# Character Creation Guidelines ## Starting Off ### Choose a Class ### Choose an Origin #### Species/Heritage/Race #### Background ### Ability Scores You generate ability scores with **Point Buy**, then apply a flexible bonus. Ancestries and/or Backgrounds no longer grant ability bonuses. If you'd rather not optimize, or you don’t find allocating stats interesting, there are a few Standard Arrays available to choose from. - - - ### Point Buy You have a budget of **29 points**. Every score starts at 8; raising a score spends points as shown. Spend down to your budget, then apply your bonus. | Score | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | |:------|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:| | **Cost** | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | ^point-buy-costs **Extra Rules:** > [!warning] One Standout, One Flaw > - **One Standout.** You may have **at most one 15**. No score may exceed **16** after all bonuses. > - **One Flaw.** Exactly **one score _must_ be an 8** and no other score may drop below 10. - - - ### Bonus After your scores are set, distribute **+3** among your abilities, with **no more than +2 to any one score**. No score may exceed **16**. This leaves your options as: - +1 to 3 different stats - +2 to one stat, and +1 to another - - - ### Standard Arrays Prefer not to fiddle? Take one of the spreads below and assign the numbers to your abilities however you like. Each **already includes the bonus**. | Archetype | Array | Best for | | :---------------------------------- | :-------------------: | :----------------------------------- | | **Specialist** *(1 key stat)* | 16, 14, 14, 14, 11, 8 | classes that run on a single ability | | **Polymath** *(2 key stats)* | 16, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8 | classes split across two abilities | | **Generalist** *(3+ key stats)* | 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, 8 | hungry, multi-ability classes | ^standard-arrays