Character Creation and House Rules

[quasadu]

It's very early to start talking about this, but I want to get out ahead of it and set expectations.

Now that Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is out and I have had a chance to look at the optional character creation rules in it, I am fairly comfortable saying that I don't think there is much in there that I would flat-out disallow from the campaign (apart from one specific feat). And as mentioned before, I am generally open to almost anything from other official sources that have been published as of this post.

That said, I do have some general preferences about tone and thematic elements, and also about certain abilities negating or circumventing particular challenges. Here are some things I would prefer that folks keep in mind when thinking about character concepts.

1. The setting is intended to be high fantasy but with a relatively serious tone - I don't have a problem with humor in the setting or the game, but I prefer the humor that happens naturally at the table. Please try to resist any temptation toward whimsy or joke characters and names.

2. The setting is intended to be high fantasy with technology roughly akin to Hundred Years War Europe. Cannons exist, but they are incredibly dangerous and entirely unreliable and inaccurate. And expensive. They are used more for disrupting morale than anything. There are no firearms - at least not in this part of the world. (thus the one feat from Tasha's that is banned would be Gunner).

3. Similarly, in this setting, magic is too unpredictable and imprecise - not to mention expensive and difficult to master - to be used as a replacement for technology. Yes, magic items exist and find their way into the hands of the bold and the wealthy, but housekeeping constructs and magical streetlamps are not a thing that one encounters in this setting. For this reason, the artificer is a class that I am hesitant to allow at all. If someone is really excited about an artificer and they have a great idea that they think can work in this setting, I am open to being convinced. But otherwise, maybe just ignore that class when deciding what to play.

4. I am hoping to explore some basic survival and resource challenges in the early levels of the campaign. It's no surprise that the campaign will have several opportunities for underwater adventuring. And of course, its a prison colony on a remote island, and one of the obvious goals might be finding a way off the island. There are certain abilities that characters can get that minimize one or more of those types of challenges, at least for that character. I am not going to ban abilities like water breathing or short duration flying, but I would like you all to try to resist the temptation to find "gotchas" to entirely circumvent certain features of the campaign. For example - one character having water breathing is fine. Half of the party having water breathing is not fine. Having an unfair advantage in hunting is fine, but a character that can faultlessly feed the whole party with a single spell slot or die roll is boring, so things like goodberries and rangers will have some slight modifications to those kind of abilities. And I would prefer no naturally aquatic races like tritons and locathah.

5. There are many peoples in the setting that are uncommon, rare, or even unheard of in human societies. But it is primarily a human-dominated setting, so I would prefer at least one or two humans in the group. Races like drow, dragonborn, and genasi are exotic. Just keep that in mind when you think about who your character is and where they come from. Feel free to ask if you need any details.

[Jordan]

Assuming this is the right thread to post ideas in, I currently have two.

One is a human fighter who was part of some kind of coliseum or fighting ring favored by Ix's clergy, where he was a rising star. He refused to throw a match for a corrupt cleric, and as a result was accused of heresy and sent off to the island. Exact details can be worked a bit--the main thing is that he was a professional fighter involved in some kind of public bloodsport.

The other idea is for an older human cleric or paladin who is still a follower of Ix, but doesn't have views on the faith the main church approves of. This one would require some mechanical work, as the inspiration for the character is a melee combatant who wields fire, while Light Cleric is primarily a caster and none of the existing Paladin oaths really deal with fire. Some minor tweaks to the Light Cleric subclass would probably be the best bet.

[quasadu]

Assuming this is the right thread to post ideas in

It is!

One is a human fighter who was part of some kind of coliseum or fighting ring favored by Ix's clergy, where he was a rising star. He refused to throw a match for a corrupt cleric, and as a result was accused of heresy and sent off to the island. Exact details can be worked a bit--the main thing is that he was a professional fighter involved in some kind of public bloodsport.

Sounds cool, however the Church has outlawed fighting for sport. It was, however, a Very Big Thing in the old Acorvian Empire and has held on in some of the territories that are... let's say "less than enthusiastic" about being part of the new Empire. Many such communities still run fighting rings in secret. So just BEING a gladiator would be enough for them to jail you.

The other idea is for an older human cleric or paladin who is still a follower of Ix, but doesn't have views on the faith the main church approves of. This one would require some mechanical work, as the inspiration for the character is a melee combatant who wields fire, while Light Cleric is primarily a caster and none of the existing Paladin oaths really deal with fire. Some minor tweaks to the Light Cleric subclass would probably be the best bet.

I have a setting-specific Paladin subclass I am working on that would be perfect for this - the Oath of the Phoenix. Light cleric is one of the most appropriate domains for Ix, as well, so making a few tweaks to that would also be possible.

[Jordan]

Hmm, if fighting for sport was outlawed, the gladiator character doesn't really work well--I like the idea that he was a well-known crowd favorite, even if just an up-and-comer. Hard to explain if there aren't public coliseums and the like.

Sounds like the other guy may work well, although I think I would need to get a good primer on to be sure it works with my concept.

I also came up with another idea while browsing Tasha's, although I think it would work way better in another campaign (especially the Shoth campaign, but really almost any other campaign, given equipment limitations), which is a human rune knight who was apprenticed to a giant and learned the arts of the Rune Knight from them. Given the way it would work better with access to real gear (and especially in a campaign like Shoth, with a monstrous humanoid empire), I'm a little reluctant to play it in this campaign, but I might do so if the Ix details don't work out the way I want.

[Jordan]

By the way Dave--I know you have a lot on your plate, but since you're looking at some of the stuff for this campaign in advance, could you maybe send me some details about the Ixian religion and/or the Oath of the Phoenix over your December break? If I can't find a character I like that feels like it fits this campaign, it's gonna weigh on me like a proverbial albatross, because I will need a character I really, really like to be able to enjoy playing in the campaign. Like, ever since this has become a topic, it has been eating at my enjoyment of even the current campaign, because I have absolutely zero interest in the island, and its been getting even less appealing the more I hear about it.

Sorry to be so heavy and negative, but I just can't quite manage anything else right now.

[quasadu]

By the way Dave--I know you have a lot on your plate, but since you're looking at some of the stuff for this campaign in advance, could you maybe send me some details about the Ixian religion and/or the Oath of the Phoenix over your December break? If I can't find a character I like that feels like it fits this campaign, it's gonna weigh on me like a proverbial albatross, because I will need a character I really, really like to be able to enjoy playing in the campaign. Like, ever since this has become a topic, it has been eating at my enjoyment of even the current campaign, because I have absolutely zero interest in the island, and its been getting even less appealing the more I hear about it.

Sorry to be so heavy and negative, but I just can't quite manage anything else right now.

I'll try to write up something semi-coherent, yeah. Most of it only exists in my brain right now.

More importantly, though, if you want to shoot me an email or have a chat and really dive into what it is that bugs you or makes you apprehensive about the campaign, I might be able to alleviate some of that worry. Because I generally think I know what you like in a game and I am fairly confident that when it actually comes time to play, you're going to have fun. So maybe it's just how I am communicating things that is causing some issue. Or maybe not, but if I can reduce some stress even a little, I'd like to try.

[Jordan]

Thanks, just getting the stuff to me when you are able is fine. As for the other issues, I'll write it up as best I can in an email. For all my apprehensiveness about the campaign, I trust you as a GM, so I know that when the campaign comes, I will eventually get into it. I'm just worried/frustrated about how long that is likely to be, especially given all the other bullshit going around unrelated to game that is sapping my...well, everything.

[quasadu]

especially given all the other bullshit going around unrelated to game that is sapping my...well, everything.

I feel ya. Hopefully things will be improving by the time we get around to actually playing this campaign, which wouldn't be before summer at the absolute earliest, and realistically more like another year or even longer.

[Mike]

Sample up-leveled version (4th) of the Circle of Dreams Druid I'm working on: http://ddb.ac/characters/41784193/PysOO5

(Sorry Joe, borrowed the Saltmarsh campaign so I could use all the sourcebooks)

[quasadu]

(Sorry Joe, borrowed the Saltmarsh campaign so I could use all the sourcebooks)

Here you go:

https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/16464501071294853