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# Character Creation & Leveling

## Character Creation

### Choose A Class

Your character class gives you class features—cool things your character can do—at 1st level as described in its features table. The class features table lists features you gain access to as your character levels up.

Your character class also gives you proficiencies, a game term that describes what kinds of equipment you are trained to use (such as armor, weapons, and tools) and what kinds of challenges you are best at handling (skills and saves).

### Determine Ability Scores

At their core, characters are defined by six abilities:

- Strength (STR), representing your physical might. - Dexterity (DEX), representing your agility and reaction time. - Constitution (CON), representing your endurance and physical fortitude. - Intelligence (INT), representing your ability to acquire and apply knowledge. - Wisdom (WIS), representing your intuition and mental fortitude. - Charisma (CHA), representing your self-confidence and your ability to influence others.

Each ability is assigned a number, called an ability score. Ability scores represent your various physical and mental abilities. Higher numbers in a score mean your character is better with that ability.

As you level up, you can increase these scores, but a PC can never have an ability score higher than 20. An average person has 10 in every ability score, so these numbers emphasize how powerful adventurers are!

#### Three Ways To Score

##### Method 1: Rolling

- Roll four d6s. Find the lowest die, and throw it out. Then add up the remaining three dice to get your total. Write that number down on scratch paper. - Do this five more times until you have six totals between 3 and 18. - Assign those six numbers to the ability scores however you like. - Finally, add 2 to one score of your choice that is 16 or below and add 1 to one score of your choice that is 17 or below.

##### Method 2: Point-Buy

- Start with 32 points to spend on your ability scores. - Each score costs a certain number of points. Find the cost of each potential score on the Point-Buy Cost table (For example, a score of 12 costs 4 points). - 18 is the highest ability score you can start with, and you can't have a score lower than 8. - Buy one score for each of the six abilities. - Don't add anything extra when you're done here. These numbers are already balanced without adding more.

###### Point-Buy Cost

SCORE | COST | SCORE | COST
--- | --- | --- | ---
8 | 0 | 14 | 7
9 | 1 | 15 | 9
10 | 2 | 16 | 11
11 | 3 | 17 | 13
12 | 4 | 18 | 16
13 | 5 |  |

##### Method 3: Standard Array

To just get going, use the standard array. Start with six numbers: 16, 14, 14, 13, 10, and 8. Assign them as ability scores however you want. Again, don't modify them any further. That's it!

#### Find Ability Modifiers

Once you assign scores, use the following charts to figure out your ability modifiers. Ability modifiers are the most important part of your ability scores. As the name suggests, these modify your dice when you roll for things.

You use modifiers much more than your score to calculate success or failure in the game.

##### Ability Modifiers

ABILITY SCORE | MODIFIER | ABILITY SCORE | MODIFIER
--- | --- | --- | ---
1 | -5 | 12–13 | +1
2–3 | -4 | 14–15 | +2
4–5 | -3 | 16–17 | +3
6–7 | -2 | 18–19 | +4
8–9 | -1 | 20 | +5
10–11 | +0 |  |

### Choose A Lineage

Choose your character's lineage from the options in the Lineage section.

### Choose A Heritage

Choose your character's heritage from the options in the Heritage section.

### Choose A Background

Choose your character's background from the options presented in the Backgrounds section.

### Starting Equipment

There are two methods for determining what equipment your character starts with.

#### Method 1: Take Class & Background Equipment

The simple way to get starting equipment is to take all the starting equipment listed in your base class description combined with the additional equipment listed in your background. Write the equipment from those two sources on your character sheet, and you're ready to play!

#### Method 2: Determine Starting Wealth & Buy Equipment

The more involved method for determining starting equipment is to calculate your starting gold pieces (gp) by rolling 5d4 x 10 gp, and then purchase equipment using the equipment charts. Spend as much of your starting money as you want, then note any unspent gp on your character sheet along with your new equipment.

## Leveling Up

Characters start at 1st level and can advance up to 20th level by gaining experience points (XP) during their adventures. By default, PCs start with 0 XP.

When your PC gains a new level, you gain access to the benefits listed in the progression table for your class at the new level. You also gain 1 hit die and more hit points.

To calculate these new hit points, roll the new hit die, add your CON modifier to the roll, and add the total to your total hit points. If you don't want to roll, you can use the average hit die value (listed in each class description) plus your CON modifier.

### Leveling Methods

#### Awarding Xp

When a GM awards XP, they tally up the challenges that the PCs overcame during the session and tell players the amount at the end. The Level Advancement table details the XP you need to advance to new levels. Don't reset the XP total after each level.

##### Level Advancement

LEVEL | XP | LEVEL | XP | LEVEL | XP
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | 0 | 8 | 34,000 | 15 | 165,000
2 | 300 | 9 | 48,000 | 16 | 195,000
3 | 900 | 10 | 64,000 | 17 | 225,000
4 | 2,700 | 11 | 85,000 | 18 | 265,000
5 | 6,500 | 12 | 100,000 | 19 | 305,000
6 | 14,000 | 13 | 120,000 | 20 | 355,000
7 | 23,000 | 14 | 140,000 |  |

### Tracking Milestones

When a GM tracks milestones, PCs level up when they achieve a goal established by the GM.

### Optional Rule: Multiclassing

Multiclassing is an optional rule that allows you to gain levels in multiple classes. This lets you mix class features to realize a character concept that might not be reflected in one of the standard class options.

If your GM approves use of this rule, you can gain a level in a new class whenever you advance in level, instead of gaining a level in your current class. Add all your class levels together to determine your character level. For example, if you have three levels in wizard and two in fighter, you're a 5th-level character.

As you advance in levels, you might remain a member of your original class with a few levels in another class, or you might change course entirely. You might even start in a third or fourth class. Multiclass characters sacrifice focus for versatility.

### Prerequisites

To qualify for a new class, you must meet the ability score prerequisites for both your current class and your new one, as shown in the Multiclassing Prerequisites table. For example, a barbarian who decides to multiclass into druid must have both STR and WIS scores of 13 or higher.

Without the full training that a beginning character receives, you must be a quick study in your new class, having a natural aptitude that is reflected by above average ability scores.

#### Multiclassing Prerequisites

CLASS | Ability Score Minimum
--- | ---
Barbarian | STR 13
Bard | CHA 13
Cleric | WIS 13
Druid | WIS 13
Fighter | STR 13 or DEX 13
Mechanist | INT 13
Monk | DEX 13 and WIS 13
Paladin | STR 13 and CHA 13
Ranger | STR 13 or DEX 13 and WIS 13
Rogue | DEX 13
Sorcerer | CHA 13
Warlock | CHA 13
Wizard | INT 13

### Experience Points

The experience point (XP) cost to gain a level is always based on your total character level, as shown in the Level Advancement table, not your level in a particular class. So, if you are a 6th-level cleric and 1st-level fighter, you must gain enough XP to reach 8th level before you can take your second level of fighter or your seventh level of cleric.

### Hit Points And Hit Dice

You gain hit points from your new class as described for levels after 1st. You don't use the 1st-level hit point calculation for the 1st level of a multiclass.

Add the hit dice granted by all your classes to form your pool of hit dice. If the hit dice are the same die type, pool them together. For example, both the fighter and the paladin have a d10, so if you are a 5th-level paladin and 5th-level fighter, you have ten d10 hit dice. If your classes give you hit dice of different types, track them separately. If you are a 5th-level paladin and 5th-level cleric, for example, you have five d10 hit dice and five d8 hit dice.

### Proficiency Bonus

Your proficiency bonus (PB) is always based on your total character level, not your level in a class. For example, if you are a 3rd-level fighter and 2nd-level rogue, you have the PB of a 5th-level character, which is +3.

### Proficiencies

When you gain your first level in a class other than your initial class, you gain only some of the new class's starting proficiencies, as shown in the Multiclassing Proficiencies table.

#### Multiclassing Proficiencies

|CLASS|Proficiencies Gained| | Barbarian | Shields, simple weapons, martial weapons | | Bard | Light armor, one tool of your choice | | Cleric | Light armor, medium armor, shields | | Druid | Light armor, medium armor, shields | | Fighter | Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons | | Mechanist | Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons | | Monk | Simple weapons, shortswords | | Paladin | Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons | | Ranger | Light armor, medium armor, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons | | Rogue | Light armor, one tool of your choice | | Sorcerer | — | | Warlock | Light armor, simple weapons | | Wizard | — |

### Class Features

When you gain a new level in a class, you get its features for that level. You don't, however, receive the class's starting equipment, and a few features have additional rules when you're multiclassing: Channel Divinity, Multiattack, Unarmored Defense, and Spellcasting.

### Channel Divinity

If you already have the Channel Divinity feature and gain a level in a different class that grants the feature, you gain the Channel Divinity effects granted by that class, but you don't get an additional use of it. You gain additional uses only when you reach a class level that explicitly grants them to you, and you don't add uses from multiple classes together. For example, if you are a 6th-level cleric and 4th-level paladin, you can use Channel Divinity twice between rests because you are high enough level in the cleric class to have more uses. Whenever you use the feature, you can choose any of the Channel Divinity effects available from any of your classes.

### Multiattack

If you gain the Multiattack feature from more than one class, the features don't add together to give you more attacks. You gain additional uses only when you reach a class level that explicitly grants them to you, and you don't add uses from multiple classes together. For example, if you are a 9th-level fighter and 5th-level monk, you can use Multiattack to make three attacks, not five.

### Unarmored Defense

If you already have the Unarmored Defense feature, you can't gain it again from another class. For example, if you have levels of barbarian and monk, you only get the benefits of the Unarmored Defense feature from whichever class you chose for your first character level.

### Spellcasting

Your capacity for spellcasting depends partly on your combined levels in all your spellcasting classes and partly on your individual levels in those classes. Once you have the Spellcasting feature from more than one class, use the rules below. If you multiclass but have the Spellcasting feature from only one class, follow the rules as described in that class.

Spells Known and Prepared. Determine what spells you know and can prepare for each class individually, as if you were a single-classed member of that class. If you are a 4th-level ranger and 3rd-level wizard, for example, you know three 1st-circle Primordial spells based on your ranger class levels. As a 3rd-level wizard, you know three Arcane cantrips, and your spellbook contains ten Arcane spells, two of which (the two you gained when you reached 3rd level as a wizard) can be 2nd-circle spells. If your Intelligence is 16, you can prepare six Arcane spells from your spellbook.

Each spell you know and prepare is associated with one of your classes, and you use the spellcasting ability of that class when you cast the spell. Similarly, a spellcasting focus, such as a holy symbol, can be used only for the spells from the class associated with that focus.

Spell Slots. Determine your available spell slots by adding together all your levels in the bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, and wizard classes, and half your levels (rounded down) in the paladin and ranger classes. Use this total to determine your spell slots by consulting the Multiclass Spellcaster table.

If you have more than one spellcasting class, this table might give you spell slots of a circle that is higher than the spells you know or can prepare. You can use those slots, but only to cast your lower-circle spells. If a lower-circle spell that you cast, like burning hands, has an enhanced effect when cast using a higher-circle slot, you can use the enhanced effect, even though you don't have spells of that higher circle.

For example, if you are a 4th-level ranger and 3rd level wizard, you count as a 5th-level character when determining your spell slots: you have four 1st-circle slots, three 2nd-circle slots, and two 3rd-circle slots. However, you don't know any 3rd-circle spells, nor do you know any 2nd-circle Primordial spells. You can use the spell slots of those circles to cast the spells you do know and potentially enhance their effects.