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Please Help the New Guy.

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Snarg of Wildpaw
Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:09 pm

I would like to apologize on how i have been vary absent here.

i will state plainly that have never played D&D except twice (which i barely remember), i am essentially flying blind here and i would vary much like some direction in how character creation, stat and skill assignment and pretty much everything else mechanics and set up wise.

Other then that i have read up on the lore Arch put up (am i to assume that the name "Blue Sentinels" has nothing to do with Mass Effect? Am i wrong? Razz) and i have a fair idea on who and what and how i wanna play. (Just to give a teaser on what kind of character i might be playing he's a gnome called Mordan Kroc, i'll let you guys give honest guesses on who i named him after. Razz)

Also, if someone might link the docs to what i need to get my character up and shooting at people (you'll see) i would appreciate.

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Post by Snarg of Wildpaw Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:25 pm

I'd recommend the d20srd site for anything you want to look up. It has a section labeled "The Basics" here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/theBasics.htm#theCoreMechanic. It is by no means a comprehensive guide to every single thing, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Snarg of Wildpaw
Snarg of Wildpaw

Posts : 1890
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 36
Location : Marietta, GA

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Fire
Class: Barbarian / Ranger / Bloodhound / Geomancer
Race: Gnoll

http://thethirdgames.com

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Post by Archengeia Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:40 pm

As of this precise moment the campaign is closed to new adventurers... the campaign is well underway and it would be very difficult to add new ones in for many reasons. However that may not always be that way (lord knows people come and go all the time in tabletop) so if you want to still design a character and background, please do.
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Archengeia

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Elemental Affinity: Nothingness
Class: GM
Race: Nobody

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Post by Rory Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:56 pm

I think that since we've had a couple players drop out or get kicked, I'd be fine with someone who would want to jump in at some point between the current mission and the next one.
Rory
Rory

Posts : 4063
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 33
Location : Iowa, US

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Class: Barbarian Pugilist(5/3)
Race: Human

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Post by Chatterbox Tue Jun 11, 2013 1:31 pm

i can grasp the basics of stats and stuff like that but i would really like a step by step walkthrough of character creation and things like that in regards to how it works on the forum, if that's all right.

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Post by Rory Tue Jun 11, 2013 8:59 pm

If you'll open up the link in Arch's signature, "Custom Rules and Documents", you'll find everything you need to know. Most of the changes are magic-related. There's a map of the continent and "Dereth Reference", which is all about known history and the nations, important organizations and all races(some are not playable). Your character can have whatever opinions or values you wish.

If you have a question about something that's not on offer, ask Arch and he'll more than likely give you a chance to come up with a good reason for it(I generally interpret that as lore-wise), depending on what you're asking for. And no Evil characters. He doesn't like people burning down villages for no reason. This obviously puts a strain on the opinions or values your character has, so it'd be worth taking into consideration that slavery doesn't exist in this setting.

Make use of the character sheet template and make your own document from it. When you're done putting stats down and added the finishing touches, whether for clarity or personal organization, either send it to Arch in a PM, or attach it to your signature and let him know via OOC subforum or thread, so that he can look it over.

It's also preferable to change your username to whatever name you choose for your character to make you easier to spot. It makes things less confusing.

You can create whatever background/backstory for your character within reason, i.e. no "dragonborn". If you need assistance in something like a location for place of upbringing or known mercenary/assassin guilds, talk to Arch. Once that is also done, do the same and make it accessible by him so he can look it over.

If I told told you something you already know or understand, I apologize, I'm just want to be thorough. If you already have your character sheet and origin done, just feel free to submit it to him.

The following are three questions I asked, which he answered.

Me: I figure you'll just reopen character submissions after the campaign is concluded.
Arch: I'm not 100% either way.
Basically, he's not certain on whether he'll stamp your character or make you wait.

Me: Is character submission officially closed for this campaign?
Arch: Yes
Pretty self-explanatory.

Me: Would you save character submissions for the next campaign?
Arch: Possible.

I doubt it would hurt to just show him, but this is all between the player and the GM, I can't put words in his mouth. Don't mistake this as him being distant or putting himself above the players--I got this from him in the chatbox. He's a down-to-earth guy who is happy to discuss and clarify things, so if you have a problem or a question, PM him, he will help you out. there is no "stooping to a level" here, there are no "levels"(HA!).

Best bet is to hold onto your sheet and origin until current campaign ends, and try again then(I still have a copy of my character's origin, it's useful to have available for look-up). This is the first online campaign he's done, so I imagine he doesn't have a routine as far as campaign-to-campaign.

1st rule is the GM has the final verdict.
Rule 0 is to have fun.
Rory
Rory

Posts : 4063
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Location : Iowa, US

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Class: Barbarian Pugilist(5/3)
Race: Human

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Post by Chatterbox Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:47 pm

how exactly do the character sheets work? i know what they are but how do i assign stats? how do i assign feats and stuff like that, some direction would be much appreciated.

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Post by Rory Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:18 pm

Well okay. I'm gonna go ahead and post everything I can help you with in that regard. I was for a bit confused as to which sheet you meant, cuz there's a document called "Character Sheet Template" you can make your own copy of in his custom documents, so if you see something about a tab for Spells&Feats, that should explain it. It's pretty neat, though, you need to be logged into Google(drive.google.com) to use Drive, and I think you have to download something too, maybe you already did that--if you can, maybe you don't, but moving on. There is more stuff in the Google char sheet template, so if you see something that isn't on the forum sheet, you can ignore it, or ask me if you're confused.

It functions pretty much the same way Microsoft Excel. You can click on a square of the grid and simply start typing to put something there. Now, I'm not a mage, and I pretty much ignored the character creating and leveling as it relates to magic in Arch's setting, so I won't be able to help with things like mana pool, and I also ignored Weaving, so I can't help with Crafting XP.

Base Stats: Simply roll for stats. You have six stats, so you'll need to end up with six numbers. For one stat--and this is the method for Arch's setting--you roll a 6-sided die 5 times(5d6 shorthand), turn the 1's into 6's first, and then drop the lowest two numbers. Add up the remaining three and you have a stat. Do this five more times until you have 6 numbers. You can assign any of the six numbers to any stat.
Interesting fact: The lowest number you can have to assign to a stat with this method is 6, if by some chance the die rolls five 2's. With 1's acting as 6's, it's more likely you'll get higher numbers, cuz hey, you're an adventurer. Similarly, it's not possible to go higher than 18. So if one of your numbers is a 20 or a 23, you'll know you've made a mistake.
Bonus: this is a bonus to a base stat. It is an sum/difference of any and all items/racial traits that increase/decrease the stat in question. Add this to the base stat when determining your stat totals.
Total: I'm fairly certain this is supposed to be the resultant modifier. The modifier is the resultant positive or negative number you get when you divide the sum/difference of your (base plus bonus minus 10) by 2. E.g, say you have 8 Strength(STR). If you were a Gnome, you would have a -2 to STR, and for the sake of making things less complicated, we'll assume in this example that you aren't wearing any stat-modifying equipment. 8 would be the base STR, -2 would be the "bonus". So, following the formula for determining the modifier, you would take [8+(-2)]-10, which would be -4. Then, you divide that by 2, and you would end up with -2, and that would be your modifier. Modifiers are used for a number of things. At the start, Arch may ask you for your stat frequently for rolls(he rolls for us), but we've gotten used to giving him a skill's total when we use it when he doesn't ask for anything else, it's just sort of expected. Modifiers also modify certain things on your char sheet, such as your Fortitude save(STR) or Deception(Charisma, CHA)

Saves(Fort. Reflex & Will): Your rank is determined by your current class level. If your current class level says you have +4 Fortitude, you have a rank/base of 4 in Fortitude. If your STR modifier is +2(if, say, you assigned a 14 for your base STR with no race bonus), your bonus is a +2. There isn't a column for save bonuses on the sheet, but only because it would be easy to glance at the stats to see why the +4 turns into a 6 in the total. And that's it, you add your racial and/or equipment bonus and modifier to your base save and just type the result into the space for the total.

Skill Points: You start with 0 ranks in all skills, and points to spend on them. Different classes have a different formula for determining the number of points a character begins with, and how many they gain per class level(each time you level up, you pick only 1 level to gain in a class. You have to either be or have unlocked a class you want to level in). The Intelligence(INT) modifier comes into play here, for example a Figher's formula for number of starting points is (2+IntMod)*4. So if you were a Fighter and had an Int of 10, you would start with 8 points to spend. Some races get a bonus number of points to spend, usually 4.
If you go to the following link, you'll see the Fighter's formulas for skill points. You'll also see some other stuff, but some of it you'll have to ignore.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm

Class Skills: If you are of a certain class, the skills designated as directly related to it can be raised by one point per rank. All other skills of which you don't have any levels in classes that aren't designated as directly related/connected are not "class skills". To raise a rank of a class skill, you will have to spend 2 points. You'll have to defer to the "References: Basic Rules" document when trying to figure out which skills are your class skills.
In Arch's setting, certain skills have been created to take the place of more than one, to consolidate the sheet and make things less complicated. For example, Bluff and Sense Motive are replaced by Deception. When distributing points, put points in deception and just consider Bluff and Sense Motive actions that require a Deception roll.
Skills & Stats: Every have a stat that affects it. For example, Wisdom(WIS) governs Survival. If you have a WIS modifier of +3 and a rank of 1 in Survival, you can apply that modifier to your total as if it were a class skill for a total of 4 in survival. However, bare in mind that you can only use a skill if you have at least one rank in it. Another limit on skills is that the maximum amount of points spent on a skill cannot exceed your current level plus 3. So if you reach level 5, and you don't have Stealth as a class skill, you can only raise your rank in Stealth to 4.

HP: this is your hit die. If you're a barbarian, it's 1d12, but for Arch's setting you don't have to bother rolling, it's automatically maximum. You also add your Constitution(CON) modifier. So if you have a CON of +3 and if you're a barbarian, like me, you'll start with 15 HP at level 1.

AC(Armor Class): your Armor Class is your defense. Determining it comes down to 10 plus your Dex modifier and any bonuses or penalties from equipment. That would go in the AC space right beneath your HP.
Touch AC: This is basically your AC and your Dex modifier, nothing else. Some attacks ignore your equipment bonus. To give you a picture of what's going on: if your character managed to take no damage from a Touch attack, he didn't stand still; he had to dodge that attack. Also, Unarmed Strike doesn't count as Touch.
Flatfooted AC: This is your AC without your Dex modifier. Basically the idea is that you aren't expecting an attack, so if you are, you'll depend solely on your equipment to save you, and then you can apply your full AC afterward.

BAB/Basic Attack Bonus:
If you look at your class's description, you'll see what that the class's BAB is listed at each level. Take a look at the paladin: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/paladin.htm
You'll notice that lvl 1 is +1, while lvl 2is +2. His BAB doesn't increase by 2 at level 2, it becomes 2. That's what that is. So if you're a Paladin at level 1 and for the sake of argument you inexplicably jump from level 1 to level 5, your BAB was at one, and gains 4. Sometimes the BAB won't change when leveling up. You'll notice that between level 2 and 3 when a wizard or sorcerer levels up. Speaking of, there aren't any sorcerers or wizards. There are instead mages categorized by "color". The magic stuff is pretty heavily borrowed from Final Fantasy. I'm not saying anything bad about that, it's just a different style.

Initiative:
This is the same as your DEX modifier and nothing else. It determines who goes first in a round. Rolling lower in a combat instance is better.

DR, DR Type: This is Damage Reduction. You don't start out with this.

Intuit: This is your player's Intuition. It's exactly what it sounds like. Pick your highest stat and apply the modifier here. That's it. So if Strength is your highest stat, and you have a STR of 18, you have a modifier of 4, and that's what your Intuit is.

Action Points: There is no starting formula for these. You gain 4+current lvl every time you level up, so at level 1 you start with 5. When you use them, you can't use more than 1 on any one thing you do. They don't help increase damage, but they can make an attack more likely to hit.

Martial To-Hit: This is your BAB and either your Strength or Dexterity modifier. If you're making a melee attack, use your STR modifier. If you're making a ranged attack, use your DEX modifier.

Spell Resistance: All I know is that everyone starts at 0. Right now, no one seems to have any spell resistance in the current campaign.

Gold: You start with an amount of gold determined by a formula specific to the class that you choose, and purchase equipment with it in order to have anything other than a basic clothing outfit that provides no bonuses. Actually I think Arch uses the average instead of the formula, you'll have to ask him. I'm a barbarian who sacrificed all of his gold to read, so I didn't have to mess with this, but a barbarian would have started with 4d4*10, and subtracted the total cost of the equipment he bought from the amount he started with(no negative numbers). You can find the formulas for all of the classes on page 111 of the player's handbook under Equipping a Character. I'll add a link to it at the bottom of this post. It's a PDF, so you'll have to download Adobe Reader. No biggie.

Materia and Living Weapons: You will start with none of either of these things--unless of course, as with all things, you can pose a convincing argument to the GM.

Equipment: Only one item per slot.
Bag of Holding: Whatever you don't have equipped goes here.

Languages: Whatever languages your character knows go here. If you want to have more, you'll have to talk to Arch, who will most likely have you get rid of your gold to learn one.

Feats: at the bottom of the sheet, there's a tab for Spells&Feats. If you click that, you'll first see the space for Spells, then Metamagic, then regular feats. All of your abilities and feats go here. Everyone gets one bonus feat to start with at level one, and gains another at every level divisible by 3, so 3, 6, 9, 12, etc. Some races grant an additional feat. Fighters are different. They get an additional bonus feat at level one, and at level 2, and every two levels after that--basically, they get a feat every level. But, for their even-number levels, the feats they get have to be from the designated Fighter bonus feats(other classes can take choose from feats designated as Fighter bonus feats, but Fighters can't choose a feat that isn't a designated Fighter bonus feat every even-number level.
Basically just list all the feats, abilities and racials. You don't have to list the fact that a Fighter for all general intents and purposes gains a feat each level because that's a given, everyone knows that. But a Barbarian's Rage ability is an activated feat with its own temporal benefits and permanent increases per level.

LINKS:
D20srd.org
Player's Handbook: http://www.aegisoft.be/costa/data/roleplay/D&D%203.5%20-%20Players%20Handbook%20%5BOEF%5D.pdf
Rory
Rory

Posts : 4063
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 33
Location : Iowa, US

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Class: Barbarian Pugilist(5/3)
Race: Human

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Post by Rory Wed Jun 12, 2013 11:13 pm

Sorry about the massive wall.
Rory
Rory

Posts : 4063
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 33
Location : Iowa, US

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Class: Barbarian Pugilist(5/3)
Race: Human

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Post by Chatterbox Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:00 pm

okay, maybe i could test out assigning stats here but i have gotta ask, how much of what the D20 site says regarding druids applies here? 'cause i am looking at it and i am thinking "Wait a minute, can i have a pet t-rex?!"

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Post by Rory Thu Jun 13, 2013 11:04 pm

Every class has a special perk that'll appeal to its own niche, me says. Whatever the animal is, you can train it only if it exists in the setting, and if the GM says you can. Very important caveat. But if dragons exist in the generic DnD setting, I wouldn't be surprised if dinosaurs were allowed. Distant cousins and all that. But the thing about Druids--and you probably already know this--is that they depend on their pets, their nature-related ability perks, and their ability to shapeshift. In this setting, their magical capabilities are a little nerfed. And magic is different from what you know in DnD in this setting, can't stress that enough.

Also, regarding Druids, if you haven't looked through his "Mage Classes & Prestige Classes" document, you should do that. It's a little hard to miss, because the Druids, Paladins and Rangers don't have their own tables, but here's what it has to say about Druids:
"DRUID: A Druid upon creation may choose 2 of the 3 basic schools, Black, White, and Yellow, to learn spells from.  Except under exceptional circumstance the Druid will be limited to these 2 schools forever so choose carefully.  A Druid learns 2 Basic spells at level 1, gains 1 Basic at level 4, gains 1 Medium at level 8, gains 1 Medium at level 12, and finally 1 Heavy at level 16.  A Druid starts with 1 Mana and gains at a formula of Level – 1 per level."

The "Mana Chart" document lists the progression in mana points for each of the magic using classes, as well as separate cost tables and a damage table. There's also a "Metamagic Feats" document which lists the metamagic feats(which are taken like regular feats). There's also a "Spells List" document--lots of fun--and a list detailing the custom prestige classes of Archengeia's setting.



Any prestige class you want to gain that is from D20srd is fine--in fact, Archengeia will likely approve of most of the prestige classes from wherever, but--after all, it's only fair--he will want to have a look at the class in question to make sure it's balanced in his setting, or if he even wants it.

Also, just to be sure, you are clicking on "profile" and clicking the char sheet tab from there, right? Because clicking on any profile, including yours, from the members list doesn't take you to a profile page that you can edit.

EDIT: Well, if the character sheet tab is just a blank page that says "This member hasn't activated his character sheet", then Arch has to activate it in order to let you put your stats in. However, some of us prefer to use the google document he provided, so whether or not it's activated is completely trivial.
Rory
Rory

Posts : 4063
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 33
Location : Iowa, US

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Earth
Class: Barbarian Pugilist(5/3)
Race: Human

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Post by Tam Lin Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:48 pm

Howdy, first time poster here, but long time viewer of Archengaia's youtube channel.

Just wanted to commend Rory for this awesome guide. Couldn't help but build a character myself after reading it. Submissions may be closed but it was a fun mental exercise and I bet this thread will be helpful to any newcomers if the campaign ever opened up again.

Tam Lin

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Post by Zeiss Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:52 pm

Hi Tam.

If you want other players to have a look at your character sheet, just give us some links (like Rory said, use Google files).

See you!
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Zeiss

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Class:
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Post by Tam Lin Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:55 pm

Sure, no problem. I'll see about doing that later tonight (at work), thanks.

Tam Lin

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Post by Tam Lin Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:28 pm

Here we go:
Character Sheet
Background

I think I got everything right on the character sheet, but I wasn't sure what the starting wealth for a red mage was supposed to be. I've played Pathfinder before, so most of the creation was pretty familiar. That said, its probably the slight differences between systems that would get me =P.

Edit: With regards to the background, I am a chronic reviser until such time that things need to become set. That said, I can't imagine the gist of his character changing much.

Also... is this an okay thread for posting this? Or should I be posting this elsewhere?


Last edited by Tam Lin on Sun Jun 23, 2013 12:47 pm; edited 1 time in total

Tam Lin

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Post by Snarg of Wildpaw Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:10 pm

Yeah, I'd say OOC is the best place for stuff like this.
Snarg of Wildpaw
Snarg of Wildpaw

Posts : 1890
Join date : 2013-02-12
Age : 36
Location : Marietta, GA

Character sheet
Elemental Affinity: Fire
Class: Barbarian / Ranger / Bloodhound / Geomancer
Race: Gnoll

http://thethirdgames.com

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