Character Creation

This section explains how to create an Adventurer character. Support characters rarely have stats and the staff creates Plot characters however they see fit so they suit their intended roles.

Note: Adventurer characters are sometimes referred to as “PCs”. This is a nod to the campaign’s ttrpg roots. An Adventurer is a “player” character in a way that Support and Plot characters are not because Adventurers are YOUR characters. You create them and have complete agency over how they are played.

Pitch Your Idea

Before you write everything up it is a good practice to present your idea to the staff. 

Note: The staff can be reached by emailing gatewaylarp@gmail.com

Paul has decided to create his first Adventurer character. He prefers fighters in the tabletop games he has played and loves halflings so pitches hearthlander fighter to the staff. They let him know that are already several hearthlander characters so he changes course and they agree that he will introduce a dwarven fighter instead. 

Choose a Race

Most a characters are human but your may choose any of those listed in the Races section.

Be warned: It is impossible to raise nonhuman characters from the dead. 

Paul is playing a dwarf. He has made peace with the fact that this means it will be impossible to raise them from the dead.  

Choose an Advantage

During character generation you may choose one Advantage. Advantages are special qualities that set you apart from other characters. A listing of these can be found on the "Advantages" page.

Advantages may only be taken during character creation.

NOTE: You may take a Advantage but you don't have to. When you take a Advantage you also have to take a Disadvantage (see below) so not taking a Advantage means you don't have to take a Disadvantage. 

NOTE: To play a character who begins play as a spellcaster you will need to take the Caster Advantage.

Paul wants to play a dwarf so he needs to take the Nonhuman Trait. He has the option of taking a second one so he consults the Advantage list to see if there is anything that would be worth having to take a second Disadvantage. Tireless seems to suit the concept that is taking shape so he takes it. 

Choose a Disadvantage

If you took an Advantage, you must also take a Disadvantage. A listing of these can be found in the Adventurers Section on the "Disadvantages" page.

NOTE: If your character is a human with the “Advantaged” Feature you can take a second Advantage but if you do, you will also need a second Disadvantage.

Paul's took the Tireless Advantage so he needs to choose a Disadvantage. He decides on Enemy. He pitches that the enemy is an Uruk whose brother he killed during a border skirmish who wants revenge.   

Assign Skill Ranks

Skills are rated in terms of "Rank" - an numerical rating where a higher value means your character is better at using the Skill in question.

There is more about Skill Tests in the Mechanic section on the "Skill Tests" page.

  • The Gateway Skills are Athletics, Combat, Influence, Linguist, Lore, Pathfinder, Perception, Stealth and Tinker. 

  • The three Saves - Agility, Endurance and Resolve are also considered Skills and can also be assigned Ranks. 

Your character begins with one Skill at Rank 3, two at Rank 2 and three at Rank 1. 

There is more about Skills in the Adventurers Section on the "Skills" page.

NOTE: If you took the Caster Advantage you add the Magic Skill, which begins at Rank 1 (or Rank 3 if you also took the Prodigy Advantage). You don't have to assign a Rank to Magic. It begins a Rank 1 (or 3). It can't be raised or changed at this point.   

Paul knows the Skill is most important to his dwarf fighter is Combat so he assigns Rank 3 to it. Looking over the list of skills and saves Athletics, Perception, Agility, Endurance and Resolve all seem to fit. He settles on Combat 3, Athletics 2, Resolve 2, Agility 1, Endurance 1, Perception 1. 

Choose two Feats

Feats are special abilities that extend what your character can do. 

During character creation you may give your character two Feats. There is no cost or trade off so there is no reason not to. 

At this point, you may only choose Feats from the Basic Feats list.

Make sure your character meets any prerequisites the Feat may have.

Paul spend some time familiarizing himself with the Basic Feats. He settles on Brawling and Fighter, making note of several others he wants to add as soon as possible. 

Finishing Touches

You will need a name for your character. For many players this is tough. Feel free to reach out to the community for ideas. There are also some excellent resources online for ttrpgs you may find useful, at least as a starting point. 

You will also need to determine Motivations for your character. We use a standard list you can find on its own page in this section on this site. We ask that all characters are eventually assigned a Primary and Secondary Motivation but new characters only have to have one when you start playing them.  

Your badge will be prepared for you by the Staff and available at check in. It will have a summary of your character but make sure you know what your Heroic Traits, Disadvantages and Feats do.

Paul resorts to a Fantasy Name Generator online and dubs his new creation Altur Oakentank. Looking through the Motivations it is clear Altur is a Champion Scrapper. He decides Altur is a wandering adventurer bit that his loyalty lies with the Thane of Durgen. After submitting his dwarf Paul gets to work on a costume. 

EDIT: I will add a character background worksheet at some point. 

NOTE:

No attempt has been made to balance this system.

It is very abusable but don’t.

Badges: Beads

Everyone starts with 1 Black, 4 Red and 1 White Bead. Red beads are added by Feats such as Toughness. Black and White reflect combat and magical ability as follows -

Black Beads

  • 2 Black: 1 Combat 1 & 1 Combat Feats

  • 3 Black: Combat 3 & 3 Combat Feats

  • 4 Black: Combat 5 & 5 Combat Feats

White Beads

  • 2 White: Magic 1 & 1 Magic Feat

  • 3 White: Magic 3 & 3 Magic Feats

  • 4 White: Magic 5 & 5 Magic Feats