A DUNGEONS& DRAGONSplayer character lives in an ancient time, in a world much like ours was in medieval times, when knights and castles filled the land. Imagine this place, where magic really works and dragons roam in the dark beyond the firelight. Your character might be a strong fighter or a nimble rogue, a wise cleric or a charismatic sorcerer. Every day, your charac-ter explores the unknown places of the world, seeking monscharac-ters to slay and treasure to win. Every adventure that your character survives makes him or her a little more powerful, a little more famous, and a little richer.
character in the context of the game world. Your fighter, for example, might be “extremely strong but not too bright,” and those characteristics need to be translated into game terms. The following sections provide an overview of the things you’ll find on your character sheet,a record of your character’s game statistics.
Name
Every great character has a great name. You may have a name all picked out from the moment you conceive your character, or you may figure it out after you’ve determined all of your character’s game statistics. Great names are evoca-tive. They fit the mood of the story and world in which the character adventures.
John Savage is a great name for a character in a spy thriller set in the modern world, but it doesn’t work so well for a character in a D&D fantasy world.
The characters presented for your use in Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 have names already assigned to them. Chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbookalso lists sample names based on race. Those are good places to start when you decide to create your own character from scratch (which we discuss in Part II).
Race
In the fantasy world of DUNGEONS& DRAGONS, humans aren’t the only intelligent race walking around. Other intelligent races share their adventures, and your character can belong to any of these. To start, we present only a few of the possible races you could choose from. The D&D Player’s Handbookhas addi-tional races that make great player characters.
These races are drawn from myth and legend, and they are similar to the imaginary races that populate many popular fantasy worlds. For D&D, the races we begin with are humans, dw arv es, elv es, and halflings. More detailed information on the character races can be found in Chapter 13. Here’s a quick rundown on the benefits of each:
Humans: These are people just like you and us. They are adaptable, flex-ible, and extremely ambitious. Compared to the other races, humans are relatively short-lived. In game terms, humans get an extra feat and four extra skill points to reflect their natural tendencies.
Dwarves: The members of this race are hearty and steadfast, standing about 41⁄2feet tall but powerfully built and extremely broad. They have a strong connection to mountains and rocky places. They can live to be more than 400 years old. In game terms, dwarves receive a +2 to Constitution and a – 2 to Charisma (see the “Ability scores” section, later in this chapter). They also receive bonuses against poison, spells, and
magical effects. Dwarves also have darkvision, the ability to see up to 60 feet in the dark.
Elves: Elves have a strong connection to the natural world, especially woodlands. They can live to be more than 700 years old. K nown for being artists of both song and magic, elves have an affinity for spellcast-ing and lore. They stand about 51⁄2feet tall, appearing graceful and frail.
Elves receive a +2 to Dexterity and a –2 to Constitution (see the “Ability scores” section). They are immune to sleep effects and receive a bonus against enchantment spells. Elves have low-light vision and a racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks (see the “Skills” section, later in this chapter).
Halflings: The members of this race are clever and capable — much more so than their small size might indicate. Standing about 3 feet tall, with slim, muscular builds, halflings are athletic and outgoing. Curious to a fault and usually with a daring to match, halflings love to explore. They tend to live well past 100. Halflings receive a +2 Dexterity and a –2 Strength to reflect their small statures. They also receive bonuses to Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks (see the “Skills” section), as well as a bonus to all saving throws due to their fearlessness and ability to avoid damage.
Class
In addition to your character’s name (Regdar, perhaps) and race (human, for example), your character is most easily identified by his or her class. A class is kind of like a profession or vocation. It determines what role the character plays in the adventuring party. In this book, we present four of the most popu-lar D&D classes for your use. More can be found in the D&D Player’s Handbook.
The four basic classes are fighter, rogue, sorcerer,and cleric. More detailed information on the character classes can be found in Chapter 11. Here’s a quick overview of each class:
F ighters:These characters are warriors with exceptional combat capa-bilities and weapon skills. Nobody kills monsters and stands at the front of an adventuring party as well as the fighter.
Rogues: Members of this class rely on tricks, cunning, and stealth to get through a dungeon and save the day. Rogues are great at getting past locked doors, scouting, spying, and attacking from the shadows.
Sorcerers: These are spellcasters, calling on powerful magic spells to fight monsters and protect their teammates. Sorcerers need to stay out of direct combat, but the power they bring to the adventure makes them worthy members of any party.
Clerics:These characters focus the might of divine magic to cast healing and protective spells. A good second-line warrior as well, a cleric might be one of the most versatile members of an adventuring party.