CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: B/X D&D (3 of 6)
So it’s the birthday of my wife, one of our dearest friends, and Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. Huzzah!
So far our adventuring party is a pair of spellcasters, though only one can cast anything at this juncture. Mary the Mace, Acolyte Cleric, and Mildred of the Violet Robes, Medium. Let’s see who joins the group next.
BX Character Creation Summary
Step 1: Roll ability scores. Here’s what we got:
STR: 12. Decent.
INT: 14. Good, we’ll get a bonus.
WIS: 10. Average.
DEX: 11. Average.
CON: 12. I sense a pattern forming.
CHA: 4. Oh, no.
Step 2: OK, whoever this character is, they are pretty unlikeable. Noticeably so. Otherwise, they are average across the board, save a high Intelligence. We’re going to go Elf. The decent STR coupled with good INT and at least passable DEX and CON mean the character will be a fair combination of fighty and casty.
As an Elf, the PC will have a single Magic-User spell in their starting spellbook. 11- Sleep! Score. Sleep is one of the best first-level spells for combat efficacy. Plus, if you lack a certain moral fiber, casting Sleep on the staff at a shop acts as something of a fantasy medieval credit card. Not that I’ve ever done that.
With our Cleric we noted Turning Undead as a special ability at 1st Level. Our Magic-User got a single spell, Read Magic. The Elf has a laundry list of special abilities to make note of:
Infravision (heat-sensing sight) to 60 feet.
Detect hidden doors on 1-2 on 1d6.
Speak Common, Elvish, Alignment Tongue, Orc, Hobgoblin, and Gnoll.
Immune to paralysis by ghouls.
It’s also interesting to note that at this juncture, Elves are still shorter and more slight than humans on average, with a usual height around 5 to 5 1/2 feet, and weight of about 120lbs.
Step 3: Once again, let’s leave the ability scores as they were rolled. The Elf has two Prime Requisites, Strength and Intelligence, as they combine the abilities of a Fighter and a Magic-User. We need the points where they are, and where we don’t, the ability scores can’t be lowered. So that leaves our Elf with an Intellgence bonus, a Charisma penalty, and everything else average.
Step 4: Rolling for HP… 5. Nice! Almost max HP for the Elf. Still, though, one sword blow away from the Reaper.
Step 5: 3d6x10 yields 110gp for our Elf. We’re going to grab Leather Armor and a Shield for 30gp. A short bow and quiver of 20 arrows for 30gp, leaving 50. A normal sword and dagger costs 13 more. We add a backpack, hammer and iron spikes, a week of rations, 50’ of rope, a tinderbox, two waterskins, leaving 18gp. Not quite enough to bump Leather armor up to Chain, but close. We pocket the 18gp.
Step 6: With no DEX bonus, Armor Class is simply 7 (Leather Armor) plus one (shield) for a total of 6. Not great, but not as bad as an unarmored AC of 9. Better grab that chainmail as soon as possible, but between Sleep and a bow, our Elf can try to stay at range until they can afford better. Saving Throws are between 12 and 15, with the Elf being best at avoiding danger from Death Ray and Poison, and most vulnerable to Dragon Breath and Rods, Staves and Spells. Starting to-hit for Armor Class 0 is 19, just like with everyone else at this level.
Step 7: OK, an 80s Elven name. I roll to pick Alignment - normally you choose it yourself, but I’m going all Rando Calrissian and roll for many things. I roll odd for sex at birth and get odd- male. So a Neutral male Elf… Greenbriar! That’s got the ring of an 80s teenager’s idea of Elfy Nomenclature.
Now, out of our three current PCs, one might look at Greenbriar and go - whoa! Look at this pointy-eared dude. He can fight, shoot a bow (which a Cleric and Magic-User cannot do), cast a spell (which a Magic-User can) but also wear armor (which a Magic-user can’t.) In addition he speaks a lot of languages, can see in the dark, and need not fear being paralyzed by a ghoul. This looks remarkably well-rounded, versatile, and badass. Why wouldn’t everyone want to be an Elf?
Well, because levels. First off, Elves have a level maximum of 10th Level in a game where humans top out at 14. This means Elves will be unable to reach the heights of spellcasting a human Magic-User could, given time. Second - the 10 levels the Elf can achieve will take roughly forever compared to their Human counterparts. An Elf needs 4,000xp to make it to 2nd Level. At 4,000 XP, a Cleric is 3rd level, as is a Fighter, and a Thief is only 800 short of 4th. To get an xp bonus based on Prime Requisites, an Elf needs 13 or better in both Strength and Intelligence. Ouch.
So, Greenbriar is in the house. Tomorrow we’ll see who’s next.
