Character Creation and Advancement

Ability Score Arrays

• Your ability scores can be built on one of the following arrays of your choice. The total number of ability points in each array is intentionally not quite equal.
  • Heroic: 16, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8
  • Focused: 16, 16, 13, 11, 9, 8
  • Savant: 15, 15, 15, 9, 9, 9
• You get one chance to reconfigure your ability scores, after the first session of actual play. After that, they are set in stone.

Level

• You will start at level 2. You already have some experience!

Races

• Iroa does not use the standard array of races, and existing 5E races that are available to you (i.e., kobolds and centaurs) are altered. See the Races chapter.
• I may, if you give a really good justification and story hook, allow you to play another published 5E race, or reskin a published race. If I allow this, I will probably change the race. In particular, "cultural" abilities will likely be stripped out of the race and replaced, since any race can come from multiple places in the world; see Origin.

Origin

• Core D&D includes cultural abilities in its races, but I have stripped those out of the custom races that define the setting of Iroa. Instead, cultural abilities are actually associated to the cultures of the world, and characters of any race can potentially gain these abilities depending on where they come from!
• Choose an Origin - the polis(city-state) from which your character hails. You get the abilities of your origin in addition to those of your race, class, and background!
• Each polis controls a region around itself, including smaller communities not named in the Places chapter which help provide agriculture and other support for the polis. You are welcome to invent a village or the like associated to one of the poleis, or a ward or district attached to the polis itself, and actually be from there. This would still see you steeped in the dominant culture of the region from which you hailed, but perhaps with a somewhat distanced and broader (or more focused!) perspective.
• Some itinerant characters move around a lot in their backstory. If that is the case, either choose your origin to be the most important polis that had the most impact on your life and upbringing and why you are where you are today, or, choose the Wanderer origin instead.

Hit Points

• The PHB and DMG suggest taking static hit points instead of rolling for hit points; we are using this "official" optional rule.
• Your hit die is maximized at 1st level (e.g., 12 HP for a barbarian at 1st level), but at each subsequent level, your hit points are 1 + half your hit die, eg, 7 for the aforementioned barbarian.
• You add half your Constitution score (round down) to your hit points at 1st level, but only add your Constitution modifier at each level after 1st.

Bonus Proficiencies from Intelligence

• After receiving any bonuses for your race, class, background and origin, you benefit from a high Intelligence score (if applicable) by getting one language, instrument, game, tool, or vehicle proficiency for each point of Intelligence bonus.
• If you start with an 8 or 9 Intelligence (a -1 penalty), pick one of the languages, instruments, or game, tool or vehicle proficiencies you have been granted thus far and give it up. You cannot give up Ithean!

Languages

• Like in core, basically every character knows “common” and one other language; in the area where the campaign takes place, “common” is Ithean. This is only true of player characters, who are more worldly and well traveled than the average person. Many "commoner" NPCs who are not educated and are not merchants will only know the language predominant in their own polis, and do not necessarily know Ithean unless their home polis actually is part of the Ithean league.
• The available standard languages are as follows.
  • Ithean - the "common tongue" of the western reaches of the Ieros continent, as well as the Firesea archipelago cultures. Like unto Greek by way of Latin.
  • Chyron - the language of the great plains of Chrysolos in the Gap of Hyperion, as well as the hills ringing the endless Aimafon pampas in the continental horn, born of remote rural villages, roving bandit tribes, and Thaurian clans. Widely spoken in Elaionas, and to a lesser extent in Pelekys and Xyria. Like unto Scythian by way of Avestan.
  • Giant - supposed to be the common language of the gigantes who preceded the current mortal races. While technically an archaic tongue, there are enough giantish ruins everywhere of much interest to scholars, and enough isolated villages and savage tribes who worship the Giants and the Titans who ruled them instead of paying proper reverence to the Gods, that Giant has not had a chance to slip into obscurity. Like unto Sumerian by way of Akkadian.
  • Goblin - a black speech associated with the Kobaloi, the goblinoids of "Mediterranean" myth, who prey on the weak across the lands. Like unto Proto-Balto-Slavic.
  • Khet - the "common tongue" of the western reaches of the Nubir continent. Like unto "Late Egyptian" by way of Coptic and Amharic, and uses a glyphic script rather than the hieroglyphs of their ancient forbearers.
  • Phien - language of the great seafaring trader-folk of Phenike, who often serve as intermediaries between different poleis. Has displaced Khet as the "common tongue" of the Caliphate of Qabil in the easterly reaches of Nubir, and has also been adopted as chief tongue of the Apodimos vagrant fleet. Like unto Canaanite by way of Hebrew.
  • Tyrian - the language of the "Highfolk," mythic forbearers of mortals, said to be created to help the Gods quell the giants. While technically an archaic tongue, it is not a "dead" or overly rare one, as it is widely used as a "high language" by the elite; Forgeborn also typically wash ashore with Tyrian glyphs inscribed upon their bodies or the pods in which they are found. Like unto Minoan by way of Kushite, but its script is hieroglyphic.
  • Vandel - the "common tongue" of the Vandelay continent, currently cut off by the Psaroa dominion. However, this language is still taught and used as an academic language in Krypteia and Senemet, as a result of the long shadow of the ancient hero Nui Dai, and it also circulates within the Apodimos vagrant fleet, so it is not "rare." Like unto Sanskrit by way of Tai.
• Exotic languages can be picked only if you are of a certain kind of class, or you are trained in the skills in parenthesis that follow the language in question, or if you can make a good case for it being relevant to your backstory, or if you take the Linguist feat which negates any of these prerequisites.
  • Abyssal* - a flowing black speech, associated with the Psaroa dominion that claims the western and central ocean of the Pyrmar. A language isolate having little if anything to do with those of the rest of the region, though bearing distant relation to Vandel, and so learned mostly by captains and envoys who must negotiate passage through Psaroa waters. Has a glyphic script rather than an alphabet. (Requires proficiency in Insight and Intimidation, or a seafaring or political background.)
  • Cant* - Thieves' Cant is not so much a language, as a special way of layering additional meaning into a conversation through particular word choice, body language, signals and so forth. It operates alongside a "normal" language and takes twice as long to communicate an idea due to its covert nature. (Requires proficiency in any two of Deception, Intimidation, Investigation, and Sleight of Hand, or having a criminal background or Apodimos origin.)
  • Celestial* - the language of the Gods and their servants, very precise and difficult to pronounce. Most like proto-Indo-European by way of proto-Afro-Asiatic, with the character of somehow being an ancestor or bridge to almost every known "common" language. (Requires proficiency in History and Religion, or being a divine caster.)
  • Draconic* - the harsh and yet also sibilant language of the great saurian engines of destruction who are universally regarded as the kings of beasts, said to have battled the Titans for dominion of the First World before the coming of the Gods. Like unto proto-Uralic. (Requires proficiency in Arcana and History, or being an arcane caster.)
  • Infernal* - the black speech of the daemons who gnaw at the boundaries and underpinnings of reality, and subvert both God and Titan alike. A mocking inversion of Celestial with the structure of Primordial and the cadence of Draconic, it frequently causes severe headaches in those who attempt to process it. (Requires proficiency in Intimidation and either Arcana or Religion, or being an arcane or divine caster.)
  • Primordial* - as Celestial is to mortals, Primordial was to the giants - the language of the Titans whom they worshipped. Believed to be one of the very first languages, it has the difficult character of a tongue grown by happenstance rather than planning, with several "elemental" dialects that each regularly intersect two of the others but never all of them. (Requires proficiency in History and either Nature or Religion, or being a divine or primal caster.)
  • Stygian* - a language of infrequent attestations, ascribed to the elusive folk said to dwell in the endless warrens of the underworld beneath the world's feet, a shadowy realm somewhere in between the mortal world of Iroa and the Tartarian depths of Crixos to which all dead souls must eventually journey. (Requires proficiency in Survival and either Arcana or Nature, or being an arcane or primal caster.)
  • Sylvan* - the language of the mysterious, whimsical and dangerous fey, such as nymphs, dryads and satyrs. A somewhat harsh and instinctive language, like unto pre-proto-Germanic. (Requires proficiency in Nature and Performance, or being a primal caster.)
• There are also obscured languages not on this list, which you may only learn after significant exposure to them in play. "Regular" exotic languages can also be learned after significant exposure to them in play, regardless of meeting the normal requirements.

Starting Feat

• If you provide me a concise one page character background, you may pick a feat at 1st level. (By core, you wouldn’t otherwise get a feat until 4th level unless your race gives you one.)
• This ONE PAGE (not two nor ten) must at least lay out the basics of who you are, your character’s traits and bond and flaw, where you're from, why you sought or were sought to join the colony, and a few story hooks I can use.
• Do not portray yourself as "the protagonist" above other players. You have more ability and potential than the average NPC, and you have done at least something notable to earn your important place in the new colony! But you are still early in your career, and are not some grizzled dragon-slaying badass whose story exceeds the capabilities of your character sheet!
• You must create a character that would want to adventure and would want to be involved with the group, regardless of whatever else they believe and however else they comport themselves!

Multiclassing

• You can multiclass one time at one of your level ups, no questions asked, for a normal limit of two classes. Do not plan around a build with three or more classes.
• If circumstances come up in play that make sense in the context of your character's developing story and personality, I may allow you to multiclass one more time, for an ultimate limit of three classes at max.
• In the unlikely event WotC Hasbro adds prestige classes or paragon paths back into the game in an official product mid campaign and I decide to allow them, taking one such option would not count against this limit.

Ability Score Improvements and Feats

• This entirely replaces the normal rules for ASIs.
• At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you increase two separate ability scores by 1 each, but as per core, this cannot raise a score above 20.
• At each of these levels, you also get a feat. Unlike in core, you do not have to choose between getting an ASI vs getting a feat.
• Some feats, often called "half feats," increase one ability score by 1. These also cannot raise a score above 20! If a feat's ability increase would otherwise be wasted, you may put it into a different ability score of the same type, Physical (Strength, Constitution, Dexterity) or Mental (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma). If all three of a type are somehow already 20, then you can put it anywhere.

Gaining Skills and Expertise

• At each level where your proficiency bonus increases, namely 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level, you can choose to learn one skill or to gain expertise in a skill in which you were already proficient previous to this level up.
• Expertise operates exactly as described in the rules - you double your proficiency bonus with the chosen skill.
• Languages, instruments, games, and tools are treated in the 5E rules as equivalent to half of a skill. So instead of gaining or boosting a skill, you can choose to gain two of these minor proficiencies, grant expertise to two of these minor proficiencies you already had previously (except languages), or gain one minor proficiency and grant expertise to another.
• If you have Expertise as a class feature that lets you pick your choice of at least several skills as a class feature (as opposed to one specific pre-designated skill), then this feature is improved for you. You may pick up or grant expertise to one minor proficiency AND also pick up or grant expertise to a skill.