Character Creation

In the GATEWAY system, the first step to creating a character should be as easy as describing what a character is like to the Game Master. The only limiting factors should be what type of setting or theme the character is being made in. The Game Master will help players in this character creation process. By the end of the process, the GM and player will be able to assign the appropriate proficiencies/deficiencies for character traits, weapons, special abilities, items, etc.

Answering Character Questions:

To get a feel for a character, the GM will construct a few simple questions that the players will answer to help determine what type of character would be appropriate to their game’s setting. This should be an open discussion between the GM and the player to make sure the character fits the expectations of the setting and the person playing.

Example Questions:

What race or species is your character?
What type of character are you? A Fighter, Spell-Caster, Ranger, Rogue, Jedi, etc.
What type of weapons do you use?
What do you think your character excels in?
What do they lack in?
Do they have any special powers/abilities?
What type of background do they come from?

Character Race/Archetype/Abilities:

Characters should be created using imagination and fall into a certain type of race and/or archetype based on what type of game setting is being used and again what the Game Master determines as appropriate. From these descriptions or archetypes, certain traits and abilities can be inferred rather than needing a detailed list of what a character Can and Cannot do.

Character Archetype Example:

A player wants to play as a Half-Elf Wizard. With a few more questions by the Game Master to the player, we can infer what type of magical powers that they might be using. In the game, if the player describes what type of magic they want to use, then it’s as simple as rolling dice for the appropriate Character Trait to see if the magic cast is successful.

Scenario Example:

Our wizard has decided that they are going to use Fire Magic. During their turn, they will describe their magic use in terms of what type of fire elements it might cause, such as fireball or a wall of flame. Then they would roll their die/dice to see how successful it was. We will cover the exact mechanics that go into this further on.

Proficiency/Deficiency:

The Game Master and player will determine what a character would have as Proficiency/Deficiency. A player’s character will be Proficient and/or Deficient in at least 1 of their Character Traits, but are not limited to this depending on what the Game Master feels. (*See Character Traits to the right.)

Again, having Proficiency will grant an Advantage to the outcome of rolling the dice and Deficiency will give a Disadvantage. Players will be asked to mark a “+” sign next to traits that will be Proficient and a “-” sign next to the Deficient traits. Leaving traits blank means that a character will have no Advantage or Disadvantage on their rolls. (*To see how these affect the outcomes of rolling dice, see Advantage/Disadvantage in Playing the Game section).

Proficiency/Deficiency Options:

“+” Proficiency = A character is proficient in a trait, thus giving them Advantage on their rolls. They will roll a d20 twice and use the HIGHER roll.

“-” Deficiency = A character is deficient in a trait, thus giving them Disadvantage on their rolls. They will roll a d20 twice and use the LOWER roll.

__ Normal (Blank Trait) = A character has neither Proficiency or Deficiency will have No Bonus Die and will only roll a d20 once and use the result.

Character Traits:

As described before, each player’s character will be broken down into 6 basic character traits: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

Attached to these character traits are Ability Checks, Combat Actions, Magic Spell Casting, and Saving Throws. See the following chart below:

Character Traits & Corresponding Skills:

Strength (STR) = Athletics checks, Melee Combat, Strength Saving Throws
Dexterity (DEX) = Turn Order in Battle (Initiative), Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Hiding, Lock Picking, Piloting (Land, Air, Sea, Mech), Ranged Combat, Dexterity Saving Throws, Determines Armor Class
Constitution (CON) = Constitution Saving Throws, Determines Hit Points
Intelligence (INT) = Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion, Computer Use, Sciences, Streetwise, Intelligence Saving Throws
Wisdom (WIS) = Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival, Magic Spell Attacks, Casting non- attack Magic Spells, Wisdom Saving Throws
Charisma (CHA) = Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion, Charisma Saving Throws

Using Character Traits:

Anytime a character chooses to use or is determined by the GM that they need to roll dice to make a check for any skills/attacks/saves, they will use the corresponding Character Trait. If they have Proficiency or Deficiency in the trait they are using for the check, they will use the Proficiency and Deficiency rules on the previous page for rolling the appropriate dice. (*These can be affected by Advantage and Disadvantage as well, see Playing the Game).

Other Character Creation Options:

To assist players and GMs for faster and/or more in-depth characters, there are also some other Character Creation Variants further on and an Advanced Play Variant at the book’s end.

Ability Checks:

A player will use the following skills when they are applicable to the theme or setting throughout the game. Examples of what can be done with a skill are as followed:

Acrobatics

Freeing yourself from grapples and the like
Squeezing through tight spaces
Balancing on thin/fragile surfaces without falling
Landing on your feet after a fall
Tumbling

Animal Handling

Calming an unfriendly animal down
Controlling a friendly animal to do something
Teaching an animal

Arcana

Recall lore about magic items, creatures, and spells
Identifying a spell in a scroll/book/item/etc.
Controlling a magic item/effect
Disarming magic traps
Identifying spells being cast by enemies

Athletics

Climbing
Grappling creatures
Going through rough terrains, such as mud, without losing movement
Jumping a certain height/distance
Swimming in rough currents

Computer Use

Hacking a computer system
Implementing a virus into a computer system
Overriding or controlling something that is run by a computer
Opening a door that is locked by a computer

Deception

Lying
Disguise emotions
Playing dead
Passing yourself off as someone else
‘Being cool’ if seen while following someone

History

Recalling lore about families, events, places, and heraldry
Remembering anniversaries of important happenings
Telling when/where a certain item was made
Noticing a person’s origins based on their looks or customs

Insight

Identifying whether someone is being deceitful or evasive in answering
Noticing what a person plans by what they’re doing
Telling if someone is following you rather than just going in the same direction
Getting the meaning of underlying messages

Intimidation

Intimidating someone into doing what you want
Torturing someone
Taunting someone into violence

Investigation

Searching someone (dead or alive) or an area (unlike Perception, this is made for clues or deductions that mere sight fails)
Seeing through illusions
Finding more about rumors
Searching for specific information in a book

Lock Picking

Kind of self-explanatory, picking a lock manually using some sort of tools

Medicine

Stabilizing someone
Noticing a certain disease in someone
Providing long-term treatment
Knowing the body’s limits regarding a certain physical activity
Knowing the dosages and uses for natural healing items

Nature

Recalling lore about beasts, plants, terrain, types of vegetation and weather
Knowing what plants are needed to make certain compounds/potions
Identifying poisonous/dangerous food
Harvesting poisons from plants/beasts
Detecting strange weather changes

Perception

Spotting/hearing hidden threats
Recognizing someone who’s far away
Finding minute details
Identifying a source of a noise

Performance

Singing
Dancing
Telling stories
Delivering a good speech

Persuasion

Convincing someone to do what you want
Knowing how to behave in a given social setting
Flattering someone
Seducing someone

Religion

Recalling lore about deities, temples, and rituals
Performing a ritual per specification
Knowing what would be offensive to a certain faith

Sleight of Hand

Stealing from people without being noticed
Putting something on someone without being noticed
Concealing belongings in yourself
Performing gestures or messages without being noticed

Stealth

Hiding
Moving without being heard
Blending in a crowd
Following someone

Survival

Tracking
Protecting yourself from weather/terrain hazards such as sunburn and mosquitoes
Finding water
Knowing which way is north

Streetwise

Recalling information of underground or criminal organizations
Recalling information of a city or urban environment

Using Gateway RPG for a theme that an Ability Check doesn’t cover on the Character Sheet?

No problem! Simply add the specific Skill to the Special Abilities section for the Character.

Example: A Demolitions Expert might have a special skill for setting or disarming explosive traps.

This would fall under the Intelligence set of skills so you can add “Demolitions (INT) – Proficiency” in Special Abilities.

Some other skills to consider to use just like this: Science, Mathematics, Psychic Powers, Crafting, etc.

Weapons:

A character can use a variety of different types of weapons for close combat or ranged attacks. To keep with being simple and rules-lite, these weapons will be grouped into 3 Types of Attack Categories: Melee, Ranged, and Magic Attacks. (*Bonuses and Modifiers can be added to these, see Character Advancement Options further on.)

Melee Combat Attacks = Strength Trait
- Swords, Daggers, Axes, Katana, Clubs, Lightsabers, etc.
Ranged Combat Attacks = Dexterity Trait
- Crossbows, Longbows, Short bows, Muskets, Pistols, Lasers, Rifles, etc.
Magic Attacks = Wisdom Trait
- Fireballs, Lightning, Charm, Force Push, etc.

Versatile Melee Weapons (Optional):

Sometimes a weapon could be able to use the Dexterity Trait instead of Strength when making a Melee Attack. These are known as “finesse” weapons and fall under items like rapiers, lightsabers, or katanas. A Game Master and player can work together to decide if the character’s weapon can be considered Versatile. They would just want to mark something next to the weapon on their character sheet so they would know to roll their Dexterity Trait when making an attack.

Weapon Damage:

To be simple, each weapon attack should deal 1 Damage. No extra dice rolls will be needed to calculate weapon damage. (*Note: unless modified by a Critical Attack or another Modifier assigned by the GM, see Playing the Game)

Armor Class (aka AC):

This statistic is essentially how hard it is for a foe to successfully attack a character or vice versa. A character’s Armor Class (AC) should be based on whether they have Proficiency or Deficiency in their Dexterity Trait. (*Bonuses or Modifiers can be added when picking up new armor or for alternative reasons the GM sees fit, See Character Advancement Options further on.)

“+” Proficiency = 14 AC

“-” Deficiency = 10 AC

__ Normal (Blank Trait) = 12 AC

Hit Points (aka HP):

Because the goal of GATEWAY is to be fast-paced and simplistic, Hit Points (HP) will be low. The Game Master can always increase the number of HP and Damage values as well to make things more challenging or to advance characters in longer campaigns. (*See Character Advancement Options further on.)

Calculating Hit Points:

A character’s Constitution is the main Base Trait that will determine a player’s Hit Points. After Character Creation, a player can consult the following to calculate their HP.

Deficiency Trait = 3 Hit Points
Normal Trait = 4 Hit Points
Proficiency Trait = 5 Hit Points

Special Abilities:

These can be defined at Character Creation or as the game goes along. A basic example of a special ability would be spell-casting in general. This can be defined as a special ability where the player gets to describe in general what spells they cast, or the GM and player can get creative to come up with spells and mechanics around them.

But be wary, getting more detailed and complicated with rules is less the point of this game. (*The Game Master has the final say and can define specific mechanics to only be used as Actions or Bonus Actions which will be covered in the “Playing the Game” section)

Basic Special Ability Example:

Multi-Attack – Each combat turn, a player can make an extra Attack Action.

Character Advancement Options:

If a game goes past one session, the players may end up liking the characters they are playing with, and might feel like advancing towards something greater with them. Here are a few options a GM can pull in whenever they feel like giving characters a boost.

Add Modifiers: Give +1, +2, etc. bonuses to Weapons, Armor Class, Hit Points, or even particular Skills. These can even be items that they buy as they go along. Players then add those modifiers to their d20 rolls.
Weapons, Armor, or other Items could grant Proficiency or Deficiency: Aside from adding +1 or higher modifiers, GM’s could make items give a Proficiency or Deficiency in something. A GM could even combine modifiers and Proficiency/Deficiency together.

Example: A player finds an ancient demonic battle ax that is magical. It grants him Proficiency in Charisma (Intimidation) Checks, as NPC’s could be fearful of the demonic energy coming off it.

Awarding Proficiency: Add Proficiency to a non-proficient Character Trait
Adding new Special Powers or Abilities: Example: if a magic user casts primarily Fire spells, allow them to start casting Water spells.
Upgrade to the Advanced Play Variant: This variant assigns Proficiencies and Deficiencies into the specific Abilities, Saving Throws, and Attacks instead of in Character Traits. A character could be proficient in intimidating an enemy (CHA) but could also be deficient at persuading an enemy to do what they ask (also CHA). This helps make characters feel more customized and special without overly complicating things. (*See the Advanced Play Variant rules at the end of this book)

Character Example 1:

Dag “Strong in the Arm” – Dwarf Barbarian *Barbarians are good at fighting but might be lacking in intelligence. From this, the Game Master could grant the player’s character Proficiency in the Strength Trait and Deficiency in the Intelligence Trait.

Strength = “+” Proficient
Dexterity = Normal
Constitution = Normal
Intelligence = “-” Deficient
Wisdom = Normal
Charisma =Normal
Armor Class = DEX is Normal = 12 AC
Hit Points = CON is Normal = 4 HP
Weapons = Great Axe (Melee and STR Proficiency)

Character Example 2:

Duke Starslayer – Human Jedi *Jedi are known to be excellent at using lightsabers and have special magic-like abilities through “The Force.” From this, the Game Master might assign them Proficiency in Dexterity (AC) and Wisdom (Magic) but a Deficiency in Constitution (HP).

Strength = Normal
Dexterity = “+” Proficient
Constitution = “-” Deficient
Intelligence = Normal
Wisdom = “+” Proficient
Charisma = Normal
Armor Class = DEX is Proficient = 14
Hit Points = CON is Deficient = 3 HP
Weapons = Lightsaber (Versatile DEX Proficiency)

Creating a Character:

To start creating your character, simply click the following link Character Sheet or click “Character Sheet” from the Main Menu. Download the Form-Fillable sheet to your phone and edit it in Adobe Acrobat.

There’s also Tutorial Video and Free Random Character generators for both Standard and Advanced rulesets.

https://perchance.org/gatewayrpgcharacter-hf