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gridloreOK, let's build my character! Last time, as you may recall, I had decided to go with a "Hexblade Warlock" as my next character class. I wanted something versatile, able to both engage in melee and use magic. There was another consideration I didn't mention. Digenis, despite being a powerful barbarian wielding a magical ax, really lagged in terms of damage inflicted per turn. So my design process has to include that as a factor as I go along.
Before getting to the meat of characteristics, I want to nail down a couple of things that will help shape who this character is. To begin with, I've decided to play as a human. Digenis was a half-elf, and I never really did anything with it. D&D5 has a nice system of backgrounds, what it is you were before you took up the life of a wandering hero. Identifying who I was helps to define my motivations. I look over all the available backgrounds. Far Wanderer from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide seems promising. But the more I think about it, the more I see my character as someone whose quest for knowledge led him down the path to his patron. This means that Sage is the best background for me.
I'm seeing my guy as a former clerk at a university, jealous of those attending due to their family connections. He sees knowledge as the path to power, and his patron has offered him both knowledge and power to take revenge. This is also helping me define my alignment - where I stand morally - as being Lawful Evil. I care about myself first and crave power and recognition. But I understand that power is best when in a structure that I can come to dominate.
Now I'm getting a picture of who I am. So let's get started on this! We are using a point-build system for this campaign. The six basic characteristics; strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma, all start at 8. The range for these characteristics is 1-25, with 3-18 being the most common range, and 9-11 being average. The point buys are more expensive for higher values, and cannot exceed 15. You get 27 points to play with. After allocating my points, I have:
STR 8 (0 points)
DEX 11 (3 points)
CON 13 (5 points)
INT 13 (5 points)
WIS 13 (5 points)
CHA 15 (9 points)
Charisma and Constitution are vital for Warlocks. Now, because I'm human, I get a one-point boost to each characteristic. This is where I'm going to add another concept, the Modifier. This is the bonus or penalty you get for having a characteristic value at a certain level. After adding my human bonus, we have:
STR 9 (-1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 14 (+2)
INT 14 (+2)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 16 (+3)
Knowing that I had this human bonus was why I bought everything up to odd numbers. The next Modifier lever starts at the even number. I'm beginning to see who I am now, a slight, hardy man. Physically unimposing but extremely charming.
Since we are starting at 12th level, I have three characteristic bonuses to apply at 4th, 8th, and 12th level. At each of these, I can add +2 to one characteristic, +1 to two, or take a Feat. After looking through the feats I don't see anything I really like. Keeping in mind that modifiers increase on even numbers, I add +2 to Constitution at 4th level, +2 to Charisma at 8th level, and +2 to Intelligence at 12th level.
STR 9 (-1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 16 (+3)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 18 (+4)
The order of those increases is important, as your constitution modifier affects your hit points, which is the next thing. Per directions, we're using the set number advancement for each level as opposed to rolling for hit points.
At 1st level, I get (8+2) 10hp. At 2nd and 3rd, I add (5+2) 7hp each. From 4th through 12th level I add (5+3) 8hp. 10+(7x2)+(8x9)= 96 hit points, a respectable total. You can see why the order of characteristic boosts was important. Boosting my constitution earlier, even though it isn't my primary characteristic, added an extra nine hit points, which can be the difference between life and really needed the bloody cleric to get off his ass start healing me now!
I'm liking this guy so far. Next up, we do the magic side of things! Cantrips, spells, those lovely Warlock invocations and special abilities. Which in turn will help write more of the persona. I'm having fun doing this.
Please feel free to check my math and/or understanding of the rules.
Before getting to the meat of characteristics, I want to nail down a couple of things that will help shape who this character is. To begin with, I've decided to play as a human. Digenis was a half-elf, and I never really did anything with it. D&D5 has a nice system of backgrounds, what it is you were before you took up the life of a wandering hero. Identifying who I was helps to define my motivations. I look over all the available backgrounds. Far Wanderer from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide seems promising. But the more I think about it, the more I see my character as someone whose quest for knowledge led him down the path to his patron. This means that Sage is the best background for me.
I'm seeing my guy as a former clerk at a university, jealous of those attending due to their family connections. He sees knowledge as the path to power, and his patron has offered him both knowledge and power to take revenge. This is also helping me define my alignment - where I stand morally - as being Lawful Evil. I care about myself first and crave power and recognition. But I understand that power is best when in a structure that I can come to dominate.
Now I'm getting a picture of who I am. So let's get started on this! We are using a point-build system for this campaign. The six basic characteristics; strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma, all start at 8. The range for these characteristics is 1-25, with 3-18 being the most common range, and 9-11 being average. The point buys are more expensive for higher values, and cannot exceed 15. You get 27 points to play with. After allocating my points, I have:
STR 8 (0 points)
DEX 11 (3 points)
CON 13 (5 points)
INT 13 (5 points)
WIS 13 (5 points)
CHA 15 (9 points)
Charisma and Constitution are vital for Warlocks. Now, because I'm human, I get a one-point boost to each characteristic. This is where I'm going to add another concept, the Modifier. This is the bonus or penalty you get for having a characteristic value at a certain level. After adding my human bonus, we have:
STR 9 (-1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 14 (+2)
INT 14 (+2)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 16 (+3)
Knowing that I had this human bonus was why I bought everything up to odd numbers. The next Modifier lever starts at the even number. I'm beginning to see who I am now, a slight, hardy man. Physically unimposing but extremely charming.
Since we are starting at 12th level, I have three characteristic bonuses to apply at 4th, 8th, and 12th level. At each of these, I can add +2 to one characteristic, +1 to two, or take a Feat. After looking through the feats I don't see anything I really like. Keeping in mind that modifiers increase on even numbers, I add +2 to Constitution at 4th level, +2 to Charisma at 8th level, and +2 to Intelligence at 12th level.
STR 9 (-1)
DEX 12 (+1)
CON 16 (+3)
INT 16 (+3)
WIS 14 (+2)
CHA 18 (+4)
The order of those increases is important, as your constitution modifier affects your hit points, which is the next thing. Per directions, we're using the set number advancement for each level as opposed to rolling for hit points.
At 1st level, I get (8+2) 10hp. At 2nd and 3rd, I add (5+2) 7hp each. From 4th through 12th level I add (5+3) 8hp. 10+(7x2)+(8x9)= 96 hit points, a respectable total. You can see why the order of characteristic boosts was important. Boosting my constitution earlier, even though it isn't my primary characteristic, added an extra nine hit points, which can be the difference between life and really needed the bloody cleric to get off his ass start healing me now!
I'm liking this guy so far. Next up, we do the magic side of things! Cantrips, spells, those lovely Warlock invocations and special abilities. Which in turn will help write more of the persona. I'm having fun doing this.
Please feel free to check my math and/or understanding of the rules.
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Date: 16 Mar 2019 18:44 (UTC)no subject
Date: 16 Mar 2019 20:03 (UTC)no subject
Date: 18 Mar 2019 13:30 (UTC)