Step 1: Come up with a Concept 

The first step is also the most important, because it affects every other decision during character creation. You must come up with a core concept for your character. Gauntlet Tales accommodates  virtually any character concept imaginable, so feel free to exercise your creative muscles and come up  with something truly unique. 

Step 2: Select 3 Traits from any Number of Themes 

Themes are tools that can be used to imbue your character with life and personality. You can read more  about your options on the Reading Themes page. 

Each theme has traits, which are divided into three categories: combat, exploration, and interaction. Select 1 trait from each category. The traits that you select don’t have to all be from the same theme. The themes that you select at character creation don’t “lock you in” to those  options. As you advance, you will have the opportunity to take traits from other themes. If you like, you could have traits from every single theme! 

A note to the GM: By default, player characters start the game with 3 traits. If you like, you can change this starting number. You might have your players start the game with 15 traits for a very high powered game 

Step 3: Select Stats 

Every character has four stats: brawn, finesse, mind, and spirit. Assign the following values however  you like among these stats: +3, +2, +1, -1. Whenever you make a 3d20 roll, you assign the  corresponding bonus or penalty from that stat. For example, a fighter has +3 brawn, +2 finesse, +1  mind, and -1 spirit. They want to climb a rock wall, which the GM decides is a brawn roll. The player  rolls 3d20 and adds +3 to their primary die to determine the final result (see Chapter 4: Rolling Dice  for more information).

Brawn 

Brawn is a measure of physical fitness, might, intimidation factor, athleticism, and strength. You typically roll brawn whenever you are: 

● Brutish and strong. 

● Straightforward and direct. 

● Physically powerful. 

● Intimidating. 

Finesse 

Finesse relates to agility, grace, subtlety, precision, and speed. You typically roll finesse whenever you are: 

● Subtle and smooth. 

● Agile and graceful. 

● Deceptive and sneaky. 

● Quick. 

Mind 

Mind involves logic, knowledge, memory, perception, and intuition. You typically roll mind whenever you are: 

● Shrewd and intelligent. 

● Observant and wise 

● Knowledgeable. 

● Witty and clever. 

● Logical. 

Spirit 

Spirit involves willpower, force of personality, morale, determination, and fighting spirit. You typically  roll spirit when you are: 

● Willful and determined. 

● Charming and inspirational. 

● Passionate and emotional. 

● Relying on pure luck. 

● Tough and enduring. 

The stats are meant to be fairly loose and abstract. The players and the GM will have to use their best  judgment to determine which stat applies in a given situation. It will often be fairly obvious which stat  applies. For example, if a character is trying to balance on a narrow tightrope, then finesse obviously  applies (they’re being agile and graceful). If they run several miles in order to catch up with a fleeing  

villain, spirit obviously applies (they’re being tough and enduring). Other times, multiple stats can  apply. This is especially true in combat, because characters can attack and bolster with any of the four  stats. It’s less about the weapon you use and more about how you attack. For example, suppose that a  player is using a sword in combat. Which stat would he use? Some players might automatically assume that he has to use brawn, but this isn’t necessarily the case.  

It depends on how the player describes their action: 

● “I clench the hilt of the sword, heft the weapon over my head, and heave the blade down into my  enemy’s skull!” — Roll brawn. 

● “Holding the sword lightly in my hand, I slip into a duelist stance and lunge forward with a

deadly thrust!” — Roll finesse. 

● “I carefully parry the enemy’s attacks, waiting for the right moment to strike. As soon as I spot an opening, I deftly exploit the opening in his defenses!” — Roll mind. 

● “Wiping the blood from my mouth, I stand defiant against my enemy. ‘You’ll never defeat the forces of good!’ I shout as I wade back into battle with renewed vigor.” — Roll spirit. 

It may be difficult to represent your character through stats alone. If that’s the case, don’t worry—you can easily round out your character with traits. For example, barbarians are classically  portrayed as unintelligent, but their feral lifestyles make them excellent trackers and hunters.  Intelligence and tracking capabilities are both tied to the mind stat. So, should a player give their  barbarian low mind to represent the fact that he is unintelligent, or high mind to represent his incredible tracking ability? An easy way to get the best of both worlds is to give the barbarian low mind, and then  give him a trait that vastly enhances his tracking abilities (such as To the Ends of the Earth or Big  Game Hunter from the Tracking theme). 

Step 4: Determine Toughness and Starting Life 

Your toughness value affects your physical resilience and your ability to recover from wounds. Your  starting life is your toughness value multiplied by 4. Before your game starts, your gaming group  should have a discussion about the overall feel of the game. Do you want players to feel like larger than life heroes who can shrug off blows, or do you want your game to feel more realistic, where a single gunshot can be lethal? The GM selects a toughness value from the list below. By default, the game assumes that players have a toughness of 10—this value makes players feel heroic without also making them feel invincible. The list below gives a general description of how players will feel about their  character based on their toughness. These aren’t the only options—your gaming group can decide on  any toughness value you like. 

● Toughness 1: Weak 

● Toughness 5: Vulnerable 

● Toughness 10: Dramatic 

● Toughness 15: Heroic 

● Toughness 20: Unstoppable 

Toughness also affects healing. When you heal, you typically heal an amount of life equal to your toughness. For example, a player with 10 toughness will heal 10 life when they heal. 

Step 5: Buy Starting Gear 

You start the game with 100 gold, which you can use to buy supplies. See the Adventuring Gear section for details on starting equipment. 

Aesthetics 

You are in complete control of all aesthetic choices with your character. You can play whatever you  want: a human, a dragon, a cactus piloted by an owl, or whatever else you please. You can also change  the aesthetics of your traits. If a trait lets you shoot fireballs, you can rename it to “Ice ball” and shoot  explosive blasts of ice instead. These aesthetic choices are acceptable as long as they don’t affect your  capabilities or statistics. Similarly, saying that you’re a dragon doesn’t mean that you instantly gain the  ability to fly. You might have wings, but you need a trait that gives you the ability to fly before you can  use them.