Character Creation + Table Rules

Character creation (player-safe)

This is the shared baseline for building characters and avoiding rules surprises. If something here doesn’t fit what you want to play, talk to the GM early—this setting supports customization, but it does so by making choices consequential.

System + materials

System: D&D (2024 core rules)
Character options: core rules by default, with additional options by table agreement (no 3rd-party/homebrew without a quick review).

Allowed ancestries (default)

Human / Half-elf / Elf / Half-orc are the assumed “normal” mix for PCs.
Other ancestries exist in the world, but are opt-in with table agreement so they fit tone and don’t step on mysteries.

Any class can work here; what matters is where your power comes from and what it costs socially.

Clerics/paladins: faith is real, but institutions have pressure and politics.
Wizards/“trained mages”: entangled with gatekeeping, custody chains, and markets.
Sorcerers: talent and bloodline attention (good and bad).
Warlocks: restricted—by default, warlock PCs must have a credible tie to House von Stillwort and its patron, The Silent Poet.
Rogues/bards/rangers: thrive in a world of borders, leverage, and dangerous travel.

Subclass notes (current)

Bards: default PC colleges are Lore or Dance. Fey bards are NPC-facing; College of Glamour is not available for PCs. College of Valor is not used for PCs.

Campaign contract (table expectations)

You are competent adults; you can be compromised, but not a joke character.
You are expected to work as a team (shared risk, shared cover).
Secrets are welcome; sabotage and PvP require consent.

Rules (from the Session Zero recording)

Ruleset (current baseline): D&D 2024 core rules.
Session zero originally referenced “core rules / Expanded 2014”; treat that as historical and superseded.
Advancement: milestone (for now).
Starting level: 3
Ability scores: roll 3d6 + 3; reroll 1s; generate 6 stats and then assign; reroll the full set if unhappy.
Background ability score increases: ignored.
Ancestry bonuses: only explicitly called out is orc +2 INT.
Skills: +5 discretionary points across a short list (Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth).
HP: either roll or take average per level.
Spells: curated/approved spell list. Current bans: Goodberry, Find Traps, Knock, Prestidigitation, Protection from Evil and Good.
Renamed spells (table terminology): Fox Fire (Faerie Fire), Fiery Rebuke (Hellish Rebuke), Animal Omen (Augury).
Explicitly ok: Pass Without Trace.
Starting gear: standard issue “assassin’s dagger” / returning dagger (in addition to normal gear).
Units: prefer metric (meters) at the table.

Still TBD / confirm in writing

Allowed subclasses and multiclassing policy (“you’ve got to pay”).
Rest model: Safe haven long rests (locked).

Rest model options (what these mean)

RAW (default 5e pacing): short rest is about 1 hour; long rest is about 8 hours. Best if you want more frequent “reset” and more heroic day-to-day endurance.
Safe haven long rests: short rests work normally, but long rests only count in truly safe places (e.g., an inn you trust, a secured barracks, a friendly house, a warded camp with permission). Best if you want travel to stay dangerous without rewriting the whole system.
Creating safe havens in the wild is possible (and expected) if the party has the skills, time, and cover to secure a site. The GM adjudicates what counts as “safe.”
Gritty realism: short rest is about 8 hours; long rest is about 7 days. Best if you want injury/exhaustion to matter and downtime to be part of play; can be rough on classes balanced around short rests.

Prompts (quick hooks that fit the setting)

Pick 2–3:

Who do you owe, and what kind of “receipt” do they keep?
What border did you cross the official way and the unofficial way?
What scarce thing are you good at (navigation, seals, wards, healing, languages, accounting)?
What did you lose time to (a road, a storm, a fever, a bargain)?

Character Creation + Table Rules

Character creation (player-safe) #

System + materials #

Allowed ancestries (default) #

Classes are social #

Subclass notes (current) #

Campaign contract (table expectations) #

Rules (from the Session Zero recording) #

Still TBD / confirm in writing #

Rest model options (what these mean) #

Prompts (quick hooks that fit the setting) #

Player-safe reading (optional) #