Before they were heroes, every PC came from somewhere, whether they worked on a farm like Valeros or picked pockets on the streets like Seelah. Sometimes, it can be a lot of fun to play a prequel game years before the PCs’ first adventure as heroes, or you may have an idea for a low-powered adventure that calls for commoners and apprentices. The rules below provide ways to easily build and use level 0 PCs in your games.

BUILDING CHARACTERS

Building a level 0 character is similar to building a 1st-level character, but you stop after choosing your ancestry and background. A level 0 character still gets the four free ability boosts from Step 6 of the normal character creation process, but not the class ability boost.

INITIAL PROFICIENCIES

A level 0 character is trained in Perception, all saving throws, unarmed attacks, unarmored defense, and one simple weapon of their choice. Additionally, they are trained in a number of skills equal to 2 + their Intelligence modifier. The proficiency bonus for a level 0 character works the same way as normal, but since the level is 0, the total proficiency bonus for being trained is +2.

HIT POINTS

A level 0 character adds their Constitution modifier to their ancestry Hit Points to determine their starting Hit Points.

STARTING MONEY

A level 0 character starts with 5 gp (50 sp) to spend on equipment.