1. Character Creation

Use the following steps, adjusted from the Player's Handbook, to create your Quest for the Frozen Flame character.

Determine Ability Scores

I'm fine for players to use either the Standard Ability Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) or Point Buy (27 points). Determine your scores and assign them to the six ability scores as you see fit. As with the PHB, no score can exceed 15 at this point.

Origins

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has a lot of character creation options that I think should be part of the core rules, all regarding customizing your origins. And it would seem TSR agrees, as all their subsequent books have used this template. I have taken it a step further and split the default 5e races into parts.
These parts for you to decide are your ancestry, culture, and background. Ancestry represents your character's biological makeup, culture represents your upbringing, and background represents the early stages of your career as an adventurer.

A full list of official races (aka ancestries aka lineages) can be found here: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/#toc2

Ancestry

To adapt a playable race from an older sourcebook, take the following qualities and apply them to your character.

• Age. The age entry notes when a member of an ancestry is considered an adult, as well as the ancestry’s expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, youth could explain a particularly high Dexterity or Constitution, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.
• Size. Characters of most ancestries are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few ancestries are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. Please note that Size recommendations are always modifiable. For example, you may wish for your character to be a human, elf, dragonborn, or orc little person, in which case you might prefer your character be Small rather than Medium.
• Speed. Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling and fighting. Medium characters are generally 30' while small characters are usually 25', though exceptions do exist. Your character may also have another movement speed like fly or swim depending on their physical characteristics.
• Vision. Special vision types like low-light and darkvision are adaptations to certain conditions like living underground. Even if your character did not grow up in the conditions that selected for these traits, they may still possess them thanks to simple genetics.
• Ability Score Improvements. Races usually offer ability score improvements which exist to reinforce stereotypes for adventurers of that race. You can opt to keep them as is and lean into the stereotypes, or forge your own path. Take any ability score increase you gain from your race or subrace and apply them to other ability scores of your choice. If you gain more than one increase, you can’t apply them to the same ability score, and you can’t raise a score above 20.
• Other Biological Traits. Speak with the GM about any other traits that may be inherent to the biology of the character and not a result of upbringing, such as an elf's resistance to sleep and charm or a hill dwarf's extra hit points.

Culture

Adapting a culture works similarly. Review the entry in the sourcebooks for the race that your character was raised by or spent the most time around while growing up. Take the following traits and apply them to your character.

• Languages. Your cultural race selection may include languages that your character is assumed to know. If these are ill-fitting, however, you may replace any languages gained from your culture with any other commonly-known language that you reasonably would have been exposed to.*
• Proficiencies. Some races or subraces even grant proficiencies, usually culturally significant. Your character may have also learned those proficiencies, but might have pursued different training. If they are ill-fitting, you can replace each of these proficiencies with another based on the table Proficiency Replacements.
• Other Social Traits. Speak with the GM on other potentially applicable traits that your character may have acquired thanks to living among these people, such as the weapon training common to both dwarves and elves or the bravery of halflings.

The following languages are a default part of the game: Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common, Deep Speech, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, Gnoll, Gnomish, Goblin, Halfling, Ignan, Infernal, Orc, Primordial, Sylvan, Terran, Undercommon.
Signing. You must have at least one hand free to communicate by sign, and the creature you are communicating with must be able to see you. When attempting to make subtle signs, to remain unnoticed you must succeed on a Sleight of Hand check against the passive Perception scores of observers.

Background

A character’s background tells a story about the life they have chosen to lead, separate from the culture they were raised in. The backgrounds printed in most sourcebooks are adequate and do not need editing. You gain the following from your chosen background.

• Proficiencies. Most backgrounds grant proficiency with two or more skills and tool sets. If your character gains a skill proficiency they already have, they instead gain another skill proficiency of their choice. If they gain a tool proficiency they already have, they instead gain a different tool proficiency.
• Languages. Like cultures, your background can also allow your character to learn additional languages.
• Equipment. Suggested equipment sets are included with each background, along with an associated gold cost.
• Background Feature. Every background comes with a feature that helps determine how your character interacts with the world and people around them.

A full list of all official backgrounds can be found here: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/#toc3
Some new backgrounds specific to this campaign are also available in the Broken Tusk Player's Guide.

Finishing Touches

Alignment

I don't find alignment to be a useful part of character creation, or even the game as a whole. I prefer that players roleplay their characters how they think they would react in the moment, not according to a pre-defined wedge on the wheel of morality. Therefore, don't write anything down for this.
Unfortunately, certain spells and effects depend on an alignment to function. I try to avoid them as much as possible, but when necessary I'll make judgment calls based on a character's overall behavior.

Skill Feats

I also like to allow each character to select one skill feat to start the game with. This represents an aptitude the character possesses, something that makes them a bit more heroic and competent in a specific area. And grants another ability score point!

Roleplaying Hooks

Finally, the following prompts aren't required, but are strongly suggested to help guide the roleplaying of your character in sessions to come.

• Connections. Think of an acquaintance, ally, or enemy that has had an effect on your character’s life. What major event was this person involved in that shapes your character's thoughts and behavior?
• Destiny. What is a major goal you have for this character during the campaign? Write a single sentence describing what you hope to achieve long term. The GM can award inspiration based on actions taken to progress towards this goal. Note that your character might not even be aware of their destiny at the start of the adventure, that choice is entirely up to you!

Table: Ability Score Point Cost

Score	Cost
8	0
9	1
10	2
11	3
12	4
13	5
14	7
15	9

Table: Proficiency Replacements

Granted Proficiency	Replacement
Skill	Skill
Armor	Simple/martial weapon or tool
Simple weapon	Simple weapon or tool
Martial weapon	Simple or martial weapon or tool
Tool	Tool or simple weapon