Character Creation: Advanced
If your PC has been accepted, you will already have a copy of the Advanced Sheet to fill out. This form includes your Basic Sheet information, but also makes room for the tooth-grinding details of character creation we all know and love: feats, skills, equipment, combat modifiers, save modifiers, movement & encumbrance, and spell lists.
Hit Points. Your PC will have the maximum allowable hit points for his class at 1st level, plus or minus the appropriate modifiers. Mages and sorcerers use 1d6 for base hp instead of 1d4.
Feats. Feats in FRA works roughly the same as in your PHB, so go ahead and use that when formating your PC. You're also going to need your copy of the 3rd edition Campaign Setting and/or the 3.5 edition Player's Guide to the Forgotten Realms sourcebook to handle the region feat portion (either is fine). If you feel that the regional feats for Cormyr do not adequately match your character's background, let me know what feats you'd rather have -- though keep in mind that I may not give you everything you ask for.
Class feats may work a little differently, too, but I'll explain any changes I need to make in the event that I make them. For now, follow the instructions in your handbooks. If you want to use feats from other supplements, make instructional notes so I can follow along properly.
Skills, Encumbrance, Combat/Save Modifiers, Movement Rates. As the PHB, et al. The same rule applies for supplemental skills as for feats. Try to be as specific with your skills as possible; if your PC is going to take a skill like Craft, Knowledge, or Profession, please explain in some detail which specific subject this applies to (Local History, Religion, Poetry, etc.).
Your Intelligence score determines how many extra languages you speak. Everyone can speak a basic racial language (halflings and humans speak Common). Additionally, the following rules apply:
3-10 PC can speak his or her racial language.
11 PC can read/write his racial language OR speak a bonus language.
12-13 PC can read/write his racial language AND speak a bonus language.
14 PC can read/write his racial language, speak/read/write a bonus
language OR speak 2.
15 PC can read/write racial and 1st bonus language, and speak 2nd bonus
language.
16 PC can read/write racial and 1st bonus language, speak/write 2nd bonus
OR speak 3rd bonus language.
17 PC can read/write racial, 1st and 2nd bonus, read/write 3rd bonus or
speak 3rd and 4th bonus languages.
18 PC can read/write racial, 1st, 2nd and 3rd bonus, and read/write 4th or
speak 4th and 5th bonus languages.
You do not need to spend your skill points on bonus languages. Use this chart instead.
Money & Equipment. Keener minds than mine have pointed out that gold is unusually plentiful and cheap in D&D, and that the usual D&D/US exchange rate would have us paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000 for a pair of leather boots. For FRA, I have changed the money system slightly.
There are four basic coins in Cormyr: copper thumbs, silver crowns, electrum 'blue-eyes' and gold lions. Most people have a handful of thumbs and a few crowns; these are the basic currency of the Kingdom, and only the wealthiest classes will routinely make use of the higher ones. Electrum is an alloy made of silver and gold (in case you didn't know), and gold is so rare that most people could spend their entire working lives without earning one.
There are 100 thumbs for each crown, 10 crowns for each blue-eye, and 30 crowns/3 blue-eyes for each lion. A peasant can expect to make about 10 thumbs a day, while craftsmen (potters, wainwrights, etc.) could expect to make approximately 20. Most people regard barter as a more useful means of value exchange, and the average peasant's solvent wealth is held primarily in goods rather than hard currency.
To translate PHB prices, just figure out how many coppers each item is, then use the following exchange rate:
100 cp = 1 sp
10 sp = 1 ep
30 sp = 1 gp
Your PC can have the maximum starting gold for her class -- or less, if you feel like role-playing a poor or debt-ridden adventurer, which I heartily encourage.
Try to be as specific as possible with regards to your equipment, and for Tymora's sakes pay attention to your encumbrance! I intend to make full use of armor penalties and the like, and request that all players consider realism when determining where and how a character keeps his or her things safe and clean.
Spells and Magic. Magic-users of all sorts should figure their spell allowancee using the normal rules, but the spell list itself is subject to approval. I intend to make a few changes (cosmetic or substantial) to standard cleric spells, to fit them with a particular deity and religion (you'll understand when you get your finalized sheet back).
Wizards and sorcerers will also get notes on how they can cast their spells, since I am trying to standardize a system for magic and its uses. 1st level PCs can expect to get a reasonably sized spell list, since opportunities for learning new spells may not come quite as frequently as in regular D&D.
Choosing a familiar will be handled in the usual way, though you can have a non-standard familiar if you're tired of the usual choices of toad or bat or whatever. In the event that you prefer a pet marmot or blue jay or something like that, I will specify what kind of ability bonuses it'll grant you; all I ask is that you choose an animal that is not unnecessarily large or dangerous.
Fighting Style. Every player must choose one fighting style for their character from the following list. This is considered a free feat, and eliminates the -4 hit penalty/-1 AC penalty incurred by the PC when fighting in a style they are not familiar with. Each additional fighting style you choose will cost one feat. RANGERS should note that their standard two-weapon fighting ability is not included in FRA rules, and that they are restricted to the same rule as everyone else. Weapon styles do not count for ranged weapons.
Weapon and Shield style allows the PC to shield-punch, shield-rush, block or trap every round as though the shield were a secondary weapon, without losing their shield bonus. Shield-punch can either replace your primary-weapon attack with no combat or AC penalty or be used in a two-hit combo at -2 to hit with primary weapon and -4 to hit with the shield. Shield-rush is an attempt to knock prone an opponent and is treated as a charge attack (requiring 10' minimum running room). A successful Block can deflect a successful hit from one enemy per round, while a successful Trap check can prevent an enemy from using his weapon in the following round (though the PC using Trap loses his shield's AC bonus for the round).
One-handed Weapon style gives the PC a +2 AC bonus when fighting with a single weapon, and gives her a free hand to punch, grab, gesture, etc.
Two-handed Weapon style allows a PC using a two-handed weapon (usually a large one) to double his Strength damage bonus after a successful hit.
Two-weapon style grants the PC an extra attack per round when fighting with two weapons at -4 and -8 to hit for primary and off-hand attacks, respectively. The primary weapon must be no larger than your PC's size catagory, while the off-hand weapon must be one size catagory smaller or less (in other words, a human can use one medium and one small weapon or two small weapons); each additional time you take this feat you can gain a size category (i.e. the same human can use one large and one medium weapon, two medium weapons, one large and one small, one medium and one small, or two small). Taking the Ambidexterity feat further reduces the off-hand penalty to -4.
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