Difference between revisions of "Character Creation"

Revision as of 18:26, 6 July 2018

Character Creation Races D&D Race Harry Potter Beings Dwarf Goblin (Language: Gobbledegook) The Goblin Problem HP-universe goblins are very similar to D&D dwarves, so a simple rename is easy. But, how to explain all the evil, dumb D&D goblinoids running around? My lore is: Some goblin societies collapse, losing their intelligence, becoming evil and aggressive. Their skin turns green and their eyes red. Whether it’s a curse or an illness, (or they dug too greedily and too deep), nobody knows, but it’s incurable. They’re called “Green Goblins” or “Groblins” for short. Elf Veela Gnome Half-Goblin (or Pukwudgie) Half-Elf Half-Veela Goliath Half-Giant (like Hagrid, Madame Maxine) Half-Orc Half-Giant Halfling Elf (a free house elf) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AWFaxGWMspmL_ai-J_x18B5i0WZkL0koKovjbSPFGq0/mobilebasic

Goblin Names http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/hp-goblin-names.php Urgrat Rodguss Guggrat Karrod Garguff Larkit Raglok Largus Lagragg Bankras Filrod Brunlig Nurgus Ranluk Kurlast Algok Gugrig Farguss Kurgus Filgrat Fradraff Algras Luggor Lurnok Grinnuk Brunkar Ugnar Boglig Brunnott Arlok

Backgrounds

‘It was not like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year.’

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

‘“They’re dead”, he told himself sternly. “They’re dead, and listening to echoes of them won’t bring them back.”’ Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

BACKGROUND - Haunted One: http://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/CharacterBackground_HauntedOne.pdf Updated background PDF: http://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/CoS_Character_Options.pdf

History

Pureblood Family Names/Houses Generator

‘“Quidditch!” said Hermione angrily. “Is that all boys care about?”’ Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

‘“Harry, swear to me you won’t go looking for Black.”’ Arthur Weasley in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

Plot hooks in PC background

Curse of Strahd is an amazingly rich module, but I've unfortunately found it to be a bit too open-ended, with my players occasionally feeling lost, confused, and/or obligated to "follow the plot" instead of feeling any individual investment in continuing. Some of the hooks (Werewolves in the Mist and The Burgomaster's Letter) can do a decent job of keeping the party moving for a time, but none do a particularly good job of tying the PCs' goals into the overarching story of the module in my opinion. (reddit)

To address this deficiency, I decided to draw up a short table of individual character motivations for finding, entering, and exploring Barovia.

d8 Theme Motivation 1 Vengeance When you were young, a pack of feral werewolves emerged from a mysterious fog and laid waste to your village. You seek justice for the beasts that destroyed your home. (reddit)

2 Family As a child, your elder sibling was entranced by a caravan of travelling Vistani, and ran away with them to a faraway land. You seek to find your sibling and bring them back home. (reddit)

3 Inheritance A heroic ancestor of yours journeyed to the land of Barovia to combat a great evil, and vanished. You want to retrieve the family heirloom that they carried, and to discover your ancestor's fate. (reddit)

4 Help Your homeland is tormented by a dark and terrible lord of vampires. You seek the aid of the great vampire hunter, Rudolph van Richten, who it is rumored was last seen seeking the hidden land of Barovia. (reddit)

5 Magic Books and scrolls tell of a great temple of amber atop a mountain in the land of Barovia that holds secrets of magic long since lost. You seek this temple to uncover the arcane power within. (reddit)

6 History Long ago, a holy order of silver knights vanished from the land. You have tracked their history to the lost land of Barovia, and seek to uncover their ancient relics to study the rich lore they must hold. (reddit)

7 Wealth You have heard stories of a fearsome lord of legend, a conqueror of the lost land of Barovia whose castle vaults groan with the wealth of vanquished enemies. Surely only the greatest thief in the land could steal from such a man and walk away to a life of untold riches. (reddit)

8 Heritage Centuries ago, your family fled as refugees from the land of Barovia, running from the grasp of a cruel conquering warlord. You see it as your duty to return to the land of your ancestors and free it from the control of that warlord's dark dynasty. (reddit)

Each of these should be fairly easy to tie into the Mysterious Visitors campaign hook. To avoid giving too much away, I'd ask each player to choose from a Theme first, and then provide them (and them alone) with a private copy of their personal hook. They may share it if they choose, or they may keep it to themselves; it's their choice. (reddit)

Languages

Parseltongue: Draconic

‘“It’s because I understand Parseltongue . . .”’ Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling

Bonds

‘Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.’

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling

Enemies

‘“Oh, I will,” said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. “They don’t know we’re not allowed to use magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer . . . ”’ Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , J.K. Rowling

Classes

Are you a magic user or not?

• Yes: are you an innate caster or did you acquire magic through study and hard work, or does your magic derive from faith, or is your magic from nature or is your magic in relationship/communication?

   * Innate caster: sorcerer
   * Study and hard work: Wizard 
   * Faith: primarily caster or primarily physical training?
       * Primarily caster: cleric
       * Primarily physical training: armored or unarmored?
           * Armored: paladin
           * Unarmored: monk
   * Nature: nature/world is sacred or mechanistic?
       * Sacred: animagus/Druid 
       * Mechanistic: Auror/ranger
   * Relationship/communication: bard

• Not a magic user: martially trained, sneaky, or berserker?

   * Martially trained: fighter
   * Sneaky: rogue
   * Berserker: barbarian

D&D Class HP setting Wizard As-is (players will likely choose this) Sorcerer Draconic Bloodline (Parselmouth) - Draconic is Parseltongue. Harry Potter could play this, with his lightning scar as his source of magic. For more lore detail see Dragons. Wild Magic - For any magic user without magic education, like Harry before Hogwarts. Also could be an Obscurial. Ranger Lore: A precursor to Magizoologists, Dragonologists, and Aurors

‘It was odd really, seeing that it had been a Death Eater in disguise who had first told Harry he would make a good Auror, but somehow the idea had taken hold of him.’ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

Druid Renamed “Animagus”

Cleric, Paladin See Deities and Pantheon

Warlock See Planes of Existence

Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Rogue These classes do not have magic abilities, so they would be Muggles or Squibs If a player wants to be a Metamorphmagus (like Tonks), you could use a Doppelganger homebrew for their race.

Deities and Pantheon

The Harry Potter universe has no deities or pantheon. Magic is something you’re born with; it doesn’t come from another entity. Clerics and paladins use their power of belief to focus their magic, like wizards use a wand. Powerful magic happens when they believe truly, and failure happens when they doubt their beliefs. See the 5e DMG pg. 13 “Forces and Philosophies”.

This is totally optional, but I rewrote the Cleric and Paladin classes to remove references to divinity. For example, instead of a “holy symbol” they have a “devotional symbol”. Instead of Clerics picking a deity that has a certain divine domain, they would simply pick a “philosophy” (Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, or War). PCs and NPCs can worship Tymora, Allah, piece of toast, or be an atheist and this would work. Here’s a quick guide to rewriting descriptions to fit the HP universe:

Remove words Change to Divine Holy Gods, Deity Prayers Righteous, Moral Righteous, Devotional Philosophy, Belief System, Ideals Mantra, Devotion, Conviction

Proficiencies

‘“That’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with.”’ Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling