Chapter Three
Attributes and Skills
One of the most important parts of creating your character is allocating their attributes and skills! This can be a little bit more on the technical side and might be a bit more challenging for beginners, but we strive to simplify the process and make it a smooth learning experience. Those familiar with D&D 5e will be much more comfortable with this process, but be aware that we have made many modifications to the systems that you might be used to.
Be sure to read Character Attributes and Skills! For beginners, it is recommended to open that tab next to this one for easy reference back and forth while we walk through the process together. It helps define the terms that we will be using while filling out your character sheet.
Step One:
Understanding the Basics
Below is an example of a basic adult character sheet with no modifiers.
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
10 (+0) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
But most likely, your character will be joining a clan, and most clans will have special skills and abilities due to the fact that they have acclimated to their environment. For this example, let's use the well-known RiverClan. Because RiverClan is sleek and good at swimming, they would likely have a higher Strength (STR) attribute, due to how strenuous it would be to swim in rushing waters. They might also have a higher Vitality (VIT) due to their rich diet of fish that keeps them healthy all year long. However, every clan needs a weakness, so maybe they suffer in the Intelligence department. So, the RiverClan base attributes would look more like this:
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
12 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 8 (-1) | 10 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
Every 2 skill points adds a modifier to the attribute, as shown below:
0 = (-5)
2 = (-4)
4 = (-3)
6 = (-2)
8 = (-1)
10 = (+0)
12 = (+1)
14 = (+2)
16 = (+3)
18 = (+4)
20 = (+5)
The higher a single attribute is, the more likely a character is to succeed skill checks and saving throws relating to those skills. The modifier is added to the dice roll for those checks and saving throws. When and How to Use Skill Checks) You might imagine how helpful it could be to have higher modifiers for certain skills - characters with higher Strength (STR) modifiers are more likely to succeed any strength check, and so on. This could be life or death in some situations. But a character will only earn so many skill points in their lifetime, so it is important to choose carefully to build the character that you want.
Different clans on Wingbeats will have different base attributes like the above. Each of them starts a little different and unique according to the environment that the clan lives in. They may even also unlock special skills, moves, and abilities at certain levels according to their clans. More about them can be found on each clan's page.
Step Two:
Assigning Your First Skill Points
Now that we have decided we will be joining RiverClan (hypothetically, of course) and we have our base set of attributes, it's time to spend your starter skill points! This next point is where it gets really exciting, and you can begin to customize your character to your liking.
Most characters will begin with kits, who will have much lower stats. So for this example, we are going to pretend we are starting as a kit. Basically, kits will start with 2s instead of 10s across the board, but the clan bonuses will still apply. In this case, a RiverClan kit's starting attributes would look like this:
RiverClan Kit
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
4 (-3) | 4 (-3) | 2 (-4) | 0 (-5) | 2 (-4) | 2 (-4) |
Obviously, this kit is extremely weak - that's because kits are so young, and they don't know anything yet! Any dice rolling attempts would probably go horribly for them, but we can chuck that up to naivety and youth. Kits probably shouldn't be getting into very many situations where these will matter...
But you can still see where the RiverClan bonus gives a +1 to the Strength and Vitality skills, and that's what matters. Because after this character completes six topics to become promoted to an apprentice, they will start leveling up! Apprentice base attributes raise from a natural 2 to a natrual 5, as shown below:
RiverClan Apprentice
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
8 (-1) | 8 (-1) | 6 (-2) | 4 (-3) | 6 (-2) | 6 (-2) |
Looking better! But not quite there yet.
But that's why it's so important for apprentices to train with their mentors and complete their required topics to be promoted to warrior! Young cats are weaker and less experienced and therefore much more vulnerable in dangerous situations. Basic attacks, abilities and skills will need to be physically learned through participating in training sessions with their mentors. This encourages lore-accurate character and skills growth, and discourages reckless or unrealistic risk-taking.
Step Three:
Earning Skill Points Through Training
The whole point of becoming an apprentice is to learn to become a good warrior and serve your clan. The apprentice-mentor relationship tends to be an important one, and this is reflected in the skills learned and the skill points earned through training. Certain training topics will reward basic attack moves (and maybe even special ones, depending on the circumstances...) and skill points that a player can allocate to their character's profile to improve their attributes. This will become increasingly important once the character becomes a warrior, so pay close attention to what points you're putting into each attribute!
Our hypothetical RiverClan warrior has completed some training topics and has learned Wrestle, Swat and Bite, and has earned themself a skill point! What kind of character build should we go for? I'm thinking we focus on strength - this character wants to become a strong protector of their clan one day. So let's put the 1 skill point into Strength:
RiverClan Apprentice
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
9 (-1) | 8 (-1) | 6 (-2) | 4 (-3) | 6 (-2) | 6 (-2) |
The skill point rounded out our Strength score to a nice, solid 8, giving us only a (-1) instead of a (-2)! This might not seem like much, but once he becomes a warrior, he will be one step ahead of the other apprentices when it comes to his strength. Likewise, they might be one step ahead of him when it comes to social skills.
Step Four:
Becoming a Warrior
Congratulations!! Our little hard-working RiverClan character has completed all their training sessions and has been promoted to warrior! Their attributes will increase:
Lvl 1 RiverClan Warrior
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
13 (+1) | 12 (+1) | 10 (-0) | 8 (-1) | 10 (-0) | 10 (-0) |
Okay, this is starting to look much better. As you can see, most of our attributes have rounded out to 10, so there's significantly less penalty. Our weakness in Intelligence is still showing a (-1) penalty, but our Strength and Vitality are doing much better! However, most warriors won't receive more skill points until they reach level 4. Let's see what happens once we reach level 4 and earn 2 skill points.
Lvl 4 RiverClan Warrior
STR | VIT | AGL | INT | WIS | CHA |
14 (+1) | 13 (+1) | 10 (-0) | 8 (-1) | 10 (-0) | 10 (-0) |
We are going to assign them to Strength and Vitality, so our Strength becomes a 14, giving us a (+2) right off the bat! What a great way to start our life as a warrior.
Now you know how to assign skill points and increase your attributes! Wasn't that easy? There may be more ways to earn skill points along the way, so now you will know what to do when you get them! Next, we're going to go over some tips regarding attributes and skill points.
Attributes and Personality
Character attributes can be almost directly linked to a character's personality, if you put enough thought into it.
For example, maybe you want a really strong brute character, so you dump your Intelligence and Wisdom attributes in order to have a higher starting Strength and Vitality. Your character would not be very smart, but they would be extremely tough, so maybe that could be reflected in their personality traits that you will choose.
Alternatively, maybe your character is not the fighting type - you dump Strength and Agility to spend more on Wisdom and Charisma. That character would be outgoing and good in social situations, but would probably be the last to be chosen for a patrol. Maybe they are lazy and slack off in their training, so they never gain the muscle and stamina that is expected of a warrior, or perhaps they are sick at birth and struggle with their standing in the clan as a result.
Or maybe you want your character to be much more versatile and balanced, with less weaknesses - a jack of all trades type.
It is up to you, the player, and the play style you wish to roleplay on Wingbeats. There are so many possibilities!
Point Trading
Character Creation | Lvl 12 Warrior | Lvl 20 Warrior
Point Trading is a way to take a point out of an attribute and assign it to another one. On one paw, you're weakening one attribute in favor of another one. Mentioned in the above example, you could take a point from Intelligence and assign it instead to Strength, making your character slightly stronger but also slightly less smart. However, there are only special opportunities to perform Point Trading (at character creation, level 12 and level 20), so if you're going to do this, you must plan it well!
Alternatively, you can buy a Point Trade via Freshkill in the Shop.