Character Creation (Cora Supplement)
| World of Cora |
|---|
| Player Info |
| World Reference |
| DM Info |
Rules for Character Creation[edit]
The world of Cora is designed for the Epic 8 (E8) system. E8 uses all the same rules of DnD 3.5, except that you do not gain levels past 8. Instead of gaining levels, players can choose feats to continue increasing their characters' power. Make sure to check the advancement rules on how to advance a character in an E8 game.
The first thing you should do is choose a race from the list of available races. After you have chosen a race that suits you, find a class from the list of available classes. Choose your ability scores using the rules listed in the section below. Then choose any feats, flaws, traits, and skills.
Ability Scores[edit]
Your character's ability scores are determined using a 25 point buy, and like in normal character creation, you may not raise a stat above an 18 before racial modifiers.
Houserules[edit]
- Flaws, Traits, & Feats
- You may gain one flaw during character creation chosen from the list of flaws.
- You may gain one trait during character creation chosen from the list of traits.
- All characters gain one regional, birth, or racial feat at first, this is in addition to the normal feat gained at 1st level.
- Skills
- Knowledge (Nature) and Knowledge (Geography) have been rolled up into Survival, for all uses of these knowledge skills use Survival instead.
- You may use either Int or Wis for Survival whichever is higher.
- You may use either Str or Cha for Intimidate whichever is higher.
- Hit Points
- All Characters gain maximum hit points for their class + constitution score at first level, rather than maximum hit points + constitution modifier.
- At every other level a character gains hit points equal to 1/2 hit dice + 1 + constitution modifier. (Ex. A rogue with a constitution of 12 would gain 5 hit points at every level above 1st. 3 for their d6 hit die + 1 + constitution modifier of 1)
Advancement[edit]
In the world of Cora your character stops gaining levels at 8th level. After you attain 8th level you may select another feat that you meet the prerequisites for, for every 5,000 experience points you gain. This allows you to continue advancing your character even though you may not be gaining more levels. Make sure to check the feats page for additional feats that can be used once you have attained 8th level.
Alignment[edit]
Always be careful when choosing your alignment. Generally, evil alignments are off limits, but there are always exceptions. The adventuring party needs to be able to work together, and infighting is never good. Inter-group tension is always good for role-playing purposes, but if it gets too out of hand because your alignment, or personality doesn't match the rest of the groups can lead to frustrated players and mark a stalemate in the game. Make sure you consult your DM before you choose an evil alignment. Don't box yourself in within the alignment, just because you are Lawful doesn't mean you never break any laws. Maybe you hold to a personal set of laws, or a specific cities regulations. Likewise, chaotic doesn't mean you completely disregard laws, or are completely selfish. Alignments should simply be used to help better determine your characters moral compass, and give the DM a short idea of what kinds of actions your character may take with certain other party members.
Personality[edit]
It's always good to give your character a personality. They need a drive, something that motivates their actions for adventuring. Maybe they can't stand the city any longer and want to go see the countryside. Maybe they are curious and want to see where the different planar portals lead. Maybe your character desires great fame or fortune so he takes jobs to earn some cash. Maybe your character is a scholar, sage, or simply looking for more knowledge. Whatever the reason, you should find a motive for your character to be adventuring and expand on it. This allows your DM opportunities to provide you with character progression, not just leveling up, but also to see your character interact with the world he is in. It is important that your character have a flaw, this is critical in every hero story. If your character has no flaws then there can not be a story about him battling with these flaws. Maybe he is over zealous, or cheap. Maybe he is racist, or hates a certain religion, or belief system. Maybe he is a courageous warrior but has a phobia for social situations or tight spaces. Whatever your character is amazing at, make sure you allow him to be equally horrible at something else. This makes your character believable.
Back Story[edit]
A back story is vital to your character. Too much back story leaves your character nowhere to grow. The best back story is one that helps define your character, but still leaves you room to innovate, and grow. Read up (or ask your Dungeon Master) about the Cora setting so you can have some grasp of where you character grew up and the environment he was nurtured in. Sometimes writing out a full back story is too exhausting, it may be simpler to write a short story about your characters upbringing, or throw your character into a few different sticky situations and explain who he met and how he got out of them. This is always helpful to the Dungeon Master, and will give your character more depth along with the world.
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