User:Max7238/Fireglass (5e Campaign Setting)/Character Creation

Character Creation

Creating a character for the Fireglass setting requires a few extra questions to be answered. The following sections will serve as a walkthrough of the process.

Ability Scores

For reasons that will be discussed later, starting with above average ability scores is the ideal for the Fireglass setting. Using a standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) before applying racial bonuses may suffice, but the suggested mode of determining ability scores is to roll 4d6, drop the lowest roll, and reroll any 1s or 2s. The lowest possible score with this system is 9, while the highest is 18, with the average being 12.

Placement of score values should be considered based on what time period the game will take place in; The Age of Agony will have a high emphasis on Constitution, for example, while The Reaper's Lie may require high Wisdom or Charisma. It is important to consider what your character will truly excel at, and determine their class from their score placement, rather than the other way around.

Suggestions for each era are as follows:

Genesis

This age involves events such as the precipitation of souls from the six-armed Hollows to the many other races, the binding of The Mana to the Mortal Path, Musa'bo Shin'toku's appearance, demise, and rise as a revenant, the construction of the eight temples, and the eventual end with the creation of the great seal. High Intelligence would be a boon for characters of this era, as the need to learn new languages and keep up with an ever-changing world would be relevant even to the common people.

The Age of Agony

This age begins with the creation of the seal on the island continent, cradled between the original eight temples. In this age, special rules will apply to spellcasting to reflect the pain a character would experience when using magic of any type. Because of this, Constitution will go a long way in the life of any character, but especially for one who intends to use magic. The rules for spellcasting in this age are discussed later.

Spikefall

In this age, Fireglass more closely resembles canonical Dungeons & Dragons, so there are no special considerations for characters to make with regards to Ability Scores.

The Reaper's Lie

With the end of the Spikefall age comes the death of magic - or rather, the consolidation of it toward a single entity. In this age, characters will have many opportunities to engage with souls and more mundane characters. The biggest threats will come from magical foes who seek power to sustain themselves as the energy of the world vanishes. The stealing of souls, illusions, possessions, and other magical effects will plague characters of this age, and high Wisdom and Charisma will serve them well when resisting these effects.

Rebirth

Once again, the world in this age becomes more like the canon, so there are no special considerations. It is worth noting that magic becomes more warped in this age, and fey-like creatures and societies form in parts of the world, which might sway some character decisions.

Rise and Fall of The Overlord

This final age is also very broad, and enough like the canon that there should be no special consideration for character creation.

Alignment

In any above age, alignment is mostly a non-functioning concept. Magics that exist specifically to affect creatures of X or Y alignment do not exist. In this sense, role-play of character choices will be paramount, such as if a party chooses to enter a temple. Alignment is a far less concrete thing in Fireglass; it should be used as a suggestion of your character's demeanor and nothing more. A Lawful Good character may try to adhere to a code, one they were taught or decided for themselves, but compromise will be almost inevitable. In contrast, a Chaotic Evil character might find themselves prime opportunities to interact with slave trade and the like, but will probably find the chance for magnanimity toward those they happen to like. The greatest tests of a character's initial alignment will be interaction with temples, The Mana, or any other lesser deity associated with those.

Races

Fireglass, as a world with its own history, lacks many of the races found in canonical Dungeons & Dragons, but has a few extras to compensate. As a general rule, races not mentioned do not exist here or have no close parallel. Races mentioned are modified as listed.

Dragonborn

Dragonborn as they exist in the canon are not present in Fireglass. Instead, after The Age of Agony ends, a race much like a cross between dragonborn and lizardfolk appears: dragon-type demi-humans. Anatomists take advantage of the newfound power they have, once magic is no longer painful to use, and set about ensuring the future of intelligent life. As part of this, explained in detail later, humans and various animals are mixed together very carefully through magic to create new races. Among these demi-humans are dragon-type creatures that are a fusion of lesser dragons, alligators, crocodiles, and some fish or eel species. They lack the typical breath weapon and fine scales of a dragonborn, but a particular subrace does exhibit some of the same typical personalities.

Elf

In the same sense that dragonborn do not exist, elves typical of Dungeons & Dragons do not either. Elves are still present, but they are modified humans that appear after the end of The Age of Agony, much like other demi-humans. Meant to be a more defensive and perceptive version of humans, the elves of Fireglass are slightly more frail than humans on average, but have better senses and faster reflexes. Some minor changes include the lack of an ocular blind-spot, a faster neural refractory period, and a lack of temporary blindness during a saccade (rapid movement of the eye from point to point).

Human

Humans are recommended to use the Variant type, to receive a starting Feat and require the character to focus their Ability Score bonus.

Tiefling

The closest parallel to a Tiefling in Fireglass are the mazohk. Mazohk are human aberrations created by living in close proximity to highly volatile magic for generations. There is more information on their race page, but they have much of the innate magic and otherworldly appearance that Tieflings are associated with. A mazohk's association with demons, on the other hand, is grossly overstated by those who are intolerant of them.

Classes

All canon Dungeons & Dragons classes are available in Fireglass, along with one additional class. Certain time periods will have restrictions, as listed below, and classes may not use the same flavor as in typical canon. Once you have an understanding of the setting, it should be a simple task to re-flavor your features through role-play; there should be no mechanical changes.

Full Casters

During The Age of Agony and The Reaper's Lie ages, full casters should be prohibited. No NPC or player character should use such classes, which are Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard. If a player still wants to use a full caster, the current suggestion (before playtesting) is to allow players to cast spells of a level up to their Constitution modifier without issue, but to expend hit dice for each level a spell exceeds that number. Another suggestion might be to immediately impose a concentration check with a DC of 10 + the level of the spell before applying any of the spell's effects. Magic during these two ages is severely limited or damaged, which will consequently hinder those individuals who want to lean heavily on it.

The Soulbringer

A special class, a Soulbringer has been created for this setting - but it should only be employed for games that take place during or after The Reaper's Lie. A soulbringer could not exist prior to this era in history due to the structured nature of their incantations and the way they interact with magic. Prior to this time in history, there are not nearly enough unformed spirits in the world; The Mana is far more preoccupied with the crisis of the death of magic than adjudicating and reforming the souls of the dead. These wandering, waning souls become to source of a soulbringer's power.

Setting-Specific Subclasses

Several subclasses for the existing Dungeons & Dragons classes have been created. They are: