Sometimes even the most experienced players and DMs experience a block when coming up with ideas for characters and NPCs. So here I hope to give you every week a new character pretty much completely fleshed out for you to use. For the 3.5 version of the character I am using is the SSA-X2 vs. 3 sheet which you can get at http://www.ssa-x2.com/ and for the 4th edition version of the character I used the Kiznit Character Sheet which you can get at Dragon Avenue.
Below you will find a link to a 3.5 version of the character and another to a 4th edition version of the character. These are full character sheets in an Adobe PDF file not just stat blocks. Please feel free to make simple stat blocks for your use.
Then I have any notes on my process of creating the character. After that is the background of the character. I tried to make it as complete as possible. After that is the characters personality and how it might react in some generalized situations followed by some physical descriptions.
Arthur Dannenberg – Level 1 – 3.5e
Arthur Dannenberg Level_1 – 3.5e Spellbook
Arthur Dannenberg Level_1 – 4e
Character Creation Notes
This was my first time making a character for 4th Edition. Besides being a new system I found it to be a lot more confusing than any other system I ever played for the first time before. So please be sure to double check that I put the correct information in the correct place. If I screwed something up please let me know so I make the appropriate corrections.
For Ability Scores I used PC Gens ability generator set to 4D6 reroll 1s and drop the lowest. Where it put the scores is where I left them. That is why I chose to make Arthur a wizard. I used the same numbers for the 4th edition. I did NOT give him the +2 to an ability score that humans normally receive in 4th Edition
For Starting money, height, weight and age I actually rolled the dice and used the charts from chapter 6 (Chapter 7 in the case of money) of the 3.5 PHB. The 4th edition version he got the standard 100gp.
The 4th edition sheet has no space for background, personality or description. So I put the physical descriptions in the Other Notes Section. I placed the Character Personality in the Notes/Photo Section. No space anywhere for the Background so I didn’t put it on the sheet. It is in the 3.5 sheet and on this post.
Character Background
Arthur was born to an average working class family in the city. When he was a young child he saw a wizard casting some spells on the street. He was amazed by what he saw and decided he wanted to be able to do that. Whenever he could get away from his parents he would try to find this Wizard and follow him around and always watch his performances. After a while Arthur was starting to mimic the gestures and vocals of the spells used in this Wizards performance. Obviously nothing happened when Arthur did this but his mimicry was just so perfect the Wizard took notice. The Wizards name was Dion Laughstrang and he went to Arthur’s parent’s and offered to take Arthur as an apprentice when he 8yrs old. Arthur’s parents reluctantly agreed, after all Arthur was their only living child. All of their other children died not long after child birth and were very protective of Arthur.
This apprenticeship was a little different from what most apprenticeships. Arthur continued to live with his parents and would meet with Dion two or three times a week for lessons. This is because Dion was a poor Wizard who blew most of the money he earned on Ale in one of the local inns every night and very often would forget to pay for a room and lived much of the time on the streets. Very often others would tell him not to listen to Dion. That he was a mediocre wizard at best, and that was when he was sober. However, Arthur refused to believe what they said about the man he idolized; the man who introduced, and teaching him the arcane arts, something no other wizard in the city would have done because of his families lack of social rank.
Both of Arthur’s parents were killed during a riot in the city when he was 13. He inherited the tiny home and invited Dion to move in with him which he did. The morning of his 20th Birthday Arthur had found that Dion was no longer there. He burned all of his items accept for a small wooden medallion of Boccob on a small copper chain, his diary and a note which read:
“When I came to this city 15 years ago I didn’t expect to stay for more than one or two months. Although I had all the coin I needed I decided to entertain the folk with some of my abilities and I noticed a small boy who was completely enthralled by what I was doing. So I stayed longer performing these mediocre tricks and found this boy was almost always there watching, completely mesmerized. I had to make many deals and sacrifices to do it, but it was worth it to stay here. But now I must keep up my end of the deal. It is ok though. I have taught you everything you need to know for now. The rest will come as you go along. I have left you my two most precious belongings. I hope they will serve you well.”
Arthur started to read the diary and couldn’t believe all the Dion has done, the people he met, the places he has been and how he may have influenced the world as they all know it today. He spent most of the year trying to convince the people, particularly the wizard’s academy and all the others who laughed at Dion. But they all continued to laugh saying it was just stories he probably heard at the inn of the doings of others. After a while Arthur gave up and though he had his doubts he decided to set off to see if what in the diary was true.
Character Personality
Arthur is very passionate about everything he does. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.
He would have words with anyone who would say anything against his mentor, Dion Laughstrang.
Wherever he goes he follows the laws of the city he grew up in, even if he were thousands of miles away and those laws and the principles and intent of them had no meaning where he was.
He is relatively naiveté about the greater world
Character Description
Arthur’s brown hair is short and always messy.
Hanging off of his belt is a copper chain which is connected to a wooden medallion bearing Boccob’s (Ioun’s) symbol which is tucked into his belt pouch.
His clothes, though cleaned whenever possible always seem to be dirty and to those who don’t know him he would appear to be a homeless beggar.
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