Character Creation

Character creation has changed a lot over the years. If you see references to stats or rules or the like on pages that don't seem to line up with the character creation process outlined here, assume the version of character creation on this page is the most up to date.

This is a step by step guide on how to create a character in Medaevum.

To see how the choices that influence your character will be used in the course of play, consult this page: Systems.

Lineage

The default is human. If you intend to play an Artificer or an elf, let a DM know. Elves and beastmen can be played as Knights, Scholars, or Freemen.

Attributes

Roll 2d10 four times, and add 25 to the result of each roll. After rolling, distribute the results as you like across the four attributes.

• Strength
• Speed
• Intellect
• Combat

Saves

Roll 2d10 three times, and add 10 to the result of each roll. After rolling, distribute the results as you like across the three saves.

• Sanity
• Fear
• Body

Health & Stress

Roll 1d10 to determine their health, and add 10 to the result.

All characters start with 2 maximum Wounds.

All characters start with a minimum of 2 Stress.

Starting Wealth

Roll 2d10 for their starting wealth, and multiply the result by 10.

Class

NAME	STR	SPD	INT	CBT	SAN	FEAR	BODY	WOUNDS	OTHER
Knight	-	-	-	+10	-	+20	+10	+1	-
Scholar	-	-	+10	-	+30	-	-	-	+5 to 1 Attribute
Freeman	+5	+5	+5	+5	+10	+10	+10	-	-
Artificer	-	-	+20	-	-	+60	-	+1	-10 to 1 Attribute
Vitravn	+10	-	-	-	-	+10	+20	-	Min 5 Stress

Panic

Each class has a unique effect when they panic.

• Knight. Whenever you panic, every close friendly player must make a fear save.
• Scholar. Whenever you fail a sanity save, all close friendly players gain 1 stress.
• Freeman. Once per scene, you may take advantage on a panic check.
• Artificer. Fear saves made by close friendly players are at disadvantage.
• Vitravn. You must succeed on a Sanity save or immediately attack the closest threat.

Skills

Different classes have different starting skills. To take a more advanced skill, the character needs at least one of its requisite skills. -Knights have Military Training, Athletics, and either an additional 1 Expert skill or 2 Trained skills. -Scholars have 1 Master skill as well as one requisite Expert and Trained skill. All Scholars have Literacy. -Freemen have 4 made up of any valid combination of Expert and Trained skills. -Artificers have Military Training, Etiquette, and Low Wisdom. They either have 1 additional Expert skill or 2 Trained skills. -Vitravn have Husbandry and Labor. They can either have one Trained and Expert skill, or one Master skill that they meet the prerequisites for.

Abilities

An ability is either a unique thing the character can do, or a unique thing about the character. They come in a few forms. Characters can start with one ability. If it is an already existing ability, they do not need any kind of approval for it. If it is a novel ability, it must be approved first.

Skill Abilities. These are abilities tied to a character’s skills. They modify how the skill is used in some way, giving extra mechanics to what would otherwise be a flat skill check.

Lineage. Abilities that are tied to a character’s lineage take many forms, and inform the ancestry of the character. They might be distantly related to a Valleyman and start exhibiting the traits of that lineage, for example.

Spells. Individual spells count as abilities, too.

Soulless

Not every living person on Ayaria is born with a soul. A soul is necessary to cast most magic. More pressingly, a soulless character will not go to the Halls of the Dead should they die. If a soulless character dies, they're dead forever. However, lacking a soul, a soulless character has no true name and is immune to some of the most powerful magics and curses to be found on Ayaria.

If you choose to have your character be soulless, add this ability to their profile.

Soulless | This character has no soul. When they die, they do not pass onto the Halls of the Dead or any other afterlife. They are immune to curses that target the soul. They cannot cast spells except by external means. They have no true name. When they invoke another character's true name. Their blood cannot be used to empower magic.

Equipment

Armors

Heavy armor would be full plate or an equivalent, while medium and light armor can be made up of plate pieces as well as chainmail and robust fabric armors. Fabric armor would be just a gambeson.

TYPE	COST	AP	NOTES
Heavy	150	DR 3	Disadvantage on Speed checks.
Medium	100	7
Light	50	5
Fabric	30	3

Shields

A shield is hit before your armor, assuming the attack isn’t coming from a flank or otherwise able to circumvent the shield. Pavise shields are represented mechanically by tower shields that you can set up in the field as cover.

Weapons

Two handed melee weapons can be used in one hand, incurring disadvantage on Combat checks.

(If I missed any classics, let me know.)

Other Equipment

Most equipment, with few exceptions, is closely tracked. If you want your character to have a lantern, they have a lantern. If it makes sense for them to bring a rope, they brought a rope. You may be asked to list all the equipment your character is bringing with them ahead of an event, but in all other cases if a piece of equipment isn’t listed on here and it fits with the setting, you can just have it.

Clothing

Only one clothing set can be worn at a time. This only covers clothing that conveys some kind of mechanical benefit, any other outfit a character wears is free. Name Cost Effect Winter Clothes 20 Advantage on Body saves against adverse cold weather. Noble Regalia 100 The minimum standard of dress to be taken seriously by nobility. Senatorial Dress 400 What the highest crest of Empyrean society commonly wears.

Specialized Tools. These cost 30 pence. They confer advantage on all checks made with one specific skill. These take whatever form makes sense for the skill in question - lockpicks for thievery, glass vials for alchemy. These are mundane tools, something like an enchanted bookmark for mathematics wouldn’t fit while a very well made abacus would.