Creating A Character

Setting up

A good character should have some backstory but not too much backstory, you want just enough for the DM to play off of and to make your character interesting, but not enough to lock your character into one arc or progression. The DM should be able to use your backstory as a tool to progress the plot of the main campaign. Your backstory should be something to be included in the story: not the whole but also not irrelevent.

The "race" and "class" of your character have no actual mechanical representation in peridot so feel free to be creative, choose something that fits into the world your group and DM has set out. (there are a few play-styles / methods of dealing damage that a player might lean towards however nothing says you cant do them all!)

The most important decision relating your character is what branch of combat they will mainly use. Your character does not have to explicitly decide on one but choosing from either a magic user or a melee combatant will be an important choice to make whilst building a character.

Character Sheet?

This section will tell you how to fill in all the blank spaces on your character sheet to create a character you can start the campaign with. Your character sheet will also change through the campaign, for example filling in your inventory, changing skill modifiers as you level up and adding new perks.

Stats

Each character in peridot has 6 attributes that determine their general set of abilities and specialties.

THE FUN STUFF

Perks

In peridot a "perk" is an additional (usually passive) ability that a player has. They can be anything from situational stat buffs to unique non-mechanical abilties for the DM to incorperate into their storytelling.

Each player has 6 "perk slots", they start with 1 perk from the list of base perks. As the campaign progresses perks can be gained from level ups or specific encounters. A player learning a new skill ,for example, could cause them to gain a new perk. The DM can add perks at any point they see fit however suitable times are usually important story markers and important level ups.

To make your character more interesting each player can start with an additional perk relating to their character more specifically. 

Perks can also be lost throughout the campaign, whether this is relevant to the story (such as a character losing memories or a spiritual connection) or because the player gains a perk whilst all 6 slots are full.

A list of perks can be found here.

Blessing

Each player has a blessing chosen by the DM (once the player has presented their personal character lore and themeing). A Blessing is essentially a perk that doesnt change throughout the campaign. For example a nomad character might have the "Travellers Blessing": [This character is uneffected by terrain based movement debuffs]

A list of blessings can be found here.

Spellbook

The specifics of spellcasting are explained in depth in this section. 

Anyone with a Major in attunement gets to decide on a spell group to select a starting spellbook from. When creating a character you can choose a lvl0 and lvl1 spell from their corrosponding spell group to start their spellbook. Your spell group also determines what spells you have the option of choosing when you level up.

Anyone with a Minor or Major in attunement also gets to pick any lvl-1 spell to add to their spellbook.

A list of spell groups are as follows:

• Thermal [tree]

• Antithermal [tree]

• Blood [tree]

• Interplanal [tree] 

• Antiplanal [tree]

• Astral [tree]

• Skye [tree]

• Physiological [tree]

• Terranean [tree]

• Pyschological [tree]

• Atomic [tree]

Without a Major or Minor in attunement you do not have a starting spellbook and without a Major you do not have a spell tree (allowing you to learn new spells when you level up). However you can still learn spells through other means.

Starting Gear

The equiptment you start with can vary from campaign to campaign at DMs discretion. Generally, characters playing a spellcaster should start with the basics such as provisions and a few simple items. Anyone playing a melee build however should also start with 1 or 2 weapons of their choice from the starter weapons list. If you feel none of these fit you character talk the DM and use a custom weapon or one from later levels that you think fits your character.

A melee characters starting weapons are analagous to a spellcasters starting spellbook. The attacks of these weapons are their initial way to engage in combat. Peridot has no "attack types" but it does have a distinction between 3 types of weapon. These being:

• Skill weapon (hits based on a skill check)

• Strength weapon (hits based on a strength check)

• Aim/Ranged weapon (hits based on an aim check)