THrs Is YouR LIFE
The cha racte r c reation rules in the P layer's H andbook
provide all the information you need to de fine your cha r-
acte r in preparation for a life of adventuring. Wha t they
don't do is account for all the circumstances tha t shape d
your c haracter during the year s between your birth and
the start of your career as a membe r of a class.
What did your cha racter accomplis h or expe rience be-
fore deciding to become a n adventurer? Wha t wer e the
circumstances of your birth? How large is your family,
and what sorts of relationships do you have with your
re latives? Which people we r e the greatest influe nces o n
you during your formative years, for bette r o r worse?
To a nswer these questio ns and more, you can use
the tables a nd the a dvice in this section to compose a
well-developed backstory for your character-an a u to-
biography of sorts - tha t you can use to inform how you
role play the ch arac ter. Your DM can draw from this m a-
te ria l as the campa ign proceeds, c reating situations and
scenarios that build off your previo us life experiences.
IDEAS, NOT RULES
Even though these pages a r e full o f tables and die rolls,
they don't make up a rules syste m- in fact, the opposite
is true. You can use as much o r as little of this material
as you desire, and you can ma ke decisions in a ny or-
de r you want.
For instance, you migh t oot want these tables to he lp
you decid e who your parents and siblings are, because
that's among the informa tion you've already come up
with. But you can s till use othe r parts, s uc h as the sec-
ti o n on life events, to provide adde d depth and detail.
How AND WHEN TO USE THE TABLES
U you're comfortable with letting the dice decide a cer -
tain fact about your c haracter, go a head and ro ll. If not,
you can take charge and make the decision, choos ing
from among the possibilities on a table. Of course, you
also have the optio n o f dis regarding the result of a die
roll if it conflicts with a nother result. Like wise, if the
text instruc ts yo u to roll o n a table, that's not meant to
be ta ke n lite r ally. You can a lways make your own choice.
Althoug h these ta bles are meant to augment the
s tep-by-step character creation process in the Player's
Handbook, they don't occupy a specific place in that pro-
cess. You can use some of t he m early on- for instance,
it's possible to de termine your parents and othe r family
m embe rs immediately after deciding your character's
race-but you could a lso wait until la ter in the process.
You might prefer t o establis h more facts a bout your
c h aracter 's gam e identity-suc h as your class, a bility
scores, and alignme nt-before s upple m enting that infor-
mation w ith w ha t's offe re d he re.
SECTION BY SECTION
This m a teria l is divided into four sections, each address-
ing a different aspect of your character's backstor y.
Origins. To find out who and w he r e you came from,
use the "Origins" section. Whe n you're done, you will
have a summary of facts about your parents, your s ib-
lings, a nd t he circumstances under which you gr ew up.
A YOUNG STREET URCHI N P ILFERS A P OUCH ANO, TO HER
SURPRISE, BECOMES THE NEW OWNER OF A SPELLBOOI<Personal Decisions. After you have selected your
c haracter's bac kground and class, use the appro-
priate tables to determine how you cam e to make
those c hoices.
Life Events. Your character's existence until now, no
matter how brief or uneventful, has been marked by oneo r more life events-me m or able happenings that have
had an effect on w h o you are today.
Supplemental Tables. Your life has intersected with
the lives of plenty of other people, all the way from your
infancy to today. When a result mentions s uch a person,
you can use the supplemental tables (page 72) to add
needed details- s uc h as race, class, or occupation- to
that person. Some tables in the other sections direct you
to one or more of the supple mental tables, and you can
a lso use the m any othe r time you see fit.ORIGINS
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The usual first step in c reating your character's life story
is to determine your early circumstances. Who were
your parents? Where were you born? Did you have a ny
siblings? Who raised you? You can address these ques-
ti o ns by using the following tables.PARENTS
You had p a rents, of course, even if t hey didn't r a ise you.
To determine what you know about these people, usethe Parents table. If you want, you can roll sep a rately on
the table for your mother and your father. Use t he sup-
ple m enta l tables as desired (particularly Class, Occupa-
tion, and Alignment) to learn more about your parents.CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER OPTTONS