Lair Assault: Creating a Character

Our most skilled players spoke, and we listened. When they’re tackling the deadliest fights in 4th Edition, they want options. Unlike D&D Encounters and other shared-world campaigns, D&D Lair Assault allows players to utilize the entire breadth of the 4th Edition rules. Any legal character build of the appropriate level, using options from official Wizards products, is permissible in D&D Lair Assault. A great way to sort through the rules and make effective characters is through the Character Builder online tool available to D&D Insider subscribers.

Yes, that means all those books, both old and new, are resources for players to create the most deadly team of adventurers possible. They can pull out an old favorite from the Player’s Handbook, grab something from the latest releases like Heroes of Shadow, or augment their options with rules from Dragon. If it’s a 4th Edition rules source printed by Wizards, it’s legal for play.

Gearing Up for Danger
Each D&D Lair Assault challenge will specify a level. The first D&D Lair Assault, Forge of the Dawn Titan, is 5th level. Players bring characters of the challenge’s level to your scheduled event to participate. Characters higher or lower level than the challenge’s level are not allowed.

We use straightforward rules to equip characters for their deadly battles. Each character receives one magic item of one level higher than their level (level + 1), one of their level (level + 0), and one of one level lower than their level (level – 1). In addition, characters receive gold pieces equal to the value of one magic item of one level lower than their level (level – 1) to buy other equipment they think they’ll need. Each character may have no more than two consumable items (like potions or magic ammunition) equal to or less than the challenge’s level, and no more than one rare magic item. Note that players may equip their characters with magic items that are less than the stated levels if they so choose.

So, to use our 5th level example above, each character would have one 6th level, one 5th level and one 4th level magic item, plus 840 gold pieces to spend on other equipment (both mundane and magical).