Xathos of Varisia’s Guide to Filling out a Character Sheet in The Brinewall Ascension

by Xathos of Varisia

Greetings adventurer! Whether you be a grizzled veteran filling out your twenty-fifth sheet or an innocent cherub taking its first tottering steps into The Brinewall Ascenion (TBA), this guide will help you easily fill out a character sheet for a Pathfinder character. We will do this by breaking the sheet down into manageable sections. Along the way, we will explain the reasoning behind details and offer some tips on character development. By now you should have read the setting details and familiarized yourself with the general rules used in The Brinewall Ascension. In order to be play a character here, you as a player need a fully functional and completely filled out character sheet. All character sheets must be filled out correctly, uploaded to either Google Drive or Dropbox, and then a link to that unedited sheet placed on our TBA forums in the New Arrivals section. Always save and link a new file. Editing of your previous character sheets or character thread will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including character deletion. Post a new sheet whenever your character levels up. We know that character generators are available on the Internet. Mythweavers, PC Generator, and HeroLab all are used to create characters. However, our experience with players and characters is that most players fail to understand their character when they use a generator. Because of the verified studies supporting this conclusion, and from our experiences running Pathfinder games on Roll20 and in live game sessions, it is readily apparent to us that players need to fill out a character sheet instead of relying on a generator to do it for them. Don’t get us wrong! The generators are useful tools for developing character builds and we encourage their use for exactly that purpose. But you will learn far more about your character and have a better developed character when you fill out our character sheets. This guide will use a sheet filled out by Xathos of Varisia for his character, Snorri Sturluson, a Human Warpriest in The Brinewall Ascension. You can see the first page of the sheet to the left. This sheet was approved on its first examination by an approver. Xathos also is an approver as well as one of the original founders of The Brinewall Ascension server. The character, Snorri, is currently being played by Xathos on the server. I. Classes and Races

A. Prior to filling out a sheet, you should have a pretty solid idea of what kind of character you want to play. Will it be a caster? A melee class? A healer? What race will it be? A Dwarf? An Elf? Perhaps a human? The Core Rule Book (CRB) has that information as do additional rulebooks such as the Advanced Race Guide, Advanced Player’s Guide, Ultimate Magic, and the Advanced Class Guide. B. Races: All Core, Standard, Featured, and Uncommon races are allowed as long as they are under 20 RP. For you Dark Elf lovers out there, that means the Drow are playable. However, the Drow Noble is not. You can roleplay as if you were a Drow of noble birth, but you cannot use the game mechanics from the Drow Noble itself. There are no custom races allowed in TBA.

C. Our rules allow for all official Pathfinder classes to be available for play except for the original Summoner class. The Unchained Summoner is allowed. Please use the Unchained Summoner class information including the Unchained Eidolons which making that class. Also, the Synthesist Summoner is not allowed. All official class archetypes are allowed in TBA.

D. All official feats and traits are allowed in TBA.

E. NO 3PP (Third Party) MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED IN THE BRINEWALL ASCENSION!!!!! Please don’t ask as you are wasting your time in doing so.

Additional rules for characters and races are found here: Character Creation Rules.

In building our character, we will construct a Human Warpriest which gives us a good melee class build in addition to basic magic spell use. Let’s move to the first section of the sheet. II. The Character Sheet – The Basic Information Block

A. Here in this section we find spaces to insert the basic information or our character. First, you need to access the sheet and download it to your computer. You can find the sheet here Character Sheet. Please save a copy of the blank sheet before beginning to fill out a new character sheet. Here is a site which contains very good Character Sheets. As Snorri is a Divine spellcaster, he only needs to use the three page sheet unless the player just wants to write a lot of spell information down.

B. We will begin with the Human Warpriest and name him Snorri. Begin by filling in the blanks provided in this section.

Some of these should be pretty obvious. The more detail your character has, the more of a personality it has. Life in the Brinewall Ascension is a bit different than many other Pathfinder servers. We value roleplay and character personality here. Characters should be distinctly different from each other. They are not avatars of your personality, but a completely different persona that you roleplay or act as while playing the character. Here you are no longer Al the Accountant or Mary the High School Student. You are Snorri the Warpriest, a man who fights to establish himself in this harsh world as a renowned hero of Brinewall! Play the part when playing the character.

C. Race matters! Read about the race your character is. While your character may be different in some ways, the NPCs one encounters will be making decisions based upon their experiences with the various races which are defined in the rule books. So while you may be a Drizzt Do’Urden wannabe, the party of dwarves you just ran into will treat you based on the book definition of the race you are playing. A Human is not an Elf nor a Dwarf nor a Half- Orc. It is a Human with different abilities and philosophies, beliefs, and attitudes.

D. Other lines ask for information that help develop your character’s behavior. Alignment matters in The Brinewall Ascension! A Lawful Good character will not participate in the murder of foes who surrendered. Nor will they turn their backs while the rest of the party cuts the throats of bound foes. To many alignments, the means justify the ends. On the other hand, Chaotic Evil characters would kill vanquished enemies. Intelligent enemies would act accordingly if they suspect the player to be the type to wantonly kill people. Surrender might be rejected by an intelligent foe if they suspect they would just be killed anyway. Chaotic Evil characters would almost certainly follow a philosophy of life in which the ends justify the means.

In TBA, the GMs will enforce alignment infractions. The GMs communicate with each other as the sessions are set in the wider backdrop we work with. Some character classes must use specific alignments as well. So, read what that alignment is because your character will have to follow it or suffer the consequences of alignment infractions.

E. Deities should be selected if the character will be worshipping a primary deity. While some classes do have to follow a deity, not all do. Having one or not having one is also a means to character development. A character’s deity should be within one step of the character’s alignment unless required to be the same alignment due to class. F. Homeland selection is also a character development choice. Each character should have a homeland in the Golarion setting. While we are located in Varisia, characters can be from anywhere on Golarion. This will help you build a backstory for your character. In Snorri’s case, he is from the Land of the Linnorm Kings. While we haven’t indicated on this sheet, you could determine that Snorri is of Ulfen heritage or develop a back story for him in which he of a different human stock and was born in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Using the Golarion campaign setting and companion books helps you construct a much richer character. The Inner Sea World Guide is a valuable resource.

G. Finally, put down the languages your character speaks. This is determined by Race, Intelligence, and in some instances Class. It is important as in over half the sessions I’ve played or ran, language comprehension played a role in the game.

III. The Character Sheet – Ability Scores Block

Here we find one of the most important blocks of data that set the tone for your character’s capabilities. These ability scores dictate the parameters of what the character can and cannot do. High scores generate bonuses to all kinds of things while low scores create negative modifiers to the die rolls. Let’s see what Snorri will have for ability scores.

A. First of all, here in TBA we use a 20-point buy system for creating characters. All of the abilities have a base 10 score. Using this Pathfinder Ability Score Calculator, you can purchase the correct number of ability score points and input the racial ability score modifier(s). Use it! It’s embarrassing to be find out you made an error and cost your character an ability score point. You just never know when it is a big deal that keeps the character alive as well as the others in the party.

Just click on the High Fantasy: 20 tab and you are set to calculate the correct scores. Remember your choice of race results in modifiers for the ability scores. Every race gets at least one modifier to use. Some are up to the player to select like in the case of Snorri who is a Human. Humans get a +2 -ability score modifier that they can use on any score. Some races get multiple modifiers with some being positive and some being negative. The end result of any playable race is that they all end up with an overall +2 ability score modifier regardless of how many scores are modified. No score can be reduced below 7 or raised above 18 using this method prior to adding/subtracting racial ability score modifiers.

Before you even ask, yes, you can lower ability scores to increase the points in the point buy system. By doing this you can increase ability scores in desired areas. Be warned though! Stat dumping always has consequences. Sure, you enjoy some higher ability scores which usually translate in increased power, but the stat dump can weaken the character in areas that sometimes have drastic negative effects.

This is seen often in sessions where characters fail saving throws when hit by attacks that lower ability scores. If the amount of ability damage you have taken equals or exceeds your ability score, you immediately fall unconscious until the damage is less than your ability score. In the case of Constitution, if the ability score damage is equal or greater to your Constitution score, you die. Many players use Charisma for a stat dump, and Snorri obviously has done that.

B. Now that you have begun to build the character’s ability scores using the calculator, don’t forget to select your race on the calculator so you can see your final scores. Hold up! Don’t enter these yet. Let’s use the character sheet correctly because after all, you might level all the way to 20, so it is important to enter the information correctly. GMs do check sheets randomly. (Note: You can enter data in the boxes and lines that have a light blue color (and pink in the Skills block). All boxes and lines in white are not editable by the player. The sheet is designed to generate that data using the data you input to the sheet).

Snorri used his 20 point buy to increase his Strength from 10 to 14 (5 points), his Dexterity to 15 (7 points), and his Constitution to 14 (5 points), and his Wisdom to 14 (5 points) as well. He lowered or “dumped” his Charisma to 8 (-2 points) to get his total score to 20. These scores are entered in the Base column along with 10 for Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Since Snorri is a Human, that race gets a +2 -ability score modifier which can be used for any ability score. Snorri is using his in the Strength score and entered it in the Misc column. This column is to be used for any permanent ability score increases or decreases as the character levels up. Since characters do get permanent ability score increases as they level, it is easy to understand why these columns exist.

Now, since this is a fantasy RPG with magic widely available, characters will be using magical means to raise ability scores over time. Those ability score changes go in the Enhance column. The Temp column is for when your ability scores are temporarily increased by spells, potions, etc. The notes section can be used to explain changes.

The Total column reflects the current ability score of the character at any given time. The Mod column reflects modifiers or penalties which affect various things characters do from ATK rolls, damage rolls, skill modifiers, etc. You can see these ability modifiers on Table 1-3: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells in the Core Rule Book.

III. The Character Sheet – Hit Points and Class Recorder Block

A. In this section we will fill in the block of information that deals with Hit Points (hp) and Class Recorder, where we put in pertinent data related to your class. This data feeds into other sections of the character sheet as does data from additional sections to generate statistical information needed to determine Armor Class (AC) and saving throw values, attack and defense bonuses, and other combat statistics.

Each class has a section of information covering its abilities. It also has a table with information on it which is where most of the information on this block comes from. In Snorri’s case, he is a Warpriest and this information comes from Table 1-14: Warpriest in the Advanced Class Guide.

As we look at the block, we see Current HP which is 11. That number is also the same number as the Total HP block because Snorri has not taken any damage that would reduce his Current HP of 11. Should Snorri be hit for lethal or non-lethal damage, his HP total would change. Non-lethal damage would go in the block indicated for it below the Current HP block. Any Temporary HP would be recorded in that block. Temporary HP are usually from spells that temporarily raise one’s HP. Any damage taken while the spell is in effect would come from the temporary HP until the spell ended or the damage exceeded the temporary HP from the spell. B. HP Gained reflects the HP the character receives due to leveling. All characters in TBA get the maximum amount of hit points based on their class hit dice at 1st level only. They get half of their hit dice, rounded down every time they level up from 2nd level onward. In Snorri’s case, he is a Warpriest and they use an 8-sided die for hit points. Thus, Snorri gets 8 HP at 1st level. When (if he survives) Snorri advances to 2nd level, he would get 4 more HP and add it to the 8 HP he already has in this block.

The 2 in the block below 10 represents the Constitution hit point bonus (modifier) Snorri gets for having a Constitution of 14. We can see that Snorri’s Total HP are 11, so he gets an additional HP from somewhere. That is due to Snorri using his Favored Class Bonus for a hit point. (Note: All characters get a Favored Class Bonus which they can use for either a hit point or a skill rank each time they level up. Snorri used his for a hit point. Also, since Snorri is a Human, he gets to take the extra hit point AND an extra skill rank at 1st level and every level thereafter. Only humans get that benefit. All other races must make a choice as to which they will take). You can see this hit point in the FC HPS column to the right. Every time Snorri levels up and takes a hit point for the bonus it will be added here. This sheet automatically adds the FC HPS to the Total HP.

C. The next column to the right of HP Gained is HD. This is where you record the Hit Dice (HD) that Snorri uses for his determination of hit points based on class. A GM can look at the sheet, see the HD and the character level and quickly determine if the correct number of HP are being reflected in the HP Gained column. You would be surprised at how many times GMs find incorrect HP here.

D. The next column is Class Name. Snorri is a Warpriest and thus Warpriest is entered in the column. It is possible to multiclass or “dip” as a character levels up. If the character does this, just enter the additional class here in this column and put in the information based on that class level. (Note: When dipping, characters only get half of the hit dice rounded down for the new class’s hit points. Characters only get their full hit dice at the 1st level of the original class as the character entered play).

You also see a line below Constitution that says Constitution Bonus. Sometimes this line is labeled Constitution/Intelligence Bonus. Use this line in this spot so it reflects where you are putting each of those bonuses. In this case, the Constitution bonus for Snorri’s 14 is a 2 and is in the HP Gained Column. Snorri’s Intelligence score is 10 which does not provide a bonus or a penalty. If Snorri had a bonus for his Intelligence, it would have put it in the Skill column line because that would reflect additional skills he would have received for having a higher Intelligence. Since Snorri did not have an Intelligence modifier, there was no need to put Intelligence in the line. Please note that penalties are also possible for low ability scores and they would be reflected in this block just like the bonuses are.

Yet another line in this column is Human Skill Rank. It is explained in F. E. The next column is BAB. This stands for Base Attack Bonus. All classes get these, but not all classes get them every level. The Warpriest does not get one at 1st level as it is what is known as a ¾ BAB class. This has a direct impact on a character’s Attack (ATK) roll. The higher the BAB, the better the character hits. Snorri has a BAB of 0 for 1st level.

F. Continuing, we find the Skill column. Every character has skills which are used to accomplish certain things in the game. They are somewhat abstract and a complete explanation of them as well as skill descriptions can be found in Chapter 4 of the CRB. In this case, Snorri is a Warpriest and that class gets 2 skill ranks every time they level. However, Snorri is also a Human and that race gets a skill rank bonus at 1st level and every time the character levels. Put that in the Human Skill Rank row.

Here in TBA we allow Background Skills to develop more versatile characters. You can find information on them on the Pathfinder Reference Document in the Background Skills section. Characters in TBA get 2 of these extra skills at 1st level and every level thereafter. These additional skill ranks must be taken in specific skills, not any skill. Keep that in mind as you build your character.

As you can see, everything has a place on the sheet and is detailed so there is no confusion later. In Snorri’s case, he has 5 skill ranks to use. We will show you how to use those in Section V.

G. The next three columns are where class modifiers for Fortitude (Fort), Reflex (Ref), and Will go. Like BAB, these modifiers are used to develop the character’s saving throw adjustments whenever a save situation is called for by the GM.

H. The final column is simple. It is where you put the level of the class for the character. There could be more than one class and this Hit Points and Class Recorder block of data is where all the class modifiers can be found over time. Just below this stat block is a line for Conditions & Miscellaneous Tracking. Use as needed if needed.

IV. The Character Sheet - Attacks & Defense Block

A. While many of the statistics in this section are crucial to a character’s combat die rolls, the player does not input information here often. Most of the data in this section is generated in other sections and totaled here automatically. In looking at this block, you will note that the light blue area is there, so you can input variables that differ from the basic information available elsewhere on the sheet. Some skills, feats, spells, magic items, etc. will have bonuses or penalties to your statistics and must be placed in the appropriate location in this stat block.

B. The Combat Notes & Modifiers section is a good place to jot down notes on what these variables are. If it makes it easier to play your character, you should write it down. If something is not on the character sheet or the information on the sheet is too disorganized for the GM to find it, then you probably will not be allowed to use the variable in the game session. It is not the GM’s job to organize your sheet for you. It is yours. Too much game time is lost because players don’t write information down or can’t find it on the disaster of a sheet they have. BE ORGANIZED!!!

GM’s will ask for information that comes from this block. The information here is what is used to adjust your dice rolls for attacks, damage, saving throws, whether your character is hit or not, and special attacks that use Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) and Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD). Because combat plays such a significant role in the Pathfinder RPG, you should read Chapter 8: Combat in the CRB to acquaint yourself with the rules governing it.

V. The Character Sheet – Skills block

This block covers the skills and the modifiers that go into supplying additional depth to one’s character. Detailed information on skills is found in Chapter 4: Skills in the CRB. One of the things I like about playing Pathfinder is that skills are defined and quantified. Back in 1979, we had to wing it when it came to doing many types of skills playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). This was a long time before the second edition came out and codified many of the homebrew rules covering skills.

The number of skill ranks a player has is based upon their class, Intelligence modifier, and level. Additionally, there may be situations where the character gets additional ranks due to Traits. A character can never have less than 1 skill rank per level.

B. Snorri is a Warpriest and a Human. His Intelligence score of 10 does not result in him getting any additional skill ranks. Using the information from the Class Recorder stat block, we see that Snorri has 5 total skill ranks. Looking down the list of skills on the left-hand side of the block we see a column of checkboxes with asterisk next to some of them. Those signify if that skill can be used by Snorri if he has no skill ranks in them (Untrained). The checkmark in the boxes indicate Class Skills Snorri gets for being a Warpriest. (Note: This block is filled out with all modifications from Snorri’s traits in Section VI because UMD is not a class skill for Warpriests. When building the sheet be sure to update each section as additional information added to the sheet may change other sections such as in this case.)

C. The name of the skill is next. Note that another asterisk is on the right of some of the skill names. That denotes whether an Armor Check Penalty (ACP) applies to using the skill. All that armor lowers the ability of a character to use those skills. Snorri is wearing Scale Mail and using a Light Wooden Shield which creates an ACP of -4 and -1 equaling -5 (Armor data is from Armor & Shield section of the sheet). This means whenever Snorri uses a skill that the ACP is applicable to, he will have a -5 penalty before other modifiers are applied to the skill’s DC (Difficulty Check). D. A quick glance at Snorri’s Total column shows the - 5 is being modified by other ability score modifiers. All skills have their DC adjusted by the character’s ability score modifier that is relevant to that skill. The Acrobatics skill is modified by a character’s DEX (Dexterity) ability score modifier. In Snorri’s case, his DEX is 15 which gives him a +2 modifier. That modifier is reflected in the Ability column of the Skill block.

Here in TBA, characters are part of the setting and their actions impact the setting. Much like people in the real world have jobs, our characters have learned a Profession or Craft in their youth which they excel at and can use to make an income should they not go adventuring. In Snorri’s case, he must have been a miner before leaving to become a heroic adventurer at some point.

F. We have entered a 1 in the Ranks column for five of Snorri’s skills which is all he has at 1st level. A character can never have more ranks in a skill than it has levels. Snorri has a skill rank in Handle Animal, Perception (most used skill ever), Prof (Miner), Sense Motive, and Use Magic Device (UMD). While Handle Animal, Prof (Miner), Sense Motive, and Use Magic Device are class skills, Perception is not. When a character takes a skill rank in a class skill, they get a +3 bonus which represents training in that skill. That explains the +3 in the Training column. Note that Perception did not get a +3 in the Trained column. That is because it is not a class skill for a Warpriest.

Use Magic Device is not listed as class skill for the Warpriest, but the Dangerously Curious trait which Snorri took (see Traits) makes it a class skill, gives him a +1 bonus to it, and as a result Snorri gets the +3 bonus for training in that skill.

G. The last column in this block is the Misc. column. That is where any modifiers from feats, race, magic effects, etc. go. All of the data in a row is totaled up in the Total column for each skill. When the GM says, “Make a Perception check,” the character simply rolls a d20 and adds their skill modifier (the figure in the Total column for Perception in this example), which for Snorri is a 3. The GM will have a DC which the modified dice roll must equal or exceed for the character to succeed in that check.

At the bottom of this block we see an information legend. This has already been thoroughly explained in this section but can be useful for fast reference.

VI. The Character Sheet – Feats & Features Block

There are four key pieces of data that are used to provide flavor for a character. Two of these features are fairly generic as they are class and race features (sometimes call racial traits in the CRB but should not be confused with Traits as the Traits were introduced in expansions). The other two are completely left up to the player to select. Those are Feats and Traits. While the information for all four of these can fit into this block at 1st level, as the character levels up it will acquire additional class features and feats that will not fit into this section. Therefore, we will split up the four pieces of data between this block and the Feats & Special Abilities block.

While there is no official way to enter this information on the character sheet per our rules, keep this in mind. To be able to play a character here on TBA, it must be approved by an approver. They do not get paid and are using their time to make sure characters are legal for play on this server. The more information you have on this sheet in an organized manner will help them approve your sheet faster since they will not have to look up everything. Also keep in mind, DMs have the authority to look over your sheet before and during game play. They have the authority to deny practically anything if it is not up to speed.

A. In this block we will put three pieces of data: Racial features, Traits, and Class Features. In the Right-hand column, place a title for Racial Features. Then using the information for your character’s race, put the pertinent facts where, especially any modifiers. There is no need to list the ability score modifiers here as they are already in the character’s data. Base Speed is important. List it here and make sure to also input it in the Base Speed box in the Miscellaneous Information block (Section VII of this guide).

B. Snorri is a Human and we have listed the relatively brief list of Racial Features for Humans here. Other races have additional features which sometimes are not advantages. Speed is one where some races have a racial disadvantage. The bonus feat will be listed in the Feats section. Here it is just noted that Snorri has a bonus feat for being human. The Skilled part is already reflected in the Class Recorder and the Skills blocks. The CRB shows languages which are derived from race and Intelligence. Snorri only begins with one language because Humans only get Common as their racial language and his Intelligence is only 10.

C. All characters get to select two Traits. These were introduced to Pathfinder with the Advanced Player’s Guide expansion book. They have been added onto with multiple Pathfinder products ever since. It is recommended you use http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/ to learn more about traits and which ones to select. Here in TBA, there is a special rule about traits.

You can take 2 traits, or 3 traits and 1 drawback. Campaign Traits require Admin Approval.

Snorri will take a drawback trait which gives him the option to take a third trait. It cannot be from the same categories as the first two traits he selected. A character may only take one trait from any category of traits such as Combat Traits. In addition, a character may not take traits which stack bonuses such as two traits that would increase its initiative.

D. His first trait is Dangerously Curious from the Magic Traits category. “You gain a +1- trait bonus on Use Magic Device checks and Use Magic Device is always a class skill for you.” Snorri has gained a new skill! Remember, you were told in the Skills section that there were possible ways to acquire additional skills. This is one of those ways. Snorri puts a checkmark in the box for Use Magic Device to be a class skill. He also puts a 1 in the Misc. column for Use Magic Device. This does not grant him a skill rank though. He would have to use (and he did) one of his 5 skill ranks in order to use this skill in game.

F. Snorri’s second trait comes from the Faith category and is Fate’s Favored. This trait’s text say, “Whenever you are under the effect of a luck bonus of any kind, that bonus increases by 1.” This is an extra bonus that only applies with a luck bonus of any kind is in effect on Snorri. Therefore there is no entry for the bonus on the character sheet, but should be employed during game play when the appropriate situation is in effect. Usually this will involve temporarily adjusting the Roll20 character sheet during play.

G. Snorri’s third trait is Shield Bearer which is from the Combat Traits category. It states, “When performing a shield bash, you deal 1 additional point of damage. Also, once per day on your turn as a free action, you may provide one adjacent ally a +2 trait bonus to his Armor Class. This bonus lasts for 1 round, so long as you and the target remain adjacent to one another. You can only use this ability if you are using a shield. You retain your shield bonus to your armor class when using this ability.” Snorri enters the +1 damage bonus to his shieldbash in the Armor & Weapons section of the sheet. The other part of this trait is situational and does not go on the sheet. It would be temporarily entered on the Roll20 sheet as needed. H. Since Snorri has three traits, that means he must have drawback trait to offset the advantages he gets from three traits. He selected Pride which states, “When someone threatens, accuses, or challenges you, you take a –2 penalty on Diplomacy checks and Sense Motive checks involving that creature until the creature apologizes to you.” Since this is situational, Xathos must inform the GM whenever Snorri meets the conditions for the effects on those skills.

These are just examples of possible Traits a character might select. As a player, you are free to select traits for your characters as you prefer within the rules of the game and setting.

I. List the Class Features for your character in the left-hand rows. Some classes have more features and acquire even more of them as the character levels up. Snorri begins with six Class Features, but a glance at the Warpriest class shows he will receive many more as he levels up. Xathos counted the Blessings as a Class Feature and put them in the same column. Xathos left two spaces open for the Blessing Snorri will get later in his adventuring career should he survive that far.

VII: The Character Sheet – Experience, Speed, and Other Information

At first glance this block of information is a hodge-podge of information that seems to be shoehorned into this area. However, it turns out that this area is well organized and has spaces that can be used for a special category for The Brinewall Ascension.

A. Here in TBA we use the Medium Track character advancement column that you can find in the CRB in Table 3-1: Character Advancement and Level-Dependent Bonuses. This table is where you can see the column of requirements to reach each level for Medium Track advancement. You can also see two columns for Feats and Ability Score which inform you of additional feats and ability score increases when your character hits a certain level.

On the character sheet, check the Medium box to show you are using the Medium Track advancement. Then enter a 0 for your current experience points (XP) and 2000 for how many you need to reach your next level which at this stage in your character’s career is 2nd level. You will change these figures as the character acquires XP through adventuring or through other means when possible such as crafting.

B. The next category is Speed. You can see the box next to Speed, and then five more boxes marked Base, Fly, Swim, Climb, Misc. For now, you should enter your racial movement speed. Snorri is a Human and moves at a base speed of 30 feet which is entered in the Base speed box. The box next to Speed is the current movement speed of the character which is based upon the Base speed and what the character’s Load & Lift category is. Everything has weight and that combined with base speed determines a character’s speed, especially in combat situations. The final speed factor in the box will be determined once you have purchased all of Snorri’s starting equipment and entered the weights. When we do, we will enter his adjusted speed.

C. Next, we have INIT which stands for Initiative. Every time you go into combat you make an Initiative roll to see who goes first. The higher the number, the better you are because you get to “Do unto others before they hurt you badly.” The first box is the modifier you add to your d20 initiative roll. To determine that figure, you add your Dexterity (DEX) modifier and any miscellaneous modifiers that influence Initiative. In Snorri’s case he has a DEX of 15 which gives him a DEX modifier of +2. Had he taken any traits or feats which would have given bonuses to his initiative, they would have been entered in the Misc Mod box and altered his final initiative.

D. Following Initiative we come to Hero. This is for Hero Points which are an optional rule used in The Brinewall Ascension. Rather than repeat what has been said before, there is the link to Hero Points. The number of Hero Points a character has goes in that box. Snorri is 1st level and he gets one hero point to start the game with.

E. SR and DR stand for Spell Resistance and Damage Reduction. Should Snorri ever acquire either of these, he would put them here. For now, leave them blank.

F. Resistances are for the characters who have special resistances to anything. This should be written down in the Feats & Features section already, but it can go here as well. G. Pool Points are for characters who have character abilities that have pools of points. Obviously, this is where they would go.

VIII. The Character Sheet – Armor & Weapons

Well, now we have all these cool ability scores, class and race features, some traits, skills, and some feats as soon as we put them on the sheet. “How does this all interact so that I can cast spells, wear armor, swing a sword, or shoot a crossbow? I want to hit the monsters without them hitting me. How does that work?” Glad you asked those questions! In this section, we examine how to incorporate armor into the character sheet as well as weapons so you can be ready to adventure into the unknown.

A. At the top of the Armor & Weapons section we see two lines for Armor and Shield. This is where you write down the type of armor and shield (if any) you have, and their statistical information. Snorri is a Warpriest and is proficient in Light, Medium, and Heavy armors. He can pretty much wear anything that is armor, but he only has 300 gold pieces to spend (starting cash which is detailed more in the section on money). Looking at Table 6-6: Armor and Shields, we see armor prices. Snorri purchased Scale Mail to start with. He can sell this armor for better armor later when he has more money. He also buys a Light Wooden Shield. Note the costs are written down in the rows!

B. Now we input the data from Table 6-6 here on the character sheet. This information

will be used in other locations for weights, ACs, and other items automatically. Note the empty box for Max Dex in the Shield column. Leave it blank unless you get a tower shield. Looking at the information we know that Snorri will have a good AC of 10 (base AC for all characters before any other factors are added or subtracted) + 5 (Scale Mail AC Bonus) + 1 (Light Wooden Shield AC Bonus) + 2 (DEX modifier) = 18, which is a very good AC to begin play with. That means anyone or anything attacking Snorri has to roll high enough so that after they add or subtract any modifiers to their ATK roll, they have at least an 18 or higher. If not, they do not hit Snorri.

C. Note that the Scale Mail has a Max Dex of 3. That means Snorri can use his full DEX modifier of 2 for his AC. He could have had a DEX modifier of 3. He would have only gotten to use 2 of the 3 points for his AC. The Penalty box refers to penalties to skills because of the encumbrance value of his armor. This is the Armor Check Penalty and it applies to all Strength and Dexterity based skills. Most armor wearing classes suffer this penalty but gain skills and feats as they level up that could mitigate this penalty or even negate it.

D. Spell Failure stands for Arcane Spell Failure Chance which as its title suggests, applies to arcane spellcasters which Snorri is not. Snorri is a divine spellcaster and the penalty does not apply to divine spellcasters. Thus, while Snorri has no interest in this penalty, wizards would be desperate to avoid it which probably explains why you won’t see many arcane casters wear actual armor like they were a warrior. This is followed by Type and Weight. Type is for Light, Medium, or Heavy armors and the first initial is all that is needed. Weights are from the table. Remember to only put the weights here and not in the equipment section or it will be added twice to your encumbrance. You do not want that to happen.

E. Onward to our weaponry! Our weapons are pretty varied in the game. Table 6-4: Weapons is two full pages and expansions have added to this table over the years. We could get into a long discussion on weapons (I’m sure the world of Golarion has the medieval equivalent of Guns & Ammo magazines for weapon enthusiasts!). Snorri decided to take four weapons with him. The first is the Bastard sword which is an exotic weapon requiring him to take a feat to use it without penalties. You can see that he took the feat in the Feats section and does not incur penalties as a result. Snorri wrote down the cost in the name line (everything must be tracked).

F. Attack Modifiers are where Snorri writes down his basic modifier to his ATK roll with the Bastard Sword. This chart shows he has a +3-modifier followed by a +1 TWF. In this case, Snorri has taken a feat called Two-Weapon Fighting which allows him to use two weapons in melee at the same time. There are penalties for this. When he uses his full-round action (one melee attack in a round) he gets the +3, but when he uses that sword and his Light Spiked Shieldbash, he has a -2 penalty which is why the +1 TWF is also listed here. How did he get these figures? His Strength modifier is +3 and his Base Attack Bonus is +0 which equals +3. He has no other modifiers to his ATK roll at this time, but that will change as he levels up and acquires increased ability scores, items, and possibly combat feats. There may be optional adjustments to that modifier such as the Power Attack feat, bard songs, magic enhancements from spells, or even magically enhanced weapons. Those modifiers would be factored into the ATK roll via the Roll20 sheet in game play and should not be placed on the character sheet so as to avoid confusion.

G. Damage is pretty simple. Look at the Bastard sword entry on Table 6-3 and it shows that it does 1d8 for Small and 1d10 for Medium. This refers to the size of the character. Snorri is a Human and thus is a Medium sized character. He uses the Medium weapon damage which for the Bastard sword is 1d10. He then adds +3 to the die roll because of his Strength modifier. Again, temporary modifiers should be left off this line while permanent ones are placed on it.

H. Critical stands for Critical Damage. If an ATK roll comes up with a natural figure of 18, 19, or 20 on the die roll there is the possibility of a critical hit if the weapon has one of those numbers in its “crit range.” Snorri bought weapons that only have the possibility of a critical damage hit on a 19 or 20. His Bastard sword and Dagger are 19- 20/x2 meaning if he rolled a 19 or 20 before modifiers on the die, there is a chance of a critical hit. First, the hit has to actually hit the creature. If a natural 19 or 20 modified by Snorri’s +3 modifier failed to hit a creature’s AC, then there is no chance of a critical hit. But a natural 20 is always a hit just like a natural 1 is always a miss.

Now, just because Snorri rolls a 19 or 20 with the Bastard sword or dagger, that doesn’t mean it’s an automatic critical hit. He has to roll a second ATK roll to confirm whether the first ATK roll was critical or not. It’s kind of like a saving throw to avoid a critical hit. The second ATK roll has to be a hit on the opponent (with modifiers) or there is no critical hit. There would still be damage though. If the second ATK roll did land a hit, then the x2 part of the Critical line means to roll the damage twice and add the figures together to determine the total damage. There are weapons that do x3 like Snorri’s Longbow or even x4. I. Range reflects the length or range which the weapons can be thrown, tossed, hurled, or shot at opponents in battle. This is not a Reach figure (see the CRB on reach weapons for more on those). This is the Range of a weapon for missile combat, not melee. Snorri’s dagger can be thrown 10 feet (10’) in missile combat, but for melee combat it would have no range. The Bastard sword and Shieldbash have no range. The Longbow does though as it is a missile weapon. Note its attack modifier is different. Most missile weapons do not use Strength modifiers but do use BAB. However, they do use Dexterity modifiers. So Snorri gets +2 (DEX modifier) +0 BAB = +2 ATK modifier for using the Longbow. However, most ranged weapons get no damage modifiers at all which we can see is the case for the Longbow.

J. Almost all weapons have weight and that’s important so we can determine the character’s movement speed. Put the weights here and they will be added to the total weight for the character’s equipment and gear. We will see this in Section XI.

IX. The Character Sheet – Feats & Special Abilities

Remember Section IV – the Feats & Features block earlier in this guide? We left the feats for Snorri out of that section so that we could put them in this block as there would be more room as he leveled up over time. Well, now it’s time to put in his feats.

A. Snorri begins play with 3 feats as a 1st level Human Warpriest. Like all characters, he gets one feat at the beginning of play. As a Human he gets a bonus feat which is his second feat. Finally, as a Warpriest, he begins play with a Class Bonus feat at 1st level. He selected Two-Weapon Fighting for his L1 (Level One) feat, Improved Shield Bash for his Human feat, and Weapon Focus for his third feat which is a Class Bonus feat for Warpriests. Every class/race combination is different regarding the number of feats available to a character at creation and during leveling.

B. There are many feats Snorri could have selected. These are just an example. You can learn more about feats at Feats. The bonuses from feats do have to be manually entered into their corresponding locations on the character sheet such as Initiative for Improved Initiative, and the +1 for the to hit roll (ATK roll) that came with Weapon Focus. Situational feat bonuses such as Power Attack bonuses are not used for every ATK roll and should be applied as needed or when used.

C. Two blocks exist on the sheet side-by-side. If Snorri had special abilities they could be placed in the other block.

Section X: The Character Sheet – Equipment & Magic Items

All adventurers need adventuring gear so that they can overcome situational challenges they encounter. Woe to the adventurer who has no gear as they are totally dependent on others as well as severely handicapped when circumstances separate them from the rest of the party members. Adventurers also need to have backpacks or sacks to carry loot in which they acquire from overcoming monsters or foes. There is no pity for an adventurer who lacked the foresight (intelligence or wisdom) to bring a simple sack along from a GM.

A. Everything must be tracked somewhere on a character sheet. This section is for the gear you have that is not written down in the Armor & Weapons section. All prices and weights are recorded here as well even if it has no weight or cost. NOTE: This sheet lacks a column for costs so they are placed in the Item line. The column to the left of the Item line is too small for the prices. As such, there is no automatic totaling of costs anywhere on the sheet which means you will have to do this manually).

B. Rather than use the guide to explain each piece of equipment, we will refer you to the appropriate section in the CRB or you can go to Equipment. Be sure to note on the sheet the item, cost, quantity, and weight. This example shows Arrows in this section although they could be tracked in the Armor & Weapons section just as easily. You will need to multiply the item weight by the quantity of an item to determine the total weight of the items and put that figure in the Weight column. It does not automatically do that. All figures in the Weight column are automatically totaled up and appear in the Carried Weight block which we will find in the next section of this guide.

C. Since Snorri is a 1st level Warpriest, he will not have any magical items at character creation. He will acquire them over time through a multitude of ways. When he does, you should enter those in this section as well. Two blocks are in this section for use. Keep track of them the same way. Accurate recordkeeping can reduce many headaches down the road.

Section XI: The Character Sheet – Miscellaneous Information

This section covers six blocks which form the bottom of the second character sheet. Additional sheets are used for spellcasters which Snorri definitely is since he is a Warpriest which is considered to be a hybrid class mixing melee abilities with spellcasting abilities.

A. The first block is for where magic items are worn on the body. Fill this out as needed.

B. The next block is for Bags & Containers. Here you list your bags (note that the weights do not go here as they are already in another section). Some GMs may require you write down what is in the bags, but most do not go that far.

C. The Currency block is for your money. Please note that currency has weight. You will want to store excess money while adventuring as it will weigh you down. Put the currency you have on your character in the Carried column which will automatically factor the weight and include it in the Carried Weight block. Any money you are not carrying goes in the Stored column. Currency in TBA is done by a simple metric system. One platinum (PP) equals ten gold (GP). One gold equals ten silver (SP). A GM is trying to institute names for the currency and is referring to gold pieces as ducats in the hopes this will catch on in the community. You can find more information on currency in Equipment.

Also, characters have beginning wealth which is in that same section. Here in TBA, they begin with the maximum allowed wealth for their class unless a trait states otherwise. In Snorri’s case, he began with 300 gold pieces (gp). He spent 197 gp and 6 copper pieces (cp) on his armor, weapons, and gear which left him with 100 gp, 9 silver pieces (sp), and 4 cp. He converted the gp to platinum for weight reduction.

D. This Treasure Carried block is for situations where the GM asks you to list any treasure carried which you can do in this block.

E. The Carried Weight block is important. Together with the last block in this section, Loads & Lift, it determines the Current Load of the character which influences movement speed. Detailed information on this is available in the CRB or here at Exploration & Movement. We can see that Snorri has 50.0 in Armor & Weapons, 0.5 in currency, and 23.5 in equipment (weight is expressed in pounds or the symbol # if there is any confusion). Snorri has a total carried weight of 77 pounds. When checked against his Loads & Lift limits (based on his Strength), we see Snorri has a Light load. This means his total weight carried will not affect his skills or his movement. This means Snorri will be operating at a Light Encumbrance unless he exceeds that limit which is 77 pounds. If he were to increase his carried weight and have a Medium load, he would have penalties which the sheet automatically factors in for skills. You as the player would have to manually adjust the movement rate and any combat factors.

There are ways to avoid Medium and Heavy encumbrance. Special materials used for armors, carrying less gear, wearing armor that reduces the encumbrance value (right along with his AC), etc. You will learn more about these over time as you play Pathfinder, but at character creation with the limited wealth of characters, this is what to expect.

XII: Magic

It is not surprising so see characters casting spells in a fantasy game with a relatively heavy influx of magic in it is obviously. Many players love to play characters that can cast magic spells. The third page of the character sheet contains information necessary for all the classes that cast spells. The top of the third page is the area we want to look at primarily. It is where the raw data explaining what type and level the caster is, its spell DCs, and its spells known and or memorized is located on the character sheet. Bloodlines, patrons, and domains are also here. Specialized sheets for familiars, companions, and other follower types are available online at the same place you got this character sheet.

Right! So, let’s look at the information section of this page.

Remember, Snorri is a Warpriest. He casts what we call divine spells. These spells are acquired through meditation or prayer from his deity. Divine casters like Snorri have restrictions on the spells they cast via class and alignment as well as some other benefits. Each class is different, so please read through the section on spells for the class you are desiring to play so that you will understand fully what type of caster they are and what restrictions and or benefits they have.

Arcane casters get their spells in a different way than divine casters. However, not all arcane classes use the same method to do this. Sorcerers, Witches, and Wizards are three arcane spell casting classes, and each is different as to how they use and acquire those spells. Again, read up on the class you desire to play so you understand who that class uses magic.

For our purposes though, we can generalize a bit with Snorri’s casting abilities. Since he is a Warpriest, we use table 1-14 in the Advanced Class Guide (ACG) to find out his Spells Per Day. Warpriests get 3 0-level spells at 1st level. These are orisons for divine casters, and cantrips for arcane casters. Warpriests do not get extra orisons for having a high ability score and that explains why there is no box for that in the Ability Bonus column. We can see that in the Spells Per Day area on the left of the third page. Warpriests get one 1st level spell which is noted in the Class column. His orisions are in the same column in the row above. Warpriests also get bonus spells depending on whether their primary casting ability score is high enough to allow them.

Warpriests use Wisdom as their primary casting ability and Snorri has a 14 Wisdom. Use table 1-3 in the Core Rule Book (CRB) and you will see that Snorri gets a bonus spell for 1st level spells and a bonus spell for 2nd level spells. Place a 1 in the Ability Bonus column box in the 1st level spell row. Add them together and you get 2. Place that figure in the Total column for the 1st level row and you will see he gets two 1st level spells when he begins play. He cannot use 2nd level spells until he reaches 4th level as a Warpriest, so do not make any entry for that until he reaches the level that allows him to cast those spells.

Many spells have what is known as a Difficulty Class (DC) or saving throw which is what another character or non- must roll on a D20 plus any modifiers in order to mitigate or even negate the effects of the spell you cast on them. The DC is determined by spell level and primary ability score modifiers, plus any additional modifiers based upon varying factors which are often determined in game play. On the sheet this is the Save DC column. Snorri’s Wisdom of 14 gives him a +2 modifier to use in determining the Save DCs of his spells. Thus orisons (0-level) have a Save DC of 12 and 1st level spells have a Save DC of 13.

Snorri has no Bloodlines & Patrons information as his class does not use those. Nor does he have Domains or a Wizard Specialty School. The additional Spells Per Day section is useful for those characters who have multiple classes or “dip” into other classes that have spell casting abilities. Finally, the range boxes are auto-fill areas.

The rest of the third page (and pages 4-6 if you used a six-page sheet) are for spells. Snorri is a Warpriest which uses divine spells. He can memorize any spell of the appropriate spell level for his class barring any special restrictions imposed upon him by class defined requirements. He does not have a spellbook like a Wizard or have a limited number of spells known to him. If he did, the Spells Known column would have been used to show that amount in the Spells Per Day section. He does not get Domain spells either which would have been entered in the Misc column of that section too.

Since he can choose any spell on his list if he can cast the required level, there is little point in Snorri recording spells on the sheet unless Xathos wants the information on his favorite spells for easy reference. The Roll20 sheet used in game has almost all of the spells available to be “drag-and-dropped” onto the Roll20 sheet which sort of makes this section redundant for a Warpriest. On the other hand, a Wizard would definitely find it useful, so they can record the spells in the Wizard’s spellbooks. So, use this section as you need it.

XIII: Conclusion

Congratulations! If you followed this guide to construct a character, you should have a fully functional Warpriest ready for play. Don’t worry! If you are playing a different class, you should have been able to easily apply the information in this guide to your class and still have a fully functioning character that needs spellcasting information entered on the sheet.

Disclaimer: Xathos owns none of the photographs or artwork used in this guide. No money or anything of value was paid to Xathos before, during, or after the creation of this guide nor has it been requested or even desired. Xathos grants use rights to anyone who wishes to use the guide’s text as long as they include the disclaimer, make no financial demands or requests for the viewing or use of the guide, and presents the guide as being the work of Xathos of Varisia. February 15, 2018 Xathos of Varisia