Character Creation

To create your character for this campaign, please use the following guidelines:

• There are a wide number of races available, see Races for more information.
• All characters will be created using the point-buy method as described the 3rd edition DM's Guide.
• Each attribute starts out with a score of 8.
• You have 28 points, which are used to buy ability scores as follows. Racial Scores adjustments are added AFTER all points are used.
• At first level, you will start with gear worth up to the maximum possible starting gold for your class. You will begin play with only 10 GP in your character's pocket. Remaining gold is lost. For characters that start at higher levels, we will discuss starting gold and equipment.
• No items from the "special" lists are allowed without consultation with the DM. This campaign uses loosely "Early-Renaissance"-level, mostly realistic technology, and many items on those lists don't fit in the milieu. Contact me with questions about specific items, if they are particularly important to your character concept

Ability Score Costs

Ability Score	Cost		Ability Score	Cost
3	+5		11	3
4	+4		12	4
5	+3		13	5
6	+2		14	6
7	+1		15	8
8	0		16	10
9	1		17	13
10	2		18	16

Backstory Creation Guidelines

As an aid to PCs creating character backgrounds, and also for my own use, I offer the following quick method for generating characters. To create a character's background, write four sentences.

1. The first sentence is the anecdote.
   • This is any one story, fact or memory from your character's past.
     • "I grew up in Rivendell, for a time."
     • "I dumped a cargo of smuggled goods when I was about to be boarded."
     • "There's a 24-hour period in my memories that I can't account for."
2. The second sentence is the quirk.
   • This is any one fact, mannerism or detail about the character's present.
     • “I'm always investing in dodgy businesses in an attempt to make a quick buck.”
     • “I'm constantly whining about how hopeless the situation is.”
     • “I wander the forests as a crazy old hermit.”
3. The third sentence is the goal.
   • This is something that the character wishes to achieve in the future (preferably not something that can be achieved too quickly).
     • "I want to become a paladin."
     • "I want to wake everyone up, to free them from the tyranny of the machine."
     • "I want to discharge the life-debt I owe."
4. The fourth sentence is the mystery.
   • This can either be some fact about the character that he doesn't want others to know, or it could be something that the character does not know, but wants to (in which case, it should be something distinct from the goal, or else it's just repetition).
     • "I killed my best friend in a drunken rage."
     • "I want to learn the identity of my human father."
     • "I woke one day with a strange tattoo on my arm, and want to know what it is and what it means."