Need some help making a character

[Obnoxious Hydra]

Just to get to grips with the character sheets, I'm creating a very simple character by following a few random online guides. I'm creating a Gnome Fighter, and a few things are just getting a little confusing (I'm making my character sheet on Myth-Weavers, which is quite handy because it fills out some things like modifiers automatically).

Health
As a fighter, my character has a d10 hit die. Do I roll the die to get my HP, or do I assume that the highest number, 10, is my automatic health? And, for my starting HP, do I still add my Con modifier (it's +3)?

Skills
I'm a little bit confused about what skills I start with. As I'm a fighter, it says my skills are Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, and Swim. Do I automatically have all these from the start? Or do I have to spend skill points to get them?
And, when it comes to buying skills, how many skill points does it cost? I have 16 skill points. Is it 1 skill point to buy a skill, and an additional skill point for every rank I put into it (and 2 skill points to buy a non-class skill, 2 to put a rank into it)?
As a Gnome, I have a +2 bonus on listen checks, and a +2 bonus on craft (alchemy) checks. Does this mean I automatically get these skills? Or do I have to buy these skills, and then add my bonuses onto rolls?
Finally, do all skills start at rank 0? Or by having a skill, do you automatically have it at rank 1?

Feats
Do all new characters get a set number of starting feats? Or do I only have the one bonus feat fighters get at level 1?

Languages
What decides how many bonus languages I start with? Do I automatically speak bonus languages from the start, or do I need to buy the Speak Language skill? Or do I start with that skill for free?
I.e. it says a bonus language a Gnome can have is draconic. If I am allowed to have draconic from the start, do I need to buy the speak language skill to speak draconic? Or does a starting bonus language not need a skill to use?

Equipment/Money
Do I subtract I starting equipments worth/cost from the amount of starting gold I rolled up?
For example, I rolled 110 gp to start with, and I'm using a heavy mace, which costs 12 gp. Do I subtract that from my gold and go down to 98 gp?

[Glimbur]

Health: Normally the hit die (d10, in your case) from the first level is maximized i.e. 10. After that, depending on the group you are with you either roll or take average (5.5, so you get 5 hp level 2, 6 hp level 3, 5 hp level 4, and so on). You add your con modifier to the hp you get each level, so at first level you would have 13 hp.

Skills: Your skill list is the things people of your class are normally good at. Each rank you put in to one of those skills gives you a +1 to use that skill, to a a max of +4 (from skill ranks) at first level. If you really like swimming, you could have a 16 Str and put 4 ranks in Swim to get a +7... until you factor in armor check penalties. There are also skills, like Use Magic Device, that aren't very fighter, so you have to pay twice as many ranks for the same bonus but you have the same cap on max ranks. So you could put 4 ranks in Use Magic Device and get a +2, but you couldn't put in 8 ranks because you are only 1st level.

Feats: Everyone gets a feat at first level, 3rd level, 6th level, and so on. These are general feats and can be anything you qualify for. Fighters get a [fighter] feat at 1st, 2nd, 4th, and so on. So at first level you have a general feat and a [fighter] feat. Humans get an extra general feat at first level (part of why they are so good) and there are optional rules for flaws which give you extra feats. Personally, I don't like them.

Language: You get starting languages from your race. Bonus languages can either come from your Int modifier (you get one bonus language per point of int modifier) or from ranks in Speak Language. I'm honestly not sure what happens if you have more languages known than your race has bonus languages.

Yes, your starting money is intended to be used to buy stuff for you to use. Don't forget a torch or twelve. And 50' of rope. And... ok, the list goes on and on. Armor is nice too.

[Namfuak]

One clarification to skills - for fighters, you get 4x(2+int mod) at first level, so if your int modifier is +2 (14-15 int) (which you mentioned 16 points at first, so I'm assuming that's what it is) you get 16 points at first level.

The maximum number of points you can invest in a skill is your class levels (+ racial hit dice, but that doesn't matter for you) + 3, so at first level this means 4 skill points in any skill. Class skills, like swim, gain a +1 rank bonus on rolls per skill point invested, while cross-class skills (skills not listed as class skills) gain +1/2 rank bonuses from skill points invested. So, without adding any other modifiers, let's say you invest four skill points in swim and four skill points in use magic device. Swim gets +4 to rolls, because it is a class skill, but Use Magic Device gets +2 to rolls, because it is not a class skill.

The other difference between cross-class and class skills is that if the difficulty class (minimum roll needed to pass the check) is higher than 10 on skills that are not marked as usable when untrained, you cannot attempt them (mostly physical skills like jump and climb are usable when untrained, since everyone can try to jump, but not everyone is able to do autohypnosis). Class skills are automatically considered trained, so wizards can roll on any knowledge check because they have all of them as class skills, even if they have invested no ranks in the check. For you, however, you would need to put at least 2 skill points into a knowledge skill in order to try rolling it (you need at least one rank to consider a skill trained).

As for the gnomish racials, add those bonuses to any roll you make to try to use those skills. Listen rolls can be made even without ranks invested, and alchemy is a craft skill so all classes have that as a class skill by default. However, if memory serves you need feats to actually make potions using alchemy (funny enough, my first character was a gnome as well and I wanted to make him an alchemist, but we didn't get that far in the campaign).

[Slipperychicken]

A character automatically begins with the "automatic languages" for his race (Common and Gnomish in your case), no matter what. If his intelligence modifier is positive, he can select that many more languages from the "Bonus Language" list. (A negative modifier doesn't subtract from languages known). Additionally, anyone can spend skill points on the Speak Language Skill (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/speakLanguage.htm) to "buy" more languages. In most campaigns, language isn't much of an issue.


Each skill begins with zero ranks, until you buy them. Racial bonuses add to skill checks, whether you have ranks in them or not. Keep in mind that many skills (like Climb, Swim, Spot, or Listen) can be used "untrained" (zero ranks), so you can always use them. A Fighter gains (Int mod. +2)x4 skill points at first level, then adds (Int mod. +2) every level thereafter. Skills that are not on the class list of skills can still be "bought", but that takes twice as many skill points.


Every character gains one feat at first level. This number can be increased by some races (like humans), or by taking Flaws (each Flaw taken gives an additional Feat, if your GM allows flaws in the first place). After first level, one at 3rd, at 6th, 9th, and so on. A Fighter will gain bonus feats as indicated by the class (one at 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and so on), but these must be designated Fighter Feats.


The first Hit Die you get is maximized (i.e. d10=10, d12=12), and you add your Constitution modifier to that. Since your character's hit die is d10 and your Con +3, you would begin with 13 hit points. Every level after that, you add [hit die + con mod] to your maximum hit points.

[Obnoxious Hydra]

Thanks for the help!

Here's the character sheet so far.
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=370322

I would really appreciate it if errors were pointed out, what I should put in certain boxes, etc.

Notes:
- Some equipment has weight different to the norm', due to it being made for a 'small' character.
- I started with 110 gp. I think I've calculated all the costs for my starting eq. correctly.
- I started with 16 skill points, I have spent 10, I think...
- 4 skill points for 2 ranks in diplomacy.
- 1 skill point for 1 rank in jump.
- 1 skill point for 1 rank in ride.
- 2 skill points for 1 rank in listen.
- 2 skill points for 2 ranks in handle animal.

Questions:
- What's a weapons total attack bonus, and where are they written? I can't find the heavy mace's one.
- How do I write down my spells? I'm not a magic class, but as a gnome I get to cast Speak with Animals, Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound and Prestidigiation once a day each.

[dragonsamurai77]

Sheet's not public, so we can't see it.

Attack bonus: The weapon you're using has no bearing on your attack bonus, unless you're nonproficient (which doesn't apply in this situation). It is simply your Base Attack Bonus (which is +1/level for a fighter) plus your Strength modifier (for melee weapons) or Dexterity modifier (for ranged weapons).

As for spells, normally you'd write your spells known in the "Spells and Powers" field and the number/day in the appropriate boxes to the left, but I personally put racial SLAs under Feats & Special Abilities, along with my other racial abilities.

[Obnoxious Hydra]

Sheet's not public, so we can't see it.


Woops. Sorry. Think I've fixed it.

[Gnarph]

As a small character, you wield small weapons, not tiny ones.

If you're taking Iron Will, put the bonus into one of the modifiers for your will save. Iron Will isn't the greatest feat, so unless you're taking it to qualify for a prestige class, I would probably go for improved initiative.

You may want to invest in a ranged weapon just in case.

Otherwise, it looks good to me.

[Obnoxious Hydra]

As a small character, you wield small weapons, not tiny ones.

The heavy mace is a one handed weapon, which, according to the SRD, are one size category smaller than the wielder.




If you're taking Iron Will, put the bonus into one of the modifiers for your will save. Iron Will isn't the greatest feat, so unless you're taking it to qualify for a prestige class, I would probably go for improved initiative.

You may want to invest in a ranged weapon just in case.


Really, it's just a test character I threw together by grabbing random bits of information and making sure they were correct when I put them on the sheet. I'm not really worried about it's proficiency in combat at the moment.
When it comes to making a character I'll actually use, I'll probably take a bit more time choosing weapons and feats.




Otherwise, it looks good to me.

Thanks!

[Gnarph]

The quote below is from the Weapons section of the SRD. It indicates that the user's size category matches that of his weapon. Also note that a tiny heavy mace would deal only 1d4 damage.


Light, One-Handed, and Two-Handed Melee Weapons

This designation is a measure of how much effort it takes to wield a weapon in combat. It indicates whether a melee weapon, when wielded by a character of the weapon’s size category, is considered a light weapon, a one-handed weapon, or a two-handed weapon.

Emphasis mine.

[Obnoxious Hydra]

The quote below is from the Weapons section of the SRD. It indicates that the user's size category matches that of his weapon. Also note that a tiny heavy mace would deal only 1d4 damage.



Emphasis mine.

Right, so a tiny heavy mace would actually be a light melee weapon for a Gnome? And if I want to wield it normally as a 1 handed melee weapon, it would just be a small weapon?

[Mystify]

The weapon categories aren't stating the size of the weapon, they are stating the size of creature it is designed for. A small creature will weild a small weapon, whether that is a small greataxe or a small dagger.
The physical size of the weapon may be tiny, but that is a separate matter, and normally an irrelevant detail.

[Greenish]

Class skills are automatically considered trained, so wizards can roll on any knowledge check because they have all of them as class skills, even if they have invested no ranks in the check.Really? I never knew.


Right, so a tiny heavy mace would actually be a light melee weapon for a Gnome? And if I want to wield it normally as a 1 handed melee weapon, it would just be a small weapon?Well, it wouldn't change size depending on how you wield it, so you'd have to get one that's sized for small. But if you did, then yes, you can use it as one-handed weapon.


Weapon size categories are not the same as creature/object size categories (a medium dagger is not a medium-sized object). It's just a shorthand for "weapon designed to be wielded by creatures of the given size category".

[Mystify]

Class skills are automatically considered trained, so wizards can roll on any knowledge check because they have all of them as class skills, even if they have invested no ranks in the check.
I'm really sure thats not right. It might be a house rule, but its not the normal rule.

[Obnoxious Hydra]

Really, I just got confused by this bit:


A weapon’s size category isn’t the same as its size as an object. Instead, a weapon’s size category is keyed to the size of the intended wielder. In general, a light weapon is an object two size categories smaller than the wielder, a one-handed weapon is an object one size category smaller than the wielder, and a two-handed weapon is an object of the same size category as the wielder.

So I assumed a one handed weapon would be tiny when used by a small character.


Also, does armour still affect a spells chances of failing, even if the spell is a racial (like the gnome spells I posted earlier)? Also updated my character sheet slightly.

[dragonsamurai77]

Really, I just got confused by this bit:



So I assumed a one handed weapon would be tiny when used by a small character.


Also, does armour still affect a spells chances of failing, even if the spell is a racial (like the gnome spells I posted earlier)? Also updated my character sheet slightly.

No, it does not, because they're not actually spells, they are what are known as SLAs (Spell-like Abilities). SLAs never have somatic (or any other (except sometimes XP, but that doesn't apply right now)) components, so wearing armor doesn't interfere with your ability to cast them. (For the same reason, if you cast an arcane spell with the Still Spell metamagic feat, it will be similarly unaffected by armor.)