Dungeons and Dragons Online

Character Creation

Ability Scores
     The first step in creating your character is to chose their Ability Scores. In order to do so, you will be given 120 points to distribute among the different abilities according to the table found below. You can also use these points to gain certain Perks for your character, so you may wish to look them over before assigning all your 120 points to your Ability Scores.
     You can increase the number of points that you may spend on your Ability Scores and for Perks by taking some Flaws for your character. Perks and Flaws are also described below. You can have a maximum of 3 Perks and 3 Flaws. Our hope is to allow each character to become a unique individual with advantages and disadvantages used in dramatic and interesting role playing adventures. Some of the Perks and Flaws will have to be determined and allowed by a DM after you have joined a group and start to actually play. Be creative but try to make a character that will be fun to play as well as fun for a DM to include in his group.
     You can create a character of any race and class that can be found in the AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, except the Half-Elf. You may also choose from the modified races (the goblin and the orc) or the original classes (the Blademaster and the Healer).
     The following table explains you how many points it will take to buy each Ability Score for your character. The first column is the score you desire and the second is the number of points you have to spend to acquire it.

Score	Points
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	8
8	10
9	12
10	14
11	16
12	18
13	21
14	24
15	27
16	30
17	33
18*	37

* Exceptional strength for Fighters is rolled with a DM.

Important:
Racial adjustment applies after you choose your Ability Scores. So if you have -1 as a Racial modification for Dexterity and want a 13 Ability Score for that characteristic, you must pay 24 points for it (as if you were taking 14 for the score.)

Perks and Flaws
If you want your character to have some differences to make him unique from other characters, you may chose Perks and Flaws. In some cases, you may wish to not spend all your 120 points on your Ability Scores, in order to take a Perk instead. The Flaws table follows the Perks table. The number in parenthesis after each Perk or Flaw is the points you have to spend to gain a Perk or the points you gain for taking the Flaw. Remember you can only have a maximum of 3 Perks and 3 Flaws, and only one instance of each Perk or Flaw may be taken, unless the Perk or Flaw specifically states otherwise in its discussion. This means that you cannot have three Crippled Limbs for 18 points, nor can you have multiple Unknown Symbol Flaws, or multiple Unknown Symbol Perks.

Perks
Alchemy Education (6):	Your Priest or Wizard learned how to prepare potions, and can prepare potions with a 100 experience-point-cost per level. Therefore, at level 1 he can prepare potions that cost 100 or less experience points and at level 5 he can prepare potions giving 500 or less experience points.
Ambidextrous (4):	With this perk, you can fight with both hands without a To-Hit penalty. However, the second weapon must be smaller than the first (L over M, or M over S). Normal penalties for weapons in which you have no skill will certainly apply, as well as penalties to a weapon that can not be used one-handed as well.
Beautiful (2):	This perk gives you +1 to all Charisma rolls without increasing the actual ability score, and +3 to NPC reactions.
Critical Hit Bonus (3):	You are very accurate in your hits, which doubles your chance of landing a critical hit (20-19 on a d20 instead of 20). However, this does not mean you will always hit on a 19.
Fantastic Memory (4):	You character can memorize 1 additional spell per spell level. However, this perk is NOT cumulative with the bonus for specialist wizards.
Fast (1-3):	Your character is exceptionally fast, which gives him +1 to initiative rolls for each point spent on the perk.
General Knowledge (1-3):	You get 1 more Non-Weapon Proficiency slot for every point you spend on this perk.
Good Education (2):	Your Wizard PC had a great education, and his DM chooses 4 additional starting spells of level 2 or less. Note: This does not mean that the PC can use them, yet.
High Experience (5):	This perk allows you to start at level 2. For multi-class individuals, the class with the highest experience cost starts at level 2.
Knowledge (2):	This perk gives you +3 to all intelligence checks. It does not increase your intelligence statistic, but gives you better chance of having successful intelligence rolls, and gives Wizard spellcasters a +15% chance to Learn Spells.
Lucky (1-3):	Your character is incredibly lucky, giving him 5 chances per point spent on this perk. These chances are used by rerolling a single die roll when an unfavorable situation presents itself to the PC. This can be a proficiency check, a combat roll, or even the opponent's combat roll. Once these chances are "spent," they never come back. Additionally, you can never ask for a second chance on the same dice throw.
Magical Energy (6):	You are surrounded by a powerful magical energy. This Perk is only available to those born to parents who both practice magic. A Detect Magic spell will reveal this aura. The magical energy around you gives you a magic resistance of 10% against all spells, beneficial or not. Hence, a Cure Light Wounds will fail 10% of the time when used on the PC.
Perception (3):	Having a high perception can be extremely useful. It gives your character a bonus of 1 when attempting to find secret passages, and it also gives him 5% bonus on Open Locks, Find Traps, and Detect Noise if the PC is a thief. Otherwise, the PC can be assumed to have a base 5% chance (modified by Dexterity and Race) thanks to this perk.
Resistant (6):	Your body is exceptionally resistant to damage and injury. At creation, your character begins with an additional HD of the appropriate class or highest class for Multi-class PCs (a roll of d4, d6, d8, or d10). Additionally, for every level beyond the first, you gain an additional single HP per level.
Specific Race Attack Bonus (2):	You get +1 to hit and +1 to damage when fighting a single specific race of your choice. Note: This would apply to dwarves, for example, but not deep dwarves. This is not cumulative with a Ranger's specific Hated Race.
Special Resistance (2-3):	Your character gets bonus to his Saving Throws equal to the points you spent minus 1. However for each point spent, your character has 5% cumulative chance for any magical item he uses to not function. The Saving Throw bonuses provided by this perk are NOT cumulative with racial or class bonuses. Examples of these non-cumulative bonuses include the bonuses to Saving Throws enjoyed by paladins, druids, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, etc.
Specific Weapon Bonus (4):	You get +1 to hit and +1 to damage with a specific chosen weapon. However this perk is NOT cumulative with Weapon Specialization. Therefore you cannot have your Specific Weapon bonus on the same weapon that you are Specialized in.
Thief Skills (4):	A PC picks two thief skills and starts with a score of 10% in them, modified by Dexterity and Race. For each level that PC gains, (or each average of 1 level for multi-classed PCs) the individual picks up 5 points to spend on their thief skills. This perk is not available to Thieves.
Unknown Symbol (3 to 6):	At your character's creation you will be given a magical symbol (tattoo, birthmark, etc) that provides an unknown ability of which you have no specific knowledge. The power of the symbol increases with the points you spend upon it.
Weapons Master (3):	With this perk, the character has increased his ability with weapons above and beyond the norm for his class. The PC may gain 2 more Weapon Proficiencies at character creation. If the character is not a fighter, they may use these two Weapon Proficiencies to gain the ability to be proficient with a weapon usually not allowed to their class. The weapon must be no heavier than one third the PC's Strength score. Thus, a short sword weighing 3 pounds would be allowed to a PC with a Strength of 9 or better, but a long sword would require a PC with a Strength score of 12 or better. Note that the PHB only allows ONE weapon specialization, and it is for a single-class fighter ONLY.

Flaws
All Weapon Penalty (2):	You get -1 to hit with all weapons, including spells that require To Hit rolls.
Bad Health (6):	These individuals are susceptible to increased negative health effects. They are as sickly as babies, and they suffer the reduction of HD to change to the next lowest level (a d10 becomes d8, etc, whilst a d4 becomes d3). Additionally, these individuals suffer a -1 HP penalty for each additional level gained, with a minimum of one hit point per level.
Code of Honor (2-3):	You have a very strict code of honor to respect. You will get 2 point if your code has at least 4 elements in it and 1 more point if your code has at least 10 elements in it. The elements must not be too close to one another.
Crippled Limb (6):	These individuals suffer from the loss of one extremity appendage rolled at random by the DM (d8; 1-2=Rt. hand, 3-4=Lt. hand, 5-6=Lt. foot, 7-8=Rt. foot). Those suffering physical handicap in their hands find that hand useless for most tasks other than serving as dead weight. Those with a crippled foot suffer a loss of movement (33%) and make Initiative and movement-based Dexterity checks at a -1 penalty.
Excessive Body Odor (1):	Individuals with this flaw, constantly radiant a foul stench around themselves. This is most noticeable within 5 feet, but can be smelt at greater distances. Individuals with a Tracking skill gain bonuses to track these individuals if their trail is recent. This stench is in addition to the natural musk of orcish PCs.
Fat / Slim (1):	Your character is exceptionally fat or skinny, giving him + or - 20% of his weight. For Fat individuals movement is lowered by 33% and initiative is slower with a +1 penalty, whilst Slim individuals suffer all constitution checks at -2, including resurrection/survival rolls.
Low Critical Hit (2):	You cannot make any critical hits.
Low Perception (2):	This flaw gives your character a -1 penalty when trying to find secret passages (1 on a d10 instead of 1 on a d6). It also gives him -5% on the Open Locks, Find Traps, or Detect Noise thief skills.
Magic Disbelief (2):	Individuals possessing this flaw find the concept and practice of magic highly unlikely. Therefore, these individuals are more susceptible to magical attacks, since instead of acting in their best interests, they believe it's all just some trick. This transfers to a -2 penalty to all Saving Throws versus magic, accounting for their increased susceptibility. Moreover, items that demonstrate magical properties are viewed in the most suspicious light, and disdained by such individuals.
Magic Sensitivity (4-6):	Individuals with this flaw suffer disorientation and anxiety in the presence of spells and spell-like devices with an active effect. The flaw does not give the ability to discern the location or distance to the emanations, just the presence of it. When in the presence of active magic the character will be +/-1 to any and all rolls, modified for negative results. This includes proficiency checks, combat, Saving Throws, etc. Thief skills or any percentage checks are modified by +/-5% per +/- 1 modifier. Each point past the basic cost of four increases this negative reaction by +/-1. The range of this flaw increases with the points taken for it, starting at roughly 25 feet and extending to 50 feet for 5 points, and 100 feet for 6 points.
Night-Blindness (3):	Individuals with this perk are effectively blind in low-light conditions. In the presence of weaker light sources such as torches, these individuals suffer a -2 on all checks involving eyesight (Combat, perception, etc). For those possessing Infravision, the effective range of the ability is halved and they still suffer perception problems up close.
No Resistance (1-3):	All PC saving throws are lowered by one for each point you take in this flaw. Thus, a penalty of -1 is incurred at the lowest flaw point cost, up to a maximum penalty of -3.
Panic (4):	In any given situation where high levels of stress are found, those possessing this flaw must make a Saving Throw versus Paralyzation in order to act. Those failing the saving throw will, On a d6: 1-2: Do nothing but stand paralyzed with fear for 1d6 rounds, then check again 3-5: Run away to a safe distance 6: Physically attack anything threatening to them, even if it's something like a volcano or a dragon.
Poor Memory (6):	This flaw causes Wizards to forget or misplace spells at random each day during the course of the day. In order to cast any spell the magi must make a successful Save versus Spells to locate the right spell. A failed save may indicate an incorrect spell being cast (15%) or no spell being recalled at that moment in time. Multiple attempts can be made at a cost of 1 round of time for each attempt to recall the correct spell. NOTE: Available ONLY to Wizards or Multi-classed PC's with a Wizard class included. This includes Bard.
Slow (1-3):	Your character is exceptionally slow, which gives him a -1 penalty to initiative rolls for each point spent on this flaw.
Ugly (2):	This perk gives you -1 to all Charisma rolls without changing the Charisma statistic, and -3 to NPC reactions.
Unknown Flaw (1 to 5):	At your character creation you will be unaware of your unknown flaw, which will be rolled/determined secretly by your DM. Throughout the course of your adventuring life, this flaw may hinder you in various situations, depending upon those situations. The higher level flaws can be quite severe.
Unlucky (4-5):	Your character has a really bad luck which doubles the enemy chances of making critical hits on you, and lower your AC by 2 points. If you want to get 5 points for this flaw, your AC will be lowered by 1 additional point and enemies will have triple chances of doing critical hits on you. Note that AC penalties apply to both front and rear attacks.
Unstable Mental Health (5):	This flaw manifests itself at odd times, usually checked when stress or other events occur that put pressure upon the PC. A failed Saving Throw versus spell indicates that the mental problem has resurfaced, and as such the PC is prone to very odd behavior either immediately or at some time in the future. Kleptomania, Megalomania, Paranoia, Dementia, Childhood Reversion, Multiple Personality Disorder, etc. are possible, but should be determined secretly by the DM. Keep in mind that this is a 5-point flaw, and expect that the mental instability will be more than a slight annoyance.
Vision Impairment (2):	This flaw reduces the range at which an individual is accurate with any missile weapons, including thrown melee weapons. The penalty for ranges is assessed as follows: Short = (-2), Medium = (-4), Long (-10).

For more information about the character creation, you should give a look to the introduction page, but especially at the third page of that introduction.

This page last updated on 03/05/2001.