Creating a Character

A character is six decisions and a name. This section walks them in the order that costs you the least backtracking — class first, because it decides the most, and the numbers after the things that change them.

• Choosing a Class — the first and largest decision, and what it settles for you.
• Origin — species and background, and which of the two carries your ability increases.
• Ability Scores — point buy, the standard array, rolling, and the order that gets you a 17.
• Alignment and Details — the box that binds nothing, and the questions that make a character playable.
• Equipment — take the kit, and what your training lets you wear.
• Beyond Level 1 — subclasses, feats and where the levels actually change something.

If you are new to the game entirely, read Playing the Game first — it covers how a session works, which is most of what makes these choices mean anything.

Terms with a dashed underline open their full definition from the Rules Glossary; anything the database holds in full — classes, species, backgrounds, feats — is linked rather than repeated here.

The character builder walks these same six steps as a form, if you would rather fill one in than read.