Now, with DnD Next, I have some options. First level characters don’t always get to choose their class specialization right off the bat. That typically happens at third level. As such, we’re just going off customizing a Level One PC (player character). We already know we want a Halfling Barbarian, so let’s get the class/race features down first.
A Note on Terms: Advantage means you roll a d20 twice and take the best number. Disadvantage means roll twice and take the lowest number. You may take one Bonus Action per turn if you have abilities that allow such a thing. Resistance means you take half damage from that kind of damage. Proficiency means you add your level’s Proficiency Bonus to your roll. At level one, this is a +2.
Halfling
- +2 to Dexterity Ability Score
- Small size
- 25 ft. walking speed
- Lucky: You get a single reroll of any die that comes up 1. You have to keep the second roll.
- Brave: You have Advantage on all rolls to resist Fear.
- Nimbleness: You can freely move through the space of any creature a size larger than you.
- Languages Known: Halfling and Common
Now we choose sub-race. Halfings can choose between Stout and Lightfoot. Stout are tough, Lightfoot are naturally charismatic and sneaky. We’ll be going Stout. So we also add to our features list
- Constitution +1
- Poison resistance (half damage) as well as Advantage on poison saving throws.
Barbarian
Now, we’ll add our Barbarian 1st level goodies into the mix.- Our Hit Die is a d12. (We’ll roll one of these every time we level up and add it to our hit points. Also, our initial HP is equal to our Hit Die max (12) + our Constitution modifier. One more reason to be Stout.
- You’re proficient in Light Armor, Medium Armor, and Shields.
- Also proficient in all Simple and Martial weapons. (Essentially the entirety of our starter weapons catalog.)
- You have no tool proficiency.
- You have proficiency in both Strength and Constitution saving throws.
Now we get to pick two skills from a list of six: Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and Survival. We’ll pick Perception and Intimidation. We don’t normally get any social bonuses other than this for our Barbarian and so Intimidation could save our butt. Also, Perception is a relatively difficult skill to gain proficiency with and is very important.
Now, for starting equipment, we get to choose between a Greataxe or any other Martial weapon. We’ll take a Warhammer instead. Halflings, being Small in size, have Disadvantage when wielding Heavy weapons. Warhammers can at least be wielded two-handed for d10 damage. Not a bad deal and we’re still proficient in it. We also get to choose between having two handaxes or any simple weapon. The two handaxes will work fine. Dual-wielding in this edition is very easy. It lets you take a Bonus Action to make a second attack once per turn. There are Feats and Fighting Styles that can make it even more effective, but that’s beyond our scope here. They do 1d6 slashing damage and we can use them as throwing weapons that can be thrown 20 ft. without penalty or 60 ft. with Disadvantage. We also get an Explorer’s Pack (bedroll, rations, 50 ft. rope, etc.) and four javelins that do d6 Piercing damage and can be thrown 30/120.
As a Barbarian, we can Rage. Rage lasts for one minute at level one, gives us Advantage on all Strength checks and saving throws. It also gives us Resistance to all Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage. Finally, it adds +2 to all our Damage rolls. We can Rage twice before needing a long rest (8 hours) to regain our capacity for Raging.
We also have Unarmored Defense. Our AC (Armor Class, or the number someone has to roll higher than to hit us) is equal to our Dexterity Ability Modifier + Constitution Ability Modifier + 10. Don’t glaze over yet. There’s a handy table to help us. Right now, we’re just trying to dodge the math.
So, with all this in mind, let’s summarize. We have a Halfling who is strong and tough, has a warhammer that looks like a buster sword when she carries it, a pair of axes with dried blood on the handles, and a propensity for Hulk-smashing.
Ability Scores
Now, let’s choose her Ability Scores. We could roll them by rolling four six sided dice per score and dropping the lowest die. We could get into complicated math and point buy our scores. For this, we’re keeping it easy and going with the recommended method of standard deviation. We have a 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and an 8 to assign our Halfling in each of her six Abilities; Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The score limit (without serious advancement) caps at 20 for player characters. Every two points up or down, your modifier changes. i.e. 10-11 you get no bonus or penalty. 12-13 you have a +1 to relevant rolls, 8-9 you have a -1. So, we’ll go down the line in order of importance. Portia is a physical person that likes to smash opponents into a fine paste. We’ll give her a 15 in Strength. Next, we’ll give her that 14 in Constitution because she’s tough as nails. Her Stout Halfling heritage raises that to 15 for her. 13 goes into Dexterity, where she gains a +2 from her Halfling heritage as well, bringing the total to 15. With all 15s in these physical scores, she has +2 as her modifier in each. Recalling her Unarmored Defense, that means she has an AC of 14. Not too shabby for not actually wearing armor.However, we’re now left with the weaker stats to distribute between Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. As a Barbarian, living off the land, we’ll guess Portia has decent “common sense” and perception. Thus, we’ll give her the 12 in Wisdom for a +1. Now, we can choose between her being less intelligent or less charismatic. Since we know she’s spent some time refining her ability to scare the pants off of people with Intimidation, we’ll put her 10 in Charisma (for a +0) and her 8 in Intelligence (and a -1 penalty. So, while she isn’t book smart, she can thrash you soundly if her frightening demeanor didn’t warn you to back off already.
Backgrounds
Now, the last bit of fun. Backgrounds. Backgrounds let us choose a bit of history, and if we want, randomly pick a personality for our character. We can choose from Acolyte, Charlatan, Criminal, Entertainer, Folk Hero, Guild Artisan, Hermit, Noble, Outlander, Sage, Sailor, Soldier. While I would normally pick something like Outlander or Folk Hero for a Barbarian, let’s have some fun and assume our Halfling Barbarian is actually a Charlatan; a con artist familiar with running scams and forging documents. How else would Portia wander through borders so freely?
Now, Charlatan gives Portia a second identity as well as the ability to forge whatever papers for that ability she needs as long as she has seen the handwriting and document type necessary before. She also gains proficiency in the skills Sleight of Hand and Deception, as well as disguise and forgery kits. She also has on her person a set of expensive clothes, a gaming set weighted for cheating or the signet ring of imaginary royalty, and other artifacts for pulling her con of choice, and 10 gold pieces.
Speaking of which, let’s roll a d6 and see what her preferred con is. Our d6 rolled a 1 meaning… Portia prefers to cheat at games of chance. Next, we’ll roll a d8 for her defining Trait, and well as three d6s for her Bond, Ideal, and Flaw.
d8 = 3. Her personality Trait declares that Portia prefers to try to use flattery to get what she wants first.
d6 = 4. Her Ideal states that she believes in creativity. She believes in never running the same con twice.
d6 = 5. Her Bond reveals that someone powerful killed a loved one of Portia’s and that she means to have revenge soon.
d6 = 2. Portia’s Flaw shows that she is always in debt. Her taste for decadent luxuries keeps her spending wealth long before she’s ever acquired it.
Now, we could go into further numerical detail on weapon attacks, Initiative, and exact damage numbers, but this is a pretty damn good example of what DnD Next excels at; giving you a character to play. After all, we’ve just met Portia Gallowsgreen, a Halfling gambler with expensive tastes, deceptive manners, an axe to grind, and enough muscle to back it all up. I’ll do my best to answer if you have any questions.
