Character creation challenge, day 3

 Day 3

System: AD&D 1e, method 1. (4d6, drop lowest, arrange as desired. I desire to use them in the order rolled.)

Ability scores rolled: 15, 9, 16, 15, 5, 8

Right off the bat, I run afoul of a bit of AD&D fiddliness: According to the Player's Handbook, a character with Constitution of 5 or less can only be an illusionist, but the illusionist class requires a minimum Intelligence of 15 and Dexterity of 16. OK, I'll swap that 5 with the second 15. With Dexterity 5 or less, the character can only be a cleric, and I've got that 16 in Wisdom. Good enough. Let's keep things simple and stick with a human character.

Starting gold in AD&D is dependent on class, and for clerics, it's 3d6x10, oddly enough the same as in B/X. The roll yields 140 gp, which is pretty darn good. Clerics in AD&D get a d8 hit die, giving the character ... 1 hit point. Ouch. Even with a bonus from Con, that's only 2. The dice giveth, and the dice taketh away.

Serys Veron, 1st level cleric

Strength 15 (Weight allowance +200, Open doors 1-2, Bend bars/Lift Gates 7%)

Intelligence 9 

Wisdom 16 (+2 to magical attack saves, Bonus spells: 2 1st level, 2 2nd level)

Dexterity 5 (-1 reaction/attack, +2 AC)

Constitution 15 (+1 hp/die, System shock survival 91%, Resurrection survival 94%)

Charisma 8 (Max. henchmen 3, Loyalty base -5%)

AC 5        Hit points: 2        Alignment: Lawful good

Splint mail armor, large shield, footman's mace, leather backpack, hooded lantern, 4 flasks of oil, tinder box, 2 water skins, standard rations, iron holy symbol, 34 gp and 10 sp left.

Height: 5'6"        Weight: 140 lbs.        Age: 21

Youngest daughter of a large farm family, entered into the service of the holy order in exchange for the order's blessings on the farm. Clumsy and shy, but pious and devoted to the faith.

Holy forking shirtballs! Definitely a lot more involved and time-consuming than the elegant simplicity of B/X character creation. A marked divergence from the vaunted old school simplicity, but on the other hand, while there's a ton of fiddly stuff to look up, there aren't a lot more choices to make than in B/X -- none of the feats, builds, and options that could make or break a character before play even begins in later editions of the game. One thing I dislike is the lack of combat adjustments for Strength, even within spitting distance of the peak (for non-fighters, anyway.) That +1 attack and damage bonus she'd receive in B/X would improve her combat effectiveness a fair bit. Ah well, such is AD&D.