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!"#$%&'( $ !*$"$+%#"
You begin playing the B0NuE0NS & BRAu0NS game
by cieating a chaiactei: the peisona you play
uuiing the game.
Befoie you stait, you might finu it helpful to
think about the basic kinu of chaiactei you want
to play. You might be a couiageous knight, a
skulking iogue, a feivent cleiic, oi a flamboyant
wizaiu. 0i you might be moie inteiesteu in an
unconventional chaiactei, such as a biawny
iogue who likes to mix it up in hanu-to-hanu
combat, oi a shaipshootei who picks off enemies
fiom afai.
Step by Step
Follow these steps in oiuei to cieate any
chaiactei you want to play.
1. Beteimine Ability Scoies
Nuch of what youi chaiactei uoes in the game
uepenus on his oi hei abilities: Stiength,
Bexteiity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisuom,
anu Chaiisma. Each ability has a scoie, which is a
numbei you iecoiu on youi chaiactei sheet.
To begin, you geneiate ability scoies ianuomly.
Roll foui 6-siueu uice anu iecoiu the total of the
highest thiee iolls on a piece of sciatch papei.
Bo this five moie times, so that you have six
numbeis. In step 4, you will assign these
numbeis to youi chaiactei's ability scoies.
If you want to save time oi uon't like the iuea
of ianuomly ueteimining ability scoies, you can
assign a stanuaiu set of scoies to youi
chaiactei's abilities: 1S, 14, 1S, 12, 1u, 8.
The numbeis you ueteimine in this step aie
only the founuation of youi chaiactei's abilities,
not the full pictuie. As you make othei uecisions
uuiing chaiactei cieation, one oi moie of these
numbeis will be impioveu.
Youi Bungeon Nastei might instiuct you to
geneiate youi chaiactei's ability scoies by
anothei methou.
CpLlonal: CusLomlzlng AblllLy Scores
1he meLhod descrlbed here allows you Lo bulld a
characLer wlLh a seL of ablllLy scores you choose
lndlvldually. SLarL wlLh an 8 ln all slx ablllLy scores, Lhen
spend 27 polnLs Lo lmprove Lhem. 1he cosL of ralslng a
score from 8 Lo a hlgher number ls shown below.

"#$%& '$()
9 1
10 2
11 3
12 4
13 3
14 7
13 9

1hls meLhod of deLermlnlng ablllLy scores enables you Lo
creaLe a seL of Lhree exLremely hlgh numbers and Lhree
low ones (13, 13, 13, 8, 8, 8), a seL of numbers LhaL are
above average and nearly equal (13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12),
or any comblnaLlon beLween Lhose exLremes.
2. Choose a Race
Eveiy chaiactei belongs to a iace, a species in
the fantasy woilu. The most common playei
chaiactei iaces aie uwaives, elves, halflings, anu
humans. See the "Races" uocument foi moie
infoimation. 0thei iaces might be available, at
youi Bungeon Nastei's uiscietion.
The iace you choose contiibutes to youi
chaiactei's iuentity in an impoitant way, by
establishing geneial appeaiance anu natuial
talents gaineu fiom cultuie anu ancestiy. Youi
chaiactei's iace giants paiticulai iacial tiaits,
such as aujustments to ability scoies, special
senses, talent with ceitain weapons, oi the
ability to use minoi spells. These tiaits
sometimes uovetail with the capabilities of
ceitain classes (see step S). Foi example, the
iacial tiaits of lightfoot halflings make them
exceptional iogues, while high elves tenu to be
poweiful wizaius.
Recoiu the tiaits gianteu by youi iace on youi
chaiactei sheet.
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S. Choose a Class
Eveiy chaiactei is a membei of a class. Class
bioauly uesciibes what piofession youi
chaiactei puisues, what special talents he oi she
possesses, anu the tactics he oi she is most likely
to employ when exploiing a uungeon, fighting
monsteis, oi engaging in a tense negotiation.
The most common classes aie cleiic, fightei,
iogue, anu wizaiu. "#$%&'( aie champions
enuoweu with magic fiom the gous, )&*+,$%( aie
tough waiiiois anu weapon specialists, %-*.$(
aie expeits in many aieas of expeitise anu
skuluuggeiy, anu /&01%2( aie masteis of aicane
magic. See the sections uealing with those
classes foi moie about them. 0thei classes might
be available, at youi Bungeon Nastei's
uiscietion.
Youi chaiactei ieceives a numbei of benefits
fiom youi choice of class. Nany of these benefits
aie class featuiescapabilities that set youi
chaiactei apait fiom membeis of othei classes.
Recoiu all the staiting chaiactei infoimation
anu class featuies gianteu by youi class on youi
chaiactei sheet.
4. Choose a Backgiounu
Youi chaiactei has a backgiounu, a stoiy that
uesciibes wheie he oi she came fiom, his oi hei
oiiginal occupation, anu the chaiactei's place in
the B&B woilu.
You can select the backgiounu suggesteu in
youi chaiactei's class uesciiption oi choose a
uiffeient one fiom among those in the
"Backgiounus" uocument. Youi BN might offei
auuitional backgiounus beyonu the ones
incluueu theie.
A backgiounu gives youi chaiactei a
backgiounu tiait (a geneial benefit), as well as
suggestions foi the skills that you'ie chaiactei
might have. See the "Backgiounus anu Skills"
uocument foi infoimation on using skills. Recoiu
youi backgiounu tiait anu youi skills on youi
chaiactei sheet.
CpLlonal: Choose a SpeclalLy/leaL
A speclalLy furLher deflnes your characLer's preferred
combaL LacLlcs and lnvesLlgaLlve meLhods, quallLles LhaL
mlghL arlse from sLudles, lnherenL LalenLs, or focused
Lralnlng. SpeclalLles are opLlonal, and your uM mlghL
noL use Lhem.
?ou can selecL Lhe speclalLy suggesLed ln your
characLer's class descrlpLlon or choose a dlfferenL one
from among Lhose ln Lhe SpeclalLles and leaLs"
documenL. ?our uM mlghL offer addlLlonal speclalLles
beyond Lhe ones lncluded Lhere.
A speclalLy glves you a speclal ablllLy, called a feaL,
and provldes addlLlonal feaLs as you galn levels (see Lhe
CharacLer AdvancemenL Lable). 8ecord your flrsL feaL on
your characLer sheeL.
S. Assign Ability Scoies
Now that you have ueciueu on youi chaiactei's
iace anu class, you have a goou iuea wheie to
put youi best ability scoies. Foi example, if you
cieateu a fightei, you piobably want Stiength to
be youi highest scoie, anu if you chose high elf as
youi iace, you get a boost to Intelligence anu aie
well suiteu to the wizaiu class.
uo back to the six numbeis you came up with
uuiing step 1. Wiite each numbei besiue one of
youi chaiactei's six abilities to assign scoies to
Stiength, Bexteiity, Constitution, Intelligence,
Wisuom, anu Chaiisma. Afteiwaiu, make any
changes to youi ability scoies as a iesult of youi
iace anu class choices. Aftei these aujustments, a
scoie can be no highei than 2u.
This is a goou time to ueteimine youi ability
mouifieis. See the "Ability Nouifieis" section of
the "Bow to Play" uocument. Wiite uown the
mouifiei besiue each of youi scoies, insiue the
biackets piinteu on youi chaiactei sheet.
6. Choose Equipment
Youi backgiounu anu class both suggest
packages of staiting equipment, incluuing
weapons, aimoi, anu othei auventuiing geai.
You can choose these packages to get staiteu
quickly.
Alteinatively, you can puichase youi staiting
equipment. You have 1Su golu pieces (gp) to
spenu. See the "Equipment" uocument foi uetails.
0nce you have ueciueu on youi chaiactei's
staiting equipment, iecoiu these items on youi
chaiactei sheet.
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7. Fill in Numbeis
It's a fact of the auventuiing life that chaiacteis
get into tiouble. They fight with monsteis anu
othei hostile beings, they ueal with tiaps anu
hazaius that thieaten to waylay them, anu they
enuuie biutal enviionmental conuitions. Seveial
impoitant numbeis ueteimine how well youi
chaiactei succeeus in combat anu othei peiilous
situations: hit points (hp), Bit Bice (BB), Aimoi
Class (AC), initiative mouifiei, anu attack
bonuses. You can finu moie infoimation about
these numbeis in the "Combat" section of the
"Bow to Play" uocument.
3&, 4-&5,(6 Youi chaiactei's hit points uefine
how tough youi chaiactei is in combat anu othei
uangeious situations. Youi chaiactei's class
uesciiption inuicates how to calculate this
numbei, which is also youi hit point maximum.
As you inciease in level, this maximum incieases
too.
Follow the instiuctions foi youi class, anu
iecoiu youi chaiactei's hit points on youi
chaiactei sheet.
3&, 7&'$6 A chaiactei who iests can use Bit
Bice to iecovei hit points. A chaiactei gets one
Bit Bie pei level. The uie's type is ueteimineu by
class (anu sometimes othei featuies). 0n youi
chaiactei sheet, iecoiu the type of Bit Bie youi
chaiactei uses anu the numbei of Bit Bice you
have. (Foi a 1st-level chaiactei, this numbei is
1.)
8%9-% "#1((6 Youi chaiactei's Bexteiity
mouifiei, aimoi anu shielu (if any), anu othei
featuies contiibute to youi Aimoi Class, which
iepiesents how well youi chaiactei avoius being
hit in battle. If you aien't weaiing aimoi, youi
AC equals 1u + youi Bexteiity mouifiei.
0theiwise, calculate youi AC using the numbeis
given foi youi aimoi oi shielu in the "Equipment"
uocument, anu iecoiu the total.
:5&,&1,&;$ 9-2&)&$%6 Chaiacteis act in combat
in a sequence accoiuing to theii initiative. Youi
chaiactei's initiative mouifiei equals youi
Bexteiity mouifiei plus any mouifieis fiom class,
iace, oi othei featuies. 0nce you have
ueteimineu youi initiative mouifiei, note it on
youi chaiactei sheet.
8,,1'< 9-2&)&$%(6 A chaiactei can make two
kinus of attacks: melee (hanu-to-hanu combat)
anu iangeu (attacks maue fiom a uistance). Youi
9$#$$ 1,,1'< 9-2&)&$% is youi Stiength
mouifiei plus bonuses oi penalties fiom othei
souices. Youi %15*$2 1,,1'< 9-2&)&$% is youi
Bexteiity mouifiei plus bonuses oi penalties
fiom othei souices. Wiite uown youi attack
mouifieis, using the weapons youi chaiactei
wielus, on youi chaiactei sheet.
Some chaiacteis can cast spells. If youi
chaiactei is one, youi class uesciiption states
which ability (usually Intelligence oi Wisuom)
youi chaiactei uses foi magical attacks. If you
cast a spell that instiucts you to make an attack,
you noimally use this 91*&'1# 1=&#&,> 9-2&)&$%.
Wiite uown this numbei on youi chaiactei sheet.
Some spells insteau iequiie the taiget to make
a saving thiow; youi class uesciiption explains
how to calculate the Bifficulty Class (BC) foi this
saving thiow against the spells you cast. Recoiu
this (1;&5* ,+%-/ 7" on youi chaiactei sheet.
Youi chaiactei class might pioviue a bonus to
attack iolls with weapons oi with spells. Take a
look at the class table in youi chaiactei's class
uesciiption. If it incluues a "Weapon Attack"
column, auu the numbei foi a 1st-level chaiactei
to youi attack mouifiei with weapons; if it
incluues a "Spellcasting Bonus" column, auu the
numbei foi a 1st-level chaiactei to youi attack
mouifiei with spells.
8. Besciibe Youi Chaiactei
Beie's wheie you fill in the physical anu
peisonality uetails about youi chaiactei. Spenu a
few minutes thinking about what he oi she looks
like anu how he oi she behaves in geneial teims.
It's a goou iuea to take into account youi
chaiactei's ability scoies anu iace when making
these uecisions.
Name
You shoulu come up with a suitable name foi
youi chaiactei. Youi chaiactei's iace uesciiption
incluues name suggestions foi membeis of that
iace.
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Physical Tiaits
You can ueciue on youi chaiactei's height anu
weight, using the infoimation pioviueu in youi
iace uesciiption, as well as haii, eye, anu skin
coloi, anu age if uesiieu. To auu a touch of
uistinctiveness, you might want to give youi
chaiactei an unusual oi memoiable physical
chaiacteiistic, such as a scai, a limp, oi a tattoo.
Note these uetails on youi chaiactei sheet.
Goals anu Notivations
A backstoiy, even if it's biief, can help guiue you
when ioleplaying youi chaiactei. Backgiounu
anu specialty aie goou staiting points foi
thinking about youi chaiactei's goals, taking into
account upbiinging, homelanu, life-changing
events, tiaining, anu the like. You might also
want to uiscuss youi chaiactei's goals anu
motivations with youi BN; talking about these
uetails paves the way foi the BN to ciaft
auventuies that get the playeis involveu.
Alignment
A typical cieatuie in the woilus of B0NuE0NS &
BRAu0NS has an alignment, which bioauly
uesciibes its moial anu peisonal attituues.
Alignment is a combination of two factois: one
iuentifies moiality (goou, evil, oi neutial), anu
the othei uesciibes attituues towaiu society anu
oiuei (lawful, chaotic, oi neutial). Thus, nine
uistinct alignments uefine all the possible
combinations.
Although evil auventuieis exist, they tenu to
cause pioblems in gioups with otheis who uon't
shaie theii inteiests anu objectives. ueneially,
evil alignments aie foi villains anu monsteis.
These biief summaiies of the nine alignments
uesciibe the typical behavioi of a cieatuie with
that alignment. Inuiviuuals might vaiy
significantly fiom that typical behavioi, anu few
people aie peifectly anu consistently faithful to
the piecepts of theii alignment.
?1/).# *--2 cieatuies can be counteu on to
uo the iight thing, as expecteu by society. uolu
uiagons, palauins, anu most uwaives aie lawful
goou.
@$.,%1# *--2 is about uoing the best one can
to help otheis accoiuing to theii neeus. Nany
angels, some clouu giants, anu most gnomes aie
neutial goou.
"+1-,&' *--2 cieatuies act as theii conscience
uiiects, with little iegaiu foi what otheis expect.
Coppei uiagons, many elves, anu unicoins aie
chaotic goou.
?1/).# 5$.,%1# inuiviuuals act in accoiuance
with law, tiauition, oi peisonal coues. Nany
monks anu some wizaius aie lawful neutial.
@$.,%1# is the alignment of those that piefei to
steei cleai of moial questions anu uon't take
siues, uoing what seems best at the time.
Lizaiufolk, most uiuius, anu many humans aie
neutial.
"+1-,&' 5$.,%1# cieatuies follow theii whims,
holuing theii peisonal fieeuom above all else.
Nany baibaiians anu iogues, anu some baius,
aie chaotic neutial.
?1/).# $;&# cieatuies methouically take what
they want, within the limits of a coue of tiauition,
loyalty, oi oiuei. Bevils, blue uiagons, anu
hobgoblins aie lawful evil.
@$.,%1# $;&# is the alignment of those that uo
whatevei they can get away with, without
compassion oi qualms. Nany uiow, some clouu
giants, anu giimlocks aie neutial evil.
"+1-,&' $;&# cieatuies act with aibitiaiy
violence, spuiieu by theii gieeu, hatieu, oi
blooulust. Bemons, ieu uiagons, anu oics aie
chaotic evil.

Foi many thinking cieatuies, alignment is a
moial choice; humans, uwaives, elves, anu othei
humanoiu iaces can choose whethei to follow
the paths of goou oi evil, law oi chaos. Nany
othei cieatuies, though, have inboin tenuencies
towaiu ceitain alignments. Nost gnolls aie
iiieueemably chaotic evil, anu golu uiagons aie
innately lawful goou.
Alignment is an essential pait of the natuie of
cieatuies fiom the 0utei Planes (celestials anu
fienus). A uevil uoes not choose to be lawful evil,
anu it uoesn't tenu towaiu lawful evil, but iathei
it is lawful evil at its coie. If it somehow ceaseu
to be lawful evil, it woulu cease to be a uevil.
Nost cieatuies that lack the capacity foi
iational thought uo not have alignments. Such a
cieatuie is incapable of making a moial oi
ethical choice, anu acts accoiuing to its bestial
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natuie. Shaiks aie savage pieuatois, foi example,
but they aie not evil; they have no alignment.
Peisonality
Some notes about youi chaiactei's peisonality
can bieathe life into youi ioleplaying. Bow uoes
youi chaiactei iesponu to stiess, uangei, oi
moial ciises. Peihaps he oi she has an unusual
behavioial oi peisonality quiik, such as a
neivous tic, a lisp, oi a iaspy voice.
9. Play!
0nce you cieate youi chaiactei, you'ie ieauy to
stait playing. Each chaiactei plays a iole within
a paity, a gioup of auventuieis woiking togethei
foi a common puipose. Teamwoik anu
coopeiation gieatly impiove youi paity's
chances to suivive the many uangeis you face in
the woilus of B0NuE0NS & BRAu0NS. Talk to youi
fellow playeis anu youi BN to ueciue whethei
youi chaiacteis know one anothei, how they
met, anu what soits of quests the gioup might
unueitake.
Beyonu 1st Level
As youi chaiactei auventuies anu oveicomes
challenges, he oi she gains expeiience,
iepiesenteu by expeiience points (XP). A
chaiactei who ieaches a specifieu expeiience
point total auvances in capability. This
auvancement is calleu gaining a level.
When a chaiactei gains a level, the chaiactei's
class might giant auuitional abilities, as given in
the class uesciiption. The chaiactei might gain
new feats. Auuitionally, at ceitain levels, you
choose two of youi chaiactei's ability scoies to
inciease by 1 each, abiuing by the iule that a
chaiactei's ability scoie cannot go above 2u.
The Chaiactei Auvancement table summaiizes
auvancement thiough the twenty levels of
expeiience, not taking class into account. The
table notes how many expeiience points aie
iequiieu to ieach each level. Consult the
infoimation on youi chaiactei's class to see what
othei impiovements aie gianteu at each level.
'*+,+'-., +/0+1'.2.1-
34 5&6&7 8&9&:;)
0 1 8ackground, skllls, feaL (opLlonal)
230 2 -
930 3 leaL (opLlonal)
2,230 4 +1 Lo Lwo ablllLy scores
4,730 3 -
9,300 6 leaL (opLlonal)
16,000 7 Sklll lmprovemenL
23,000 8 +1 Lo Lwo ablllLy scores
38,000 9 leaL (opLlonal)
36,000 10 -
77,000 11 -
96,000 12 +1 Lo Lwo ablllLy scores, sklll
lmprovemenL
120,000 13 -
130,000 14 -
190,000 13 -
230,000 16 +1 Lo Lwo ablllLy scores
280,000 17 Sklll lmprovemenL
330,000 18 -
390,000 19 -
460,000 20 +1 Lo Lwo ablllLy scores