Building a Character, Part 3: Class
The PH5e has a handy table that describes the class, tells you their hit die, primary ability, saving throw proficiencies, and armor and weapon proficiencies. I'll put that down below, but mostly we're going to talk about WTF all that means.
Let's start with hit die.
Every time you level up, you get to add health (called hit points, or HP) to your character. You determine how much HP you get by rolling a dice and adding the roll to your CON modifier, which is your CON ability score minus 10, then divided by two. Round down if you get a fraction.
Which dice you roll is determined by the class you pick. A Barbarian gets a 12 sided dice, a Bard gets an 8 sided dice, and so on as determined by the chart.
Primary Ability is fairly self explanatory. This is the thing you should be best at, the thing with the highest ability score that you rolled/will roll. The way I was taught was spend the highest scores on the Primary, second highest for your CON so as to get the most HP out of every level.
Now. Proficiencies.
Proficiencies determine what items and weapons you have the best shot of using. These are the things your character is already inherently good at. You get them from your race, class, and background. As you level you get even better at them.
Can you use items and weapons you aren't proficient in? As long as your DM doesn't have a rule against it, then, usually, sure. But you won't get the bonus that will make whatever you're trying to do more successful.
Finally, what is a Saving Throw?
When something happens to your character, they may be able to roll to see how badly they're effected. A high DEX saving throw might get them out of the way of a rock slide, a low STR saving throw might mean you drop the heavy thing thrown at you on your foot.
The DM will tell you when to roll these and I'll tell you how to mark the scores and bonuses down in Building a Character, Part 7: Filling in The Character Sheet.
But wait, there's more!
I found a fun flow chart for those of us who have a hard time deciding what class you want to pick. Check it out here.
Oh, and here's the chart from the handbook. Remember, this isn't all inclusive. The book has individual sections with even more details and all the bonuses each class gets with each new level. If I tried to put it all here this post would be longer than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Let's start with hit die.
Every time you level up, you get to add health (called hit points, or HP) to your character. You determine how much HP you get by rolling a dice and adding the roll to your CON modifier, which is your CON ability score minus 10, then divided by two. Round down if you get a fraction.
Which dice you roll is determined by the class you pick. A Barbarian gets a 12 sided dice, a Bard gets an 8 sided dice, and so on as determined by the chart.
Primary Ability is fairly self explanatory. This is the thing you should be best at, the thing with the highest ability score that you rolled/will roll. The way I was taught was spend the highest scores on the Primary, second highest for your CON so as to get the most HP out of every level.
Now. Proficiencies.
Proficiencies determine what items and weapons you have the best shot of using. These are the things your character is already inherently good at. You get them from your race, class, and background. As you level you get even better at them.
Can you use items and weapons you aren't proficient in? As long as your DM doesn't have a rule against it, then, usually, sure. But you won't get the bonus that will make whatever you're trying to do more successful.
Finally, what is a Saving Throw?
When something happens to your character, they may be able to roll to see how badly they're effected. A high DEX saving throw might get them out of the way of a rock slide, a low STR saving throw might mean you drop the heavy thing thrown at you on your foot.
The DM will tell you when to roll these and I'll tell you how to mark the scores and bonuses down in Building a Character, Part 7: Filling in The Character Sheet.
But wait, there's more!
I found a fun flow chart for those of us who have a hard time deciding what class you want to pick. Check it out here.
Oh, and here's the chart from the handbook. Remember, this isn't all inclusive. The book has individual sections with even more details and all the bonuses each class gets with each new level. If I tried to put it all here this post would be longer than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
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