Character Creation

Introduction

Hello players and other article viewers! Welcome to my character creation page! This page is meant to be a guide for my players on how to make their character for my campaign. While all my players know how to roll for stats and use the charactermancer in Roll20, this page serves as, well to be honest a reminder for that, BUT also something to help them and I make a character with a compelling backstory that fits in the world, even if they make jokey meme characters.
Building a character with the options found on this page allows them to start with additional proficiencies, magic items, and even feats before the campaign begins (or before they finalize their new character in the current campaign if they switch out for whatever reason).
This page assumes the player is starting from scratch and has not chosen a race, class, or background for their character. The events that occur as a result of these random rolls inform what kind of character the player has. A player who already has a concept in mind for their character can choose options from the tables instead of rolling randomly, ignoring anything that doesn't fit their character concept. If you're a player using these tables, don't be surprised if creating a backstory inspires you to change some aspect of your concept. Let this tool inspire your imagination rather than limit it.

Backstory

A character's story begins with determining the region where they were born, the job they had before they became an adventurer, their social status, the settlement they grew up in, and their family relationships. As this backstory develops, the character will gain allies and rivals, as well as learn some of the fateful moments that set them on their path.

Homeland

The two major continents where this campaign takes place are divided into fifteen countries between the two of them, each of which are described in their own articles. From west to east, these countries are the Kingdom of Qalik, Macanhia, the Zelulian Empire, Vabomescia, Tudesk, Partisia, Norumia, Fehamabia, the Belian Empire, Sinhia, the Kingdom of Puapulia, the Diocese of Sangaleg, Sel, Calwandia, and Frienin. Roll a d100 and consult the Homelands table to determine which region you were born in. If you were born in one region but grew up in another, roll twice to determine your place of birth and the region where you eventually settled down.

Background

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In addition to granting you items, gold, and proficiencies, your background gives you a sense of belonging in the world. You can roll on the Backgrounds table to randomly determine your character's background, or you can choose one that fits your character concept. This table includes new backgrounds and adapted backgrounds for the setting as well as the backgrounds from the Player's Handbook and other books. New and adapted backgrounds are described later in this article. Although this rollable table only contains 20 options, please feel free to choose any that are allowed in the Player Handout and not feel limited by the choices presented here.

Social Status

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Your background determines your place in the world. Within the strict hierarchy of the Belian Empire, a family with a poor social status is worth less than the soil they till, while a family of great renown enjoys all the privileges of high society. Most folk toil in the same profession from the day they're old enough to work until the day they die, and few families ever rise to glory from obscurity. That's just the way of things. Whereas within Macanhia, as long as you can use a set of Tinkerer's Tools, you've got a place nearly anywhere within the kingdom. Nobles who spend their days drinking and enjoying the high life are seen as lazy and unintelligent while the commonfolk who spend their days inventing and building are treated with high respect.
You, however, are an adventurer. Though your social status is determined by your background and your country of origin, you have the power to rebel against the hierarchies of your land and change your fate. Your background doesn't change, nor do the proficiencies and other benefits you gain because of it. But the social status associated with your background might shift over the course of your backstory—and over the course of your adventures.
Each nation in Aderesh and Cekera views people's backgrounds according to its cultural values. Based on your character's background, think about your social status within the context of the details of your homeland presented below. Then use the Social Status Relationships table to determine how many allies and rivals you'll roll for later on in this section.

The Kingdom of Qalik

The nation of Qalik is a vast expanse of deserts and mountains, with few bastions of plant life to be found. Although the landscapes can be quite harsh, the Qalikian people have grown hearty and proud and have learned to mosty endure the rough environment.
The nation is governed by the Qalik Rajshahi,

Macanhia

The Dwarven kingdom of Macanhia prizes intellect and honesty over extravagance and coin—in the eyes of the regular citizens of the great nation at least. For the wealthy noble class, they have no qualms about hoarding coin in their ivory towers and offering lip service about ingenuity, tradition, and truth telling to those willing to listen.
In the kingdom of Macanhia, rural folk are seen as honest, hardworking, and pious, while the wealthy are viewed as lazy but sometimes beneficent patricians—or as miserly tyrants. Intellect is a core virtue, and creating new things for the good of Macanhia and sharing them with others whilst keeping honest through and through are the most virtuous acts of all.

The Zelulian Empire

Home Settlement

Once you've determined your nation and considered your social status within that realm, roll on the appropriate table in this section to determine which settlement you grew up in. If your character is a traveler—a child of soldiers, a nomad, a traveling performer, and so forth—you can roll for up to three settlements that you've visited often and have some connections in.
If your home settlement doesn't make sense for your social status, you can either roll for a different settlement or think about ways to make a contradiction work for your backstory. For example, if you have the Noble background but rolled a village as a home settlement, perhaps you were raised there to protect you from your family's enemies.

Read more playable races