Page 12 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

CHAPTER 1: CHARACTER CREATION

HE PLAYER'S HANDBOOK DESCRIBES A STEP· ward certain guilds, but exceptions exist. If you choose a
by-step process of character creation. When class or a race that's not typical for your guild, you might
you create a character for a Ravnica cam- have trouble finding a role in the guild- or, more accu-
paign, you'll go through the same steps, with rately, your superiors might have trouble figuring out
the added step of choosing a guild. what to do with you-but that challenge can be an inter-
Creating a character begins with imagining the per- esting facet of your character's development. An atypical
son you want to play. The ten guilds of Ravnica provide a choice can also motivate your character to adventure
way to jump-start your imagination and steer you toward independently from the guild.
certain character archetypes that can guide the rest of This chapter describes new races you can choose
the decisions you make for your character. from: centaurs, goblins, loxodons, minotaurs, Simic hy-
brids, and vedalken. It also presents two new subclass
CHOOSING A GUILD options: the cleric's Order Domain and the druid's Circle
of Spores. Every subclass in the Player's Handbook also
Chapter 2 describes the ten guilds of Ravnica in detail. receives a mention in this chapter, indicating the guilds
How do you decide what guild you want your character where characters of those subclasses might find a home.
to belong to? You can choose one of these approaches: Once you've chosen your race and class and recorded
• Look at the questionnaire, "What's Important to Me?", the benefits you get from them, you can proceed with the
in this chapter. Let its questions and your choice of an- remaining steps of character creation as described in
swers direct you to a guild that appeals to you or that the Player's Handbook.
sounds like a fun character to play.
• Read the guild descriptions in chapter 2 and choose BUILDING A PARTY
one that appeals to you. It's possible to put together a diverse party of D&D
• Read the descriptions of races and classes in this characters drawn from a single guild. The guild de-
chapter. Guild membership recommendations scriptions in chapter 2 offer suggestions for what such a
are provided for each race and class, should one party might look like. Conversely, your party can include
catch your eye. members of different guilds united by alliances or com-
• If you have access to MAGIC: THE GATHERING cards mon principles. Or they could be childhood friends who
from a Ravnica set, find a card that appeals to you and ended up in different guilds, or just a haphazard collec-
build that character. tion of individuals thrown together by unforeseen cir-
• If you're a MAGIC player and you already have a favor- cumstances. The Party Makeup table in this section of-
ite guild, create a character from that guild. fers suggestions for how you might compose your party.
To reflect your character's membership in a guild, The tables of contacts in chapter 2 can also help you
you can choose the background included in the guild's create connections among the characters in your party.
description instead of a background from the Player's Those tables describe family relationships, current and
Handbook or some other source. Also make a note of former romantic connections, random acquaintances,
your contacts. past rivals, and many other ties that form among peo-
ple in different guilds. Let these tables inspire you as
GUlLDLESS CHARACTERS you think about the circumstances that bring your
You can play a character who isn't a member of a guild. party together.
Choose one of the character backgrounds in the Player's Although conflicts among the guilds drive much of
Handbook or another source instead of one of the guild the action in a Ravnica campaign, it's important not to
backgrounds in chapter 2. Your guildless character can let that tension cause too much friction in a party of ad-
be of any class, race, and alignment. At the DM's option, venturers. The D&D game relies on cooperation among
you might have contacts within guilds, or the DM can the players, so it's helpful for the player characters to
invent contacts for you that aren't associated with the find common ground that unites them despite their dif-
guilds of Ravnica in any way. ferences in guild affiliation, ideals, and agendas. Even
ff you want your character to join a guild at a later though some guild leaders (especially the villainous
time, the same guidelines apply as if the person were ones) might talk about exterminating or dominating
changing guilds, as described in chapter 2. other guilds, many guild members have family, lov-
ers, friends, and acquaintances among other guilds.
R ACE AND CLASS Those positive associations can bind an adventuring
Each guild description in chapter 2 provides suggested party together.
races and classes for characters belonging to that guild. The DM can also use the Common Cause table in this
section to find a way to bring together characters who
z Some races have strong traditions that direct them to-
don't know or trust each other.

CllAl'llRI CHIRICfERCRl\!ION II