This section contains all of the basic components that make up a player character. Each of the following concepts apply to all player characters, and are either necessary choices in the character creation or options available to the player as an aid to a more complete and feature rich character.
A character's ability scores describe the physical and mental potential of a character.
Your character's race is a core component of who they are, and can inform their outlook and role-playing style as well as a few mechanical capabilities (though to a much lesser extent than their class). More so, your character's race dictates how those around them interact with them, as it is often the first clue they glean about who your character is.
How old your character is can be a determining factor in their personality and background, and can potentially have an effect on their ability scores. Different races also age differently, reaching adulthood and old age at very different rates.
Though it plays a minor role mechanically, knowing a character's height and weight helps paint the picture of how they appear and can visually inform some of their ability scores.
Character alignment is a gauge of how that character views and interacts with the world around them. A select few classes have a heavy bias towards specific alignments, otherwise this operates mostly as a descriptive label for your character's worldview.
Your character's class is their most defining trait. It will dictate what they are capable of in their adventures and how they approach different obstacles. Most of the rest of the character is built around this decision, so often it is the first choice made when creating a character (see
Building a Character for guidance if needed).
Skills are the bread and butter of how a character interacts with the world outside of combat. Whether it is how they make money, interact with strangers, perceive their surroundings, and interact with it.
Traits are character aspects that are chosen during character creation. They are less impactful than feats, but still serve to differentiate characters and add more depth to them.
Drawbacks are optional minor hinderances to a character that can add roleplaying depth and intrigue to them. Choosing drawbacks also allows a character to gain additional traits.
Feats (originally shorthand for features) are extra capabilities your character can choose both at character creation and as they level up. While less significant a choice than class, characters get many feats as they level and can serve to differentiate them from others of the same class.
Flaws are like reverse feats, serving as negative aspects to a character. Like drawbacks, flaws can serve to add depth and intrigue to a character. Flaws can be chosen at character creation and provide the character with additional feats to balance them out.
Past associates is a system by which players can gain some agency in the storytelling. With it, you can take control of the background of a limited number of NPCs you encounter through your adventures.
This article gives the amount of wealth a character has when created, both at level 1 and at higher levels.
There are a plethora of languages spoken throughout Astora, and knowledge of multiple languages is a near necessity for survival and meaningful interaction with its people. This article provides a collected index of those languages, how they are connected, and which are available for characters to learn.
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