Character Generation Rules

• Ability Generation
• Suitable races
• Suitable classes
• Suitable demeanor/beliefs
• Noble Birth
• Starting Experience
• Equipment and Money
• Suggestions for Immediate History
• A Copy for the DM

Ability Generation

Haukmoor uses a slight modification of the Point Buy system, at the "Tougher" setting. This means you have 28 points to buy attributes with, and the modification is that I do allow for LOWERING of abilities below 8 with more points coming back.

Be warned, I will expect you to roleplay any lowered stat to the hilt - so please don't think you can just slough off some "needless" charisma or wisdom to crank up your fighter.

Ability: Points
3: -5
4: -4
5: -3
6: -2
7: -1
8: 0
9: 1
10: 2
11: 3
12: 4
13: 5
14: 6
15: 8
16: 10
17: 13
18: 16

Suitable races

In the Duchy of Haukmoor, "unmen" (goblinoids, deep dwellers, and other races that are tainted with evil) are looked upon as blood enemies. Woe will fall upon the Half-Orc PC, and in great amounts. Lynch mobs, bounty hunters, refused entry, and disdain cast upon those who would be so crass, so tasteless as to allow such a beast to accompany them.

You can play a half-orc if you really want to... just have a replacement character in the bullpen.

Elves, and to a lesser extent dwarves, aren't particularly trusted by the average person in Haukmoor. The commoners distrust them because they're different, the nobility distrust them because of historical reluctance to "fight the good fight", although that's mostly the Elves who take that stance. Dwarves are better regarded in the northern areas of the Duchy than along the coast, where they're rare.

Gnomes and Halflings will be regarded as curious oddities, even treated as cute children, generally not distrusted... but also not taken seriously.

Suitable classes

Just about any class is OK, as long as they would consent to employment by the military and would go out and about, instead of wanting to stay in a city. Specialty classes and/or prestige classes will need to be approved specially.

Suitable demeanor/beliefs

Since most of the adventures in Haukmoor (to date) have been performed as irregular forces of the Duchy's Army, characters that are vehemently anti-military or anti-authority will have a rough go.

Likewise, characters who would hate going through varying settings (city one day, fields the next, mountains, etc) or simply hate travel would have a rough time too.

As always, team players work better.

Noble Birth

I will allow limited nobility in a character - at best, you could be the third or fourth child of a minor noble. Full details of the family, your boons from them, and your obligations TO them will need to be worked out in advance of commencement of play.

Starting Experience

Characters will start with 23000 XP, +3d12x250 - a range from 23750 XP to 32000, and I must witness the roll (or, I can dice it for you - your call).

Yes, this means a new character might start off with more XP than an existing PC. I like to keep things mixed up. (:wink:)

If you really dislike the idea of dicing, you can elect for a flat-out 27000 XP. Note this is well below the bell-curve average of 27500 - that's the price for playing it safe!

Equipment and Money

Starting characters will have up to 750 GP in equipment and cash. Any reasonable purchase is fine, but watch out for things that a "straight and narrow" mindset would disapprove of, like poisons.

Starting characters have a 20% chance of having 1 magical item, and a 10% chance of having 2, and a 5% chance of having 3-6. These rolls will need to be done in person with me.

In other words, a percentile roll where 01-05 is 3d2 items, 06-15 is 2, and 16-35 is 1 magical item.

Items will be suitable/usable for your class and MAY include cursed items (you won't know, though). Each item class will be diced for - 01-50 minor, 51-85 medium, 86-00 major.

Suggestions for Immediate History

It will make a lot of sense, and aid in tying the party together, if new characters are deemed to have been previously employed as irregulars - just members of another group. You can decide if your prior group broke up amiably, fractiously, or forcefully (aka, they're all dead, Jim).

A Copy for the DM

I will be converting the MS Office template character sheet I have into an Open Office template character sheet, and I will require you all to have submitted your PC to me before it can be played.

You can get Open Office online for free. http://www.openoffice.org