Woo, day 3 of this challenge for me. I was initially going to do the 4.5e Hack but I would've had to have done a similar thing that I did with Giffyglyph 5e (flip between different books) and that ate up a lot of time. So, I decided to make a character with this hack (be sure to check out my previous post on WotC D&D alternatives for a link!). I remember hearing about this hack while looking into 4e things, seeing if there were ways to improve the game and such. I played 4e about six months after playing 5e for the first time, one of my friends was in a game that needed players and I joined because I really liked 5e at the time and was interested in seeing what the older editions were like. I think I became the most consistent player of that game but it only lasted for the summer, we then started up one of the two longest D&D games I've been in (just over a year).
Alright, so getting started with HoML - it says that the simplest way to generate abilities is to use its standard array and since I want things to be random, I'll be rolling a d6 to see where they go: +3, +1, +1, +1, +1, +2 (it wasn't very random... and I might change things later if need be). Like with SotDL there are six ancestries, so again I'll be rolling a d8 with extras for humans: 7, so human it is! They gain +1 to any score (Constitution would be good), Resilient (+1 to all defences), and Adaptable (plus one Major boon during creation). Let's give him a good English name like Edgar
Next is Edgar's class... I was thinking of choosing randomly, then I figured I should pick something that would use Strength or Charisma but nah, I'll just roll: 5, so Life (spirits and such) and then another 5 for Berserker (might switch CHA for WIS then). All first level Life characters know Commune with Nature and it's an Utility Power so it's always usable.
Strength: +3 -> FORT: +4+2
Dexterity: +1 -> REF: +2
Constitution: +2 -> Hit Points: 18, Healing Value: 4, Vitality Points: 8
Intelligence: +1
Wisdom: +1
Charisma: +2 -> WILL: +3
Size Medium, Speed 6, and speaks Common
Skills: gain Prof in any skill (let's go with Nature), plus Athletics and Intimidate (and from Background, History)
Weapon Profs: any 3 (Damage Die/DD: d10)
Berserker's Class Feature is Combat Trance which grants the Major Power of Frenzied Charge and the Utility Power of Battle Frenzy. You can then pick between three orders - Wolf, Bear, and Boar - I think I'll go with Order of the Bear to go with Edgar's high Strength, so that gives the Major Power of Deadly Embrace and the Utility Power (I think?) of Crush.
Next is Backgrounds, which gives a Minor Boon. First up is the situation around his birth: 2, Adopted (allows the Minor Boon to possibly be Prof in Dipomacy/Insight); he then grew up to be a Scholar (allows the Minor Boon to possibly be be Prof in Arcana/History); he is now an outsider (allows the Minor Boon to possibly be Prof in Perception); his homeland was originally along the coast.
So, how'd I spin this is that originally he grew up in a coastal town in a region like the Netherlands, raised by an adopted family - likely by his extended family. He became a scholar and learned about the history of the area; however, his town was eventually attacked by raiders from further inland and he was captured by them. For reasons unknown to Edgar, these wildfolk as they're often called, kept him around and eventually inducted him into their spirit cults through adorcism. He gained much strength during this time, but still always felt like he didn't belong. I'll pick Prof in History to be his Minor Boon.
I can pick 3 more Major Boons (I think), so I'll pick up the Martial's Axe Fighter Boon which grants the powers Vicious Chop and Menacing Attack. I'll also take the Spirit Boon of Mystic Oracle which grants the power Eye of Fate. Finally, I guess I'll take the Ruffian Boon because it's the only general boon that I have a Skill Prof prerequisite for.
Last step would be equipment, but I'm not too sure how much money he's got... Let's just say he has mail armour, a battleaxe and shield, and basic adventuring/survival equipment. Oh, determining wealth is right after the equipment but it's more so for seeing if you can buy stuff kinda generally like it's "Wealth Points". I guess we could say he's Poor and owes a great debt to the tribe he's currently living with, most of his items would just be things loaned out to him and the treasure he does earn goes to them.
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I think Edgar ended up a pretty interesting character, I was a bit swamped at first looking through things because the book's kinda awkwardly organised (especially compared to SotDL!). This was also my second ever 4e-esque character, and I didn't really learn the rules the first I played the game, haha. I'd probably only recommend these rules to people who are really interested in 4e but want it all just in one book and a bit simpler. Also, I just want to mention that I really dislike Berserker being the general name for "rage" classes - it should be a specific kind, similar to what Edgar ended up being ("Order of the Bear"). I'm not great at names but anything like Rager, Spirit Possessed, or anything that's kinda generic would work better.
For next time I was originally thinking of making a character for the 3e hack Legend and then 13th Age, but I think I want something a lot simpler after this. So, look forward to a character made using Old School Essentials!
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