CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: B/X D&D (2 of 6)
Currently, our party consists of Mary the Mace, an Acolyte Cleric of the Order of Law. We’re creating a party of six PCs the old-fashioned way. So let’s clatter some math rocks and see who joins the party today.
BX D&D Character Creation Summary
Step 1: Roll ability scores. Here’s what we got:
STR: 6. Ooof.
INT: 14
WIS: 11
DEX: 14
CON: 15
CHA: 15
Step 2: Welp, low STR, high INT? CON is good, so is Charisma. We could go Magic-User or Thief, since Dex is also good. I think I’ll go Magic-User. We roll for our starting spell - 9. Read Magic.
Step 3: We’re going to leave the ability scores alone - the high DEX, CON and CHA can’t be adjusted, STR is already below 9.
So, what do these stats get our Magic-User? The low STR means they will be -1 on all hit and damage rolls, so not an effective melee fighter. INT of 14 is able to read and write both native languages, and can choose an additional language. Standard WIS offers no bonus or penalty. DEX of 14 means a bonus to Armor Class of 1, and a bonus on ranged to-hit rolls of 1. A CON of 15 means an additional HP per HD, which is very useful for a Magic-User with their d4 Hit Dice. CHA of 15 makes for a Magic-User who is likeable, with a +1 to NPC reactions, and up to 5 retainers with a morale of 8.
Step 4: Rolling for HP… 1. Damn. But the +1 from CON means total HP is 2. Hey, double our die roll!
Step 5: Our Magic-User rolls 3d6x10 for gp and ends up with 110 gold. Being unable to wear armor or wield most weapons means having some extra gold. Let’s score a dagger, in fact, we’ll score four of them since this Magic-User can throw them with above average skill. That’s 12 gold total. Then we add a backpack, two oil flasks, a steel mirror, two weeks of rations, two wineskins, some wolvesbane, and a tinderbox. 37 gold worth of gear, plus the daggers is 49. This leaves our Magic-User with 61gp. Perhaps enough to hire a sword or two for protection?
Step 6: Armor class is 9 (base) plus DEX bonus of 1 for a total of 8. Remember in old school D&D, lower AC is better. Attack rolls are standard, with 19 needed to hit AC 0. Saving Throws are sort of middle of the road across the board, between 13 and 16, with Dragon Breath being the worst.
Step 7: A name! We roll even and have another lady adventurer. Since my daughter was discussing names for puppies last night and brought up the old-fashioned name out of nowhere, we will dub this spellcaster Mildred… Mildred of the Violet Robes, her level title is Medium.
So, Mildred has 2HP and only one spell - Read Magic. I know a lot of players who would kvetch about how much that spell being the only one their PC knew being horrible. But think about this- Read Magic renders magical runes and writings permanently readable by the caster. Also - it enables the caster to use magical items and scrolls whose inscriptions must be read. In a way, this spell unlocks a lot of utility for the Magic-User as an arsenal of scrolls can be much more valuable than a single Magic Missile spell. Depending on the prevalence of scrolls in the campaign, and the frequency of magical writings appearing on walls, old sarcophagi, Thai restaurant menus, and the like, Read Magic might just be the best first level spell to have.
