Characters (4E)

4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Optional rules for character creation.

Free Skill Selection

This option allows free selection of skills, while still ensuring that essential class skill requirements are still met. Members of any class have four free skill picks. Some classes get one or two bonus skills in addition to the four free picks. These are essential skills that are needed for the class, such as Religion for clerics or Arcana for wizards.

Class	Picks	Bonus
Cleric	4	Religion
Fighter	4
Paladin	4	Religion
Ranger	4	Dungeoneering or Nature
Rogue	4	Stealth and Thievery
Warlock	4
Warlord	4
Wizard	4	Arcana

This option makes the extra skill selection equivalent for Humans and Eladrin. The listed bonus skills are the same as in the Player's Handbook.

Martial Arts Class Option

Before the arrival of the monk, any class can be made into a martial arts class by applying the following modifiers:

• Remove all armor proficiencies except Cloth armor.
• Remove all melee weapon proficiencies
• Give an unarmed attack with the following values: Proficiency +3, Damage 1d8, 1 Handed, Melee, Unarmed, with the Off-hand property.
• If the class had access to leather armor, give a bonus to Armor Class equal to the number of armor proficiencies the class had. This bonus applies as long as the character is not helpless.
• If the class had access to heavy armor, it has the option to use either Dexterity, Intelligence, or Constitution to AC.