Post by Miles on Mar 19, 2008 17:42:50 GMT -5
Okay, well one of the main reasons I made this site was for my D&D game. We've since expanded to play other RPGs, but D&D is the entry RPG for most people. So, I'll start off with the basics.
Abilities
Ability scores are the most important part of your character during a combat situation. They affect everything from how much damage you can take, to how hard you are to hit, how powerful your spells are(Casters only), and how likely you are to hit with weapons. The six ability scores are Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Strength- Strength effects you ability to hit opponents and your ability to deal out damage effectively. Strength is important for people in the front lines.
Constitution- Constitution is important for everybody, a high score means you can take more damage. It also lets you resist the effects of poison and disease, as well as some spells.
Dexterity- Dexterity helps you dodge sword, arrow, and spell, if you're wearing a light enough armor. If the armor is too heavy then it impedes movement. It also allows you to align ranged attacks better, making you more likely to hit with a bow.
Intelligence- Intelligence is important for both skill monkeys(People who have a lot of skills), Linguists, and Wizards. The higher this score, the more skills you are able to have, and the more languages you can speak. Wizards rely on this to cast spells effectively.
Wisdom- Wisdom is important for Monks and Ninjas more than any other non-divine-caster class, because they get bonuses for having high wisdom bonuses. Wisdom shows how intuitive your character is and helps them be more aware of their surroundings. This is essential for divine casters, and very helpful for sneaky characters.
Charisma- Charisma is your character's force of personality, if its high he is well liked, well known, something like that. Charisma is important for sorcerers and bards. Sorcerers because it determines spell strength, and bards for spell strength as well as their main skills.
Skills
Balance- Balance is to help you walk safely across hazardous surfaces.
Bluff- Bluff help you lie your way out of things.
Climb- This one is self-explanatory
Concentration- This helps you concentrate during distracting circumstances.
Craft- Helps you build something, you must choose a subgroup.
Diplomacy- Helps you negotiate with people.
Disable device-Disarms traps.
Disguise- Self-explanatory
Escape artist- This lets you escape bonds and fit into tight spaces.
Forgery- Forgery lets you copy someone else's handwriting, and make fake 'legal' documents.
Gather information- This lets you ask around town for information
Handle animal-This lets you, well, handle animals. You can teach them tricks, and make them do said tricks.
Heal- This lets you stabilize the wounded, and heal people a bit through non-magical means.
Hide- Another self-explanatory skill
Intimidate- This lets you scare others.
Jump- Again, self-explanatory
Knowledge- this has subgroups, each of which lets you know different things.
Listen- Helps you hear things.
Move Silently- Lets you sneak around unheard
Open Lock- Helps you unlock locks
Perform- Lets you perform in some way, such as dancing, singing, playing instruments.
Ride- Lets you ride animals.
Search- Makes you better at looking around places
Sense Motive- Lets you know when someone is lying to you
Sleight of Hand- Lets you hide items on your person, and steal things.
Spell craft- lets you know what a spell does, and sometimes lets you do other things involving spells.
Spot- You can see it before it sees you
Survival- Helps you get around in the wild.
Swim- This is obvious
Tumble- lets you get around enemies without them being able to make an attack against you.
Use magic device- Lets you use magic items that you couldn't normally use.
Use Rope-Lets you use rope to make it climbable, and lets you bind creatures.
To determine how well you perform a skill, you roll a 20-sided-die and add your modifier. Your modifier is your ranks in a skill, added with your ability bonus for your skill.
Death and Resurrection
How you die- There are many ways to die in D&D, but the most common way is through combat. If reach -10 HP, you are dead. If you take more than 50 damage in one attack, you need to make a fortitude save or die. Fortitude is discussed later. There are also spells that may be able to kill you instantly.
Coming Back from the Death- There are a few ways which you can be restored to life, all of them magical. There is True Resurrection, which brings you back with no penalty, Wish and Miracle also do this. Reincarnation doesn't cause level loss, but it brings you back as a random race. Normal Resurrection brings you back, but with 1 less level than before you died.
Combat
In combat you have a few options. Attack, move, use a special ability, cast a spell, drink a potion, or use a magic item. Oh, and run, thats also a good option sometimes. So, yeah more than a few.
HP- HP is the amount of damage you can take before going down. At 0HP you become disabled and can only use a standard action in a round, at -1 though -9 you are unconscious and dying, losing 1hp per round unless you're healed or stabilize.
Attacking- When you attack, you use one of your weapons. If its a melee weapon, you need to be within 5 feet of them. If its ranged, you shouldn't shoot if they're farther than 110feet, or closer than 30.
Special abilities-This is such a vast list, it would take way too long to make a complete list. So, this is normally a standard action.
Spells- Casting a spell is a standard action, and it provokes an attack of opurtunity(Discussed next). Spells are able to be cast as many times a day as needed, but they can't be cast in too fast of succession.
Attacks of Opportunity- If an opponent move into or out of a square you threaten, or performs certain actions while in range of your melee reach you get a free attack against them.
Base attack Bonus- Each class have a base attack progression, add this number when you roll to see if you hit. You also add your strength modifier to this.
Initiative- At the beginning of Combat, initiative is rolled. You add your dexterity modifier to your roll, then it progresses in combat order from the highest to the lowest number. Each time the whole order has gone through, its called a round.
Actions- Each round you get 3 actions, a standard action, a move action, and a swift action. Standard actions can be swapped for a swift or move action, and can be used to attack, cast a spell, or the like. Move actions can be swapped out for a swift action, and can only be used to move. Swift actions are used for stuff like drinking potions.
Flanking- If you have an ally on the opposite side of an opponent you are flanking it, and get a +2 to hit. If you are a rogue, you also get extra damage from it.
Charging- If an opponent is at least 10 feet away, you may charge. Charging grants you a +2 to hit and damage, but a -2 to AC for one round.
AC- AC(Armour class) is what you opponents need to get over or equal to to hit you, a high AC makes you hard to hit.
Saves- Saves are ways to determine your success in certain areas, normally whether you're able to keep yourself from having an ill effect from poison or a spell.
+Fortitude- Fortitude, also referred to as Fort, is your base save(In classes below) plus your constitution modifier. This is used against Disease, poison, and some spells.
+Reflex- Also called Ref, Reflex is your base save plus your Dexterity modifier. This is used for avoiding most traps, avoiding some spells(Partially), and some miscellaneous things.
+Will- Will saves have no abbreviation, they add your wisdom modifier to the save. This is mostly just against spells, but very useful because most save or die things are will saves.
Abilities
Ability scores are the most important part of your character during a combat situation. They affect everything from how much damage you can take, to how hard you are to hit, how powerful your spells are(Casters only), and how likely you are to hit with weapons. The six ability scores are Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
Strength- Strength effects you ability to hit opponents and your ability to deal out damage effectively. Strength is important for people in the front lines.
Constitution- Constitution is important for everybody, a high score means you can take more damage. It also lets you resist the effects of poison and disease, as well as some spells.
Dexterity- Dexterity helps you dodge sword, arrow, and spell, if you're wearing a light enough armor. If the armor is too heavy then it impedes movement. It also allows you to align ranged attacks better, making you more likely to hit with a bow.
Intelligence- Intelligence is important for both skill monkeys(People who have a lot of skills), Linguists, and Wizards. The higher this score, the more skills you are able to have, and the more languages you can speak. Wizards rely on this to cast spells effectively.
Wisdom- Wisdom is important for Monks and Ninjas more than any other non-divine-caster class, because they get bonuses for having high wisdom bonuses. Wisdom shows how intuitive your character is and helps them be more aware of their surroundings. This is essential for divine casters, and very helpful for sneaky characters.
Charisma- Charisma is your character's force of personality, if its high he is well liked, well known, something like that. Charisma is important for sorcerers and bards. Sorcerers because it determines spell strength, and bards for spell strength as well as their main skills.
Skills
Balance- Balance is to help you walk safely across hazardous surfaces.
Bluff- Bluff help you lie your way out of things.
Climb- This one is self-explanatory
Concentration- This helps you concentrate during distracting circumstances.
Craft- Helps you build something, you must choose a subgroup.
Diplomacy- Helps you negotiate with people.
Disable device-Disarms traps.
Disguise- Self-explanatory
Escape artist- This lets you escape bonds and fit into tight spaces.
Forgery- Forgery lets you copy someone else's handwriting, and make fake 'legal' documents.
Gather information- This lets you ask around town for information
Handle animal-This lets you, well, handle animals. You can teach them tricks, and make them do said tricks.
Heal- This lets you stabilize the wounded, and heal people a bit through non-magical means.
Hide- Another self-explanatory skill
Intimidate- This lets you scare others.
Jump- Again, self-explanatory
Knowledge- this has subgroups, each of which lets you know different things.
Listen- Helps you hear things.
Move Silently- Lets you sneak around unheard
Open Lock- Helps you unlock locks
Perform- Lets you perform in some way, such as dancing, singing, playing instruments.
Ride- Lets you ride animals.
Search- Makes you better at looking around places
Sense Motive- Lets you know when someone is lying to you
Sleight of Hand- Lets you hide items on your person, and steal things.
Spell craft- lets you know what a spell does, and sometimes lets you do other things involving spells.
Spot- You can see it before it sees you
Survival- Helps you get around in the wild.
Swim- This is obvious
Tumble- lets you get around enemies without them being able to make an attack against you.
Use magic device- Lets you use magic items that you couldn't normally use.
Use Rope-Lets you use rope to make it climbable, and lets you bind creatures.
To determine how well you perform a skill, you roll a 20-sided-die and add your modifier. Your modifier is your ranks in a skill, added with your ability bonus for your skill.
Death and Resurrection
How you die- There are many ways to die in D&D, but the most common way is through combat. If reach -10 HP, you are dead. If you take more than 50 damage in one attack, you need to make a fortitude save or die. Fortitude is discussed later. There are also spells that may be able to kill you instantly.
Coming Back from the Death- There are a few ways which you can be restored to life, all of them magical. There is True Resurrection, which brings you back with no penalty, Wish and Miracle also do this. Reincarnation doesn't cause level loss, but it brings you back as a random race. Normal Resurrection brings you back, but with 1 less level than before you died.
Combat
In combat you have a few options. Attack, move, use a special ability, cast a spell, drink a potion, or use a magic item. Oh, and run, thats also a good option sometimes. So, yeah more than a few.
HP- HP is the amount of damage you can take before going down. At 0HP you become disabled and can only use a standard action in a round, at -1 though -9 you are unconscious and dying, losing 1hp per round unless you're healed or stabilize.
Attacking- When you attack, you use one of your weapons. If its a melee weapon, you need to be within 5 feet of them. If its ranged, you shouldn't shoot if they're farther than 110feet, or closer than 30.
Special abilities-This is such a vast list, it would take way too long to make a complete list. So, this is normally a standard action.
Spells- Casting a spell is a standard action, and it provokes an attack of opurtunity(Discussed next). Spells are able to be cast as many times a day as needed, but they can't be cast in too fast of succession.
Attacks of Opportunity- If an opponent move into or out of a square you threaten, or performs certain actions while in range of your melee reach you get a free attack against them.
Base attack Bonus- Each class have a base attack progression, add this number when you roll to see if you hit. You also add your strength modifier to this.
Initiative- At the beginning of Combat, initiative is rolled. You add your dexterity modifier to your roll, then it progresses in combat order from the highest to the lowest number. Each time the whole order has gone through, its called a round.
Actions- Each round you get 3 actions, a standard action, a move action, and a swift action. Standard actions can be swapped for a swift or move action, and can be used to attack, cast a spell, or the like. Move actions can be swapped out for a swift action, and can only be used to move. Swift actions are used for stuff like drinking potions.
Flanking- If you have an ally on the opposite side of an opponent you are flanking it, and get a +2 to hit. If you are a rogue, you also get extra damage from it.
Charging- If an opponent is at least 10 feet away, you may charge. Charging grants you a +2 to hit and damage, but a -2 to AC for one round.
AC- AC(Armour class) is what you opponents need to get over or equal to to hit you, a high AC makes you hard to hit.
Saves- Saves are ways to determine your success in certain areas, normally whether you're able to keep yourself from having an ill effect from poison or a spell.
+Fortitude- Fortitude, also referred to as Fort, is your base save(In classes below) plus your constitution modifier. This is used against Disease, poison, and some spells.
+Reflex- Also called Ref, Reflex is your base save plus your Dexterity modifier. This is used for avoiding most traps, avoiding some spells(Partially), and some miscellaneous things.
+Will- Will saves have no abbreviation, they add your wisdom modifier to the save. This is mostly just against spells, but very useful because most save or die things are will saves.