The mechanics of character creation for Pawns of Prophecy largely follow standard D&D rules, with slight setting- and campaign-specific adjustments detailed herein.
Poetics will work with every player to ensure their character concept and sheet both meets their vision and is suitable for play within the context of the world. For players new to Dungeons & Dragons, a guide to the general character creation process can be found on D&D Beyond.
Step 0: Have a Concept
Knowing what role you’d like your character to play—and/or your aims for their overall story arc—is the best way to make sure the mechanics of character creation facilitate and empower those goals. That isn’t to say you need to have every aspect of a backstory or desired mechanics sorted out before you begin, but it helps to have an idea of what you want your character to do and who you want them to be, so the rest of the process can follow suit.
Here are some sample questions to ask before—and during—the creation process, to help align the mechanics with the story you want to tell through this campaign:
- How social is your character; are they a leader?
- What role does your character play in combat: offense, defense, or support?
- Does your character prefer the wilderness or civilization?
- What is the source of your character’s strength, physical or otherwise?
Note that it’s perfectly okay to have your idea for a character change as you go through the creation process! The most important outcomes from building a character are to 1) have a character you will enjoy playing and 2) have a character that helps enrich the overall story. The dungeon master is here to assist in all aspects of character creation, both the story and the mechanics.
Step 1: Choose a Race
Congratulations, you’re human! There are no non-human playable races in this campaign, so that makes the decision rather easy. Ignore the various abilities inherent to this race in the standard rules—such as bonus ability scores or extra languages—as these will be addressed later.
For this campaign, starting country (step 3) generally replaces the standard “race” mechanic.
Step 2: Choose a Class
The following classes are available for play, and multiclassing (one character taking levels in different classes as they grow) is absolutely allowed. While some classes are more closely aligned or associated with specific countries over others, there is no strict or hard-line banning of class based on upbringing or country of origin, though some combinations will require a much more detailed backstory and/or explanation to be consistent within the context of the setting.
Players looking to magical classes, or develop arcane or divine abilities as their characters grow, are engouraged to read the setting’s Magic primer as a guide to how miraculous powers will be handled in the campaign. In short: no mechanical changes, but the flavor of your abilities may shift to match the setting.
Classes grant you the core features of your character, including special abilities, skill and item proficiencies, as well as your pool of hit points. The following classes are available to play in this campaign:
- Barbarian: Most commonly found among the berserkers of Cherek and Mishrak ac Thull
- Bard: Professional entertainers often hail from Drasnia or Gar og Nadrak
- Cleric: The faithful are found in every country across the world, though less often in Tolnedra and Sendaria, those cultures focusing on more temporal concerns than spiritual
- Druid: Those with a deep affinity for the land itself often come from Cherek, Nyissa, or Tolnedra (often with hints of dryad descent)
- Fighter: Martial command knows no bounds and can be found in every country
- Monk: Stoicists and ascetics are usually Ulgo or Rivan
- Paladin: The most devout warriors usually call Arendia (Mimbre) or Cthol Murgos home
- Ranger: Algaria and Arendia (Asturia) are the primary homes of those calling themselves rangers
- Rogue: Found in every city, most professional rogues are either Drasnians or Nadraks
- Sorcerer: Divine Soul and Draconic Bloodline sorcerers can be found in Ulgo and Cthol Murgos, respectively. Shadow-touched, Storm, and Wild Magic sorcerers are capable of, if unlikely to, pop up anywhere. [Other origins may not be applicable for this campaign]
- Wizard: The serious study of magic as a learnable skill rather than an innate talent is almost exclusively found in Cthol Murgos, under the watchful eye of Torak’s Grolim priests
Divine and arcane casters aren’t strictly limited to the schools and domains listed on the Deities page, but each god has a particular focus, or emphasis, and their followers tend to be aligned with that direction.
Step 3: Choose a Starting Country
In addition to a Background (see Step 4), where your character grew up goes a long way to shaping their abilities and proclivities. Each country provides a particular skill proficiency as well as an additional bonus, detailed below.
Note that starting country will greatly influence how your character perceives the world at large, the pecularities of their religion, and how others perceive you—including biases and historical alliances or emnities. The world’s kingdoms aren’t strictly monolithic, but there are sweeping trends across their populations.
Please make sure to carefully weigh the social and role-play considerations of being from a given region, not just the mechanical benefits!
- Riva: Insight proficiency; Crafting skill (any) proficiency
- Sendaria: Animal Handling proficiency; Advantage on Constitution saves to avoid Exhaustion
- Cherek: Survival proficiency; roll any sailing-related checks with proficiency
- Drasnia: Deception proficiency; gain the Drasnian Cant language
- Algaria: Animal Handling proficiency; gain Scimitar and Shortbow proficiencies
- Ulgoland: Religion proficiency; Advantage on Nature checks to identify or track animals
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Arendia: (choose one of the following)
- Mimbre: History proficiency; Advantage against Fear and similar effects
- Asturia: Survival proficiency; Longbow and Shortbow proficiency
- Tolnedra: Insight proficiency; Advantage on Persuasion checks to sell items for a higher value
- Nyissa: Nature proficiency; Advantage against Poison-related saving throws
While nominally painted as the villains of the world, it is possible to play as an Angarak in this campaign, albeit with a very compelling backstory and fore-warning that the character may be in for a very rough (social) road.
- Gar og Nadrak: Deception proficiency; gain the Ranger ability Favored Enemy (Murgo)
- Mishrak ac Thull: Nature profiency; Relentless Endurance half-orc feature
- Cthol Murgos: Intimidation proficiency; gain Light, Medium, and Heavy armour proficiencies
Step 4: Choose a Background
Backgrounds represent what your character has done for a living before the campaign, and will provide additional skill proficiencies, starting equipment, unique abilities, and an amount of gold with which your character will begin play.
There are a large number of backgrounds available in 5E; here is a list of the most common/relevant for our campaign, what skills they provide training in, and what extra bonus the background provides. Poetics will work out full details (and benefits) of your background with you, including stories that don’t fit nicely into these options.
- Acolyte: Insight and Religion; you can expect shelter and support from your fellow adherents
- Artisan: Insight, Crafting (any one); when in town you can ply your craft and gain gold or information in return
- Athlete: Acrobatics, Athletics; you can find supporters near your homeland
- Charlatan: Deception, Sleight of Hand; you have established a false identity and may use it to escape the law
- City Guard: Athletics, Insight; you instinctively know where the most law-abiding and law-ignoring areas of a city can be found
- Criminal: Deception, Stealth; you know how to get a message to a fellow underworld contact, almost regardless of distance
- Entertainer: Acrobatics, Performance; you can always find a place to perform, which may grant free room and board
- Folk Hero: Animal Handling, Survival; commoners will help hide you from the law when the need arises
- Gambler: Deception, Insight; you have an innate knack for knowing the odds and can often tell the risk of a downtime activity
- Haunted One: Arcana, Investigation, Religion, or Survival (choose two); you command respect of the common people through fear
- Hermit: Medicine, Religion; you have stumbled upon a great and powerful discovery, likely known only to you
- Hunter: History, Survival; you can almost always find sustainance for yourself and your companions in the wild
- Knight: Animal Handling, History, Performance, or Persuasion (choose two); when traveling in your home country you have the assistance of a personal squire
- Merchant: Investigation, Persuasion; you retain your connections and contacts from your life of commerce, and can use them to obtain goods or information
- Noble: History, Persuasion; you are welcomed and can operate in high society with ease
- Rewarded: Insight, Persuasion; you gain the Lucky, Magic Initiate, or Skilled feat for free, owing to your charmed life
- Ruined: Stealth, Survival; you gain the Alert, Skilled, or Tough feat for free, owing to your difficult life
- Sage: Arcana or Religion, History; you know where to find almost any piece of arcane or historic lore
- Sailor: Athletics, Perception; by calling in a favor you can land passage for you and your companions on a ship
- Smuggler: Athletics, Deception; you are familiar with safe houses in most major cities and can stay in them while on the run
- Soldier: Athletics, Intimidation; members of conscripted or enlisted militaries will defer to you, within reason
- Urchin: Sleight of Hand, Stealth; when out of combat, you and your companions can move through town twice as quickly as normal
Step 5: Choose Starting Ability Scores
Your character’s natural gifts are described by their Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The higher a stat, the more capable your character is at wielding their gifts. Most classes, particularly spellcasters, tend to prioritize one or two scores above the rest.
All characters begin play with the following scores, arranged however they would like between the six abilities. An “average” human will have 10 in each score, so your character will be exceptional in some areas and lacking in another.
15 – 14 – 13 – 12 – 10 – 8
In addition, choose one score and add +2 and another to add +1. Our characters are (or will be) heroic in stature, and their natural gifts represent that promise.
Step 6: Choose a starting Feat
Feats are unique abilities, talents, and skills that set heroic characters from the common person. Some feats provide powerful mechanics and effects, while others provide both ability score increases and more reserved gifts.
To represent our characters being marked by destiny for greatness, each character gains one feat at character creation.
There are hundreds of possible Feats to choose from, and so Poetics will help you choose one that best fits your character’s origin and goals.
Step 7: Level your Character to 3
In a chronicle based on globe-shaking events and ancient prophecies, it makes sense for character to be already started in their respective heroics. To that end, level your character to level 3, choosing a desired subclass (if applicable) and taking the “average” hit point increase per level. A reminder that multiclassing is allowed!
Step 8: Finalize your Character
In a story-rich campaign, there’s far more to a character than just the points on their sheet. Work with Poetics to establish who your character is, not just what they can do. This includes their upbringing, wants, hopes, biases, and how they may react to being caught up in globe-spanning events.