Character Creation and Balancing

Welcome to Caislin Hallows. This character sheet is the diagram we use across the board to help evaluate how powerful your character is! Now before we get into the nitty/gritty stuff, let us begin with the simple aspects first. Character sheets all start out with 1x Strength, Speed , and Endurance and is considered human with no special traits or qualities. A normal human is someone who can lift about fifty pounds no problem, one hundred pounds with major difficulty, and can run about a mile within ten or so minutes and have trouble breathing. Average (American) human male. Lean build with minimal muscle tone. How we can increase these stats or add abilities/powers/magic/buffs/whatever are based on Ability Points associated with each character. There is only a set number of Ability Points (AP) with each character's level.

Keep in mind that stat increases are always considered 'round off' figures. A 1.75x human strength has the possibility of beating a 2.00x strength vampire in an arm wrestling match. However, a 2.00x vampire can outrun a 1.25x human (speed) on an open plane with no hindrances or problems. Nevertheless, a 1.25x human speed who is used to the Forest can outrun and outsmart a vampire at 2.00x speed who is used to the urban lifestyle and environment. It just depends how you roleplay and use the terrain to your advantage.

There are three levels of characters on the forum. They are listed below:

• Beginner - A beginner is usually considered a student who comes into Caislin Hallows. They have their basic abilities and powers and only have 15 AP to their name.
  
• Intermediate - An intermediate character is usually a student who roleplays at Caislin Hallows for a while (six to eight months) and holds an executive office/responsibility at the school. There is usually a quest involved to gain this kind of ability, and must be approved by all of the admins before hand. Nevertheless, 'Teachers' are already considered at this level. 25 AP to their character sheet.
  
• Experts - An expert character is either a teacher who does EXCEPTIONALLY WELL in their art/craft/power/ability and is usually reserved for high level positions in the forum. This kind of set up is not given out lightly, and currently only one character is considered remotely close to this level. This kind of power is considered off limits to nearly all other occupants, even admins and moderators, due to the significant upgrade compared to other roleplayers on the forum. 35 AP to their solace.
  

This system was created because many people wanted to bring in their own kinds of character sheets without the cost of the admins trying to decipher with 'look and feel' what is fair and what is not. Although this system is very complicated to look at initially, it is one of the only flawless ways to rate a character's performance based on skill level and ability. Keep in mind that we want these sheets to be as fair and as unbiased as possible, but no system is perfect. Try to be open and understanding, because I will list examples throughout the entire article to help explain what is considered 1 AP, 2 AP, 3 AP... or sometimes 5 AP. Whatever power, spell, or ability that is not considered normal strength and speed must be judged with this system. All powers, spells, and abilities will be kept general for the sake of trying to map certain powers to different constraints (which will be more thoroughly explained later).

IMPORTANT

Grandfather Clause:

Since this new addition to the rules comes after many of your characters have been created, then all characters before the posting of this documentation are not obligated to change their characters to meet the new AP standards. However, for those who feel underpowered (and there are quite a few) their character sheets can be re-evaluated and adjusted to fit the new standards. Please come speak with the admins and be patient with this new practice, as it will have many loop holes and flaws that we will need to work out as a team. Only speak with Gunnar, Riley, and Tristan about these changes... as they are the people in charge of this procedure.

Now then, off to determining what costs what...

This is a basic skillset to what we believe costs certain amounts of AP. These will be universal across the board, unless exceptions are made to the base skillset (and this will be few and far inbetween).

Adds AP:

• Increased smell, sight (night vision or better vision) - 1 AP
  
• Breathless - 1 AP.
  
• Regeneration - 5 AP. Regenerating loss body parts within a matter of seconds, cuts heal instantly, etc etc. However, keep in mind this is not an unlimited gift. All powers do take a drain on the body, of any caliber or type, and if abused to the point of God modding (even dancing along those lines) will be removed by admins if an inquiry is needed to investigate the issue and is found in violation of such terms.
  
• Permanent base attribute bonuses: .25x to each stat - 1 point each (per stat). No more than 2x per attribute.
  
• T1 Spells/powers - 1 point.
  
• T2 Spells/powers - 2 points.
  
• T3 Spells/powers - 3 points.
  
  

Subtracts AP:

• Insta-nuked from Sunlight.
  
• Silver/Lead/any common metal.
  
• .25x from any stat
  
• Loss of stats due to "not eating" - supernaturals only (like vampires). -.5x to each stat. - 2ap

We will not accept as subtraction to AP...

• Insanity pleas: Thats character creation plot development. This includes Rage.
  
• Food allergies (goto hell, really?)
  
• Base stat boosting above 2x or below .75x

Some skills that are not considered to cost anything...

• Deciphering scripts
  
• picking open locks (non-magical)
  
• weapon handling
  
• martial arts
  
• Item creation (non magical and within reason. We won't allow stuff like Anthrax bombs or chemical/germ warfare past sneezing on the idiot next to you.)
  

Powers/abilities that will be used as examples in evaluating the strength and potency of magic (subject to change) in order to see how much points per spell that is required. There are always exceptions that can subtract/add to the AP value of these abilities.

IMPORTANT
Beginners can instant cast T1 typed spells in their first post, whereas T2 spells must be prepped. T3 spell exceptions can be made, but must be prepped.
Intermediate: T1, T2 insta-cast. T3 prepped.
Expert: Cast at will (go apeshit).

Pet Costs:
Mundane Pets

• Small Mundane Pet (Ex: Cat)—1 AP
  
• Medium Mundane Pet (Ex: Wolf)—2 AP
  
• Large Mundane Pet (Ex: Horse)—3 AP

Mythical Pets (Covers at least one, maybe two special abilities the animal should have)

• Small Mythical Pet (Ex: Imp[flight, shared sight])—3 AP
  
• Medium Mythical Pet (Ex: Hell hound[immune to fire; deals fire damage])—4 AP
  
• Large Mythical Pet (Ex: Unicorn[Horn for stabbing; glow and sparkles])—5 AP

Pet Abilities:

• Master’s Call: All Pets have this ability. If the pet is not in the thread with the player, the player may call for the pet and it will arrive at the beginning of his/her next post.
  
• Spells: ½ Price of owner having the spell (Round up after final calculation.)
  
• Other abilities, talk to Admin.

Shifting can do two things: allow a character to change form and/or get stat boosts.

Shifting forms without a stat boost costs 1AP per form.
Shifting forms with a stat boost costs 1 AP plus the cost of a stat boosting spell that gives you the same effect.
Shifting normally requires a prepared action but by taking the ability "Quicken Shifting" (1 AP), one specific form will become instantaneous.
The kinds of forms available are not limited to just animals. Other examples are transforming into another race (good for disguises), transforming to a more powerful demon form or a lycanthrope with its various forms.

Examples:

• Shifting to a tiger--1AP.
  
• Shifting to a tiger instantly--1 AP (Shifting) + 1 AP (Quicken Shifting) = 2AP.
  
• Shifting to a tiger with all stats raised by .25x (Multi-Stat Boost, Tier 1, N/A)--1 AP (Shifting) + 1 AP (Stat Boost) = 2AP
  
• Shifting to a tiger with all stats raised by .25x (Multi-Stat Boost, Tier 1, N/A) instantly--1 AP (Shifting) + 1 AP (Stat Boost) + 1 AP (Quicken Shifting)= 3AP

Now, onto example character sheet creation. I am going to take one of my older members, Logan, and show how the new system works.

Example:

Logan (student - 15 AP):

Abilities:
Human: 1.5x strength, speed, and endurance - 6 AP
Hybrid form - Strength, speed, and endurance increase by additional .5x - 3 AP
Werebeast form - Strength, speed, and endurance increase by 1.5x (From base stats) but CAN ONLY BE DONE ON FULL MOONS - 1 AP -An exception that would normally cost around 4-5AP, but can only be activated at a certain time. And this must follow a Hybrid form transformation FIRST.
Silver resistance - 1 AP
True Sight - 1 AP
Increased Speed - .25x //NEEDS TO BE REMOVED AS THIS ONLY HELPS IN HUMAN FORM! - 1 AP
Regeneration - 5 AP


Weaknesses:
Hunger causes significant stat loss - .25x to base stats. Unable to transform when hungry. - 2 AP.
Silver penalty - 1 AP

AP Equation: (Total AP for Abilities) - (Total AP for Weaknesses)= Total AP
(6+ 3+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+ 5) - (2+ 1) =Total AP
18-3=Total AP
15= Total AP= Beginner Level AP

(Template for All Characters)
-Basic Information-
Name:
Role Applying For: (Student or Teacher or Staff. If teacher, include subject to be taught. If staff, include position.)
Race: (Default is Human)
Class: (Default is None or N/A)

-Stats, Spells, Abilities, Skills-
Stat Multipliers: (If you have raised any stats, list them here. Otherwise, they are considered to be 1x by default and do not need to be listed.)

Spells: (Selected from the list of spells or approved by an Administrator.)

Abilities: (Selected from the list of abilities or approved by an Administrator.)

Weaknesses: (Selected from the list of weaknesses or approved by an Administrator.)

Miscellaneous Skills: (List Weapon Proficiencies and/or Martial Arts training here as well as any other odd skill you want to make a note of your character having.)

-Items-
Equipment: (Items your character generally has on them at all times)

Weapons: (Combat-oriented items your character has, also considered generally on them at all times. Remember to note if your character is proficient with the weapon in “Miscellaneous Skills”.)

Additional Possessions: (Key items you want your character to have but not necessarily always on their person)

-Detailed Information-
History:

Appearance:

If you need any help developing a character sheet or just want some advice, feel free to contact me on Yahoo at gunnar_the_gun_mage or leave me a PM using the Forum's messaging system.

Character sheets and balancing as described in this thread have been suspended!

For the time being, players applying to join the forum with a character will simply submit a character sheet of their own design (though you can model it off the old system or older sheets), and administrators will review it and either contact the player or approve it. The only two rules are these: 1) no overpowered, godmode characters (this doesn't mean you can't play a god or such, just be reasonable on how powerful you make him/her) and 2) you must list all abilities (this ties into efforts to prevent godmoding by preventing players from granting their characters abilities unfairly during play). Please do not think we're going to put limits on your character. If we see any red flags, the worst we can do is say "no" and we are more likely to discuss it than just shoot it down. So, everyone get creative!