Player's Option characters can be humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings—or they might be half-elves, half-orcs, or even half-ogres. DMs can devise additional races for characters, too, so the choices can be as wide and as colorful as the campaign in which they adventure.
Players should consult the following table, which lists minimum and maximum ability scores for the common races. Minimum scores are listed to the left of the slashes, maximums to the right. Starting character statistics must fall within these ranges, though the statistics can increase and decrease during the course of play. For example, if an elf has his Dexterity score reduced to less than 6 because he fell afoul of a magical curse, the character is still an elf. If a halfling drank a potion that increased his Intelligence to 19, he is still a halfling.
| Ability | Dwarf | Elf | Gnome | Half-elf | Half-orc | Half-ogre | Halfling | Human |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Str | 8/18 | 3/18 | 6/18 | 3/18 | 6/18 | 14/18 | 7/18* | 3/18 |
| Dex | 3/17 | 6/18 | 3/18 | 6/18 | 3/17 | 3/12 | 7/18 | 3/18 |
| Con | 11/18 | 7/18 | 8/18 | 6/18 | 8/18 | 14/18 | 10/18 | 3/18 |
| Int | 3/18 | 8/18 | 6/18 | 4/18 | 3/17 | 3/12 | 6/18 | 3/18 |
| Wis | 3/18 | 3/18 | 3/18 | 3/18 | 3/14 | 3/12 | 3/17 | 3/18 |
| Cha | 3/17 | 8/18 | 3/18 | 3/18 | 3/12 | 3/8 | 3/18 | 3/18 |
- * Halfling fighters cannot possess exceptional Strength scores.
Racial Ability Adjustments[]
Once the character's ability scores have been determined, the race chosen, and the Racial Requirements table consulted, modify the ability scores based on the Racial Adjustments table—and determine the subability scores as per the rules in chapter two.
| Race | Adjustments |
|---|---|
| Dwarf | +1 Con, –1 Cha |
| Elf | +1 Dex, –1 Con |
| Gnome | +1 Int, –1 Wis |
| Half-elf | None |
| Half-orc | +1 Str, +1 Con, –2 Cha |
| Half-ogre | +1 Str, +1 Con, –1 Int, –1 Cha |
| Halfling | +1 Dex, –1 Str |
| Human | None |
Racial Level Limits[]
The Racial Level Limits chart lists the maximum experience levels attainable by the various races. For more on classes, see chapter four.
| Class | Dwarf | Elf | Gnome | Half-elf | Half-orc | Half-ogre | Halfling | Human |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bard | - | - | - | U | - | - | - | U |
| Cleric | 10 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 8 | U |
| Druid | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | U |
| Fighter | 15 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 9 | U |
| Illusionist | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | U |
| Mage | - | 15 | - | 12 | - | - | - | U |
| Paladin | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | U |
| Ranger | - | 15 | - | 16 | - | - | - | U |
| Thief | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 8 | - | 15 | U |
- U This symbol represents unlimited class advancement for characters of those races.
- - A member of this race cannot choose this class.
Exceeding These Limits[]
The Dungeon Master Guide included an optional rule where demihuman characters could exceed level limits if they possessed high prime-requisite ability scores. This rule is official in the Player's Option system. See the chart below for bonus levels granted to those characters with high scores in their class prime requisites.
| Ability Score | Bonus Levels |
|---|---|
| 14–15 | +1 |
| 16–17 | +2 |
| 18 | +3 |
| 19 | +4 |
| 20+ | +5 |
The bonus levels are added to the character's maximum experience level shown in the Racial Level Limits table.
Character Points[]
Each race detailed below receives a number of character points that can be spent on racial skills and other abilities. This lets players personalize their characters. No longer must all dwarves have exactly the same abilities, skills, and bonuses. Players can purchase packages of abilities, or they can customize their characters.
Demihumans can save 5 character points from this process and apply them at any other point in the character creation process. Humans can save 10 points. Nonstandard races such as lizard men and thri-kreen cannot save any racial character points—any points not spent on racial abilities are lost.
Racial Variants[]
Numerous off-shoot races can be player characters. For example, a player fond of dwarven characters could choose from the hill, mountain, gray, or deep varieties. Players who select such a character purchase the standard package of abilities for the subrace. Optionally, a player can customize a character by choosing individual abilities from the list for that race. Generally, buying a package of abilities is the most efficient way to spend character points.
Racial Languages: A character from a demihuman subrace receives an initial package of languages for no additional cost in character points. However, no character can know more languages than his or her Intelligence/Knowledge score allows (see Table 9). If a racial package offers more languages than a character can know, the player can choose which languages the character knows.
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