Character Creation (Borrowed from Dungeon Dudes)

Character creation is both one of the most fun, exciting, tedious and potentially dooming events of many campaigns.  A long running campaign where one or two characters are head and shoulders above others makes it hard to avoid situations where the spotlight shines excessively on the high-stat characters.

I just watched a Dungeon Dudes video that delves into some house rules that they use that address this and a few other issues.  I think all the rules they suggest have some merit.  I'll go over them in this post.

The rules they suggest are:

1. Fixed Stat Array (for long running campaigns)
2. Floating Bonus Stat
3. Take Half HP 
4. Bond Between Characters
5. I Know a Guy

Fixed Stat Array

A lot of angst can occur during stat creation.  This is particularity true for campaigns that will run over many sessions where players will be attached to a set of stats for a long time.  So, this is something that applies mostly or only to games intended to be long running.

The Dudes suggest the following array: 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 8

This array makes gives everyone a strong stat some good to average numbers and one weakness.  That is not a bad start. It is slightly stronger than the RAW array option of: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.

The Dude's array makes having a 18 and a 16 easy.  Races that have a +2 stat adjustment can have a 19, but not a 20 so there is a "need" to use an ASI to boost stats to best possible number.

Floating +1 Stat Bonus

The Dude's suggest allowing a bit more flexibility on the use of bonus stats, specifically:

During character creation, you may take 1 point from any racial ability score bonus granted to your ability scores and move it to any other ability score which does not already gain a bonus from race.

This rules allows a +1 bonus to be shifted or a +2 bonus to be split to a pair of +1's.  This opens up some new race combos and dovetails nicely with the array of stats that contains three odd numbers.  It also closes the gap of the variant human a bit by adding flexibility to other races.

More choices, more better (generally)

Take Half HP

When creating characters of higher than 1st level rolling HP presents a delay at the start of the game.  They discussed hit die rolls a bit, my take on what I think should be done is to allow a simple choice between:

1. Take the average rounded up on the hit die, e.g. a d8 yields a 5, or
2. Roll the hit die and receive the rolled result or the average rounded down, e.g. a d8 yields 4 or the roll result. 

For character creation or any HP gain not at a session option 1 must be used.

This results in somewhat healthier than average characters, generally a good thing.

Bond Between Characters

The Dude's rule is simple: 

During character creation you and at least one other player must define a bond that exists between your characters, joining them together in some way.

 Ideally, each player defines a link to a different character so that simple bond pairs don't exist.  

Three character example: Character "A" is the brother of character "B."  Character "B" has traveled extensively with character "C." Character "C" had her life saved by character "A."

More bonds are fine, but everyone needs one.  This is on the players not the DM.  Of course, the DM can be consulted but it should be taken as a responsibility of the players and should take some load off the DM. 

I Know a Guy (The "Lando" Rule)

All of the players should create at least one NPC who can be used in the upcoming campaign. One could appear in a character's backstory (complete with name and some description, you know, what you expect a DM to know about every single person your party ever encounters).  The NPC needs some defined relationship to the character.

More is fine, but at least one per player/character is a solid goal.

The Dudes defined their rule for use during play as follows:

When facing a difficult problem, a player character can declare "I know a guy..." and invent a (potentially) helpful NPC which the PCs can visit for aid in their current situation. The player must work with the DM to provide a quick summary of their history and relationship.  fewer details are usually better to leave room for creative play. When the characters try to interact with the NPC, the player who created that NPC makes a charisma check to see how the NPC reacts.

Characters can basically have an epiphany, they "know a guy" who might be able to help out with this or that.  Rather like when the Millennium Falcon landed at Cloud City and Han just happens to know Lando Calrissian.   They can provide the DM with an NPC appropriate for whatever it is they are needing.  The player should suggest a name, description, and connection to his character and may be asked to describe the NPC to the party.  The "guy" is not necessarily favorably disposed to the party (good time for a CHA check on that character).

To avoid bogging down play "I Know a Guy" should be used between sessions or at a session break if time allows.