Player 1 (Ryan) and player 2 (Shannon) each create an adventurer for their first game.

Ryan

1. Ryan decides to play as a Dark Elf, so he takes that race’s reference sheet and places it at his adventurer mat’s left side. Then, he looks at the Dark Elf’s starting attribute values. His stats are 4 Health, 2 Stamina, and 3 Magicka. He also has 2 Combat skill dice.

2. Ryan decides to place his circular attribute tokens into his attribute rows as follows, to prioritize future room for Magicka and Magicka-based skill lines:

a. First row: 4 Health in the left slot. Health tokens have values, so Ryan flips the Health attribute token to its 4 side before placing it.

b. Second row: 2 Stamina in the left slot across from 2 Combat dice in the right slot. The Stamina token has no value, so Ryan places 2 green tokens in the leftmost square slots of the row. Combat is a skill line, so its token also has no value. Ryan places 2 Combat dice in the rightmost slots of the row.

c. Third row: 3 Magicka in the left slot. The Magicka token has no value, so Ryan places 3 blue tokens in the row’s leftmost square slots.

3. Ryan chooses Destruction Staff as his other starting skill line. He places the Destruction Staff attribute token at the left side of his fourth row. Then, Ryan adds 2 Force Shock dice—the level 1 Destruction Staff skill die—to the leftmost square slots of that row.

4. Ryan places a peg in his magic ( ) battle form position, as this is the battle form of the Destruction Staff line.

5. Ryan places a peg in the 2 slot above the cooldown track to indicate his Cooldown stat.

6. He also places pegs in the positions at the left of the tenacity and XP tracks to show he has no starting tenacity or saved XP.

7. Ryan thinks about the class he’d like to choose. He wants a class that supports using skill lines like Destruction Staff. Because this is his first game, playing the Jailbreak Introduction encounter seems like a good way to learn more before committing.

Note: If you are following this example and want to skip the Jailbreak Introduction encounter, use the open choice method for class selection. Ryan chooses the Sorcerer class and sets it next to his adventurer mat, novice side up.

Shannon

1. Shannon decides to play as an Argonian, so she takes that race’s card and chip. Then, she looks at the Argonian starting attribute values. Her stats are 5 Health, 3 Stamina, and 2 Magicka. She also has 1 Combat skill die.

2. Shannon decides to place all of these circular attribute tokens into the left side of her attribute rows as follows, giving her maximum room for future skill lines:

a. First row: 5 Health. She flips the token to its 5 side.

b. Second row: 3 Stamina. Shannon places 3 green tokens in the leftmost square slots of that row.

c. Third row: Combat skill line. Shannon places 1 Combat die in the leftmost slot.

d. Fourth row: 2 Magicka. Shannon places 2 blue tokens in the leftmost slots.

3. Shannon chooses One Hand and Shield as her other starting skill line. Then, she places that attribute at the right side of her fourth row (opposing Magicka). Next, she adds 2 Shield Discipline dice—the level 1 One Hand and Shield skill—to the rightmost square slots of that row.

4. Shannon places a peg in the 2 slot above the cooldown track for her Cooldown stat.

5. Shannon places a peg in her light weapon ( ) battle form position, matching her One Hand and Shield skill line. She also places a peg in the position at the left of the tenacity and XP tracks, to show she has no starting tenacity or saved XP.

6. Shannon thinks about the class she’d like to choose. She wants a class that supports her Argonian’s natural mobility (from her Stamina stat) and her chosen One Hand and Shield skill line. Because this is her first game, she also agrees to play the Jailbreak Introduction encounter.

Note: If you are following this example and want to skip the Jailbreak Introduction encounter, use the open choices method for class selection. Shannon chooses the Acrobat class and sets it next to her adventurer mat, novice side up.