For RPG-a-Day 2026 I am republishing Mirk the Meek's collaborative episodes on different genres. You can read all about that here: https://podbypost.com/nerds/rpg-a-day-2026
But for the blog I will be somewhat following Anthony's lead (read his post here: https://castingshadowsblog.com/2026/07/31/rpgaday2026-starts-tomorrow-my-plan/ )
Basically that means I will post a character on each Sunday of August. this week I will create one for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition.
I didn't say it last week but I am rolling real dice for all these articles, my dice of choice these days are the Official Runehammer Dice Set found here: https://www.runehammer.online/online-store/Official-Runehammer-Dice-Set-p564679890 of course for D10s I prefer proper 20 sided dice marked 0-9 twice over the non-platonic abominations that are ten sided dice, Wondertrail and I believe Koplow make them and you can find them on Amazon or various other vendors online. I like to buy sets of black and white dice and always designate the black as the tens die when rolling percentile dice. They do come in other colors though.
We will be bouncing back and forth between the Player's Handbook (PHB) and the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), I will not be using The Book That Shall Not Be Named (Unearthed Arcana if you must know). In OSR circles there is often much fuss made about rolling a character's attributes "3d6 down the line" and accepting what you get. Interestingly enough Gary Gygax doesn't recommend that in AD&D, instead he writes:
As AD&D is an ongoing game of fantasy adventuring, it is important to allow participants to generate a viable character of the race and profession which he or she desires. While it is possible to generate some fairly playable characters by rolling 3d6, there is often an extended period of attempts at finding a suitable one due to quirks of the dice. Furthermore, these rather marginal characters tend to have short life expectancy — which tends to discourage new players, as does having to make do with some character of a race and/or class which he or she really can’t or won’t identify with. Character generation, then, is a serious matter, and it is recommended that the following systems be used. Four alternatives are offered for player characters:
Method I:
All scores are recorded and arranged in the order the player desires. 4d6 are rolled, and the lowest die (or one of the lower) is discarded.
Method II:
All scores are recorded and arranged as in Method I. 3d6 are rolled 12 times and the highest 6 scores are retained.
Method III:
Scores rolled are according to each ability category, in order, STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM, DEXTERITY, CONSTITUTION, CHARISMA. 3d6 are rolled 6 times for each ability, and the highest score in each category is retained for that category.
Method IV:
3d6 are rolled sufficient times to generate the 6 ability scores, in order, for 12 characters. The player then selects the single set of scores which he or she finds most desirable and these scores are noted on the character record sheet.
In another place Gary says that he considers a viable character to be one with at least two attributes of 15 or higher. I normally use Method I as it is fast, easy, and fairly non controversial. This time I will do Method III instead, just to see what we get!
Strength 8, 5, 8, 8, 8, 9 for a Strength of 9.
There are no bonuses (or penalties) related to this score. It provides a 1-2 chance out of 6 of opening stuck or heavy doors and a whopping 1% chance of bending bars or lifting gates such as a portcullis.
Intelligence 13, 11, 8, 14, 12, 10 for an Intelligence of 14.
This is the minimum score to cast 7th level magic user spells, they go up to 9th level, and it provides the character four possible additional languages. If the character goes on to be a magic user they will only have a 55% chance to being able to learn a specific spell, they would be able to learn at least six spells per spell level (spell levels are separate from character levels in this game) but are limited to knowing no more than nine spells per level.
Wisdom 11, 12, 12, 9, 18, 8 for a Wisdom of 18!
This is the minimum score to use 7th level cleric spells, the highest level, and the character has a +4 bonus against mental attack forms involving will force, i.e. beguiling, charming, fear, hypnosis, illusion, magic jarring, mass charming, phantasmal forces, possession, rulership, suggestion, telepathic attack, etc. In addition if they become a cleric they will have no chance of spell failure and will gain the following bonus spells every day once they are high enough level to cast such spells: two 1st level spells, two 2nd level spells, one third level spell, and one 4th level spell.
Dexterity 12, 15, 9, 14, 7, 15 for a Dexterity of 15.
This score provides a -1 adjustment to the character's Armor Class (AC), lower is better in this edition.
Constitution 6, 12, 8, 10, 11, 11 for a Constitution of 12.
This score give the character a System Shock Survival chance of 80% and a Resurrection Survival chance of 85%.
Charisma 14, 14, 8, 7, 9, 12 for a Charisma of 14.
This score allows the character to have a maximum of six henchmen at any one time, a 5% bonus to base loyalty of hirelings, and a 10% positive reaction bonus when meeting and dealing with people or creatures encountered.
As you can see even using this method I barely got the two attributes of 15 or over that Gary recommends! That probably says more about my luck with dice, see Major Jazon Smasher from last week, than the die rolling method...
According to the PHB the next step is to pick our character's race (more accurately their species) and there are a number of options. In the base game you can play dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, halflings, half-orcs and humans. This list will be expanded on in later books but we are sticking with the core books today. Before we pick we should think about what class we want to be as not all species qualify for all classes, something else that would change in future books and editions.
Considering the attributes rolled the character qualifies for the following classes: cleric (principle attribute Wisdom), fighter (principle attribute Strength), magic user (principle attribute Intelligence), and thief (principle attribute Dexterity). The scores rolled are not good enough to be a druid, paladin, ranger, illusionist, assassin or monk. Cleric makes the most sense with a Wisdom of 18 as even the next highest score of 15 in Dexterity does not give an substantial bonuses to be being a thief.
Looking back at the options we see that only half-elves, half-orcs and humans can be clerics and the former two are limited to advancing to 5th and 4th level respectively. Now both half-elves and half-orcs can Multi-Class, meaning they can be two or three classes at once which has the advantage of making them more versatile at the expense of much slower level advancement. That could be attractive but I think the level limits for the cleric class are too low to make it an attractive option. This will be a human.
Humans are not allowed to Multi-Class in this edition but they can be a "character with two classes." Basically that means they will advance in one class for a time and then switch to a second class and advance in it. They can't go back to the first after the switch or go on to a third but it does allow class combinations that even Multi-Classing does not. The requirements are a 15 in the principle attribute for the first class and an 18 in the principle attribute for the second class. That means if I go this route the character would start as a thief and later on switch to being a cleric. Realistically they would probably need to get to 6th or 7th level to really benefit from the thief abilities and then they would have to get past that level before gaining hit points as a cleric and being able to use abilities from both classes. You see once you switch to the second class you cannot use any abilities from your first class until you pass that level in your new class. In a solo game that might be interesting and worthwhile but I am not going to go that route today.
So we have a human. The next step is to pick a class and that will be cleric, a holy priest of some sort that is a decent fighter, can cast spells, and has power over some of the fiercest foes you will face in this game, the undead. Clerics use a d8 for their hit dice, can use any type of armor or shield, they are limited to blunt weapons (club, flail, hammer, mace, and staff in the core books), they are allowed to use oil (flaming) but will never use poison unless of an evil alignment and the referee allows it. Their primary attribute is Wisdom and because our character has a score over 15 they get to add a 10% bonus to any Experience Points they earn.
Let's switch to the DMG to determine some other character details. First will be their secondary skill, this a skill they learned growing up prior to becoming a cleric. A roll of 46 gives us Navigator (fresh or salt). So possibly they grew up on the coast or on a river or large lake. Very possibly that also means they will follow a sea god of some sort.
Next we will determine starting age, height and weight. A human cleric's starting age is 18+1d4, I rolled a 3 for 21 years old. That makes them Mature and now we will do some attribute adjustments. The age categories are Young Adult, Mature, Middle Aged, Old, and Venerable. There are modifies for each and you apply them progressively with the following caveat:
adjustments cannot exceed racial maximums nor can they be used if they cause abilities to exceed stated maximums. Likewise, any adjustments cannot lower any ability below racial or class minimums.
At Young Adult we subtract a point of Wisdom and add a point of Constitution. That adjusts them to 17 and 13 respectively. Fear not because the Mature category than adds a point of Strength and Wisdom bringing the Strength up to 10 and the Wisdom back up to 18. We are now done as they won't reach Middle Aged until they are 40 years old.
These adjustments result in increasing our bend bars/lift gates chance from 1% to 2%, the System Shock Survival roll from 80% to 85% and the Resurrection Survival roll from 85% to 90%.
For height and weight we will use the NPC Height and Weight Tables. Let's give a 50/50 chance of male or female. I rolled a 2 on a d6 so they are male. Next for height I rolled a 86 which is taller than average, followed by a 9, on a d12, for a height of 81" or 6' 9" he is a tall one! Next for weight I rolled a 04 for below average weight followed by 22 (on 3d12) for weight of 153 pounds, Ichabod Crane is that you?
The next step is to pick an Alignment. AD&D uses a nine point alignment system as shown below:
Lawful Good: While as strict in their prosecution of law and order, characters of lawful good alignment follow these precepts to improve the common weal. Certain freedoms must, of course, be sacrificed in order to bring order; but truth is of highest value, and life and beauty of great importance. The benefits of this society are to be brought to all.
and the DMG expands on that with:
LAWFUL GOOD: Creatures of lawful good alignment view the cosmos with varying degrees of lawfulness or desire for good. They are convinced that order and law are absolutely necessary to assure good, and that good is best defined as whatever brings the most benefit to the greater number of decent, thinking creatures and the least woe to the rest.
Seems like a good stance for a priest and using a little inside knowledge it also will be beneficial as we go through modules and meet various non-player characters (NPCs) and find magic items as they are weighed more toward this Alignment. At this point it would be appropriate to pick the character's religion and deity (or deities) but let's hold off for now.
No need to pick spells at this point, a cleric is able to cast any spells of a level they have access to, they just pray to their deity each day for the number they are allowed to memorize. For our first level cleric that would be three 1st level spells, not too shabby.
We can also turn the undead, basically that means they will run away from the cleric. The chart in the DMG tells us that on a d20 the 1st level cleric can turn a skeleton on a roll of 10 or higher, a zombie on 13 or higher, a ghoul on 16 or higher, a shadow on 19 or higher, and that they need a 20 to turn a wight. These numbers will improve dramatically as they increase in level.
After picking an Alignment we roll for our Hit Points. WOW!! I rolled an 8, lucky day!
At this point the PHB tells us:
ESTABLISHING THE CHARACTER
By determining abilities, race, class, alignment, and hit points you have created your character. Next you must name him or her, and possibly give some family background (and name a next of kin as heir to the possessions of the character if he or she should meet an untimely death) to personify the character. Having done all that, your Dungeon Master will introduce your character to the campaign setting. In all likelihood, whether the locale is a village, town, or city, your character will have to acquaint himself or herself with the territory.
The first step will often be getting into the place, i.e. a gate guard demanding to know what business you have in the town or city. Thereafter it will be necessary to locate a safe and reasonably priced place in which to lodge — typically an inn of some sort, but perhaps a rented cot, a loft or even chambers at a hostel. Since the location selected will have to serve as base and depot, it must be relatively safe from intrusion or burglary. Once a headquarters has been found, your character can set about learning the lay of the land, and attempt to find the trade establishments needed to supply the desired equipment for adventuring. Perhaps it will also be necessary to locate where other player characters reside in order to engage in joint expeditions.
In any event, your character created, personified, and established will be ready to adventure once equipment is purchased and relations with other player characters are settled. If player characters are not immediately available, or if they are not co-operative, it is advisable that men-at-arms be hired. Hirelings of this sort, as well as henchmen (q.v.), are detailed in the sections entitled HIRELINGS and HENCHMEN.
But we aren't actually done! We have to determine languages, starting money and buy equipment.
They start knowing Common and their Alignment Langauge of Lawful Good. The books strongly suggest they learn the other possible languages as the game progresses but since there is a table to generate languages for NPCs we'll just roll on that four times. 35, 53, 30, 22. That gives us Storm Giant, Kobold, Frost Giant, and Elvish. Interesting mix, I'd say that indicates our character is from the north and maybe was fostered by giants (or at least friendly with them) due to his height.
For starting money we roll 3d6 x 10 for the amount of gold pieces he starts with. 6 for 60 g.p., unfortunate as that will limit the armor choices, probably to Ring Mail. I'm not going to buy equipment but they will definitely need to be frugal until they earn, or find, some gold.
There are random tables to determine NPC personae and although the DMG recommends against using them for player characters lets do it anyway to see what we get. The first table is Alignment and I rolled a 10 which is neutral, since neutral clerics have to be druids and he doesn't qualify it is just as good that we aren't using this. Next is Possessions (or wealth), I rolled a 4 which is average. That tracks.
Now we have two tables for Appearance, I rolled 10 and 2 meaning they appear ancient but clean. Maybe they have an early receding hairline and unnatural wrinkles? Sanity is next, 7 tells us he is neurotic which may explain the older than natural appearance!
For General Tendencies we roll a d12 and a d6, 14 tells us he is perceptive. For Personality we roll two d8s, 5, 4 which is extroverted and blustering. His Disposition is 8, hot tempered. For Nature we get 6, vengeful! I rolled a 5 for Honesty which is average and for Energy I rolled a 3 for normal. Next we have Morals, 5 is lusty! A 4 tells us his Intellect is active. For Materialism I roll a 2 for intellectualist. Bravery is 8, craven (oh no!), Thrift is 5, average and lastly his Piety is 3, pious.
Last we roll for Interests, 6 is husbandry.
You can see why they don't recommend those tables for player characters, it went off the rails pretty quickly as we ended up with a cleric of average wealth who appears ancient but clean. He is neurotic, perceptive, extroverted and blustering with a hot tempered disposition. He has a vengeful nature, is of average honesty but is pious. An intellectualist he is also lusty and craven! He has a normal amount of energy and thriftiness as well as an active intellect. Finally he has an interest in husbandry. That would be quite the handful to role play!
So skipping that last section as Gary wisely tells us to let me put everything together in a more narrative fashion. I suppose we should name him as well. Considering what we have revealed I'll give him a Nordic name, Magni the Keen-eyed.
Magni was born in the far north to a trader who travelled the seas. Magni quickly shot up to an unnatural height and was shunned by others in the village. His father had made friends with storm giants that he traded with and Magni was able to spend his adolescent years with them studying the lore of their gods. Upon coming of age he was sent back to the world of men with the hope of improving relations between men and giants, or at least convincing men to stay out of the giant's affairs.
Mechanically he looks like this:
Magni the Keen -eyed, Lawful Good Human Cleric, 1st level, 0 XP (10% XP bonus)
Str 10 Int 14 Wis 18 Dex 15 Con 13 Cha 14
Hit Points 8 AC 5 (assuming Ring Mail, a shield and his Dex bonus)
Spells 3 1st level.
That is all for this week, see you next Sunday, 16 August, when I create a character for Marvel Super Heroes!
