Backgrounds

Although d20 is about telling your character’s story, an important part of creating a character is figuring out his or her background, and how that history affects the character’s traits in the present.

Background is an optional trait in RPd20, suitable for some games and allowing you to further differentiate characteres from each other. It provides extra detail as well as a fewt capabilities to give your character an edge.

Background Features

Backgrounds determine a characters race. A character starts out with any three background feats from any two different races, each race bestowes upon them the appropriate Heritage descriptor as well one of the races favored feats set.

Ability Adjustments: the background adjusts some of the character’s starting abilities from the normal baseline score of +0. Generally speaking, a background should only increase or decrease abilities by +0/–1 and should decrease an ability for every increase in equal measure.

Note that these ability adjustments are to the baseline or starting ability scores. The player can spend the character’s ability points normally to raise the scores. However, the adjustment also affects the maximum score the character can have, since players cannot put more than 5 of the character’s starting ability points into any one ability score, or decrease any beyond -4. With the exception of racial adjustments.

Bonus Skill: A background either grants a bonus starting skill of the player’s choice, two bonus starting skills that are part of the background, or one bonus feat that is part of the background. The latter two options are set by the Narrator and cannot be changed. The bonus skill(s) can be any available in d20 and the character’s starting rank in the skill(s) is 4 (level +5), as usual.

Favored Feats: A background grants access to two favored feats, only if the character takes it as their heritage. These are feats the character can acquire at normal cost regardless of role. Since general feats are available to any character, they are never favored; favored feats are chosen from the expert, warrior, and adept feat lists. Optionally, a Wild Talent does not count against a characters normal ability to take the Wild Talent feat only once.

Heritage: A character must spend a feat on the given heritage in order to get anything from that Background. If a players wishes to be a "Half Blood" they may do so by taking the heritage of the backgrounds that they desire. They then have access to both of the heritages traits but do not gain as many of either.

Powers: If a racial description grants a character a power it supercedes the normal limit for the campaigns power level, and stacks with any powers the character may choose.

Sample Backgrounds Feats (Select any four)

The following are some sample backgrounds for a classic fantasy setting that you can use as examples for creating your own d20 backgrounds. You can find other sample backgrounds in the d20 settings later in this book.

Note: A character may only pull background feats from 2 different races. Additonaly racial feats cost +1 per additional feat.

Human

This is the default background for d20 characteres in a game using backgrounds. Human characteres may have cultural backgrounds in addition to their racial background to provide additional depth and options for the players.

The Feats of a human background are:

• Bonus Skill: The character gains one bonus known skill at 1st level, in addition to those gained for the character’s role and Intelligence score.

• Favored Feats: A human may select any two feats at the GM's discrestion.

• Human Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Human Heritage.

Dwarf

Dwarves are a race of stocky, taciturn humanoids that generally live underground and are known for their skill in stone- and metalworking.

Dwarves have the following background traits:

• Ability Adjustment Feat: +1 Constitution, –1 Charisma

• Favored Feats: Diehard, Favored Opponent (goblins or giants) or Tough

• Dwarf Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Dwarf Heritage.

Elf

Elves are a race of slender humanoids with delicate features and pointed ears. They live in forest and sythan environments and are known for their love of beauty and their skill with magic.

Elves have the following background traits:

• Ability Adjustment Feat: +1 Dexterity, –1 Constitution

• Favored Feats: Wild Talent, Fascinate, Skill Mastery, Favored Opponent (orc)

• Elf Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Human Heritage.

Gnome

Gnomes are small humanoids (see the Small Heroes sidebar). They prefer to live in comfortable burrows in hillsides where animals abound, and they’re well known for both their gregarious nature and as cunning tricksters and practical jokers.

Must be small

• Ability Adjustment Feat: +1 Constitution, –1 Strength

• Favored Feats: Fascinate and Favored Opponent (goblins), Jack of All Trades, or Wild Talent.

• Gnome Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Gnome Heritage.

Orc

Orcs have great strength and equally great tempers. Orcs make fierce warriors and usually become soldiers, mercenaries, or raiders.

• Ability Adjustment Feat: +1 Strength, –1 Intelligence

• Bonus Skill: Orcs have one bonus known skill

• Favored Feats: Cleave, Favored Opponent, Tough, or Rage.

• Orc Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Orc Heritage.

Halfling ( Template Cost - 6)

Halflings are small humanoids, almost exactly half the height of humans (thus the name, see Small Heroes). They’re clever and insist they have to be in a world of “big people.” They’re most often found living among other races, particularly humans.

• Size: Small

• Feats: Elusive Target

 

• Halfling Heritage: For the purpose of appearance or any other factors the character has a Halfling Heritage.

Half-Celestial ( Template Cost - 10)

No matter the form, half-celestials are always comely and delightful to the senses, having golden skin, sparkling eyes, angelic wings, or some other sign of their higher nature.

• Ability Adjustment: select one of ( +1 Strength, Wisdom or Charisma)

• Immunity (2 Ranks)

• Energy Control ( 1 Rank) (only cold, electricity or light)

• Divine Relationship (2 ranks)

• Damage Reduction: +1 Toughness against acid, cold and electricity

• Flight (1 Rank)

•Celestial Heritage: The character has traits and appearances of both their parents heritages.

Half-Dragon ( Template Cost - 8)

Dragon Variety	Energy	Dragon Variety	Energy
Black	Acid	Brass	Fire
Blue	Electricity	Bronze	Electricity
Green	Acid	Copper	Acid
Red	Fire	Gold	Fire
White	Cold	Silver	Cold

Half-dragon creatures are always more formidable than others of their kind that do not have dragon blood, and their appearance betrays their nature—scales, elongated features, reptilian eyes, and exaggerated teeth and claws. Sometimes they have wings.

• Ability Adjustment: +1 Strength

• Damage Reduction: +3 Toughness to your dragon variety energy type

• Energy Control (1 Rank): of your chosen dragon variety energy type

• Flight (2 Ranks, flaws -1 Gliding)

•Feat: Tough

•Dragon Heritage: The character has traits and appearances of both their parents heritages.

Half-Fiend ( Template Cost - 9)

No matter its form, a half-fiend is always hideous to behold, having dark scales, horns, glowing red eyes, bat wings, a fetid odor, or some other obvious sign that it is tainted with evil.

• Ability Adjustment: select one of (+1 Strength, Dexterity or Intelligence)

• Immunity (2 Ranks)

• Flight (2 Ranks, flaws -1 Gliding)

• Damage Reduction: +1 Toughness against acid, and +2 against fire

• Feat: Wild Talent

•Demon/Devil Heritage: The character has traits and appearances of both their parents heritages.

Favored Feats and Culture

One use of favored feats in a background is to provide context for the character’s culture or social background. Since favored feats are merely the opportunity to acquire certain traits, rather than required as part of the background, they can represent inclinations of a culture. For example, perhaps dwarven culture offers the opportunity to acquire the Favored Opponent feat for goblinoids, because dwarves often fight them. A human raised among dwarves might have this favored feat as well, representing the cultural background. Likewise, a barbarian culture might have Rage as one of its favored feats, people from a particular planet or colony might have cultural feats, and so forth. The Narrator should feel free to create “packages” or lists of suitable favored feats for different cultures within the setting.

Heroes of a Different Size

Some backgrounds—such as gnome and halflings races smaller than humans. A character must purchase their size with character points if it different than medium.

Size Table
Size	Atk/Def Modifier	Grapple Modifier	Stealth Modifier	Intimidation Modifer	Toughness Modifier	Height	Weight	Space	Reach	Carrying Capacity	Point Cost
Awesome	-12	+20	-20	+10	+12	128 ft. or more	2 mil lbs. +	40 f.t	20 ft.	+25 Str	60
Colossal	-8	+16	-16	+8	+8	64-128 ft.	250k-2 mil lbs.	30 ft.	15 ft.	+20 Str	48
Gargantuan	-4	+12	-12	+6	+4	32-64ft	32-250k lbs.	20 ft.	15 ft.	+15 Str	36
Huge	-2	+8	-8	+4	+2	16-32 ft.	4k-32k lbs	15 ft.	10 ft.	+10 Str	24
Large	-1	+4	-4	+2	+1	8-16 ft.	500-4,000 lbs.	10 ft.	10 ft.	+5 Str	12
Medium	+0	+0	+0	+0	+0	4-8 ft.	60-500 lbs.	5 ft.	5 ft.	x1	0
Small	+1	-4	+4	-2	-1	2-4 ft.	8-60 lbs.	5 ft.	5 ft.	x 3/4	4
Tiny	+2	-8	+8	-4	-2	1-2 ft.	1-8 lbs.	2.5 ft.	0 ft.	x 1/2	8
Diminutive	+4	-12	+12	-6	-4	6 in - 1 ft.	0.25-1 lbs.	1ft.	0 ft.	x 1/4	12
Fine	+8	-16	+16	-8	-8	3-6 in.	0.9 - 0.1 lbs.	6 in.	0 ft.	x 1/8	16
Miniscule	+12	-20	+20	-10	-12	3 in. or less	1 oz. or less	3 in.	0 ft.	x 1/16	20

 

Roles

Heroes in d20 come in different types and from many walks of life. Your character’s role is the part he or she plays in the game. A role is like a character’s part in a story; stories have different sorts of characteres, from brave and skilled warriors to cunning diplomats to wise wielders of the supernatural arts. The role you choose for your character affects the other choices you make, including your character’s skills and feats. Still, roles in d20 are broad enough to allow plenty of freedom of choice in creating your character.

There are three roles in d20, in addition to characteres with mixed, or multiple, roles. The roles are:

• Adept: The Talent (Core Ability) [4+ INT skills]
The adept can spend a Conviction point to make one use of a supernatural power they do not possess. This works much like spending a Conviction point to emulate a feat. An adept with the Talent can also spend a Conviction point to eliminate any accumulated modifiers to fatigue saving throws for using powers. See Chapter 4 for more information on supernatural powers and later in this chapter for more on Conviction. The Adept also receives a +3 bonus to any power level check.

• Expert: Expertise (Core Ability) [8+ INT skills]

When an expert spends a point of Conviction to gain a Heroic Feat it lasts for the duration of the scene.

• Warrior: Determination (Core Ability) [4+ INT skills]
A warrior can spend a point of Conviction to immediately erase all bruised and hurt damage conditions (and their associated penalties).

Level-Dependent Benefits

Character CREATION SUMMARY

Creating a character in this system follows a series of simple steps, using the information presented in the other chapters of this book. You’ll need a copy of the character sheet and some scratch paper to create your character.

1. Character CONCEPT

Before you get started, consider what sort of character you want to create. What are the character ’s basic abilities? What are the character ’s powers? What’s the character ’s origin? You may want to take a look at the character archetypes on pages 17-23 for some idea of the different types of character es you can create. You also can draw inspiration from your favorite characters from comic books, television, or the movies. Take a look through Chapter 5 and see if any of the powers there inspire a character idea. You may want to jot down a few notes about the sort of character you’d prefer to play, which will help guide you through the rest of the character creation process.

2. CHECK WITH YOUR GAMEMASTER

Your GM may have particular house rules or restrictions on characters in the game, not allowing certain powers or concepts. If there are no aliens in the setting, for example, then you can’t play an alien character . Likewise, if your Gamemaster bans mental powers from the campaign, then a psychic isn’t appropriate. Run your character concept by your Gamemaster before you start working on it. You might also want to consult with your fellow players so you can create your characters together and ensure they’ll make a good team.

3. POWER LEVEL

Your GM sets the starting power level for the series. Generally this is 10th level, but it may range anywhere from around 5th level to 20th level or more. All characters begin play at the same power level, which determines their starting character points and where you can spend them. See Power Level later in this chapter for details.

4. BASIC ABILITIES

Choose the ability scores you want your character to have and pay 1 power point for each ability score point over 10. Choose the attack bonus and defense bonus for your character, paying 2 character points per +1 to attack or defense bonus. Choose the saving throw bonuses for your character, paying 1 power point per +1 save bonus. Keep in mind these bonuses are limited by power level. See Chapter 2: Basic Abilities, for details on these abilities and Power Level later in this chapter for more on power level limits.

5. SKILLS

Choose the skill ranks you want your character to have and pay 1 power point per 4 skill ranks. Keep in mind your character can’t have a rank in any skill greater than the campaign’s power level +5. See Chapter 3: Skills, for details.

6. FEATS

Choose the feats you want your character to have and pay 2+ power point per feat or rank in a feat. See Chapter 4: Feats, for details.

7. POWERS

Choose the powers you want your character to have and pay the power’s base cost, multiplied by the number of ranks. Power modifiers increase or reduce a power’s capabilities and cost. See Chapter 5: Powers, for details.

8. COMPLICATIONS & DRAWBACKS

Choose the complications you want your character to have. Choose the drawbacks you want your character to have (if any) and add their value to the character points you have to spend. Keep in mind you’re generally limited to no more points in drawbacks than the campaign’s power level. See Chapter 6, for more detail on complications, drawbacks and their effects.

9. CHECK YOUR MATH

Go back through and add up the cost of your character ’s ability scores, attack bonus, defense bonus, saving throw bonuses, skills, feats, and powers, and subtract the value of your character ’s drawbacks. You should end up with a figure equal to the starting character points shown on the Starting Power Points Table on page 24. If not, double-check your math and either remove or add traits to your character to reach the starting power point total.

10. ADD UP SAVING THROWS

Calculate your character’s total saving throw bonuses by adding together your base save bonus and ability modifier for each (Constitution for Toughness and Fortitude saves, Dexterity for Reflex saves, and Wisdom for Will saves).

11. FINISHING DETAILS

Look through Chapter 6: Characteristics and figure out details like your character ’s name, appearance, origin, background, and motivation. Choose your character ’s allegiances (if any). If you can, consider creating a sketch or detailed description of your character ’s costume.

12. GAMEMASTER APPROVAL

Show your new character to the Gamemaster for approval. The GM should check to make sure your character points are spent and added up correctly, the character follows the power level guidelines, and is generally complete and suited to the campaign. Once your GM has approved, your new character is ready for play!