Wish I knew who this artist was to give her credit; I stole it from a fellow image thief.
THIS SERIES will be 5th edition D&D characters I make up, just for the fun of it. I haven't played the game in 1.5 decades but like to keep up with nerdly news and I do really like this new edition. I'm hoping to make at least one character of each class, probably spread out over the long term as time and inspiration allow.
My character creation policy goes like this: (1) Ability score are rolled on 4d6, discard the lowest. (2) Create them to D3+2 levels in the chosen class. (3) Give them an appropriate magic item at 3rd and 5th levels. (4) I believe the PCs are the heroes of the story, so I generally give them max hit points, no rolling. Though I do like the 5th edition roll or take better-than-half system. (*) While I like the personality traits, bonds, etc of the background portion of the new creation process, I figure the big write up I'm doing covers that stuff.
My character creation policy goes like this: (1) Ability score are rolled on 4d6, discard the lowest. (2) Create them to D3+2 levels in the chosen class. (3) Give them an appropriate magic item at 3rd and 5th levels. (4) I believe the PCs are the heroes of the story, so I generally give them max hit points, no rolling. Though I do like the 5th edition roll or take better-than-half system. (*) While I like the personality traits, bonds, etc of the background portion of the new creation process, I figure the big write up I'm doing covers that stuff.
I've also taken a shine to the optional "speed factor" rules in the new DM's guide, so you'll see those modifiers applied to combat initiative values.
FIRST I'll give the character's story and the how and why I made them this way, then game stats. Also (btw) consider all these characters to be copyrighted, as I’ll likely use them to write fantasy books in the hopefully not-too-distant future.
Is Jinn the artist or the character?
Daesi: Alchemist and Artificer. And perhaps too talented for her own good.
I.
Daesighasi Geartwitch, called Daesi (meant to sound like “Daisy”) for short, is herself rather short; she is a gnome, after all. And while among the skilled and mystically talented craftsmen and women of her own people she had always been regarded with respect and a smile, she found the greater world to be less receptive. Was it because she was a gnome? Perhaps elves and dwarves, even halflings, were better respected in the human lands? Not only was she a gnome, but she was also female. Jealousy, her friends told her, played an equal role to these, if not more so.
Daesi was presented to the Pact of the Philosopher’s Stone Guild (alchemists) and the Turns of the World Guild (Tinkers and Artificers) with great enthusiasm by her mentor, the great gnome master Cagghai Pennybottom. She became a guild member on his recommendation, and to say that she was excited would be a terrible understatement. And so perhaps the excited, ingenious young girl didn’t realize that her great success and new ideas might be an insult to some of the older, less talented guild members who thought themselves important, yet clearly couldn’t compare their own abilities to this young, inhuman, female prodigy. Pennybottom’s command of respect was the only thing that kept Daesi in good standing with the Guilds more rancorous chiefs for as long as it did. When the old gnome master disappeared, it wasn’t long before Daesi found herself in ill-favor among the guilds.
She seeks now to find what happened to Cagghai Pennybottom, not to restore her to the petty jealous masters of the guilds, but to find and, if necessary, rescue her friend and teacher from whatever fate has befallen him.
Like most gnomes, Daesi is generally cheerful and innovative of mind, but she has learned to distrust the baser motives of the human world and its inhabitants, be they human or not. She feels more at home in communities of the shorter races—dwarves, halflings, and gnomes—and this is where she can finally feel free to be herself. She otherwise spends too much time guarding her emotions and, therefore, despite the miracles of the craft and chemistry she is capable of, she does not live up to her true potential.
The Keymaster’s Lockpick is a device of Pennybottom’s make, a puzzle in and of itself, literally. The Lockpick seems to be a thick, heavy rod made from hundreds of smaller components, all fit together to make a rather uninteresting shape. But locked within it is a spectrum of purposes. Which is why its powers are somewhat random; just as you think you’ve figured out how to use it, next time you pull it out there are tiny changes in its configuration. Daesi hopes that somewhere within the device there is also a clue to what happened to its maker. It may be the “key” to “unlocking” her quest. Joining her is her familiar and only true friend, Klick-Klack, a clockwork owl that she herself made (ala the original Clash of the Titans, though I think he was called Boobo).
Don't know the artist for this one, either. Sorry, but good work!
II.
DAESIGHASI “DAESI” GEARTWITCH
Wizard (3rd level) Gnome
Bkgrd: Guild Artisan Align: LG
STR | 8 | -1 |
INT | 17 | +3 |
WIS | 13 | +1 |
DEX | 15 | +2 |
CON | 12 | +1 |
CHAR | 10 | 0 |
HP: 21
AC: 12
PROF: +2
SAVES: INT (+5) WIS (+3)
* Advant vs. magic on Int, Wis, & Char saves
INIT: +4 (dex, small)
SPD: 25 ft
COMBAT:
Light Crossbow | Init -1 | +4 to hit | D8+2 dmg | Reload, 2-handed |
“Lockpick” (mace) | Init +4 | -1 to hit | D6-1 dmg | (not proficient) |
Daggers (melee) | Init +6 | +4 to hit | D4+2 dmg | Finesse, light |
Daggers (thrown) | Init +4 | +4 to hit | D4+2 dmg | Thrown (20/60) |
Attack Spells | Init -(sp lvl) | +5 to hit | Save DC 13 |
RACIAL/CLASS /BACKGROUND FEATURES:
Profs: daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbow
Tools: Tinkers, Alchemist
Languages: Common, Gnome, Dwarf
Tinkerers’ and Alchemists’ Guild Memberships(not in good standing with Tinkers, not well liked in Alchemists)
Rock Gnome: Darkvision, Gnome cunning (saves vs magic), Artificer’s Lore (history bonus), Tinker (construct minor devices)
Arcane Recovery
Arcane Tradition: Transmutation
-- Minor Alchemy, Transmutation Savant
Familiar: Klick-Klack (clockwork owl)
SKILLS:
Arcana (+5)
Investigation (+5)
Insight (+3)
History (+5)
*History (+7) on magic items, alchemy, tech devices, etc.
SPELLS:
Spell Save DC (13) Spell Attack Bonus (+5)
Wizard “Spell Book” (talents, devices, and alchemy)
-- cantrips (3), 1st slots (4), 2ndslots (2)
0: Mending, Shocking Grasp, Dancing Lights
1: Find Familiar, Grease, Chromatic Orb, Identify, Color Spray, T’s Floating Disc, Fog Cloud, Feather Fall, Shield
2: Web, Cloud of Daggers, Blur, Locate object
GEAR:
Tools, belt pouches, & satchel (arcane focus)
Light crossbow with bolts
Daggers (3)
Tinker’s Tools
Alchemist’s Tools
Traveling clothes, working overalls
Selma the donkey (with cleverly locked saddle bags)
The Keymaster’s Lockpick (magical device)
- Cryptic device that looks like a thick clockwork rod that makes mechanical, minor changes of shape when one of its powers is used (counts as a mace if used in combat)
- At the beginning of the gaming session, roll 2D6 to determine which powers below the Lockpick has. If you roll a double, use that number below and just choose a second result.
- Each spell in the device may be cast once. On a short rest you can recover one spell, on a long rest, all of them.
- Alternatively, when you take a short rest you can reroll and replace one pair of spells instead of recovering a used spell. On a long rest, you can reroll both if you wish, or recover one spell and reroll one pair of spells.
- ROLL:
- 1. Use as any type of Tools (as approved by GM) up to three times, and can be a different type each use. You also act as Proficient with them. If already proficient, double your prof bonus.
- 2. Detect Magic & Locate Object spells
- 3. Arcane Lock & Knock spells
- 4. Light & Firebolt spells
- 5. Shield & Bladeward spells
- 6. Thunderwave & Message spells
Art by Zoe Stead. She labeled the image with her name!
III.
As with all of these D&D character creations, I wanted to do something different with the class. Here I’ve made a wizard, always my least favorite class. Wizards are traditionally too fragile and, in the beginning levels (which is where I prefer to play), they tend to be one-trick ponies. Can you say “magic missile”? It seems like everyone who’s ever made a wizard made the same damn boring character and stocked up on the same damn spells, first and foremost: magic missile. (Notice I didn’t take it for her.) So for this wizard, I wanted to make someone who wasn’t a spellcaster in robes, but instead is a craftsman (or craftswoman, in this case). And though it does conform to the stereotype, it seemed most appropriate to make her a gnome; I tend toward all human characters, so it’s actually branching out for me to use this lesser-used race.
So in game play, imagine her spells not as incantations, but as clockwork, steampunk, or alchemical gadgets and effects. Her “preparing spells” at rests is her mixing potions, and winding up and preparing machines. A few spells (like Mending) are more talents and minor magical effects, but mostly I imagine her throwing breakable glass vials and releasing tiny devices to achieve her magic. Feather Fall, for example, may be spring-loaded wings or a tiny parachute; Shocking Grasp could be metal conductors in her gloves hooked up to a chemical battery; Chromatic Orb and Fog Cloud are chemical mixtures in small glass globes; Color Spray is a strobe light that shines through prisms; Cloud of Daggers might be a swarm of wind-up, free-flying propellers. I chose all of her spells based on the idea that they could be imagined this way (and specifically didn’t take magic missile!). I also assumed that in her 3 levels of adventuring she’d picked up a few extra “spells” (formulas and designs) for her “spell book,” so she’s got a few more than you might expect.
Another creation note: I replaced the persuasion skill from the Guild Artisan background with Arcana, given the nature of the guilds she’s part of. (And persuasion isn't befitting this character's social awkwardness, which is also reflected by her low Charisma score).
Overall, a great, fun character I think! Add her to the list for my future series of fantasy adventuring novels!
Overall, a great, fun character I think! Add her to the list for my future series of fantasy adventuring novels!