P99 offline: Introduction

You hold in your hands several pounds of paper detailing some of the best fantasy ever created and opening the door to some of the best fantasy yet to be created by you. Welcome to the EverQuest Role-Playing Game!

If you're reading this you probably either play the EverQuest online game or play a pen and paper fantasy roleplaying game. or perhaps both. Here are some words of introduction for you:

If you play pen and paper fantasy roleplaying but have never played EverQuest online — Don't worry, you're still in the right place. You've got hundreds of pages of source material on newraces. character classes. a new mana-based magic system. over a thousand spells, new feats. new skills. a new hard magic system and much more. all of which make this one heck of a sourcebookfor your game. Since this book is published under the Open Game License it legitimately and legally uses the exact same rules system as the most popular fantasy role—playing pen and paper game system out there. The license lets us print all the rules like “roll a d20 to attack and compare it to your opponent's Armoor Class.” but the license just doesn't allow us to say the name of that game you're already playing — but a rose by any other name and all that. Looking through this book, you will immediately see that it is 100% compatible with that game you're already playing. Please enjoy this book. use whatever new races. classes or systems you like: start a new campaign in the world of Norrath or integrate the parts you like into your own campaign world. If you are interested in playing EverQuest online, head over to https://www.everquest.com and see what all the talk is about.

If you play EverQuest online but are new to traditional pen and paper role-playing games — Then read the rest of this Introduction. It will familiarize you with many of the commonalities of pen and paper gaming and give you an overview on how to get started quickly (you don't have to read this whole book before you start playing). You'll need at least one friend. but preferably at least a couple. willing to try this out with you, so be ready to rope some people into playing EverQuest a whole new way. Even the most experienced 60th-level-character-playing EverQuest online fan will learn something new about the game and about Norath — and have a lot of fun creating adventures with this pen and paper version of EverQuest.

If you play pen and paper fantasy roleplaying and play EverQuest online — Then you're already home free! Have at it. Bring it to your pen and paper gaming group and let them see more of this EverQuest thing you keep raving about! Stan a new pen and paper campaign in Nortath or integrate your EverQuest character into your existing game. It's your world now. so do what you want with it.

www.EQrp9.com:

You'd think a hook this size would have everything you could possibly want, but EverQuest is so huge that not even this volume can contain it all. Please surf over to the official EQrpg website at www.EQrpg.com to find tons of free resources. information and advice. Downloadable and printable character sheets. pre-generated characters and adventures. statistics for all those conjured "pets" creatures. designer forums and previews of coming attractions will hopefully make your visit time well spent.

Getting Started:

Although it may look daunting at first. creating a character for the EverQuest Role-Playing Game is actually a fairly simple. straight— forward process. Before you begin. you'll need a pencil. a character sheet (photocopy the one from the hack of this hook or visit us at www.eqrpg.com to download a printable version). and sortie dice (most likely just one die to determine hit points for the moment. but you'll need lots of dice later so you might as well get them now — see our site above or visit your local hobby/game store to find the specialty dice you'll need).

Talk to your Gaming Group:

The first thing you'll want to do is talk to your gaming group. and particularly the person in your group who has decided to be your Game Master (GM). Your GM can tell you what kind of game she plans to run, approve your character once you‘re done. and likely help you form an idea for a character. Your GM may also have new rules or options she wants to use for her game, which you'll want to know about before you put a lot of work into character creation. Since the GM runs the game. she is the final authority regarding how rules work. what is acceptable in a character. and what other sources of information you can draw from.

Talking to other people who are making characters is a good idea as well. A well-balanced group of questing characters is far more likely to be successful. and that means making sure not everyone is playing a magician. Especially for beginning players. it's probably a good idea to have at least one dedicated divine spellcaster (cleric. druid or shaman). one dedicated arcane spellcaster (enchanter. magician, necromancer or wizard) and one strong fighting character (monk, paladin, ranger. rogue. shadow knight or warrior). A good mix of races is also a good idea if you can arrange it.

You may also want to look through the various race and class descriptions first. to familiarize yourself with the options presented. Don't worry about making the “best” character possible just come up with a basic idea you like.

The summary that follows applies mainly to creating new characters. but even if you are converting an online EverQuest character to the EverQuest Role-Playing Game instead of creating a new character from scratch. you'll still want to follow many of the steps listed below. Later you’ll get more information specifically about convening characters (“Converting Characters from EverQuest Online" in Chapter 1: Abilities).

Assign Ability Scores:

The next step, once you have some idea what you want to play. is to assign ability scores. There's really no wrong way to do this, but most people like to place the most ability points in things particularly useful for their class. Each class has some advice on how to assign your ability scores, and it's a good idea to follow this when you're first making a character.

Pick a Race:

After assigning ability scores you'll need to pick a race. Races are fully described in Chapter 2: Races. along with all their game information. You should make any necessary changes to your ability scores and record racial special abilities and bonus feats and skills on your character sheet.

Pick a Class:

After recording all the information about your race, you need to pick a class. Character classes are fully described in Chapter 3: Classes. along with all their game information. Be sure you pick a class available to your race (if it's not, then either your race or your class must change). You should record your base attack modifier. saving throws, class skills, skill points, beginning proficiencies, and any special abilities your class grants you. You should also record your experience point total (new 1st-level characters start with 0 experience points).

If your class begins with spell-casting ability, you'll need to choose your starting spells as well (or songs for a hard). Try to select a good mix of offensive, defensive and utility spells ( especially healing and conjuration, if they are available to your class). You'll also want to write down your starting mana pool and the Difficulty Class (DC) of saving throws made against your spells (information on how to do this is given with the class descriptions. For more information on spells, see Chapter 8: Using Magic).

Assign Skills, Feats, and Training Points:

Your character has a number of skill points based on intelligence, class, and race. Calculate how many skill points you have to spend. then spend them all on skill ranks (for more information on how to buy skills see Chapter 4: Skills). Most likely you‘ll want to concentrate on skills your character receives as class skills, but it's all right to buy a few ranks of other skills if they match your character concept. In general. however I it's better to be good at just a few skills rather than have one or two ranks of many skills.

You also need to select a starting feat (or two, if you are playing a human). Be sure to select a feat for which you meet the prerequisites. You may also want to see what feats you want your character to have at higher level. in case they have a prerequisite feat you can select now. For more information on feats see Chapter 5: Feats.

Characters also receive 5 training points per level. You can spend these points on a variety of things, as explained in the beginning of Chapter 3.

Select Beginning Equipment:

Each class lists at least one beginning equipment package you can use. If you decide to use this suggested equipment package. simply record the weapons. armor. and other items listed there in the appropriate sections of your character sheet. If you'd rather select you own equipment. you may do so using the rules presented in Chapter 7: Equipment.

Alignment and Description:

You should also choose an alignment for your character and think about what kind of person she is. Suggestions for character descriptions and rules for alignment are presented in Chapter 6: Description. You don‘t need much more than an alignment, name. and gender to start. but eventually you may what to decide what your character looks like. what her motivations for questing are, how she feels about the world at large. and even what her mother's name is. There's no need to put any more thought into these details than you want. but some people enjoy developing complex backgrounds for their characters. Be sure to check such details with your GM. who may have specific ideas for what character backgrounds should be like in your collective game.

If you don't want to spend a great deal of time thinking about what your character looks like, there's nothing wrong with selecting a piece of art of perhaps an actor or actress you like and saying that's what your character looks like. This certainly isn’t required for your character. but it can be a good quick and easy way to describe your character to others.

Do the Math:

There are a few numbers you'll need to figure out before you can play. You need to figure your total attack bonuses with the weapons you carry. your total skill bonuses, your speed of movement, and your saving throw bonuses. Generally, your character sheet shows you how to calculate these. If you‘re not sure how a particular calculation works. ask your GM. After you have these figures worked out and recorded on your character sheet. you're ready to play.

Dice:

A few words on those funky dice used for pen and paper role playing. You'll find everything from pyramid shaped four—sided dice to spheroid twenty’sided dice used to play the EverQuest Role—Playing Game. These various types of dice get abbreviated throughout this book as:

d4 = four‘sided die. the pyramid; read the number on the bottom edge (some use the number around the point. however) to determine what number was rolled.

d6 = six—sided die

d8 = eight—sided die

le = ten—sided die

dll = twelve‘sided die

dZO = twenty-sided die

d% = percentile dice; roll two les of different colors. Announce before the roll which die is the “tens" digit and which is the “ones." Rolls of 9 and 2 would be read as 92 if the 9 came up on the tens die. but as 29 if the 2 came up on the tens die. A roll of O and 0 means 100. while a roll of O on the tens die and any other number on the ones die means a number from i to 9 as the result (for example. 0 and 8 would be a result of 8).

Often the rules will ask you to roll several dice and add a modifier. These rolls are expressed in the format:

[#} die type [+/- modifiers]

For example. 3d6+2 means "Roll 3 six—sided dice. Add the result of the three dice together. and then add 2.”

Some spells even make you remember the parenthesis rule from algebra class when determining how much damage they deal:

For example, (5d10+2)x2 means "Roll 5 ten—sided dice. Add the results of the five dice together. add 2. and then multiply the sum by Z."

Fractions and Multiplying:

In general. if you wind up with a fraction. you should round the result down, even if the fraction is larger than one’half. For example. taking half damage from a spell that normally deals 13 points of damage would result in taking 6 points of damage (13 +6,5. rounded down to 6). The exception is that certain rolls. such as damage and hit points. always have a minimum of l. Sometimes a special rule, such as a "critical hit" in combat, makes you multiply a number or a dice roll. As long As you're applying a single numeric multiplier. multiply normally. When two or more multipliers apply. however, combine them into a single multiple, with each extra multiple adding l less than its numeric value to the first multiple. Thus a double (x2) and a double (x2) applied to the same number results in triple (x3, because 2 + l = 3). Examples as you read the book will make multiplying more clear.

The Basic Rule:

Almost every aspect of the game system in the EverQuest Role-Playing Game is handled by rolling a d20, adding or subtracting modifiers, and then comparing the final results to a target number to be successful. You might roll a d20; add your modifiers, and then compare it to your opponent's Armor Class to see if you hit in combat, or you might roll a d20, add other modifiers to it, and compare it to a number assigned by Your Game Master (a "Difficulty Class") to see if your begging attempt was successful or not.

We hope you enjoy your game.