I'm incredibly brand new (literally just started googling things today), and I'm looking for any tips or help people have to offer.
I've been reading up on the step-by-step character creation guides and I'm considering my first character to be a half-elf paladin, I've got a little bit of a background rolling around in my head. (I'd be glad to share what my ideas are if anyone is interested, or if it would help the rest of my learning process) I'm moreso curious about the character sheet- I'm a fairly slow learner so the information I've read about ability scores/modifiers is pretty confusing. Is anyone willing to help? (And by this I mean like you're trying to teach a small child) I'd also appreciate help understanding weapons/armor class/etc.
In DnD, the 6 abilities are: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The Basic Rules available here for free will give you definitions for those abilities.
Ability scores are numbers between 3 and 20. They indicate how gifted you are in that ability/area. The higher the better. The average (for common folk) is 10. PCs (Player Characters) are understood to be exceptional, so their numbers, at least in their “strong suits” are higher.
Ability modifiers are based on the ability score for that ability. If I have a strength of 15, for example, my ability modifier for strength will be +2. There is a table in the Basic Rules that tells you what the modifier is, based on the ability score.
Of the two (ability scores and ability modifiers), the modifiers are the most important. They get added to die rolls related to that ability.
Say, for example, that my character with a strength of 15 and an ability modifier of +2 swings a sword at an orc. A sword is a strength based modifier. So to see if I hit, I roll a 20 sided die (called a d20) and add my strength modifier (+2) and my proficiency modifier (+2 for a 1st level character). [This assumes I’m proficient with swords].
we would write this out as 1d20+4. (2 for strength+2 for proficiency=4)
If I hit, then I roll for damage. If my sword is a longsword, I roll an eight sided die (a d8) and add my strength modifier (+2). We write this as 1d8+2.
Does that help with ability scores? Can you be more specific about your questions about armor class and weapons?
Oh, I meant to mention: one of the advantages of using DnD Beyond for character sheets is that the vast majority of this math is done for you. You just need to know where to find what you need on the sheet and how to read the dice notations.
Something I have encountered too many times for it to be funny is that when you start a character and roll for your stats, some people (we are talking about paper sheets here) add the racial attribute modifier into the stat modifier box. Dont. A racial modifier is applied to the stat - so dex +1 will make 15 dex dex 16.
The way the stats work (to determine modifiers to rolls) is as follows - per arwens notes 10 is average and is a 0 modifier every two whole points above that will be a +1 modifier. Going below that 10 will net you an immediate -1 and another -1 per 2 points so to really make that clear:
Strength (modifies most melee to hit rolls, athletic checks and most physical damage rolls)
18 +4 modifier
17 +3 modifier OR 16 +3 modifier
15 +2 OR 14 +2
13 +1 OR 12 +1
11 +0 OR 10 +0
9 -1 OR 8 -1
7 -2 OR 6 -2
5 - 3 OR 4 -3
(etc)
Welcome to the game and I hope you enjoy yourself for a long time to come!
In DnD, the 6 abilities are: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The Basic Rules available here for free will give you definitions for those abilities.
Ability scores are numbers between 3 and 20. They indicate how gifted you are in that ability/area. The higher the better. The average (for common folk) is 10. PCs (Player Characters) are understood to be exceptional, so their numbers, at least in their “strong suits” are higher.
Ability modifiers are based on the ability score for that ability. If I have a strength of 15, for example, my ability modifier for strength will be +2. There is a table in the Basic Rules that tells you what the modifier is, based on the ability score.
Of the two (ability scores and ability modifiers), the modifiers are the most important. They get added to die rolls related to that ability.
Say, for example, that my character with a strength of 15 and an ability modifier of +2 swings a sword at an orc. A sword is a strength based modifier. So to see if I hit, I roll a 20 sided die (called a d20) and add my strength modifier (+2) and my proficiency modifier (+2 for a 1st level character). [This assumes I’m proficient with swords].
we would write this out as 1d20+4. (2 for strength+2 for proficiency=4)
If I hit, then I roll for damage. If my sword is a longsword, I roll an eight sided die (a d8) and add my strength modifier (+2). We write this as 1d8+2.
Does that help with ability scores? Can you be more specific about your questions about armor class and weapons?
Thank you very much for the reply! It's making a little more sense now. The modifier table is very helpful. Is the ability modifier added to the ability score and the roll? -Say my ability score is 12 with a +1 modifier, does it become 13? Or is it ONLY added to the roll? So my roll of 7 would become 8, etc.
As for the armor class/weapons, can my character use any weapon? Is it specific to character size/level/etc? And in general, I don't understand what armor class means.
Something I have encountered too many times for it to be funny is that when you start a character and roll for your stats, some people (we are talking about paper sheets here) add the racial attribute modifier into the stat modifier box. Dont. A racial modifier is applied to the stat - so dex +1 will make 15 dex dex 16.
The way the stats work (to determine modifiers to rolls) is as follows - per arwens notes 10 is average and is a 0 modifier every two whole points above that will be a +1 modifier. Going below that 10 will net you an immediate -1 and another -1 per 2 points so to really make that clear:
Strength (modifies most melee to hit rolls, athletic checks and most physical damage rolls)
18 +4 modifier
17 +3 modifier OR 16 +3 modifier
15 +2 OR 14 +2
13 +1 OR 12 +1
11 +0 OR 10 +0
9 -1 OR 8 -1
7 -2 OR 6 -2
5 - 3 OR 4 -3
(etc)
Welcome to the game and I hope you enjoy yourself for a long time to come!
Thanks for the note about racial modifiers! And the cheatsheet on modifiers to each score is very helpful, thanks.
Thank you! I hope I enjoy it when I get to my first campaign!
I'm incredibly brand new (literally just started googling things today), and I'm looking for any tips or help people have to offer.
I've been reading up on the step-by-step character creation guides and I'm considering my first character to be a half-elf paladin, I've got a little bit of a background rolling around in my head. (I'd be glad to share what my ideas are if anyone is interested, or if it would help the rest of my learning process)
I'm moreso curious about the character sheet- I'm a fairly slow learner so the information I've read about ability scores/modifiers is pretty confusing. Is anyone willing to help? (And by this I mean like you're trying to teach a small child)
I'd also appreciate help understanding weapons/armor class/etc.
Thanks!
In DnD, the 6 abilities are: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The Basic Rules available here for free will give you definitions for those abilities.
Ability scores are numbers between 3 and 20. They indicate how gifted you are in that ability/area. The higher the better. The average (for common folk) is 10. PCs (Player Characters) are understood to be exceptional, so their numbers, at least in their “strong suits” are higher.
Ability modifiers are based on the ability score for that ability. If I have a strength of 15, for example, my ability modifier for strength will be +2. There is a table in the Basic Rules that tells you what the modifier is, based on the ability score.
Of the two (ability scores and ability modifiers), the modifiers are the most important. They get added to die rolls related to that ability.
Say, for example, that my character with a strength of 15 and an ability modifier of +2 swings a sword at an orc. A sword is a strength based modifier. So to see if I hit, I roll a 20 sided die (called a d20) and add my strength modifier (+2) and my proficiency modifier (+2 for a 1st level character). [This assumes I’m proficient with swords].
we would write this out as 1d20+4. (2 for strength+2 for proficiency=4)
If I hit, then I roll for damage. If my sword is a longsword, I roll an eight sided die (a d8) and add my strength modifier (+2). We write this as 1d8+2.
Does that help with ability scores? Can you be more specific about your questions about armor class and weapons?
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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Oh, I meant to mention: one of the advantages of using DnD Beyond for character sheets is that the vast majority of this math is done for you. You just need to know where to find what you need on the sheet and how to read the dice notations.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
You may find these short videos helpful: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1tiwbzkOjQyr6-gqJ8r29j_rJkR49uDN
Something I have encountered too many times for it to be funny is that when you start a character and roll for your stats, some people (we are talking about paper sheets here) add the racial attribute modifier into the stat modifier box. Dont. A racial modifier is applied to the stat - so dex +1 will make 15 dex dex 16.
The way the stats work (to determine modifiers to rolls) is as follows - per arwens notes 10 is average and is a 0 modifier every two whole points above that will be a +1 modifier. Going below that 10 will net you an immediate -1 and another -1 per 2 points so to really make that clear:
Strength (modifies most melee to hit rolls, athletic checks and most physical damage rolls)
18 +4 modifier
17 +3 modifier OR 16 +3 modifier
15 +2 OR 14 +2
13 +1 OR 12 +1
11 +0 OR 10 +0
9 -1 OR 8 -1
7 -2 OR 6 -2
5 - 3 OR 4 -3
(etc)
Welcome to the game and I hope you enjoy yourself for a long time to come!
Thank you very much for the reply! It's making a little more sense now. The modifier table is very helpful.
Is the ability modifier added to the ability score and the roll? -Say my ability score is 12 with a +1 modifier, does it become 13? Or is it ONLY added to the roll? So my roll of 7 would become 8, etc.
As for the armor class/weapons, can my character use any weapon? Is it specific to character size/level/etc?
And in general, I don't understand what armor class means.
Thanks!!
Thanks for the note about racial modifiers! And the cheatsheet on modifiers to each score is very helpful, thanks.
Thank you! I hope I enjoy it when I get to my first campaign!