Young Characters
Young characters are essentially normal characters with an age category younger than any presented in the Core Rulebook. They are able and intelligent, curious and talented, but not yet experienced or worldly — on the threshold of great things, but still a step away.
Creating Young Characters
Youthfulness is represented in three ways: ability score adjustments, restrictions to available classes, and slower trait acquisition.
Ability Score Adjustments
| Ability Score | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Dexterity | +2 |
| Strength | −2 |
| Constitution | −2 |
| Wisdom | −2 |
| Intelligence, Charisma | no change |
A young character's inexperience and awkwardness are reflected by having only the skill ranks of a 1st-level character rather than a penalty to Intelligence or Charisma. When a young character reaches adulthood, all of these adjustments are lost.
Available Classes
A young character may select only NPC classes while in this age category: Adept, Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert, or Warrior. Upon reaching adulthood, the character may retrain those NPC class levels as levels in any base class of their choosing.
Traits
The GM may limit a young character to selecting only one trait at 1st level instead of the normal two. The second trait is selected upon reaching adulthood, offering flexibility to reflect experiences gained during the campaign.
Random Young Starting Ages
| Race | Youth1 | Aristocrat, Commoner, Expert | Adept, Warrior | Adulthood2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | 8 years | +1d6 | +2d3 | 15 years |
| Dwarf | 20 years | +2d6 | +4d4 | 40 years |
| Elf | 55 years | +4d6 | +6d6 | 110 years |
| Gnome | 20 years | +4d4 | +3d6 | 40 years |
| Half-elf | 10 years | +1d4 | +1d6 | 20 years |
| Half-orc | 7 years | +1d6 | +2d3 | 14 years |
| Halfling | 10 years | +1d6 | +2d4 | 20 years |
| 1 During youth: +2 Dex; −2 Str, Con, and Wis. 2 At adulthood: all young age adjustments are lost. | ||||
Leaving Youth Behind
There are two common ways a young character advances into adulthood.
The simplest method — the character ages into adulthood by reaching the threshold in the table above. Once that age is reached, ability score adjustments are lost and NPC class levels may be retrained. For non-Core Rulebook races, find the closest lifespan match and work with the GM to set reasonable benchmarks.
The GM may grant adulthood early after a noteworthy accomplishment:
- Surpassing an instructor's skill
- Defeating a powerful adult foe
- Overcoming a threat to home
- Completing a lengthy journey or published module
- Attaining a certain level in an NPC class (3rd or 5th)
Ability scores do not change until the character chooses to retrain an NPC class level.
Considerations of Youth
Before bringing young characters to the table, the GM and players should discuss the following points openly.
Unlike modern society, medieval settings typically treated children like adults as soon as they proved capable. NPCs will likely treat young adventurers the same as adult ones — though physical shortcomings might invite jokes or disdain.
NPC classes are weaker than PC classes. If some players have young characters and others have adults, there will be a meaningful power gap. Confirm all players are comfortable with this before the campaign begins.
Fantasy fiction regularly puts young heroes in peril, but not all players are comfortable with that at the table. Discuss it explicitly before starting, and respect any player who opts out.
Young PCs are weaker than standard PCs. Published adventures assume full base-class capabilities. As a quick guideline, a party of NPC-classed characters has an APL approximately 2 levels lower than a same-level party of PC-classed characters.