We always come to the part of Critter Creation where we don't always know what to do next or what to take for our poor hapless soul. That is where this section comes in.  It is going to end up being a hodgepodge of some usefull information and some useless stuff too. This page is still under construction so come back to it occaisionally.
 

Having trouble choosing an alingment?
Don't Know what languages to take?
Commonly Forgotten Items
I don't know what to play?
The 1st Ed Cavalier (Tin man or hopless romantic?)
Some notes on Non-Weaps
Taking the Initiative
The First Ed Monk
The First Ed Barbarian ---- Finally Here!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Alingments:
Lawful Good:  Law exists to help the welfare of life.  Without it, life would decay to the point of endless suffering and strife.  Law deals with life on a whole and not on an individual basis.  Some laws may not be interpreted as being good for a single being but as long as they are good for the community as a whole, they are seen as good.  The good of the many outweighs the good of the one.  Self-sacrifice for the good of the whole is considered valiant and noble.

Chaotic Good:  Freedom is the ultimate truth. A society is as good as it's lowliest member.  The good of the many doesn not out-weigh the good of the one.  Life is precious only if it is free and has free will.  Oppression of the masses is one of the most hated things for this alingment. Will work against any and all oppression and strive for personal freedom without infringing on the freedoms of others

Nuetral Good:  Believes that there must be a balance between Law and Chaos for life to flourish.  Laws are needed to keep the peace, but should not infringe on personal freedoms.  Cherishes all life.

Nuetral Evil:  Laws and Freedoms are unecessary.  Pure evil.  Will use the laws to his benefit, but will also play on personal freedoms.  Anything to bring maximum evil to the world

Chaotic Evil:  Law and order, kindness and good deeds are disdained.  Will do anything to put themselves in positions of power. Life has no value. (any life including children and innocents)

Lawful Evil:  Place no value on life, beauty, truth, freedom.  By adhering to strict disciplines and laws, they hope to achieve power.

Lawful Nuetral:  Rules and regulations are all important. Does not question orders. Good and Evil are only defined as lawful and lawbreakers.

Chaotic Nuetral:  Places highest value on randomness and freedom.  Will use the powers of Good and Evil to create as much chaos as possible

True Nuetral:  Everything must be in balance.  Good and Evil, Law and Chaos should hold eachother in check for neither is right and neither is wrong.  they are just parts of the machinery that drive life. If one part becomes too great then the whole machine breaks down.
 
 

Elves (Except Drow)
    Languages
    Known:
    Common
    Alingment Language
    Elvish (Dialects of Elven Branch)
    Orcish

    Available:
    Gnome
    Halfling
    Goblin
    Hobgoblin
    Gnoll
    Other Elvish Dialects

Dwarves:
    Languages
    Known:
    Dwarvish
    Common
    Alingment
    Orcish

    Available:
    Kobold
    Gnomish
    Goblin
    Halfling

Gnomes
    Languages
    Known:
    Gnomish
    Common
    Alingment
    Goblin

    Available:
    Dwarven
    Elven
    Orcish
    Halfling
    Kobold
    Language of burrowing animals

Drow
    Languages
    Drow
    Common
    Sign Language (Drow only)
    Elvish
    Alingment

    Available:
    Svirfneblin
    Illithid
    Dwarvish
    Orc
    Goblin
    Kobold
 
 
 

    Of course there are exceptions to this as there are other rules.  High Elves may choose more rare languages to reflect their intellect.  This was just to help give you an idea of languages and not necesarily final.  Some languages my be granted based on class, example: Rangers will have the chance to learn the language of his hated species ONLY if that species is picked before play starts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Commonly Forgotten Items:
Girdle (needed to strap scabboards and pouches to)
Sheaths and Scabboards (need a place for all those sharp objects)
Pouches (so you can load them up with gold and other things)
Chalk (hopscotch in the dungeon)
Flint and Steel (unless you have a dragon in your pocket)
Candle (what? what do you mean I can't see my spell book to study?)
Rope (need I say more)
Quiver (you don't want to put arrows in your back pocket)
Torch (where did that human go again?)
Whetstone (gotta keep those sharp objects sharp)
Theives Picks and Tools (the ultimate head-slap)
Holy Symbol (Vampires don't go for fingers held up in the shape of a cross)
Shield (that +1 AC can come in pretty handy)
Paper (when your comrades get tired of you drawing on their backs)
Ink ("how many HP's would it take for me to make the map with my own ink?")
Quills (fingerpainting?)
Horse
Backpack
Waterskins
Gloves  (nah, the DM never uses contact poison)
Armor (spendy, but some think it is worth it)
Knife (try cutting meat with that long sword, buddy)
Tack and Harness for that Horse
Lantern (don't forget the oil)
Oil
Glass Bottles (another cocktail, Molotov?)
Sacks (how many coins can i fit in my pockets?)
Grappling Hook (a good compliment to the Rope, as long as it is long enough)
Extra Bow Strings (well, at least could I use it as a small staff?)
Boots (the dungeon is not tulips for easy tip-toeing)
Mirror (for the vain explorer)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

    The age old question of "what shall I play" is one that I really hope that you are considering carefully.  Here is some help:  I would like everyone to try to play TWO PC's.  I know that sounds like a lot, but you will get no sympathy from the DM who has to keep track of all of you and the NPC's too.  There are a couple of theories about playing 2 characters and doing a good job at it.  One is to make them completely different so you have no trouble keeping them seperate.  Give them different classes (which is a requirement in this campaign anyways), make them different races, different alingments, different looks, etc.  The more different they are the easier to keep them separate in your mind.
    The other theory is to make them similiar. Twins or brothers with like agendas and temperments that work well together make a nice team.  You wouldn't have to make that radical of a switch when role-playing them.  Brothers or even really close freinds have can have almost a psychic connection so they know what the others are thinking, easy excuse for playing them as a team and doubling up on the poor DM.
    The reason I encourage 2 PC's is that this adventure is made for a group of 8 players and I'll bet we won't get that. Another reason is is that when one dies, the player won't be left out of the action until I can bring in another one.  And my last reason for this, is to allow players to play different classes than they are used to.  They shouldn't be afraid of one being too boring or too hard to play cause they will have another to fall back on.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

    One of the more important parts of critter creation is figuring out what you want your player to know.  Non-weapon profiencies are very important to survival in a dungeon, out on the open plain, or even in a king's court.  We are going to use the basic 2nd Ed rules for non-weaps.  They may not be the best, but everyone knows them.  There are some commonly forgotten ones and some that you may not realize some things about so here is yet another list and a few notes about them.

    I do want to point out that Reading/Writing are not free and that they will cost double to anyone who doesn't have access to the Wizard or Preist proficiencies.  You have to buy that proficiency for each language that you want to know how to read/write.  This goes for all proficiencies in groups that are not available to your PC. They cost double the amount of slots.
 

• Swimming:  cannot swim without it. They ca hold their breath and float, that is it.
• Ancient History:  must have a time period listed at the time of purchase that the PC is specialized in
• Animal Training: must list what type of animal PC can train at time of purchase
• Armorer: must have proper equipment and facilities
• Artistic Ability:  must declare what area of art the talent is in
• Black Smithing: must have proper equipment
• Bowyer/Fletcher:  a weaponsmith is required to make arrowheads
• Charioteering: must have a chariot (duh, LOL)
• Fire Building: flint and steel are not required
• Gem Cutter: must have right tools
• Heraldry:  knowledge of coat of arms and symbols
• Ancient Languages: must declare time period
• Local History: must declare are
• Religeon: knowledge of cults and beliefs in his homeland as well as major faiths of neighboring areas
• Spellcraft: being able to identify a spell that is being cast or casted
• Survival: must declare what type of conditions you can survive in like: desert, ardtic, jungle, etc..
• Weaponsmithing: must have facilities and materials

• Hasted -2
• Slowed +2
• On higher ground: -1
• Set to recieve a charge: -2
• Wading or on slippery footing: +2
• Wading in deep water: +4
• Foreign enviroment (aka another plane): +6
• Hindered: +3
• Waiting: +2
• Attacking with weapon : speed factor
• Breath weapon: +1
• Spells: casting time
• Innate ability: +3
• Misc Magic: +3
• Potion: +4
• Ring: +3
• Rods: +1
• Scrolls: Casting Time
• Wand: +3

    It happens. It happens more than we care to admit. It has happened a lot with my characters and many of your own too.  Just how much CAN we carry is an age old question especially  when staring at a huge treasure and lots of magic.
 
 

    We don't usually get so picky, but this time we might so we  have to be prepared.  This is about the Armor Class section on your Character Sheet.  I just wanted to explain a few of the catagories that you may or may not have there.

• Base AC:  Usually 10 unless you are a race that has a lower AC, but I can't think of one now cause I'm so tired
• Armor:  Type worn and any magical bonuses
• Sheild: Type of shield can make a difference
• Dex Adj:  Reaction Adjustment based on your DEX score
• Helm:  Helmets are included in all sets of armor, but may be upgraded if you want more protection. If you don't wear the helm, you are considered AC10 (plus dex bonses)
• Suprised:  Attacked without knowing. AC without DEX adjustment and sometimes shield adjustments
• Rear: AC with out DEX adj and without Shield
• S.O.L. : Stripped naked with your hands and feet tied together behind your back with your back up against the wall with a really big guy coming after you with a really big sword.