Post by Phabin on Nov 29, 2009 3:45:26 GMT -6
Okay, so if we want to actually play our first game we need to get prepared somewhat beforehand or we'll be spending the entire night getting everybody set up.
The first thing we need to do is for everybody interested to get at least a basic idea of what they want their character to be. To that end I have uploaded the two player handbooks (and Forgotten Realms) so you can see all the races, classes, and abilities to help make up your mind.
Players Handbook
Players Handbook 2
Forgotten Realms
For those of you who don't like adobe reader or it takes too long to load for you I recommend downloading Foxit Reader, it's a standalone pdf reader that is lightweight and extremely fast.
Foxit Reader
If you look at all that you're probably thinking that's a lot of stuff to read. So a quick breakdown so you know what you need to read and what you can skim through.
Players Handbook
Chapters 1&2 - "How to Play" & "Making Characters" - these chapters pretty much everybody is expected to read as they outline the basic rules of the game.
Chapters 3&4 - "Races" & "Classes" - You only really need to read the sections you're planning to make your character.
Chapters 5&6 - "Skills" & "Feats" - Skills you should probably read (it's only 4 pages long). Feats you just need to skim for the feats available to your character.
Chapter 7 - "Equipment" - Pick the type of weapon and armor that your class is trained in.
Chapter 8&9 - "Adventuring" & "Combat" - It is recommended that you read this section as it outlines the specifics of playing the game. But you can probably just skim through this as the DM is can explain most of it while we play.
Chapter 10 - "Rituals" - If your class can cast rituals or you pick up the ritual caster feat, check out the lv.1 rituals.
Players handbook 2 pretty much is just more races, classes, and feats, and a few other things, so you really only need to look at it if you plan on making a character with a race/class that's in this book or want to look at more feat options.
Forgotten Realms I was originally just going to stay away from because it is its own little world. But I wanted to play the swordmage class, so I added it to the list as well. You only need to look at this book if you plan on playing a Drow or Genasi race or the swordmage class.
Note: numbers below refer to which handbook they are in
Races
(1) Dragonborn
(1) Dwarf
(1) Eladrin
(1) Elf
(1) Half-Elf
(1) Halfling
(1) Human
(1) Tiefling
(2) Deva
(2) Gnome
(2) Goliath
(2) Half-Orc
(2) Shifter
(FR) Drow
(FR) Genasi
Classes
The Classes are seperated into 4 categories - Martial, Divine, Arcane, and Primal. Each category has a class that falls in the roles of Controller, Defender, Leader, or Striker.
Controllers deal with large numbers of enemies at the same time.
Defenders have the highest defenses in the game and good close-up offense.
Leaders inspire, heal, and aid the other characters in an adventuring group.
Strikers specialize in dealing high amounts of damage to a single target at a time.
Also every class has multiple Paragon Path options they can take at level 11 (and epic destinies at 21). So even if somebody else chooses the same class as you, if you choose a different Paragon Path you can excel in a different aspect of your class.
Martial
(1) Fighter (Defender)
(1) Ranger (Striker)
(1) Rogue (Striker)
(1) Warlord (Leader)
Divine
(1) Cleric (Leader)
(1) Paladin (Defender)
(2) Avenger (Striker)
(2) Invoker (Controller)
Arcane
(1) Warlock (Striker)
(1) Wizard (Controller)
(2) Bard (Leader)
(2) Sorcerer (Striker)
(FR) Sword Mage (Defender)
Primal
(2) Barbarian (Striker)
(2) Shaman (Leader)
(2) Druid (Controller)
(2) Warden (Defender)
Here's the checklist you need to completely fill out your character. These can be done in any order but they all need to be done.
1. Choose Race
2. Choose Class
3. Determine Ability Scores
4. Choose Skills
5. Select Feats
6. Choose Powers
7. Choose Equipment
8. Fill in the Numbers
9. Roleplaying Character Details
edit 12-22-09: Character creation night is over, so removed references to it, and slight tidying up
edit 12-09-09: Added Foxit Reader Link
edit 12-01-09: added the character creation checklist so players have an idea of what they still need to figure out for their character
edit 11-30-09: added chapter breakdown and class roles
edit 11-29-09: added Forgotten Realms 2 races and 1 class
The first thing we need to do is for everybody interested to get at least a basic idea of what they want their character to be. To that end I have uploaded the two player handbooks (and Forgotten Realms) so you can see all the races, classes, and abilities to help make up your mind.
Players Handbook
Players Handbook 2
Forgotten Realms
For those of you who don't like adobe reader or it takes too long to load for you I recommend downloading Foxit Reader, it's a standalone pdf reader that is lightweight and extremely fast.
Foxit Reader
If you look at all that you're probably thinking that's a lot of stuff to read. So a quick breakdown so you know what you need to read and what you can skim through.
Players Handbook
Chapters 1&2 - "How to Play" & "Making Characters" - these chapters pretty much everybody is expected to read as they outline the basic rules of the game.
Chapters 3&4 - "Races" & "Classes" - You only really need to read the sections you're planning to make your character.
Chapters 5&6 - "Skills" & "Feats" - Skills you should probably read (it's only 4 pages long). Feats you just need to skim for the feats available to your character.
Chapter 7 - "Equipment" - Pick the type of weapon and armor that your class is trained in.
Chapter 8&9 - "Adventuring" & "Combat" - It is recommended that you read this section as it outlines the specifics of playing the game. But you can probably just skim through this as the DM is can explain most of it while we play.
Chapter 10 - "Rituals" - If your class can cast rituals or you pick up the ritual caster feat, check out the lv.1 rituals.
Players handbook 2 pretty much is just more races, classes, and feats, and a few other things, so you really only need to look at it if you plan on making a character with a race/class that's in this book or want to look at more feat options.
Forgotten Realms I was originally just going to stay away from because it is its own little world. But I wanted to play the swordmage class, so I added it to the list as well. You only need to look at this book if you plan on playing a Drow or Genasi race or the swordmage class.
Note: numbers below refer to which handbook they are in
Races
(1) Dragonborn
(1) Dwarf
(1) Eladrin
(1) Elf
(1) Half-Elf
(1) Halfling
(1) Human
(1) Tiefling
(2) Deva
(2) Gnome
(2) Goliath
(2) Half-Orc
(2) Shifter
(FR) Drow
(FR) Genasi
Classes
The Classes are seperated into 4 categories - Martial, Divine, Arcane, and Primal. Each category has a class that falls in the roles of Controller, Defender, Leader, or Striker.
Controllers deal with large numbers of enemies at the same time.
Defenders have the highest defenses in the game and good close-up offense.
Leaders inspire, heal, and aid the other characters in an adventuring group.
Strikers specialize in dealing high amounts of damage to a single target at a time.
Also every class has multiple Paragon Path options they can take at level 11 (and epic destinies at 21). So even if somebody else chooses the same class as you, if you choose a different Paragon Path you can excel in a different aspect of your class.
Martial
(1) Fighter (Defender)
(1) Ranger (Striker)
(1) Rogue (Striker)
(1) Warlord (Leader)
Divine
(1) Cleric (Leader)
(1) Paladin (Defender)
(2) Avenger (Striker)
(2) Invoker (Controller)
Arcane
(1) Warlock (Striker)
(1) Wizard (Controller)
(2) Bard (Leader)
(2) Sorcerer (Striker)
(FR) Sword Mage (Defender)
Primal
(2) Barbarian (Striker)
(2) Shaman (Leader)
(2) Druid (Controller)
(2) Warden (Defender)
Here's the checklist you need to completely fill out your character. These can be done in any order but they all need to be done.
1. Choose Race
2. Choose Class
3. Determine Ability Scores
4. Choose Skills
5. Select Feats
6. Choose Powers
7. Choose Equipment
8. Fill in the Numbers
9. Roleplaying Character Details
edit 12-22-09: Character creation night is over, so removed references to it, and slight tidying up
edit 12-09-09: Added Foxit Reader Link
edit 12-01-09: added the character creation checklist so players have an idea of what they still need to figure out for their character
edit 11-30-09: added chapter breakdown and class roles
edit 11-29-09: added Forgotten Realms 2 races and 1 class