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Contents
Choose your Path
There are two types of characters in this game, and two paths for character progression: Caster and Non-caster. Casters include things like mages, warlocks, wizards, (some) druids, elementalists, etc.; basically, people who use magic spells. Non-casters are rogues, warriors, rangers, hunters, knights, cavaliers, etc.; basically, people who use weapons.
Here are some differences:
General Differences
- Casters must put points into Arcana to use spells, whereas non-casters must put points into Strength and Dexterity to use weapons.
Basic Attack: A Basic Attack can be used in combat as many times as you wish. It is an innate ability all characters have.
- Casters start with a ranged basic attack -- a spell -- that deals damage. Their basic attacks get small increased damage modifiers as they level up. In this way, casters are relatively simple to build, and have a linear path to upgrade their basic attack. They do not require any equipment to cast spells.
- Non-casters start with a weapon that determines what their basic attack is. They can upgrade their weapon using gemstones, craft a new weapon with higher-quality materials, or buy a new weapon at any time -- providing a non-linear path to upgrading their damage output.
Tier Abilities: Tier Abilities are special, strong abilities that have a limited number of uses or "charges" in combat.
- Casters use a specific damage template and format for their damaging / healing abilities.
- Non-casters use their weapon damage to determine how much damage their Tier abilities do.
- Casters require a certain amount of Arcana to create Tier abilities.
- Non-casters require a certain amount of Strength and/or Dexterity to create Tier abilities and wield weapons.
Choose a race, class, and name for your character
Once you have selected whether your character will be a caster or non-caster, start fleshing out the rest of their story. What race are they? What type of character are they, personality-wise? What's important to them? What's their name? These answers will help inform what skills and abilities you design for your character later.
There are four core player races you can choose from: human, dwarf, sun elf, and halfling. These races are the primary races that live on Hellan.
Human
Racial Passive — Diplomacy: +1 Charisma. Humans are respected by all races of Hellan. Even Halflings avoid robbing human settlements. Without humanity, the confederacy would never have formed. Confederate enemies however, loath humanity (or the ruling nation of humanity, if they are outlaw humans).
Language — Common
Dwarf
Racial Passive — Hardiness: +1 Stamina. Dwarves are in tune with the earth. They can sense the general distance and direction to nearby metals and ore. Dwarves are very resilient. They have an innate resistance to poison, and can survive in frigid cold temperatures or burning heat.
Languages — Common, Dwarvish
Sun Elf
Racial Passive — Long Lived: +1 Knowledge. Sun elves are in tune with the sky. They are excellent navigators as long as they are above ground. Sun Elves have an eye for beauty. Even the untrained can determine the worth of treasure or properties of a magical artifact.
Languages — Common, Elven
Halfling
Racial Passive — Quick Fingers: +1 Dexterity. Halflings are nimble and quick-witted. Generations of farming and fishing have granted halflings better-than-average cooking skills and a tendency to befriend animals.
Language — Common
If you would like to play another race (such as a wood elf, genasi, goblin, etc.), speak to the DM.
Classes
Within this system, you can play any class you want. You could be a fighter, thief, swashbuckler, ninja, sorcerer, necromancer, illusionist, druid, shaman, seer, cleric, paladin, shapeshifter, etc.; the limit is your imagination. Simply choose a defining theme for your character. Simply conform to the Spellcaster and Non-caster rules for the respective schools of abilities.
Add points to attributes
Every character in Ilisara have attributes. Our six attributes are divided into three "physical" attributes (Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity) as well as three "mental" attributes (Knowledge, Charisma, Arcana). As you level up, you receive points to add to your main attributes. The number of points you can allocate are based on your level. At level 1, you begin with 10 points, and you gain new points every level.
To act in an RP encounter, you roll a d20 and add your applicable points (imagine your points as a “modifier” for your d20 roll). Spell-casters typically need 4+ Arcana to cast spells, and non-casters need a certain amount of Dexterity and/or Strength to wield weapons, but the attributes are otherwise not used for combat directly.
For a full description of every attribute, visit Character Attributes.
After this point, you should know:
- Whether your character is a caster or non-caster
- Your character's race
- Some idea of your character's backstory
- Your character's Attributes
- Your character's HP
- Your character's Movement Speed
Skills
Every character is equipped with specific, trained Skills that give them a +5 bonus to attempt an action out of combat. For example, a bard might be trained in Performance, allowing them to gain a +5 bonus to attempts made to put on a show for a crowd. The Character Skills page explains what skills are available to players in more depth, and the Using Skills page explains how skills are used out of combat.
At level 1, you can choose three skills.
Done!
Once you have your character's skills sorted out, you're done creating a level 1 character. As characters level up, they gain additional bonuses and benefits, such as Tier Abilities and Combat Passives. Refer to the Character Progression page to see what you will gain, and explore the rest of the rules on Official Ilisara RPG Rules to build more beyond level 1.
Combat, Armor, Weapons, and More
As you gain equipment, your armor value will increase. See Basic Equipment for details on the type of equipment you will find, and the requirements for wearing them. Combat explains how combat works. In Ilisara, combat is turn based with action economy and consists of rolls made to attack and deal damage.