Character creation

Please roll up and discuss your characters in this thread. Roll 4d6 six times, taking the best 3 on each roll for your attributes, then assign each number to the stat of your choice. We're not using the alternative human rules, so humans get +1 to all attributes. We are not using feats, just class features. Let me know if there's a race or class in Unearthed Arcana that you'd like to play; otherwise, please use a race and class from the Player's Handbook.

Languages
When you are determining languages, consider that there are three human languages that might be useful in the region: Keolish (primary language in Hochoch and the rest of the kingdom), Marchian (primary language of the various March countries), and Imperial (the language of the ancient conquerors, still understood by most people). If there is a common language throughout the world, it's Imperial. But for the starting town of Hochoch, they'll speak Keolish as their primary language, Imperial and non-human race languages secondary, and will understand Marchian and speak it in heavy accents.

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Edit: I like to use a Motivations mechanic for characters in my campaigns, but here it is optional. I encourage you to consider using it, but you do not have to do so.

Motivations
In addition to the character's background, trait, ideal, bond, and flaw, your character has a relationship with an NPC that provides a motivation to be adventuring. Choose one or roll a d6 to determine your motivation from this list.

MOTIVATION
1 – Love
2 – Revenge
3 – Ambition
4 – Greed
5 – Fear
6 – Compulsion

Having determined motivation, it's up to you to name the NPC and provide further details about your relationship and how it provides that motivation for your character. For instance, here's two examples of Fear motivations:

Example A: Your family has a history of a rare and ultimately fatal congenital disease called Dianthronitis; one of your parents died of the disease, while the other parent was journeying to find a cure. That parent has never returned, and now you have started to exhibit signs of the disease. Your local cleric, Henrad Polivate, has conducted research for years, trying to find a cure. He's consulted ancient tomes and contacted various other experts in healing, and finally found lore that suggests a possible rare series of rituals, prayers, and ceremonies which will ultimately create a potion to cure the Dianthronitis. But the ingredients of the potion are exceedingly rare; you must quest to find the ingredients and/or earn the excessive amount of money to purchase them.

Example B: The local crime boss, Amberan Daruli, has identified you as a threat to his control of the community. To eliminate you, he has abducted your child and holds it hostage, forcing you to leave the town and never come back, while sending back regular payments of money to keep your child alive.

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Edit 2 (2025):
Here's the current party composition, with active characters in green, characters who are no longer in the party in blue (reason in parentheses), and dead characters in red.


Edit 3 (2024):
This thread is for both creating new characters (always level 1), and for leveling up existing characters (rolling HP, making class choices, etc).

Edit 4 (2025):
I've been asking players to make their PCs public from the start, but I only just realized I didn't have the instructions in this initial post until now.

To make a character public, you click/tap on "Characters" in the top nav, then select "All Characters" in the drop-down menu.
Find the character in the list of your characters. Click/tap the book icon ("Add to Library") for that character, so that the book icon turns red.

The Character Library is the public repository of all the characters in games on Gamers Plane (well, all the ones that people have selected to show in the library). If a character is in the Character Library, it also means that people viewing a game (like its players) can click on your character image in a game's thread and view the character in question...which makes reading a game much more fun months and years in the future when you want to go back and re-read what was happening. Being able to look at each others' characters also helps players answer basic questions like "who in the party speaks Goblin?" or "Who picked up that silver statuette?" which your characters would know, but the players would either have no idea or forgot because it was months ago in real-time.

Stats!

Dice Gods have mercy!!!

Edit: 13, 9, 12, 14, 7, 9

Edit: OUCH, i can never seem to roll well on here

Edit: Gonna be human, so stats will go to 14, 10, 13, 15, 8, 10

Going to be a Barbarian!

Stat rolls...

Edit: After dropping lowest die: 10, 13, 13, 13, 15, 15.

I'm creating a Hill Dwarf Monk!
STR: 13
DEX: 15
CON: 15 (13 +2 Dwarf trait)
INT: 13
WIS: 16 (15 +1 Hill Dwarf trait)
CHA: 10

Did I read the PHB correctly on dwarf ability score increases?

More details to follow!

*tapping on wood, pulling my ear twice, blowing on dice while I shake 'em. Praying to all the gods of Faerun, Greyhawk, and Krynn. Oh, and Cthulhu!*

Results after dropping lowest: 11, 13, 9, 14, 17, 11

Wow, those are some good rolls for both of you!

Ugh! I swear I have the lowest stats in EVERY campaign I'm playing in!

Oh well, them's the dice gods for you lol

Aanbo Earthshaker joined the Earthshaker Temple as an orphan (initiates receive the surname of the Order as part of their acceptance into the brotherhood). This monastic order was born out of the belief that by achieving greater attunement to earth, stone, and metal leads to a greater understanding of the world. Of course, over time the monastery developed a life on its own, and in the current day many of its disciples meditate on the tenets of earth and geology, and train in unarmed combat as a way of honing their minds and bodies.

Aanbo was studious to some degree, but he rather enjoyed spending time with his brother Foonbo, who was another orphan initiated at the same time. Foonbo was a rebellious sort, inclined for mischievous pranks and for asserting his own dominance. The two were fast friends, with Aanbo looking up to the older Foonbo as a true big brother.

Foonbo's temperament eventually got the two brothers into trouble, when during a test of combat, Foonbo killed another competitor in anger. As the other monks combined to capture Foonbo, Aanbo's own feelings of watching his brother being attacked overrode his discipline, and he leapt to his brother's defense. The two severely injured many others before they were both restrained and allowed to calm.

The monks ordered the two into exile. They had to each come to terms with their actions in the outside world, and once they had found inner peace and a renewed calling, they would be allowed to return. Until then, the temple was off-limits. Foonbo and Aanbo wandered the world for a while, but eventually they parted ways for reasons that Aanbo does not reveal.

Aanbo scraped a humble existence, using his monastic knowledge to help others whenever he could. He found a notice calling for membership in a group called Dungeon Busters, individuals willing to provide assistance to those in need. Aanbo sought out Cecily Raptor to inquire, and hoped that this would lead down a path towards personal enlightenment.

CancerMan: you are correct with the Hill Dwarf attribute bonuses. Your great backstory involving Foonbo reminded me of a mechanic I use for my D&D5 campaigns, but which I was waffling about using here.

The solution is simple: make it optional, and tell you all about it!

Accordingly, I have edited my initial post to include information about the optional "Motivations" mechanic, which requires you to create and detail an NPC who provides motivation to your character for adventuring. This is optional, and would be in addition to the motivation you have as contractors for Dungeon Busters.

Rolling personality/Background!

Drawn from Outlander tables

This is the first game I've played without feats, should be interesting

Edit: Rolling for trinket

Edit: Trinket - A brass ring that never tarnishes

Rolling for stats...
Not bad...15, 14, 13, 12, 12, 8.
I think I can work with that. Iwill consider my options.

Glad to see you back, foolsmask! It's been a while! :-)

Suggestions:
Aanbo's trinket might be a tome detailing the saga of Gord the Rogue, but it's missing the climactic chapter. It was a very popular folk story from a couple of centuries ago.
Ogbar's trophy might be the tusk of a walrus, carved into some scrimshaw, or perhaps a wolf paw he wears around his neck.

Roll for stats... and drop lowest:

12, 12, 15, 12, 12, 15

Well isn't that.. interesting

Hi Jabes...yeah I couldn't stay away. I'm going to try this again.

Question for Spaceseeker19: Has anyone expressed interest in the Mystic from Unearthed Arcana? It intrigues me, but I'm not sold yet. I'd probably play half-elf I think.

Roll for stats and drop the lowest!

My stats: 10, 6, 14, 13, 9, 13

I've been visited by Naatkinson it seems. ;)

Yay! I'm not alone!

*Shakes fist*

Hrm. I think with my stats a wisdom-based class isn't a great idea. Best I can do is get something to 15 with racial bonuses. So.. hum! I'll noodle around on class. Perhaps a well-meaning but not overly bright paladin...