Character Creation Guide
I believe in a balanced approach to character creation. I suggest rolling a set of Stats and then seeing what that inspires. Alternatively, if you have an idea for a character (like you really want to be a Ranger from the North) then go ahead and roll a set of stats and see if you can make it work. Then we'll talk about re-rolls. The game is pretty generous with re-rolls anyway.
Roll the stats on 1d100, discard and re-roll anything lower than 20. You may arrange them as you like. [Note: If you plan to play an elf you must assign a certain stat to your Presence stat. Each Noldo Elf must assign their highest stat to their Presence, each Sinda Elf must assign one of the two highest stats to their Presence and each Silvan Elf must assign one of the three highest stats to their Presence.]
There are six Stats, very nearly corresponding with the six ability scores from D&D. They are:
Strength (ST): Not brute musculature, but the ability to use your muscles to your greatest advantage. This stat affects a character's capabilities in melee combat, carrying loads, and other activities requiring strength.
Agility (AG): Manual dexterity, litheness, quickness, reaction time, and speed are all reflected by this stat. This stat affects a character's capabilities in defense, missile combat, movement, and other maneuvers.
Constitution (CO): The general health and well-being of the character. This stat affects a character's capabilities to resist disease, poison, and other hardships, as well as the effects of pain, shock, and bleeding (i.e., concussion hits),
Intelligence (IG): The reasoning, memory, and common Sense of a character. This stat affects a character's capabilities in activities that require thought or insight; for example, learning spell lists, learning languages, reading runes, etc.
Intuition (IT): The relationship of the character to the all-pervading force in nature (the Ainulindäle, the Song which created and shaped Arda) and things supernatural, including such phenomenon as wisdom, luck, genius, and the favor of the Valar. This Stat affects the character's capacity to cast spells, use magic items, perceive things (e.g., traps), and perform a variety of other activities.
Presence (PR): A character's self-discipline, Courage, bearing, self-esteem, charisma, and self-discipline. This stat affects the character's appearance, his ability to affect and Control other characters, his self-control in critical Situations, and his ability to draw upon his inner reserves.
In MERP you do not roll on the stats or use them directly for anything. Each stat gives a corresponding bonus which modifies all actions and skills. Here are the base bonuses:
Any stat 102 or higher has +35
101 has +30
100 has +25
98-99 has +20
95-97 has +15
90-94 has +10
75-89 has +5
10-24 has -5
25-74 has no modifier
5-9 has -10
3-4 has -15
2 has -20
1 has -25
Appearance (AP) is rolled after choosing race/culture, as you roll AP on 1d100+PR bonus.
There are also six professions, each one has a Prime Stat, the abbreviation of the prime stat is below after the profession name, with a generic counterpart class in parenthesis:
WARRIOR (FIGHTER) ST
A Warrior is a character trained in the arts of combat and fighting. His primary areas of development are weapon Skills, maneuvering in armor, and body development. It is difficult for a Warrior to learn to use subterfuge, spells, magic items, and languages. He has little interest in or aptitude for such pursuits.
SCOUT (THIEF) AG
A Scout is a character trained in maneuvering, observation, ambush, and combat (to a limited extent). His primary areas of development are subterfuge and general skills, and he can also develop skills with weapons and armor. However, it is difficult for him to learn to use spells or magic items. In certain societies and circumstances, a Scout makes an excellent thief or assassin.
RANGER (TRACKER) CO
A Ranger is a character trained in outdoor Skills and Combat. His primary area of development is general skills, but he can develop respectable fighting skills and can learn his own Ranger spells and open Channeling spells.
BARD (JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES) PR
A Bard is a character with some training in almost all of the categories of skills. His only primary area of development is languages, but he can learn his Own Bard spell lists and open Essence spell lists and he can develop to a limited degree, weapon skills and maneuvering skills.
MAGE (MAGICIAN) IG
A Mage is a character trained in the casting of spells which draw their power from the Essence, the power that exists in everyone and everything. His primary areas of development are magical skills and learning spell lists. It is very difficult for a Mage to learn to use weapons and armor. The Mage relies on his spells rather than arms or normal maneuvers. A Mage may not wear any armor, helm, or greaves when casting spells. This applies to all characters casting spells of the Essence.
ANIMIST (CLERIC) IT
An Animist is a character trained in the casting of spells which draw their power from the Valar through Channeling. His primary areas of development are learning spells, but he is capable of development in any of the categories of skills. He may not wear any metal armor, metal helm, or metal greaves while casting spells. This applies to all characters casting spells of Channeling.
Once you choose a profession you can decide if you want to exchange the value in the Prime Stat for a 90. You do not have to do so, it is an option to guarantee that you have at least 90 in your Prime Stat.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:09, Wed 14 June 2023.
