Before we begin, bear in mind that this presentation is intended for folks not familiar with the system, letting them see how it works, warts and all. It looks and reads way more complicated than it really is - the entire process at the table might take 5-7 minutes once you've done it a few times. It also exposes some of the idiosyncrasies (or flaws if you wish) of the AD&D1e books and their layout. I've tried to hit all the points of Character Creation, even things some folks might declare "optional" (and they're all optional, right guys?) just for the sake of completeness. If I've missed anything, please let me know.
So, let's find out who our Heroic Adventurer will be. I started out by rolling 3d6 and assigning them to the character's statistics in the order presented in the Player's Handbook. Why 3d6 in order? Because that's how the game is supposed to be played. For transparency, I'm presenting the screenshots of my rolls from the freebie version of the dice rolling app I used on my phone, https://www.natural20app.com/:
Nothing special at all about our friend Minston. On the whole, he is just barely above average in a couple of categories, and below average in others. Certainly not an Epic Heroic Adventurer - not yet at least. I'm sure that almost nobody playing any version of D&D after 1e would put up with these stats, but this IS your daddy's D&D after all. Presented in order with modifiers, bonuses and restrictions included (NA = no adjustment):
STR: 14 Hit Probability: NA Damage: NA Weight: +200gp Open Door: 1-2 Bend Bars/Lift Gates: 7%
INT: 7 Additional Lang: NA No Elf, Magic-User, Paladin, Assassin, Ranger or Illusionist
WIS: 13 Magical Attack Adjustment: NA No Ranger or Monk
DEX: 11 Reaction/Attack Adjustment: NA Defensive Adjustment: NA No Assassin, Monk or Illusionist
CON: 12 HP Adjustment: NA System Shock: 80% Resurrection: 85% No Half-Orc or Ranger
CHR: 8 Max. Henchmen: 3 Loyalty Base:-05% Reaction Adjustment: NA
So he can't be an Elf or a Half-Orc. No Magic-User, Paladin, Assassin, Ranger, Illusionist or Monk. His Wisdom is "eh" for a Cleric. Dexterity too low for a decent Thief. Just based on all those factors, I'm thinking Fighter is the only real choice for our boyo.
Next - which Race? Well, any Race is open to Fighters. Fighters can also be any Alignment. Only Humans Fighters have uncapped Level Limitation, with Half-Orc (which he can't be anyway) at 10 and Dwarf at 9 but with a strength of less than 17, a Dwarf is limited to 7th level. Assuming our guy manages to survive lacing up his boots on Day One, we want him to be able to go as far as possible.
Therefore, Minston Diced will be a Human Fighter. Huzzah!
What are his views towards others? Humans are basically neutral to everyone except Half-Elves (tolerated) and of course other normal people (Humans).
As a Fighter, what does Minston have to look forward to? d10 Hit Dice type, nine Maximum Hit Dice, and no Spell Ability or Class Level Limit. We can use any armor, any weapons, oil and possibly even poison if the DM (that's me!) allow it. Potions and protection scrolls are fine, a few Rings, Wands, and one Rod are possibilities, but we all know the Fighter's stock-in-trade will be magic weapons and armor, provided we find any. Looks like the sky's the limit for a Human Fighter, as it should be. I won't go into all the future benefits of the Class (taxes, men-at-arms, etc.) until and unless we make it that far.
Hit Points = 9 - just about the best we could hope for. Too bad we don't have a Constitution bonus, but them's the breaks.
Alignment: Let's go with Neutral Good. Go along to get along type, minimal government and do as you please, just don't force it on me, man! Solid libertarian fellow.
Languages: Common and Neutral Good - both rather badly, I would imagine, with an INT of 7.
Money: 140gp. Phew, that was a big hurdle. Our guy isn't exactly Sir Lancelot in any sense, but without a good amount of gold his start might have been his finish. At least we can equip him fairly well.
Speaking of equipment, the list in the Player's Handbook doesn't exactly provide Amazon-levels of selection. It looks basic because it IS basic, with no bloated tables of gear to over-encumber your PCs with. In later editions, you could get multiple books of gear. As we all know, nobody uses encumbrance rules. Have you seen how many brooms you can carry in Skyrim, for example?
We will be using those rules, however, and we'll have to plan accordingly. Even though the list is small, that weight will add up quickly.
(There is one glaring omission from the equipment tables - no hammer or mallet to drive in those iron spikes. As DM, I'm making a ruling that 5 spikes come with a hammer.)
Weapons - I imagine there'll be a lot of need for them fairly soon. Fighters get four initial Weapon Proficiencies, meaning four types that can be used without penalty. That gives us quite a range of options. Speaking of range, let's start with a short bow and a dozen arrows (16gp total). At low levels especially, being able to start combat at range (if you can) is vital. A Longsword and Scabbard (15gp) and a Dagger and Scabbard (2gp) round out the weapon purchases for now, leaving one proficiency. Battle axe sounds good (Minston was a woodsman, maybe?).
We have 107gp left.
Armor. That's expensive stuff. No plate for sure, not even chain for now. We'll start with good old Studded Leather (15gp) and a Small Shield (10gp). No helm, because Minston doesn't want to obscure his chiseled good looks and flowing locks (CHA 8 but INT 7, remember - not the sharpest spoon in the drawer). This gives us a respectable Armor Class of 6, with no DEX mods.
82gp, and it's time to look at more practical gear.
High, Hard Boots (2gp), a Belt (3sp) and Cloak (5sp). No shirts or pants - real men don't need them in AD&D1e - that's what armor is for.
Backpack (2gp), Bullseye Lantern (15gp), three Oil Flasks (3gp), a 10' Pole (3cp), one Large and two Small Belt Pouches (2g10s), a Quiver for the arrows (8sp), 50' of Rope (4sp), a Wineskin (15sp), 5 iron spikes (with hammer! - 5cp) and a Tinder Box and Flint (1gp).
Hopefully, Minston will be able to hunt and forage for food during his adventures, but let's start out with at least a few rations. Iron Rations for one week (5gp), and a couple of good pints of Wine (1gp) for those long nights around the campfire when he's rethinking his life choices.
A horse, maybe? We'll come back to that and see how much gold we have left after we're done with other things.
So we're left with 78g, 9s, 2c - everyone get the same answer?
This brings us to another consideration - Hirelings and Henchmen.
Note: I'm glossing over the various rolls/modifiers and restrictions for locating these guys just to get the ball rolling. Going forward, as they say, we'll put it all into play as necessary.
Early editions of D&D are *deadly* by design, especially for a solo adventurer. Minston will need traveling companions both for their carrying capacity and their fighting ability. Let's look at hiring some "friends". Because of his CHA 8, he has a maximum of three henchmen but can have however many hirelings he can afford.
We'll have to flip over to the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 28) for this one, since the various types of hirelings/henchmen, their costs, etc. are detailed there. Standard hirelings are relatively cheap physical/minor skills types. Based on the list, Minston will hire two bearers for a month and provide them with 10' poles to double their carry capacity to 100lbs each. They have to eat too, so 1 week of rations each (10g total), and two torches each (4cp). A final touch for the bearers - slings! No point in letting these overpaid slackers stand around while Minston gets diced. They can provide a bit of cheap fire support (Sling and 12 Bullets each, 1gp total).
Minston will pay them 50% above their normal pay of 1gp each for venturing into the unknown (he has a -05% Loyalty modifier, so he'll have to buy his friends for now) and to cover for the lack of housing which would normally be expected. As the adventure progresses, giving them a bit of treasure won't hurt either, although this might not be as important with Hirelings as it would with Henchmen.
Total: 21g, 7cp, leaving us with 57g, 8s, 2c - still a fair amount to work with.
Let's give him a Stalwart (well, compensated) Companion as well. A Light Footman (under Expert Hirelings in the DMG) is a good choice - a capable melee type used to fighting in loose formations and rough terrain. I don't know how Minston KNOWS he's a Light Footman since the guy has no gear. Maybe he's a scam artist. IQ 7 Minston neither knows nor cares.
Double salary for the first month (2gp), Leather Armor (5gp), Small Wooden Shield (1gp), Long Sword and Scabbard (15gp), Low Hard Boots (1gp), Backpack (2gp) and a week of Iron Rations (1gp). This will give a character with average stats (assumed as 10 across the board) an AC of 7 and a decent chance to pitch in during a fight. He's not cheap, but better than fighting solo. Total cost, 27gp.
Now we're at 30g, 8s, 2c.
Time to figure Encumbrance. Only weapons have their weight listed in the PHB - we need to go to pg. 239 the DMG for Encumbrance of Standard Items and Armor - the weights of which are given in lbs. for some reason (I converted to gp below). I've only listed the items we have at least one of as a group, then multiplied accordingly. I didn't show my work, feel free to double-check if you like.
Arrow - 2
Dagger - 10
Backpack - 20
Belt - 3
Belt Pouch, Large - 10
Small - 5
Boots, Hard - 60
Soft - 30
Lantern - 60
10' Pole - 100
Quiver - 30
Iron Rations - 75
Cloak - 25
50' Rope - 75
Iron Spike - 10
Tinder Box - 2
Torch - 25
Full Wineskin - 50
Oil Flask, full - 20
Sling bullet 2/each
Longsword 60
Studded Leather 200 9" base move
Leather 150 12" base move
Small Wood Shield 30
Small Shield 50
Padded 100
Bow - Short 50
Based on the Encumbrance rules in the PHB pg. 101, this gives us:
Minston - 1002.4 (100.24 lbs) <= 105 lbs. Result - Heavy Gear; 9" max movement, normal Reaction and Initiative
Bearers - 199 (19.9 lbs) <= 35 lbs Result - Normal Gear, 12" movement, no restrictions to Reaction or Initiative
Footsoldier - 395 (39.5 lbs) <= 70 lbs. Result - Heavy Gear; 9" max movement, normal Reaction and Initiative
Not horrible. Minston gets and extra 20 lbs. per encumbrance level for his +200gp capacity (55/90/125 lbs. as opposed to a normal 10 strength person) but it didn't impact his results yet. That's good, right?
Only if you don't want to haul much treasure, or if you don't mind being so slow a snail could waylay you on the road. Looks like maybe a pack animal of some type wouldn't be a bad idea. How about a Mule (20gp)? And he'll need at least a harness (12sp), and a few saddlebags (two Large and two Small - 16gp total).
Now we're at 3g, 16s, 2c. That's a bit more incentive to head out and look for some treasure. Parties gotta eat after all.
So there you have it. A fully fleshed out, equipped, and certainly not at all in over their heads group of Adventurers. Well, one Adventurer and three guys collecting paychecks. And a Mule. Feel free to suggest names for any or all of them, otherwise I'll reach into the Random Generator bag and see what emerges.
Next Time: Veteran Fighter Minston Diced and his intrepid crew strike out for fame, glory and gold!
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