HOW TO CREATE CUSTOMISED CHARACTER CLASSES FOR D&D A guide for creating customised character classes for D&D game play. For DMs & Players by DAVID BELMONTE Sample file Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. CUSTOMISED CLASSES i CREDITS Writing and Editing: David Belmonte. Cover Illustrator: David Devoy. Additional consultation for character class design: E. Gary Gygax (private correspondence, 2003). Special Thanks: The Dragon magazine, issue #109 (May, 1986), featured article: `Customized Classes' by P.M. Crabaugh (pp. 8 -13) and `Building the Perfect Class' (2003) by E. D. Smale, which both provide the basic structure for creating customised adventurers for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (D&D) game play. Copyright © 2018 David Belmonte. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of theSample Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any rXProduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork filecontained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. RXPresented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. CUSTOMISED CLASSES ii Preface Players and DMs should begin reading from the Introduction on page 2. Tables for creating customised D&D characters can be found on pages 3-4, with two new classes on pages 4-5. A breakdown of the D&D character classes is on pages 6-7, while those desirous of creating new and unique `super-heroic' adventurers should turn to pages 8-9, which also contains tables useful for DMs wishing to run D&D campaigns of epic heroism. Contained on pages 9-10 are four new sample classes suitable for such adventures. Like the D&D game rules, what follows are guidelines and you are free to adjust any part of them as you wish. Sample file Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. CUSTOMISED CLASSES 1 Static Class Features Customised Classes How to Create Unique Ability Score Improvement, Proficiency Bonus as well as Saving Throws are a core Characters part of every PHB class and I estimate that they have the same value: ability scores go up at the same rate in every class; proficiency Introduction bonus also increases at the same rate; and I give saves equal value for the sake of When the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (D&D) simplicity as every class gets two favoured fantasy role-playing game had basic game saving throws; certain combinations of saves rules, it was simple and easy to modify may be better for one class than another, but existing classes --- and to create new classes. this article is intended as a guide; nothing is The 5th Edition of the game has more rules set in stone here . Note that two features and is much more structured than Basic D&D have not been included: class skills (because (BD&D), for which customised class options they are simply a derivative of ability scores, were created by Mr Crabaugh and published although you may wish to assign a value for in DRAGON magazine in 1986 --- which the these) and class feats (because feats are editors felt could be applied to Advanced optional). DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (AD&D). In 2003, Mr Smale presented his own take on customising classes with reference to the D&D Rules Re-assigning XP Values to Class Cyclopedia (1991). Features The principle is that each class requires a "Rogue abilities" and other features comprise certain number of Experience Points (XP) to numerous separate and individual abilities reach 2nd-level: 300 XP in fifth edition. that are grouped together and given a single value. You may develop values for every one In re-constructing Player's Handbook (PHB) of these abilities. In fact, you may even adjust classes, armor, weapons, spells, and so forth the values I have assigned to different parts of are worth a certain amount towards the 300 the classes. For instance, if you believe that XP total. Hence, one breaks down the classes hit points have been weighted too heavily, you and estimates the `worth' or `value' of each may reduce the XP value of HP, class feature. All features together equal 300. simultaneously increasing the value of another feature (to compensate). The point is Subsequently, it is possible -- with all classes to arrive at values which make the classes equal and each part of the classes assigned balanced, so that when you go to create new the correct Experience Point (XP) value -- to classes you can mix and match features of pick bits from different classes and existing classes without worrying that the final reassemble them to create a whole new class! result will be imbalanced. This new class should be balanced because it has the same value as a PHB class. Many class attributes vary class-by-class, and Sampleothers are entirely unique file to a single class. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. CUSTOMISED CLASSES 2 Tables for creating customised Rogue Abilities (other abilities) +25% Fighter Abilities +30% D&D characters Cleric Abilities (including turn/destroy +30% undead). Druid Abilities +30% Table 1a: BASE EXPERIENCE PTS. Ranger Abilities +30% EXPERIENCE LEVEL XP NEEDED Sneak Attack +33% TO ATTAIN First to second level 15% (45 XP) Table 1f: SPELLCASTING Table 1b: HIT DICE SPELLS COST Cleric ½ +15% HIT DICE COST Cleric +30% D6 +5% Wizard ½ +38% D8 +10% Wizard +75% D10 +20% Druid +30% D12 +40% Ranger +20% Paladin +20% Table 1c: ARMOR ARMOR COST None. +0% First, consult Table 1a. This gives the base Light +5% experience point cost for the static features, Light, medium, shields +7.5% which have the same value for all classes: All armor, all shields +20% proficiency bonus, saving throws, and ability score improvements totalling 45 XP-- and the Table 1d: WEAPONS 15% figure is the percentage that these features are worth out of the total 300 XP that WEAPON COST makes up the class (since 45 XP out of 300 None +0% % XP is 15%). Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light +5% crossbow. Clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, +6.5% Each feature you choose for your class will quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickels, slings, increase the Base 15% cost by some per cent. spears. The total for the class when complete should All simple weapons +7.5% equal 100%. Simple weapons, hand crossbows, +10% longswords, rapiers, short swords. Simple and martial +15% For example, look at Table 1b: HIT DICE. If you want the customised class to have d10 hit points, the cost is +20%. Including the Base Cost, the current cost would then be 35%. Table 1e: CLASS SPECIFIC ABILITIES (non-spellcasting) Table 1c: ARMOR, shows the percentage ABILITY COST cost for different kinds of armor for which the Paladin (other abilities) +10% character class has proficiency. Choose one. BarbarianSample Abilities +23% file Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. CUSTOMISED CLASSES 3 Table 1d: WEAPONS, indicates that cost for Table 2a: WIZARD WITH SNEAK different types of weapons that characters in ATTACK your new class have proficiency in. Traits Cost Base Cost1 15% Table 1e: CLASS SPECIFIC ABILITIES (non- 1d6 hp per level. +5% spell-casting) shows all the abilities of a class Armor: none. +0% that do not include a spell-list along with their Weapons: daggers, darts, slings, +5% associated cost. This includes, for example, in quarterstaffs, light crossbow. the case of a paladin, all of the special Sneak Attack +33% abilities of this class outside of spell-casting. Wizard spells (½) +38% TOTAL 96% Finally, Table 1f: SPELLCASTING indicates the cost for different types of spells. (The Such wizard adventurers may have a wizard has the highest cost at 75%). Note that backstory of belonging to a chaotic wizard's or ½ means a class can cast spells at the rate rogue's guild with a Master of less than 20th indicated on the corresponding spell list but level (hence why their spellcasting is at ½) they can only know and cast half the number who developed combative arts (sneak attack) shown. Alternatively, they know and can cast in unison with arcane spell-casting. The DM the full number of spells but they are treated may wish to create special magical spells as being half the level required. You can also suitable for this kind of adventuring class, consider other fractions such as 1/4, 1/3, 2/3, which could consist of close range illusion or and 3/4. evocation magic. This system, using Tables 1a -- 1f, can be Table 2b: FIGHTER WITH ROGUE used to create innumerable kinds of character INSTEAD OF FIGHTER ABILITIES types. Below are two examples. Traits Cost Base Cost 15% But! To create even more variety, you could 1d10 hp per level. +20% assign values to each of the class specific Armor: all, including shields. +20% abilities on Table 1e. For instance, fighter Weapons: simple, martial. +15% abilities are worth 30% (of 300XP). By Rogue Abilities +25% assigning a value to each of the "30%" Thieves' Tools +5% abilities, you can then take just one or two -- TOTAL 100% or what have you -- of these (or any other class) abilities to create a truly rare and This a classic rogue class but with the hit distinctive class.