Character Creation

There's this sheet, from earlier in this thread:
https://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/36719/?p=1845712#p1845712

I'm not saying you can't make a silly/parody/gimmick character, I'm just saying the game world and NPC will treat them accordingly.

no jokes
got it

rolling for HP

Constantine of Conberry:

Constantine comes from a family of talented magic users. Those exceptionally bright members of the clan traditionally make their homes in Candlekeep. Tenured as scholars. At home, the family is well respected for the magical items they manufacture or enchant. They have made themselves quite wealthy and well known. But Constantine has always struggled. Both in the application and understanding of the magical arts, but also to fit in. He is clearly not as gifted as his brothers, and they never allowed him to forget it. Constantine became angry. Pulled away from the family. A black sheep? Clearly.

When he reached marrying age, no suitable brides were considered. And that was the last straw. Constantine set out on his own, to see the world for himself. And most importantly to get out from under the shadow of his family. He would study magic, by studying life, not books. And he would return one day, to claim his rightful place in the clan.

I'm guessing this was said in jest, but written word can be tricky so I'd like to be clear about my previous statement. Can't (and shouldn't) ban fun, especially in a game. I'm just saying silliness works two ways, don't expect NPCs etc to pretend like things are normal and overlook the silliness. Just wanted it to put it on the table at the start and manage expectations, don't wanna come across as the vengeful GM or anything like that down the road.

On a slightly less uptight note, Constantine's character sheet has been approved :D

no worries at all
every game has a 'flavour' and I'm OK with all of them

I think this character is going to be bitter, with a chip on his shoulder. It will be fun to see if he can find what he's looking for.

Thank you
that worked perfectly

And here the first casts for a planning basis...

With this selection, I have to see where I can make the 13 shine... ;-)

We're playing straight down the line, str, dex, con, int, wis, cha. That makes your 13 int, which fits in with a 5 con too if you go for magic user.

Reads not the same way as:
I tried to get a feeling for another mage of mine, but I find it difficult to get a third mage done which some logic. The purely academic scribe is a nice trope, but I'm unsure about the reason. After reading the NPC-descriptions, I'm thinking about a younger brother/cousin of Jelenneth, maybe reading some pages too much (or not enough); either crippled or very young so he has no stamina... Does that seem fitting to your style of play, having a child with you? Or do you ahve other ideas?

The idea is you're not forced but rather it is strongly suggested to roll attributes down the line. I was trying to find some middle ground here, wouldn't want to force someone into playing something they hate just because the dice came up a certain way, but wouldn't want to give people way too much freedom with it either (i.e. point buy attributes).
I mean, Jelenneth herself is about 16 years old or so. A cousin would make more sense than a brother, don't think a very close relative would work. But yeah, some sort of family connection to her could give your character built in motivation to care about her fate.

I'm completely open to change too. I thought my numbers made a better thief, but you needed a mage.

If you would rather have a thief, let me know.

Also, I have read no game notes or anything, I didn't want to stumble onto any spoilers. If there's something I should read to catch up, let me know.

It just so happens that the people who left were the arcane spellcasters. Almadel is still one, just not dedicated single class, so it was more a suggestion than a need. And any gaps can be filled by hirelings anyway, so feel free to take any path your rolls might allow.

If I'm completely honest, the only thing really needed at this point was more bodies, pure and simple. These older adventures assumed larger groups and maybe hirelings, plus at these low levels PCs don't have any spectacular abilities or bonuses yet, so a lot is down to dice rolls. It's about having more people swinging weapons so the group as a whole has increased chances of taking out the monsters (and offering more potential targets to the monsters, having a larger collective hp pool, having more people left standing in the end to revive the fallen etc)

I have never played a gnome wizard before, and I'm excited to really explore the archetype.

I got out my 2e complete book of gnomes and halflings, and my complete book of wizards

I know this is a retro clone, but are kits OK? The gnome vanisher looks fun.

hehe - I have a bunch of those 2e books. Sometimes I just pull them out for flavor ideas.

I have always gone back to them, but now I have decided to give up on 5e and other systems and stick with 2e forever. I've always been happy there.

Because of the system you played or because of the people you played with? ;-)

yeah....
it's tricky sometimes when you remember something fondly, was it the something? Or are you just remembering being young?

I remember playing D&D in a tent, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night, with 3 or 4 friends, laughing so hard our ribs felt like they would break. Sometimes, something so important was happening that we even had to turn on a flashlight to roll some dice.

But I digress.

I did not jump on the 3rd or 4th edition bandwagons, then I got pulled in by 5th. It was good for a while, but I don't like where it's going.
And my beat up old brain can't handle multiple systems... so here I am.