 4 - Choose Boons

To have your character grow in power outside of your class abilities, you must take boons. Boons are special abilities or otherwise increases in power that you are able to acquire using boon points. You gain boon points both from your culture, and Boon Points column of your class table. You can spend boon points by gaining a level, and during character creation.

The boons you can acquire are separated into four categories:

General Boons - Boons that do not fit into any of the following categories. This includes Ability Score Improvement, Expertise, Language, and others.

Combat Boons - Boons that deal with feats of martial prowess. This includes proficiency in Armor, Weapons, and Shields, improved combat maneuvers like Grappling or Shoving, and boons that improve Critical Hits.

Spellcasting Boons - Boons that increase the power of spells, or allow for more spellcasting versatility. This includes Improved Concentration, boons that change spells themselves like Extended Spell and Widened Spell, and boons that allow for the casting of spells without being a spellcaster.

Class Boons - Boons that improve class abilities. This includes Additional Wild Shape, Deepened Inspiration, and Improved Sneak Attack.

Upbringing Boons - Boons that can only be chosen during character creation and long stretches of downtime. You must choose one non-culture upbringing boon during character creation. It costs no boon points for this use only.

You can find the list of all available boons, along with their prerequisites and costs, here.

Any boons that are given by class features or cultures do not need to have their prerequisites met.

Building Cassius - Step 4

As Clavish, Cassius has 5 boon points available to be spent on boons. I will choose the Ability Score Improvement boon once, to raise Cassius' Constitution from 13 to 14, which raises the modifier to +2, and his health to 10.

For his remaining 3 boon points, I will choose Fleet (which increases his walking speed by 2 meters), and Battle Ready (which gives a +5 bonus to initiative rolls).

Finally, I will choose the upbringing boon Soldier, which gives proficiency in the Martial and Survival skills.

Step 5 - Describe Your Character

Once you know the basic game aspects of your character, it's time to flesh them out as a person. Your character needs a name. Spend a few minutes thinking about what they look like and how they behave in general terms.

For the first session, you don't need a three page essay on what your backstory is; all you need is a general idea of how your character acts, and at least one of their goals. You can develop them even more over the course of adventuring, and even develop backstory in later sessions. Not everything needs to be set in stone at the very start!

Your character's appearance is informed by their culture: their hair, eye, and skin colors, along with their height. But, these are just rough guidelines to help kick start your imagination process. You can always diverge from these characteristics. It's a world of magic, after all.

Your Character's Abilities

Take both your character's ability scores and culture into account as you flesh out his or her appearance and personality. A very strong character with low Intelligence might think and behave very differently from a very smart character with low Strength.

For example, high Strength usually corresponds with a burly or athletic body, while a character with low Strength might be scrawny or plump.

A character with high Dexterity is probably lithe and slim, while a character with low Dexterity might be either gangly and awkward or heavy and thick-fingered.

A character with high Constitution usually looks healthy, with bright eyes and abundant energy. A character with low Constitution might be sickly or frail.

A character with high Intelligence might be highly inquisitive and studious, while a character with low Intelligence might speak simply or easily forget details.

A character with high Wisdom has good judgment, empathy, and a general awareness of what's going on. A character with low Wisdom might be absent-minded, foolhardy, or oblivious.

A character with high Charisma exudes confidence, which is usually mixed with a graceful or intimidating presence. A character with a low Charisma might come across as abrasive, inarticulate, or timid.

Building Cassius - Step 5

After filling out Cassius' name, his sex (male), his height and weight, we now go on to his characteristics. His high Dexterity and Constitution suggest a healthy, nimble body, and his low Charisma suggests an amount of abrasiveness to his personality.

I then decide that Cassius was once a promising scout in the High Pressian army, before being court-martialed due to getting framed for a crime he did not commit. After this event, he traveled across the sea to Desol, to find a new life for himself.

Thus, Cassius seeks to reclaim his honor, and expose whoever framed him. But to do so, he requires a fair amount of influence and money. Thus, he resorts to mercenary work.

Step 6 - Choose Equipment

Your class and background determine your character's starting equipment, including weapons, armor, and other adventuring gear. Record this equipment on your character sheet.

If you wish, you may also have small trinkets or other items which may hold no monetary value, but still hold sentimental value.

Armor Class

Your Armor Class (AC) represents how well your character avoids being wounded in battle. Things that contribute to your AC include the armor you wear, the shield you carry, and your Dexterity modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however.

Without armor or a shield, your character's AC equals 10 + their Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield, or both, calculate your AC using the rules the equipment allows. Record your AC on your character sheet.

Your character needs to be proficient with armor and shields to wear and use them effectively, and your armor and shield proficiencies are determined by your class.

There are drawbacks to wearing armor or carrying a shield if you lack the required proficiency. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.

Some spells and class features give you a different way to calculate your AC. If you have multiple features that give you different ways to calculate your AC, you choose which one to use.

Weapons

For each weapon your character wields, calculate the modifier you use when you attack with the weapon and the damage you deal when you hit.

When you make an attack with a weapon, you roll a d20 and add your proficiency bonus (but only if you are proficient with the weapon) and the appropriate ability modifier.

  • For attacks with melee weapons, use your Strength modifier for attack and damage rolls. A weapon that has the finesse property, such as a rapier, can use your Dexterity modifier instead.
  • For attacks with ranged weapons, use your Dexterity modifier for attack and damage rolls. A melee weapon that has the thrown property, such as a handaxe, can use your Strength modifier instead.

Beyond Level 1

As your character goes on adventures and overcomes challenges, he or she gains experience, and advances in capability. After accomplishing a particular story arc or important event, you advance in your adventuring career. This advancement is called gaining a level.

When your character gains a level, his or her class often grants additional features, as detailed in the class description. Every character's proficiency bonus increases at certain levels.

Each time you gain a level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. Use the fixed value shown in your class entry, which is the maximum result of the die roll.

When your Constitution modifier increases by 1, your hit point maximum increases by 1 for each level you have attained. For example, when Cassius reaches 5th level as a rogue, he increases his Constitution score from 15 to 16, thus increasing his Constitution modifier from +2 to +3. His hit point maximum then increases by 5.

The Character Advancement table summarizes the proficiency bonus for a character of that level. Consult the information in your character's class description to see what other improvements you gain at each level.

Tiers of Play

The shading in the Character Advancement table shows the four tiers of play. The tiers don't have any rules associated with them; they are a general description of how the play experience changes as characters gain levels.

In the first tier (levels 1-4), characters are effectively apprentice adventurers. They are learning the features that define them as members of particular classes, including the major choices that flavor their class features as they advance (such as a wizard's Arcane Tradition or a fighter's Martial Archetype). The threats they face are relatively minor, usually posing a danger to local farmsteads or villages.

In the second tier (levels 5-10), characters come into their own. Many spellcasters gain access to 3rd-level spells at the start of this tier, crossing a new threshold of magical power. At this tier, many weapon-using classes gain the ability to make multiple attacks in one round. These characters have become important, facing dangers that threaten cities and kingdoms.

In the third tier (levels 11-16), characters have reached a level of power that sets them high above the ordinary populace and makes them special even among adventurers. At 11th level, many spellcasters gain access to 6th-level spells, some of which create effects previously impossible for player characters to achieve. Other characters gain features that allow them to make more attacks or do more impressive things with those attacks. These mighty adventurers often confront threats to whole regions and continents.

At the fourth tier (levels 17-20), characters achieve the pinnacle of their class features, becoming heroic (or villainous) archetypes in their own right. The fate of the world or even the fundamental order of the multiverse might hang in the balance during their adventures.

Level Proficiency Bonus
1 +2
2 +2
3 +2
4 +2
5 +3
6 +3
7 +3
8 +3
9 +4
10 +4
11 +4
12 +4
13 +5
14 +5
15 +5
16 +5
17 +6
18 +6
19 +6
20 +6

Notes