Keep on the Badlands — Character Creation

I asked my Monday night players how they felt about switching to a different rules system for the new campaign. I explained that I really wanted to run Basic/1e D&D using one of the retro-clones, but my suggestion was met with a resounding, "No, thanks." The guys know 5e and are confident playing it, so they have zero interest in learning a new game (even if it's sort-of the one we used to play 40 years ago).

I like core 5e well enough so I'm not terribly disappointed, but I was jazzed about trying something different (especially for this campaign, my adaptation of B2 Keep on the Borderlands). I haven't played/run AD&D since the late 80s—going back to that system or even Basic sounds like great fun to me, but it's not the hill I felt like dying upon.

Fifth Edition it is, then. To capture the feel of Basic/1e under the 5e framework, however, I established the following character creation guidelines. Because the Caves of Chaos are filled with lots of enemies, I also boosted some of the class abilities to give the party a little more endurance and enable them to press on longer without stopping to rest every other combat (which might be difficult or even impossible during an attack on one of the humanoid lairs).

CHARACTER CREATION

STEP 1: ABILITY SCORES

We're using the variant point-buy system from the DMG: You have 27 points to purchase ability scores, before adding any racial bonuses. A score of '15' is the highest you can purchase.

 

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

• A score of '18' (+4) is the mortal maximum for any PC race. Higher scores are possible with magic items, but a racial bonus or an ASI can only boost a score to 18.
  
• Modifiers for scores of 19+ are applied on a 1:1 basis (i.e., 19 (+5); 20 (+6); etc.)

 

STEP 2: AVAILABLE RACES

Per PHB versions. Available sub-races and exceptions noted below.

• Dwarf — Hill or Mountain Dwarf. Instead of Darkvision, dwarves have “Cave Vision” (works only underground or in darkened interiors). 
• Elf — High or Wood Elf only. Instead of Darkvision, elves have “Night Vision” (works only under the ambient light of the moon and stars). 
• Halfling — Lightfoot or Stout
• Human — Standard Human only (no Variant).
• Humans also gain (1) free skill or tool proficiency of their choice.
• Humans gain a bonus of +10% to ALL XP earned.

 

STEP 3: AVAILABLE CLASSES

Per PHB versions. Available sub-races and exceptions noted below.

• Barbarian — Path of the Berserker only. A short rest plus expending (1) Hit Dice (without gaining any HP) allows the barbarian to remove (1) level of Rage exhaustion. 
• Bard — College of Lore only. 
• Cleric — Life, Light, Order, and War Domains only. 
• Druid — Circle of Land only (Desert, Grasslands, or Mountains) 
• Fighter — Champion or Battle-Master only. To make the Champion Fighter more attractive to play, the following changes apply to the PHB version...
  
• 3rd-level Champions gain an additional Fighting Style.
• 3rd-level Champions may use a bonus action to make a single attack with any equipped weapon, whether they use the Attack action on their turn or not.
• 6th-level Champions may also use their reaction to…
• Counter-Attack = Make one melee weapon attack against an opponent that makes an Attack against you and misses.
• Shield Block = With an equipped shield, you can either increase your AC or that of an ally within 5 ft. of you by 2 against a single enemy attack, or add +2 to any DEX saves vs. area-based effects (such as Fireball) for yourself or an ally within 5 ft. of you.
• Paladin — Oath of Devotion or Vengeance only. Paladins get (1) free Divine Smite per Proficiency bonus before requiring spell slots to cast. One or more additional free uses can be expended to increase the smite damage by 1d8 (as though the paladin had used a higher level spell slot).
• Ranger — Beast Master or Hunter only. Rangers get (1) free Hunter’s Mark per Proficiency bonus before requiring spell slots to cast. The free use is cast at 1st-level only.
• Rogue — Assassin or Thief only. 
• Wizard — All PHB sub-classes are available.
  
• When determining starting spells, Wizards may choose (1) cantrip or spell from the list per INT modifier; the rest are rolled randomly. 
• Additional spells gained with each level are also rolled randomly.

 

STEP 4: BACKGROUND SKILLS

You don’t choose a background from the PHB; instead, take Proficiency in any (2) skills and/or tool kits of your choice. 

 

STEP 5: STARTING MONEY AND GEAR

You have the clothes on your back and a few personal items. You have been hired to escort a merchant caravan to Irongate Keep. You start with the following…

Money
You left civilization with your life savings of 100 gp (you sold everything else you owned to get it). You were paid 50 gp up-front, and will receive another 150 gp upon arrival.

NOTE: A big part of this campaign is day-to-day survival, both in the wilderness and in the “civilization” of the keep. Life on the frontier is hard, and if you run out of money or can’t pay your living expenses, then no one here is obligated to take care of you.

Weapons
Everyone starts with (1) simple melee or ranged weapon of your choice.

• Fighters, paladins, and rangers start with any (2) additional weapons of their choice or (1) weapon and shield.
• Picking a ranged weapon using ammo also gives you a quiver/case with 12 pieces of ammo. 
• Your merchant bosses provide a spear for anyone who requests one, but it must be returned when the mission is complete.
  

Armor
Everyone starts with padded armor or none. The merchants provide a shield for anyone who requests one, but it must be returned when the mission is complete.

NOTE: The campaign setting is a hot and arid climate (think the American Southwest). Wearing medium or heavy armor in the heat is a liability unless you’re mounted (and even then, it can still be a problem). 

General Equipment
None for now; the merchants provide food, water, and other necessities for the journey. You will equip yourselves for adventure at the keep using the money you earn.

Personal Equipment
Certain character classes start with “essential” items (such as holy symbols for clerics and paladins, spellbooks for wizards, thieves’ tools for rogues, musical instruments for bards, etc.) Please don’t assume, however; ask me before giving your character anything. You can also start with any trinkets or non-equipment items that may have personal meaning for your character.

Backstory

Don't bother with one as it will have no impact on this campaign. You are fleeing political strife and civil war in the north, and have left whoever or whatever you were behind to seek out a new life for yourself on the frontier.