Our first session will be focused on character creation, but those of you familiar with D&D can feel free to build your characters in advance.  Even if you're not familiar with the mechanics of D&D, you can use the guidelines below to get an idea of what kind of character you might want to play.

If you don't have the Player's Handbook (PHB) for Fifth Edition (5E) available and you want one, let me know and I can get you a PDF copy.

For our first few game sessions, I'm going to restrict characters to the races, classes, traits, spells, weapons, and other features found in the Player's Handbook.  5E is new enough that there are few other options anyway, but I want to keep things simple until everyone gets a good feel for the new system.


Races
The campaign takes place in the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms in the general vicinity of Waterdeep.  If you've played Lords of Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, or Icewind Dale, they all take place in this same general part of the world.  You can play any race from the PHB, but be aware you may have some difficulty if you play an Orc or Tiefling because these races are generally poorly received by commoners living in this region.  Half-Orcs may also catch some flack, but much less than full-on Orcs.  Dragonborn are often regarded as freaks, but don't necessarily elicit the same hatred that orcs and tiefling do.


Classes
All classes in the PHB are open.  It's in the players' best interests to build a team consisting of a homogeneous blend of characters.  You'll want at least one good melee tank such as a barbarian, fighter, or paladin to keep the bad guys occupied and soak up some damage.  You'll also want one good spellcaster such as a wizard, sorcerer, or warlock.  Most importantly, you absolutely want to have at least one solid healer (e.g. cleric, druid, etc.).  If the DM is rolling well, a squishy character like a wizard can get knocked unconscious (0 hit points) in a single hit, and you're going to need a healer to get them back on their feet.


Languages
If your race, class, or background permits you to choose an additional language, please select a standard language (PHB page 123).  If you really want your character to know an exotic language, make sure your background justifies it.


Equipment
You may choose the standard equipment package listed for your class, or you may instead take the starting gold pieces offered to your class.  The starting wealth is listed in the PHB on page 143.  You can use this wealth to purchase any common, non-magical equipment (weapons, armor, supplies, etc.) shown in the PHB and keep any remaining money.


I will update this post in the coming days, so check back for more!


-b0b

Confirmed players and (if known) characters:

Meredith R. - Wizard
Mike M. - Paladin
Pat S. - Ranger
Meghan M. - Druid
Craig P. - Cleric
Craig L. - Monk
Jerod L. - Unknown
Nick B. - Unknown


There are a couple of people that have expressed an interest in playing but haven't confirmed yet.  I'll update this post once I hear back from them!

Patrick S. - Ranger

Sweet, thanks Pat!

Meghan M. is going to play a barbarian.  The list in the second post has been updated.

Looks like we've got the stabbing all covered!


-b0b

Laura would like to watch it played and maybe come in later.

X wrote on Jan 30^th, 2016 at 4:25am:

Laura would like to watch it played and maybe come in later.

Sounds great.  If it piques her interest, she can join whenever she wants.


-b0b

A couple of quick updates based on the character creation session.  Meredith rolled a wizard (because wizards are awesome!), Craig P. made a much-needed cleric, and Craig L. rolled up a monk.  I've updated the second post in this thread.  Jerod and Nick were unable to join us so I'm not sure what they're playing yet.


-b0b