Chronicles of Arcania: B/X Homebrew game.

Game Master Peet

Sadly, I received a PM from council GM - he has a new job and has to drop out.

Daniel, are you still interested?

I am...sorry work got me tied up...I will try to get my character together this weekend

I think I am going to go as a shaman if that is OK. I am look at an Atruaghin shaman called Grey Owl. I am writing up his character sheet right now, but it is slow as I am not that familiar with this rule set.

I am looking for the info for a Shaman, but do not see a link to it anywhere......I will post what I have so far (sorry not much) and will work on my background.

Any connection to this guy? : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Owl :)

Anyway, I filled in some of the blanks for you. Other things need to wait until you buy gear. You will need to roll 1d4+1d6 for your hit dice.
BTW, when copying the sample sheet, if you copy the text from the text box when you hit "reply" (rather than the field of the message) you can also copy the formatting (I noticed you didn't do that here).

Grey Owl

Male Shaman
Nationality: Atruaghin
Level: 1
XP: 750 (start value) (+15 bonus%, next level at 1500)
Alignment: Neutral

ABILITIES
Strength: 06 (STR -2)
Intelligence: 14 (INT +1)
Wisdom: 18 (WIS +3)
Dexterity: 10 (DEX +0)
Constitution: 15 (CON +2)
Charisma: 12 (CHA +0)

HP: XX/XX (1d4+1d6+CONx2)
AC: N (9 - [Armour Value + Block Bonus + DEX Bonus])
Progression: 1/2 per level (round up)
Combat Move: XX'

SAVING THROWS
Base: F+3 A+3, C+3, D+3 H+7, W+5

FORCE: 18 = 20 - (Base + STR + progression)
ALERTNESS: 15 = 20 - (Base + INT + progression)
CHARM: 13 = 20 - (Base + WIS + progression)
DODGE: 16 = 20 - (Base + DEX + progression)
HEALTH: 10 = 20 - (Base + CON + progression)
WILL: 14 = 20 - (Base + CHA + progression)

PERCEPTION
Find Traps: 1 in 6
Find Secret Doors: 1 in 6
Hear Noise: 1 in 6
Detect Evil: 2 in 6

ATTACKS
THACO (light weapons): 19 (20 - (DEX + progression))
e.g. baton or sling: Damage 1d4-1

THACO (normal weapons): 21 (20 - (lower of STR or DEX + progression))

THACO (two-handed weapons): 21 (20 - (STR + progression))

ok, so hp will be 1d4 + 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + (3) + 4 = 9

So 9 hp..seems pretty low...

For armor he will most likely have hide and a wooden shield. For a weapon a war club (baton) would fit his background best. He is not really a warrior, but rather a spiritual leader and mystic.

That is where I stole the name, but he is an actual Atruaghin, not an Thyatian pretending to be one...lol

Ok, I will work on his background

Ok, Avatar partially made and here now...

You got more hitpoints than my fighter does. :|

Dungeon crawl... backgrounds don't matter. The dungeon is your cocoon that one emerges from, or never emerges...

LOL..very true..but I will still write something shot up for the other PC's to read so they know where I come from...nothing too elaborate I assure you!

Is there someplace I can read about the Shaman...or is it just the cleric info?? Need to see spells, and special abilities that he would know. Also need stats on armor and weapons....oh, and what do I roll for starting money? Once that is done I shoul;d be ready to join the rest of the party!

Shaman is just a variant of cleric. There are a variety of alternate classes that I have written up on an old word processor that would need to be reproduced here. But Shaman differs from cleric in only a small number of ways:

1: Their spells per day are as a cleric 1 level higher (so a 1st level shaman has the same number of spells as a 2nd level cleric)
2: Whenever they perform any magical healing, they add their WIS to their roll
3: They are limited to only natural non-metal armor and weapons.

That's all.

So the links on the campaign page will have all the info you will need.

Rules Links (from campaign page)
MAKING A CHARACTER
EQUIPMENT
MAGIC AND SPELLS

For starting money, roll 3d6 x 10 gp.

NOTE: you will also need to choose between being a spontaneous and prepared caster. Either way you will know only 1 spell at the start of the game but you may swap the spell for cure light wounds like a 3.f/PF cleric (but not the reverse). If you want to cast cause light wounds you will need to actually know it.

There are only 8 cleric spells per level, so a prepared caster isn't that bad.

Some recommendations for your spell:

Light - can be used to blind enemies or cancel darkness spells
Protection from Evil - defensive buff - the reverse is a summoning spell

Probably the two most useful on the cleric list.

Produce Cold is the reverse of resist cold and can be used as an attack, though it is fairly weak at first level.

excellent..ok, first money...3d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 5) = 10x10= 100gp

Ok..not too bad..will go shopping for basic items...

As for spells, I think light will do...as I can swap it out for CLW, I think having a utility/attack spell will be most useful. I would prefer a spontaneous caster, as it feels to be a better fit for a Shaman character.

Ok, will purchase equipment and update my sheet....that should be everything, I think?

Grey Owl:

1. I sent you a dream sequence by PM. You would have had this dream the night the party took shelter in the ruined temple.

2. I will assume that Grey Owl was weakened significantly by heat exhaustion, but after Thylla emerged from the pyramid with some beetle meat, after eating Grey Owl felt well enough to enter the pyramid.

3. Upon entering the pyramid, you feel a strange sense of resolve. You gain 2d3+1 temporary HP. There is no expiry date for these points but they are removed by injury first and cannot be recovered.

4. I made an icon for your character on the 2nd tier map. Go ahead and move yourself in position. You were travelling in the caravan and already know the rest of the party.

Re: Build:
Light is not especially powerful but is fairly versatile, and you get to reverse it to darkness if you want (though darkness is not that useful for player-characters). For a squishy character like yourself though, binding might be more valuable, since you can summon a spirit that can interpose itself between you and your enemy. Picking protection from evil also gives binding, its reverse. Up to you.

Your Sheet:
You haven't included your Clerical Abilities or encumbrance. There wasn't enough room in one post for you to get the formatting for those so they were in the following post, here: http://paizo.com/campaigns/ChroniclesOfArcaniaBXHomebrewGame/recruiting& ;page=2#100

extra HP: 2d3 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1) + 1 = 3

Ok..changing spell to Protection from Evil..it does seem more powerful!!

Added Clerical abilities to my sheet, reformatted it and just need to add encumbrance.

I think that is everything.....will post in game thread today, introducing and describing Grey Owl to the group. (or re-introducing as we already know each other..lol)

I think that is everything.....will post in game thread today, introducing and describing Grey Owl to the group. (or re-introducing as we already know each other..lol)

One other thing: Equipment

I noticed you listed throwing axes in your equipment. Normally as a type of cleric, edged weapons wouldn't be allowed, but if we assume that these are primitive stone ones used by the Atruaghin clans (much like tomahawks) then I could allow that for theme reasons. As crude weapons they will only do 1d4 damage though. If you can afford it I would get more than two.

Likewise, studded leather armor is not allowed. The best armor you can use as a shaman is regular leather. On the other hand, you CAN use a normal wooden shield instead of a buckler and your AC would remain the same.

OTOH, if you are using a buckler you have a hand free and can reload a sling while using it. A sling is only 1 gp and probably worth getting.

Looking for a replacement player.

Our game has had another player drop out due to real-life issues. It happens. So anyone interested in playing an old school Basic D&D module with some homebrewed rules, drop a line here.

In particular we need a party healer. A cleric, or possibly a shaman (a homebrewed cleric variant - more squishy but also more magic).

Drop a line here or PM me if you are interested in joining.

Sounds good to me. I am still looking through the rules.

Is either a gnome or Halfling a good healer option????

I am looking at a TN alignment.....

Sounds good to me. I am still looking through the rules.

Is either a gnome or Halfling a good healer option????

I am looking at a TN alignment.....

Hello, KenderKin!

We are playing an old-style Basic/Expert game. This means that things like halfling, dwarf, and elf are character classes like fighter, cleric, and so on.

Thus, as it stands now there are only two classes of healer and they are both humans. Cleric is your standard healer, and shaman is a version of cleric that sacrifices some equipment use for more magic.

I could bash together something vis-a-vis house rules for a halfling cleric but that would take a while and I'd rather not.

Neutral is fine as an alignment.

If you are still interested might as well start rolling stats!

LCDM

Human Shaman or cleric sounds good to me. I am a fan of the club, sling and dagger....

4d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 3, 5) = 17
4d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 6, 6) = 19
4d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 6, 6) = 18

4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 3, 1) = 12
4d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 3, 1) = 11
4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 3) = 9

ABILITIES
Strength: 14 (STR )
Intelligence: 16(INT +)
Wisdom: 17 (WIS +)
Dexterity: 11(DEX +0)
Constitution: 10 (CON +)
Charisma: 8 (CHA +0)

Human Shaman or cleric sounds good to me. I am a fan of the club, sling and dagger....

ABILITIES
Strength: 14 (STR )
Intelligence: 16(INT +)
Wisdom: 17 (WIS +)
Dexterity: 11(DEX +0)
Constitution: 10 (CON +)
Charisma: 8 (CHA +0)

A good array. Sadly no bonuses in DEX or CON, but we can't have everything.

If you like you can reduce INT by 2 to increase WIS by 1. You could also do this with STR but I wouldn't recommend that.

You can roll 1d6+1d4 for hit points, and 3d6 x 10 for starting gold.

1d6 ⇒ 11d4 ⇒ 4

3d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 4) = 12

Already started the profile....

.....re=rolling the 1
1d6 ⇒ 3

1d6;1d4

3d6

Already started the profile....

Buried somewhere in this recruitment thread it mentions that for level 1 we reroll 1s on HP rolls. So I would reroll that 1d6. Glad to have a new healer.

Helpful hint looking at your THAC0s you should have 19 19 18 not 19 21 21.

LC DM....

I wanted to make a mystic patterned after the unfettered..(see quote in profile).....We could say vision quest or dreamtime or some variation...

So what region would let a shaman become a wanderer, rather than expecting them to settle down or stay with the tribe???

I am thinking one of these....

Vakian Plains
These plains are inhabited by human nomads much like Cossacks. Their range has shrunk as the desert encroaches from the west, and they are constantly struggling with gnoll raids. This has made them a very hard people.

Atrughin Clans
South of the firth the Atrughin clans have more territory; along the forested south coast more people of the Children of the Turtle live, but south of that live the Children of the Coyote. The Children of the Coyote are an analog of the Apache and Navaho peoples. They are warriors, but respect cunning more than strength. With the desert full of gnolls, orcs, and ssisthik, they know that life can be a constant battle for survival, and they must be smart as well as strong in order to survive

LC DM....

I wanted to make a mystic patterned after the unfettered..(see quote in profile).....We could say vision quest or dreamtime or some variation...

So what region would let a shaman become a wanderer, rather than expecting them to settle down or stay with the tribe???

It's been a long time since I read those so I don't really recall the Unfettered. But a wandering mystical character following his dreams would be appropriate for this game.

Note though that the "shaman" class need not be a barbarian, nor need the "cleric" class need be civilized. Either works for this type of character. The main difference is that the Cleric has more training in arms and armor while the shaman has more training in magic.

I am thinking one of these...

Vakian Plains
These plains are inhabited by human nomads much like Cossacks...

Atrughin Clans
South of the firth the Atrughin clans have more territory; along the forested south coast more people of the Children of the Turtle live, but south of that live the Children of the Coyote...

Either works.

The Vakians, as mentioned above, are like Cossacks. They do use metal weapons and armor and they pride themselves on their horsemanship. They are known as being a cold-hearted people.

The Children of the Coyote are a warrior nation among the Atruaghin clans, and a shaman from there would be valid, though less likely to leave his tribe than one of the other tribes. Don't let that stop you though if you like the Apache. If you are going shaman rather than cleric then this might be a better option.

In either case you can use your imagination to flesh things out.

About your Build:

Helpful hint looking at your THAC0s you should have 19 19 18 not 19 21 21.

THAC0: Ferrous is correct here. Unless you have a STR or DEX penalty you will always have at most a 19 Thac0. In case you didn't know, lower is better. AC starts at 9 for an unarmored character and goes down as it improves. Thac0 stands for To Hit Armor Class 0 (zero).

Scores: Are you leaving INT and STR as they are? You may reduce either of these scores by 2 to increase Wisdom to 18. This would increase your XP bonus from +10% to +15%. However, INT does give you extra languages and an initiative bonus, so it is handy. STR gives you a weapon damage bonus and carrying capacity.

Saves: Assuming your stats stay the same, your saves should be:

FORCE: 15 = 20 - (Base (3) + STR (1) + progression (1))
ALERTNESS: 14 = 20 - (Base (3) + INT (2) + progression (1))
CHARM: 13 = 20 - (Base (3) + WIS (3) + progression (1))
DODGE: 16 = 20 - (Base (3) + DEX (0) + progression (1))
HEALTH: 12 = 20 - (Base (7) + CON (0) + progression (1))
WILL: 15 = 20 - (Base (5) + CHA (-1) + progression (1))

Lay on Hands: if you are a shaman this will heal 1d4+WIS, or 1d4+3 HP.

Prepared/Spontaneous:
* If you choose to be a prepared caster, you start with one spell in your prayer book but can learn more from scrolls. You also add a new spell per level to your book for free. You can spontaneously convert a prepared spell to cure light wounds without having CLW in your book.
* If you choose to be a spontaneous caster, you start knowing one spell, PLUS cure light wounds (but not the reverse, cause light wounds, unless you chose this as your spell known). You could also imprint a single spell from a scroll onto your holy symbol which would add that spell you your spells known. Your symbol can only hold a single spell, unless you find a magical one.

Your WIS gives you one extra spell per day, assuming you are starting as a Shaman. If you are a cleric you won't get spells until 2nd level but you will have a bonus spell at that level.

Gear:
* You will need to have a holy symbol, but you don't have to get the fast pack with the holy symbol; you could buy it separately.
* Holy water can be useful as a material component for cure light wounds; it grants extra healing - see the spell description. You have plenty of cash and if you are only buying leather armor you should have lots left over.

Weapons:
* Your main weapon seems to be a morning star - this is not a valid weapon for a shaman. As a shaman you are restricted to weapons made from wood, stone, bone, leather, etc. Morning stars have spikes which need to be made of metal because spikes made from other materials will break easily and you will be left with a club.
* Any edged or pointed weapon made of such materials will have damage reduced by one die type - so a hand axe or spear will do 1d6 damage instead of 1d8. A stone dagger will do 1d3 instead of 1d4.
* Blunt instruments made of stone or wood do full damage, as long as they are well made, like THIS or THIS, which would both count as a mace (the second one is a native American one).
* My recommendation for your character would be a spear, as it is a thrown weapon as well as a melee weapon, and as a one handed weapon it will add your STR to damage.
* If you prefer swords, the children of the Tiger use a stone-bladed sword called a Macahuitl which looks like THIS. The Children of the Turtle use something similar only it is made with shark teeth. Both do 1d6 damage instead of a normal sword's usual 1d8.

Shields:
* If you want to be able to cast while holding a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other hand, the shield will need to be a buckler shield, because this leaves a hand free that you can switch your weapon to so you can gesture.
* Likewise, reloading a sling takes two hands, so only a buckler shield can be used at the same time as a sling.

Still a work in progress.

The holy symbol (medicine bag) is in my equipment.

I like the stone handaxe (tomahawk) as a nice thematic weapon.

Still looking at prepared versus spontaneous
and spells.....

Ok, still need some final touches.

But this is him....

Translated into common (from Apache) his name is either "The grey one" or "Grey Wolf"

Taklishim Nantan:

Character sheet looks good... I think you are close to ready.

Some details:

AC: 6 (9 - [Armour Value + Block Bonus + DEX Bonus])
Progression: 1 (1/2 per level, round up)
Combat Move: 30'

Since your thac0 for light or normal weapons is the same, you can combine them like this:

ATTACKS
THACO (light or normal weapons): 19 (20 - (DEX + progression))
Sling: Damage 1d4
Handaxe (stone): Damage 1d6+1

Putting the text of the spell on your sheet is not a bad idea. Do you know how to do spoiler tags? Putting it in a spoiler will save space on your sheet.

BTW, when you cast protection from evil you can cast it as-is or reversed. Since protection from evil protects you from summoned creatures, the reverse, binding, summons a creature. You might as well include the text of binding on you sheet. Important to remember that evil and good are not alignments in B/X/BECMI

Also might as well put the cure light wounds text in there as well.

FYI your handaxe is a bit big to be considered a "tomahawk," which would be more of a throwing axe. Nothing wrong with using a stone hand axe but thematically if you want some tomahawks you can go back and rejigger your gear a bit.

Also, if you want a club as a backup weapon they are only 1 gp.

New thief WIP!

OK, it looks like we have a volunteer!
Welcome, "Savannah."

So let's go over what you need to do.

1. Firstly, I see you found the sample character sheet. That's great! Understand that anywhere on the sheet where it says "N" or "X" are values that are meant to be filled in by you. So let's go over those.

2. Hit Points. Roll 2d4 and reroll any 1's and 2's. This will be your HP total, so you will have at least 6 to start.

3. Money. Roll 3d6 and multiply by 10; this is your starting money. You can find gear here: EQUIPMENT. If you would rather not pick through all the mundane gear you can buy a "Fast Pack" to get you started. The three options are on the campaign page and Pack C includes a set of thieves tools. You are not required to buy a fast pack if you don't want but your starting gear should include a waterskin and 1 week of normal rations. You will be able to figure out AC once you have bought armor. With leather armor your AC will be 5. I also recommend getting a shortbow; it is the best ranged weapon you can use. With your DEX it would make sense that you were hired on to the caravan as an archer.

4. "Progression" is the rate at which your saves and chance to hit improve as you gain levels. A thief's progression is 1/2. So you should have "+1 (1/2 per level, round up)" under progression.

5. Saves: Base saves for thieves are: F+3, A+5, C+4, D+3, H+5, W+6. You will see the formulas below for calculating your total save ratings. The actual rating is the number you need to roll on a d20 to make a save.

6. Perception: your perception chance for traps, secret doors, and noise is 2 in 6. You can get rid of the line that says "other" which is for magical abilities.

7. THAC0 stands for "To Hit Armor Class 0." It is the number you need to roll on a d20. Unlike later editions, AC goes down as it improves, so AC 0 is very hard to hit. Your THAC0 for light weapons (including ranged weapons like shortbows) is 20 - progression - DEX, so in your case 17. Your THAC0 for normal and two-handed weapons is 20 - progression - STR, or 19 in your case.

8. Your manipulation is just your thief level, so +1. The formulas below show how to get the the values for specific skills. Thanks to your +2 CHA, Sleight of hand will be your best at +5.

Once you have your gear we can talk about the adventure.

A couple more things:

9. Languages: as a thief you gain "Thieves' Cant" as a bonus language. It is essentially a collection of street slang that allows you to talk with other underworld types without other people knowing what you are talking about. With an INT of 14 you also get one extra language. If you want to be able to read you should take "Literacy" as your extra language. Otherwise you can take a demi-human or monster language of your choice.

10. You start with 1/2 the XP needed to get to level 2, so you have 625 XP. You need 1250 XP to gain a level and your bonus is +10%.

Yeah, I know those are placeholders for values, I just couldn't find anywhere for a bunch of the stuff that you have created. It's... certainly not the Basic set!

Hit Dice: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

Money: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 1) = 5 x10 = 50

Waterskin - 1
Leather armor - 10
Iron rations (1 week) - 10
Thieves' tools - 25
Baton - 3
Sling - 1

Done, out of money. Can't even afford a backpack. So, no way that I could even carry my gear to the caravan in the first place.

You know what, never mind. I'm tired of getting f&$@ed by dice. I've lost interest.

Well, I would have suggested getting normal rations instead of iron rations and saving yourself 8 gp. A small sack to carry your stuff is only 1 gp. Also I could offer you "crude" versions of things which are not as good but cheaper.

But if bad dice rolls are really going to get you worked up this might not be the game for you. I'm looking for someone who will stick it out.

There only be one dice screwed member of this party and that be me good thief. Items can be found and gold at this point is useless. I think the only thing you rolled bad on was the gold.

You know what, never mind. I'm tired of getting f&#@ed by dice. I've lost interest.

:| So he's giving up playing on these boards forever? I'm pretty sure there is some small print somewhere that indicates that the RNG is out to get us all.

Savannah Chevari wrote:

You know what, never mind. I'm tired of getting f&#@ed by dice. I've lost interest.

:| So he's giving up playing on these boards forever? I'm pretty sure there is some small print somewhere that indicates that the RNG is out to get us all.

In other games on these boards I don't have to rely on the whims of the dice to decide what kind of character I'm going to play or whether I'll even have adventuring gear.

A short history of my fun times with dice:
* Playing through the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh as a paladin, I never scored a hit in the entire adventure.
* In the Dragon's Deceit module my average on all attack rolls was seven on 1d20.
* In another local game while trying to play an archer I got six ones in a row on a d20.
* Over in a Shadowrun 3rd edition game with my chums, I couldn't get a single six on 27 dice - four times in a row.
* One of my chums decided to run an old school game and said "We're gonna roll 3d6 and take 'em as they lie. Make the character fit and try to make the most of it." On Dexterity I rolled 1, 1, and the third die fell under the table and nobody could find it, so the DM decided I had a Dexterity of 2.
* In a different "old school" game on a less-punitive 4d6, the game collapsed because I was unable to roll a character who could even qualify for a class, after ten tries.

So you see, if my ability to even participate is gated by randomness, I don't even get to the game.

It's like early Traveller, where your character could die during character creation. I never got to play that game either. Basically it's just something that I'm sick of. It's why, given the option, I tend to play characters that don't have to make rolls to activate their abilities, because if I have to roll, I fail.

Understandable. That's why I don't gamble and the "point buy" system is so popular. It does sound like you could give Ferrous a run for his money for the worst rolls though. Equipment for a rogue can be tough since thieves' tools eat up a good portion but the GM is generally good at working with the players to make things work. For the record, my gold roll was 3 1's for 30gp. Luckily, I'm the mage and didn't need much. Good luck whatever you decide.

It does sound like you could give Ferrous a run for his money for the worst rolls though.

Bah that be true. Although I may be edging him on that average of a 7.

@ Jesse:

I am not minimizing your experience. Insurance Companies and Casinos both believe in the existence of luck, and they are in a position to statistically examine the phenomenon. Casinos actually hire people with particularly bad luck to stand next to gamblers who are on a hot streak in the hopes that their bad luck will "rub off."

So if you really expect to have bad rolls for most of the game, and also this will ruin your enjoyment of the game, then your decision to drop out is reasonable and I understand. Though I have to wonder about your decision to join the game in the first place. I am willing to let you join now anyway, but if you will just drop out later on because of a streak of bad rolls then I would rather find someone else.

"Diceless RPGs" do exist. And if this is a big issue for you then you should probably seek them out. But D&D, especially early editions, depend on the use of dice. I am not about to change that.

Re: Money:

As Zynazyr pointed out, equipment is recoverable from the dungeon. The party has already recovered some crude goblin-made bows.

And as I have already pointed out, you could save 8 gp by switching your rations from iron to normal. The rations are gone at the start of the adventure and there's no need to buy the more expensive variety.

Also:
* I would take a dagger as a melee weapon instead of a baton. Daggers have a bonus on backstab attacks.
* A pouch of sling bullets would be 1 gp. Using normal stones instead of bullets reduces the damage from 1d4 to 1d3.
* A small sack would be 1 gp.
* A throwing axe or javelin would be 4 gp. They can be used in melee if you want. They do a bit more damage than a sling or a dagger. Or two flasks of oil would be 4 gp.
* If you wanted a crude suit of leather armor instead of a normal one it would only be 3 gp but your AC would suffer by one point.

Ya know, many of "us" (general) played of decades with random scores and had plenty of great and fun times.

Just to keep this going...

Position is still open. Looking for a replacement player.

A character with the ability to disarm traps is needed. Probably a thief, though other subclasses also exist.

The last time I played a thief in Basic D&D I made it to 14th level - all the way through the Expert Set. Unfortunately I haven't had that kind of "luck" for years now.

The roll-everything-take-what-you-get-and-try-to-wring-victory-from-it school of gaming has its charms, but I'm generally unlucky enough in games now that it just becomes tiresome failing over, and over, and over again. It also really exposes the problems in random character creation, where you may get something that is just not feasible for the roles that you need (early D&D is really bad in this regard because it's built with this assumption that you'll have the "four food groups" of fighter, thief, magic-user, and cleric, but then does nothing to make sure you get them, or that they'll be able to do what you need them to do).

I was honestly shocked to see a 16 pop up on a stat in that array.

Okay, let me see if the dice favor me...
Name: Brathas
Race: Human
Class: ??
Strength: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 2, 3) = 16 14 Str
Intelligence: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 3, 4) = 17 14 Int
Wisdom: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 1, 4) = 14 13 Wis
Dexterity: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 4, 2) = 15 13 Dex
Constitution: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 6, 1) = 15 14 Con
Charisma: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 3, 6) = 16 15 Cha

Those are great rolls. With stats like this, would a mystic be a better option than a thief?
Or, I could switch Cha and Dex, then drop Str to 12 (or Wis to 11) to raise Dex to 16.
Gold: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 4) = 8 80 gp

@ Jesse:

The roll-everything-take-what-you-get-and-try-to-wring-victory-from-it...

Obviou sly it depends on the style of gameplay here.

Early D&D assumed a very high character fatality rate at low levels. So the poorly rolled characters were less likely to survive, and eventually you would have a "survival of the fittest" effect where the eventual surviving party is made up of decent characters.

I have mitigated the lethality a bit by giving "racial" HD and a few other things.

where you may get something that is just not feasible for the roles that you need

B/X had the Ability Score adjustments rule that allowed you to pull points from one score and put them in another. And then BECMI added the rule that allowed you to swap your highest score for your prime requisite. So this isn't really a problem; you can generally get a character with a prime requisite of 16 or so without a lot of work. And 1e Basic assumes that a character with a prime requisite of 16 and all other scores at 10 is reasonable. But it discourages MAD character concepts.

Anyway, as I said before, I'm not going to pressure you to join a game that you don't think you will enjoy.

@ Aldizog:

Okay, let me see if the dice favor me...

Hello Aldizog!

would a mystic be a better option than a thief?

Good question.

Really I think the decision should come down to which you would rather play. But this is a good score array for either class.

The Prime Requisite for a Mystic is Wisdom. So you could swap CHA for DEX to make a thief or swap CHA for WIS to make a mystic. If you were able to get a high DEX *and* a high WIS then I would say go with Mystic for sure. With a lower DEX a mystic will still be playable but there are some trade-offs.

Mystics are based mostly on the 1e AD&D Monk (and not the Mystic from the Companion set). The rules for Mystics are here: MYSTICS

PROS & CONS:
Mystics:
* PRO: More effective melee fighters
* PRO: Mystic abilities allow for a lot of flexibility
* PRO: Requires less gear
* CON: Takes much longer to gain levels
* CON: Weaker at ranged combat - thrown weapons only
* CON: Lower DEX means thief abilities will be weaker

Thieves:
* PRO: More effective ranged fighters - may use shortbows
* PRO: Levels up quickly - faster than any other class
* PRO: Higher DEX means better at thief abilities like tinkering & climbing
* CON: No nifty defensive powers
* CON: Weaker melee fighter

@ Aldizog:

BTW, if you are dropping one score by 2 to bring your Prime Requisite up to 16, you might as well drop the score by 4 instead to bring your prime requisite to 17. If you can get it to 18 that's even better but if you are playing a Mystic I would leave STR where it is.

One thing about Mystics is that they are proficient in Polearms. A polearm has reach, so you can stand in the second rank behind other characters and still attack with a polearm (though you will get a -1 penalty for cover unless you stand behind a dwarf). They are two-handed weapons so they are STR-based.

Okay. I think thief is the way to go. I'm assuming this caravan was lost in the Emirates of Ylaruam?
Then perhaps Brathas is from the city of Selenica in Darokin. He is a sort of all-purpose retainer for House Hallonica, and was sent to the Emirates to quietly handle a blackmail problem that their ally House Al-Azrad was having. He was to steal the incriminating evidence and destroy it. Officially, he signed on to the caravan as a scout and archer.
Str 14, Int 14, Wis 9, Dex 17, Con 14, Cha 13.
HP: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 2 = 6
Rerolling the "1"
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 1
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Okay, so 7 HP (2d4+2). Will work up the sheet in more detail

Character sheet in the profile.
So I see that we are not necessarily in the Ylaruam desert, nor does it border Darokin in your world. The background can change. But still, I like the idea of a fixer of problems employed by a merchant house, officially on the caravan as an archer and scout but perhaps with some other mission (or not).

2. Hit Points. Roll 2d4 and reroll any 1's and 2's. This will be your HP total, so you will have at least 6 to start.

Aldizog reroll that 2 I would guess unless LCDM says otherwise. Every single HP helps. Glad to have you on board Brathas but that is Fistep's avatar.

Changed the avatar.
Rerolling HP:
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 2
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 1
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 1
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 2
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 2
And again
HP: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Okay. 3+4+2*Con = 9 HP