Friday, September 16, 2011

Open Friday: Creating D&D Player Characters

I recently began playing in a D&D campaign for the first time in I don't know how long, so, naturally, I had to create a PC for myself. I had no preconceptions about what type of character I wanted to play, so I rolled 3D6 in order six times. That is, I rolled up six different potential player characters and then looked them over. From among these six, I choose the set that looked the most interesting to me -- "interesting" encompassing both utility in play and in terms of roleplaying potential. In this case, I wound up choosing the following set of ability scores: Str 12, Int 9, Wis 13, Dex 12, Con 14, Cha 10. Such a character could either have been a mediocre fighting man or a mildly above-average cleric; I opted for the latter. I decided that he was a well-meaning but not thoughtful cleric, strongly devoted to his faith and intent to seeing it spread through word and deed.

And that's most of what I knew about my new character before I started playing him. Since he might not survive to see 2nd level (never mind higher), I figured it most practical to let his personality and other details evolve through play. Plus, that gave me a lot more leeway to make things up as I went along, which is always fun.

So, my question for today is this: how do you go about creating a new, 1st-level D&D character?

59 comments:

  1. Depends on the edition, but for basic editions, I'd roll straight up, see what I can score-wise and then decide on the class, and go from there. Keep it simple, let the rest turn out in play.

    For my new D&D game, I had the players roll 3d6 in order, then pick their class; then we used a random background table to give some basic info, and a random hat... the rest is coming out nicely in play :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Method IV (roll up 12 characters in order), but keep all 12 characters as my “stable“. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So, just because you had a 16 for Wisdom you went for Cleric?

    You're such a min/max munchkin. I hope your fellow players are prepared for that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like 3d6 in order and see what you get. Otherwise I'd always plump for the same class. The randomness shakes me out of my safe zone, and crap rolls make for a fun challenge or a reckless to the point of suicidal character. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. The number of dice or the number of times I roll changes depending upon whim, but I have come to insist upon in order. This particular method consistently results in more compelling characters because explaining the scores in order requires more creativity on my part than coming up with a character concept prior to rolling anything.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So, just because you had a 16 for Wisdom you went for Cleric?

    Actually, Wisdom was 13 -- and that wasn't my highest ability score.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 4d6, drop the low die, and arrange them how you like. And I've still gotten characters with 5's for stats...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Much the same method as Joseph, except:

    I'm playing a character for the first time in a long while, joining an already established Pathfinder group. So . . .

    They needed a Magic User, which I enjoy playing. After getting the initial rolls in, the DM changed two stats; Intelligence and Strength. Raising Intelligence +2 to 17 and Strength +1 to 14.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think you hit on the best way - 3d6 in order. It's the approach that best supports emergent characters and discovering the character through play. I loathe rearranging stats and the creation of "dump stats"; we don't allow dice fudging during the game, why allow it during character generation? (Pretty much echo what FrDave said).

    I can understand the need for 4d6 in AD&D because the goal posts were moved - characters need a much higher stat to get any kind of in-game bonus. I still don't like rearranging the scores, even in that context. I'd rather let a player roll a series of attribute groups (still keeping the dice rolls in order) to get a more palatable character than an artificial approach.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mine is also similar to Joseph. We roll 3 sets of stats (4d6, drop lowest, arrange as desired within each set). Players keep the extra two sets as either henchmen, or their backup characters. That way, when someone dies, they have another PC instantly ready to go.

    James - Just out of curiosity, is your new game on Google+?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I prefer Method IV from AD&D myself. I think this method works pretty well for any 3-18 stat game...

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have to admit, I'm not a random guy. I mean-- I can go with it, it doesn't make me mad, but my "lets think of a character" scheme isn't usually random, unless someone says "lets roll up random characters," or "lets roll up TMNT mutants!"

    I guess what I do is start jamming pieces together? Either I take something otherwise banal & try to put a spin on it-- "okay, so how could I make a cool Dragonborn dude?"-- or I put things that seem out of place together-- "So...dwarf ninja/paladin. Now...how can I make that make sense?"

    ReplyDelete
  13. 3D6 in order doing a 2 for 1 point swap, never reducing a state below 10 or increasing beyond 18.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can use just about any of the methods to make a character. Which specific one depends on my inclination. Whether I have a specific concept in mine or not. I would be pretty unhappy if the only system I had was 3d6 in order.

    I think it should be left up to the player, within limits.

    As a referee I allows 3d6 rolled six times, arranged accordingly for Swords & Wizardry. Stats are not that important in OD&D.

    For AD&D I was pretty generous, 4d6 drop the lowest, reroll 1s. Do this seven times, drop the lowest, and then rearrange. This produce above average attribute without a slew of 18s appearing. Plus it generosity cut down on the amount of cheater characters as few players could refuse me when I insist they roll in front of me.

    Cheater characters were a problem in my years of refereeing during high school. The most common situation was the guy who rolled a 100 times before he got a set of six he was happy with.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yeah. Yeah. The 16 was a typo on my part. Seppuku shall commence as soon as I find a Second who will decapitate me before I do anything unseemly after disemboweling myself.

    I didn't mention the CON 14 because I didn't think you'd be playing in a game with one of those newfangled classes, such as Fitness Trainer.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I do 3d6 in order and take what I get. As a result, among the latest characters I've created, I have Wisdom scores of 5 and 4. Fun!

    Not that I'm some kind of purist or anything -- it just doesn't seem that important to me.

    Good play can overcome bad stats, but not vice versa.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I admit that most D&D characters I have made were decided before stats were rolled. When I made my first LotFP character though, I decided to roll stats first. For the first time ever I rolled a character with a 3 in a stat (in this case Dex), so I decided I would play as a Dwarf to get my HP up as high as possible. Thus Velekar the dwarf of Chaos was born!

    ReplyDelete
  18. For Boog my most recent character, I was allowed 4d6, drop the lowest, arrange to taste. I figured on playing either a druid (human or 1/2 elf), a ranger, or a half-orc fighter.

    For all of these characters I had a basic idea of the personality and background of what I wanted

    So I rolled a 18,12, 7, 15, 12, and 13. I decided on the half-orc fighter. Party because had some interesting ideas for a half-orc fighter and party because I could min-max to 18/00 strength if exceptional strength roll worked out.

    Sure enough I rolled a 92 on exceptional strength, with the +1 strength of an orc that enough for the coveted 18/00 strength.

    So Boog was born.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 3d6 in order, no point swapping. This is how I roll my characters and how I ask my players to roll theirs.

    Does this result in some underpowered, weak, and potentially very dead characters? Yes. Does it reduce the fun in playing an underpowered character who still wants to be an adventurer and survive? I dont think so.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We use 3d6 in order, swap two. I personally don't like to swap, as that's just always an automatic 'swap highest stat into prime attribute of the class I want to play'. I much prefer to let the dice tell me about the PC rather than me build them.

    I think I'll insist on 3d6 in order for 6 characters next time. Then I choose who becomes my avatar.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 2D6 + 6, no swapping stats. You still end up with the occasional 8 or 9, but nobody ends up with a character so below average you have to wonder why their mum ever let them go adventuring.

    ReplyDelete
  22. For the OSR variant I'm designing for personal use (My wife says to call it "DaD's RPG") it's 4d6, drop the lowest, and place the scores where-ever. Although the in-sequence idea is suddenly very appealing.

    Back in the day I rememeber rolling up a character via the old 3d6 in sequence method. We didn't have any pre-printed character sheets so I rolled up my attributes, wrote them in sequence as a column on my scratch pad and then /wrote the attributes next to them in the order I liked most/.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Depends on the DM as to whether it is 4d6/best 3 or just 3d6, but it's almost always rolled in a strict order (Stinwicodexch! - as for OD&D rather than AD&D) with no swapsies or trading in of points. And it's invariably a case of rolling up only one character and then playing that. Rolling badly tended to define a more interesting character. Class was generally what suited the rolled characteristics most though.

    And you played the character, even if it was pathetic. There was no thought of trying to kill off a badly rolled character. After all, just because you (the player) aren't the strongest person in your neighbourhood doesn't mean you feel compelled to commit suicide, does it?

    [As for selection of class, well my RQ character from a long running game (from raw character sheet to rune lord status) rolled Siz 18 and Int 9 (both on 2d6+6), so he obviously was a Storm Bull cultist...]

    ReplyDelete
  24. Well, typically when I create a character, I usually roll 4D6 removing the lowest die, once for each stat. Also, I don’t really like to have super crummy stats, as in a bunch of singles digits or 10’s to 12’s. Some are ok, but if it is overwhelmingly mediocre bordering on bad, then I scrap the stats, and generally roll until I come up with something I am happy to play; let me be clear, not a super character mind you but something that is decent and in line with the type of PC I have in mind to play. I don’t personally believe a player should play a character they are not happy with (as long as the player is not shooting for all 18’s or something equally ridiculous). Then I arrange them according to what I want to play, i.e. I want to make a ranger let’s say, so I will put my highest scores in strength, dexterity & constitution most likely.

    At any rate, that is just the nuts and bolts of the character though. I think ahead of time what class & personality I want to play, before I roll any dice (but I do try to allow for some wiggle room in this regard through play, as that is I think where the best parts are usually developed based on the things the PC runs into during the course of a campaign). I also like to know what type of setting I am in, be it Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms or a home-made world.

    ReplyDelete
  25. We usually roll 4d6 drop the lowest or 3d6 re-roll ones, assign-where-you-will.

    If I don't already have a concept in mind, I prefer 3d6 in order. After I have my numbers, it's a question of "What sort of life events would cause a dude to end up like that" and then I pick whichever class makes sense/is allowable.

    After rolling a character, I usually come to the game with a pretty firm idea of who my character is, but I have to remain flexible enough to let him grow and develop as he adventures.

    Also, I love to have one really bad stat. Mayhaps it comes from rolling 4d6 for most of my roleplaying career, but these days it seems I'd rather have a 3 than an 18.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Started with 3d6 in order (D&D Basic Set), moved to '4d6 drop lowest' system and then a system that involved rolling a bunch of dice and allocating them when we moved to a D&D/AD&D2e hybrid. Since returning to D&D (BECMI/Cyclopedia), it has been been a 3d6 in order. But then there are no such things a dump stats for players in my games, as, after playing WFRP and other games, I make use of characteristic tests quite frequently - Chr 6? Well, you can try to persuade Lord Grim, and if you come up with a convincing argument you might get a modifier, but when you've done, roll a d20...

    ReplyDelete
  27. When I run, I typically go with 4d6 drop the low, as I play with a bunch of min-maxers. :( There's not a lot of room for minmaxing in Basic (as opposed to 2nd Ed S&P, which is our typical system) and I've long been the sort of player who likes to see a nice mix of stats. Low stats give me something to RP to, in addition to whatever personality or background the character might have. I must admit I've caved as a player with char generation a time or two - placing the 18 in the PR even though I intend to play the character as comic relief. Such pressure!

    ReplyDelete
  28. For old school I like the pure 3d6 in order.
    For more modern systems, I'm now a fierce advocate for the 'deck' method: (18 cards varying from 1 to 6 that add up to the desired average, minus two, plus an extra '2' that the player can add to any stat after the fact).

    It merges the point-equality of point-buy with the suprise and randomness of pure rolling.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Whatever the DM says. I really don't care. Then a two or three line description of the character, if that

    ReplyDelete
  30. I use a slightly askew system in everything up to OS/2 Warped (my 2e house system)

    Players have 3 choices

    #1 They can use Hill Canton's "background system" with 1 extra free die

    #2 4d6 drop 1 arrange as desired

    #3 My favorite, select race and class, set minimum stats, 4d6 drop lowest in order. This allows people to play what they like but provides for a decent selection of oddball characters.

    Also I am pretty generous with mulligans. If people are unhappy with what they get, make another guy. I haven't had any abuse issues as I trust my players and they actually don't mind the occasional mediocre stat.

    As for later editions (3x and up) those are point buy (30+1d6 in 3.5 or choose 32, and either 20/25 point or 18/22 +1d4 in Pathfinder) or 4d6 drop lowest arrange as desired.

    I am not messing with 4e as of yet but as it looks fiddly, I think I'd go by the book.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I usually just choose my ability scores to match my concept and ask the DM to approve them. Otherwise I prefer point systems of some kind. I generally loathe "rolling" up characters.

    ReplyDelete
  32. When we started the current Lab Lord campaign it was 4d6 drop the lowest, arrange in order, as Carter I think wanted to be a generous to people totally new to the game (and maybe beefing up the players used to 3e and 4e). I recently started rolling up some characters as you did, but I was trying to get a thief to go along with a cool name I had. As the stable grew I noticed three characters that would be entertaining fighting sisters: the oldest was all around good, the middle one had 3s in DEX and WIS; and the youngest was strongest but slightly dim. I call them Gina, Lola, and Brigida, and can see them as charming 3 Stooges type dungeon crew.

    ReplyDelete
  33. My favorite is, roll 3d6 nine times. Scratch off any three scores. The remaining numbers become your stats, in the order they're written. I like this because it's quick, it lets players have some control while still imposing rigidity, and it sometimes forces a player to make a tough choice, such as scratching off a 12 and keeping an 8 in order to get the 16 into Intelligence instead of Con.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I usually like to have some idea of the game I'm playing in (no point in making a super diplomatic character in a hack and slash game) and some idea of what everyone else is going to play (I don't want to be the 3rd dwarf or second fighter unless there is a good reason.)

    Plus as a group we should try and have all the bases covered.

    Then I look through the classes and races, trying to find something that really sparks my interest. The other day I made a new character to save for future use. I decided I wanted to be a monk because I had just remembered how much I used to like Dragonball Z. Then I decided on Halfling, both because they make good monks and I haven't gotten to play one in forever.

    Then I made all the technical choices- pointy buy ability scores, skills, feats, powers, gear, etc. I let those choices fill in the character details in my mind. He was going to be talkative and friendly but not very persuasive (8 Charisma), his master was going to be Fat Aloysius the renowned traveling monk and amazing chef (Falling Needle powers), he was going to in many ways cling to halfling racial stereotypes (skills and feat choices, etc.

    And thus Wilkie Widebottom was born into the world, being sassy and throwing ki energy around.

    ReplyDelete
  35. James - Just out of curiosity, is your new game on Google+?

    No, this is a character for a face to face game with a diminished version of my regular gaming group.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I roll 12d6. Then, with the sort of character I want to play in mind, I arrange the dice like this:

    1) Apply 1d6 to all of the attributes affected by a character's physicality: Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity & Strength. (This eliminates the possibility that any of those attributes will be more than 10 points different from each other -- which is hard to rationalize.)

    2) Apply 1d6 to all of the attributes affected by a character's mentality: Charisma, Intelligence & Wisdom. (This eliminates the possibility that any of those attributes will be more than 10 points different from each other -- which is hard to rationalize.)

    3) Apply 1d6 to Constitution & Strength. (This eliminates the possibility that Constitution & Strength will be more than 5 points different from each other -- which is hard to rationalize.)

    4) Apply the rest of the dice to bring each attribute up to 3d6 -- 1d6 to Charisma, 1d6 to Constitution, 2d6 to Dexterity, 2d6 to Intelligence, 1d6 to Strength, and 2d6 to Wisdom.

    Then it's hit points, starting money, equipment and, possibly, spells.

    Done!

    ReplyDelete
  37. So, my question for today is this: how do you go about creating a new, 1st-level D&D character?

    From a player perspective, exactly like you do. i.e., whatever the rules allow for randomness and just that amount of detail as to PC identity going in.

    As DM, I do allow players to pick 2 ability scores and swap them. So the process (esp. for brand-new players) appears as in the LBB order: pick class first, then roll abilities (and make one swap as desired).

    ReplyDelete
  38. Currently, I went back to what I did in the 80's : 3d6 in order, then pick class and/or race (i mix both class-as-race and split class/race without problems). I used B/X blackrazor table on "how do they know each other method" to create links between starting characters - and it generaly provides a background, alternatively using some others random tables for the same background purpose.

    ReplyDelete
  39. However the GM says I should. Which is probably 4d6, drop the low die, put the stats where you want them.

    I agree with you about the value of emergent personality and letting your character's self emerge as time passes. For me, though, "as time passes" is usually less than 15 minutes. By then my character has a name, some kind of personality, some sense of history, and maybe even a personal goal or two. They just kinda show up as I'm filling out the character sheet.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Depends on the game; if I'm playing with folks who want equal points, I copped this method from someone:

    Roll 3d6, re-roll any below 9. Assign that stat. Assign the next stat at 27 - previous.

    Then roll 3d6, re-roll any below 7. Assign that stat. Assign next stat at 25 - previous.

    Then roll 3d6, re-roll any below 5. Assign that stat. Final stat is 23 - previous.

    @Ed Dove: it is all too easy to imagine STR and CON being more than 5 points apart. Slow, heavy labor and the wrong food can make you strong but fat, unable to run for long distances and prone to illness. I've met several truck drivers who could lift well over 200 pounds, but who weighed well over that as well. People can also be healthy except for a chronic illness such as asthma or hemophilia. It isn't that hard to explain.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Gremlin just ate my post...

    Anyway:

    "Str 12, Int 9, Wis 13, Dex 12, Con 14, Cha 10" - James
    I would have gone with Dwarf (back when Dwarf was a class and a Race at the same time) simply because this guy has just enough wisdom to give a Saving throw bonus vs magic.

    As a Cleric he isnt awesome. Though his wisdom is above average he is not some wise Guru whose self meditations will reveal some great insight, and his health is better than his brains. His Charisma says he is not leadership material - at least for the church - but he might be a Friar Tuck.
    For me Stats are Personality: In the church hierarchy with above average health and Wisdom He is trapped in the ranks of the Church Enforcement Division. 'The Inquisition is In' with this guy. His favourite phrase is going to be "Tell it to the High Priest!"

    ReplyDelete
  42. For my current "Stonehell on the Borderlands" game using modified B/X, I make the players roll 3d6 in order, then they may swap any two of the first four stats. There are only three players, and their characters die fairly often. If one of them wants to play a fighter, I'm not going to make him play a crap fighter.

    By far the most important and highly anticipated stage of chargen, though, is rolling random hats.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I just like to roll 3d6 straight down the column and figure out what would be the most appropriate type of character they are depending on the stats. So if my fighter's best stat is a str of 7, so be it. It's all the more reason why he would of learned how to use a short sword then a two handed one.

    ReplyDelete
  44. "...it is all too easy to imagine STR and CON being more than 5 points apart. Slow, heavy labor and the wrong food can make you strong but fat, unable to run for long distances and prone to illness. I've met several truck drivers who could lift well over 200 pounds, but who weighed well over that as well. People can also be healthy except for a chronic illness such as asthma or hemophilia. It isn't that hard to explain."--amp108

    Thanks for the critique.

    I thought about things like those (and lots of other things) while I was working out the character generation system I use now. And things like the examples you gave are certainly true for post-industrial settings with:

    1) Lots of occupations in which people can get away with physically exerting themselves only momentarily at most.

    2) An abundance of cheap food, so it's easy to get fat enough to develop health problems.

    3) Modern medicine that keeps people with chronic illnesses alive beyond childhood.

    So, my character generation system for post-industrial settings would link Constitution & Strength by only 1d6 -- allowing them to differ by up to 10 points.

    But none of that is true for pre-industrial settings. In those:

    1) Occupations in which people can get away with physically exerting themselves only momentarily at most are extremely rare.

    2) Food is scarce & expensive, so it's extremely difficult to get fat enough to develop health problems.

    3) People with chronic illnesses very rarely live beyond childhood.

    So, in pre-industrial settings, it's extremely unlikely that any adult will be either very healthy but very weak or very strong but very unhealthy. And I think it's probably even less likely than randomly rolling Constitution & Strength more than 5 points different from each other is. That's why my character generation system for pre-industrial settings links Constitution & Strength by 2d6 -- allowing them to differ by only 5 points.

    Does that make sense to you now or do you still see problems with it?

    ReplyDelete
  45. I do 3d6 in order and let folks follow the 2 for 1 rule in b/x. Then I generally encourage folks to come up with a one or two word description for the character. For your cleric for example is he a evangelical crusader, idealistic pilgrim, simple minded preacher. I think I got the idea from dyson a while ago with the descriptions it keeps all fighters from being the same.

    I want to the see the random starting hat table!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Len Lakofka once wrote an excellent article on starting AD&D campaigns in his "Leomund's Tiny Hut" column. He advocated a system that rolled 4d6, dropping the lowest. Seven rolls were generated (the player decided which roll to drop: It didn't have to be the lowest) and two stats could be swapped. This system gave enough choice that the player could build a wide variety of characters but it didn't give enough latitude to encourage optimization.

    ReplyDelete
  47. If I am the player, then i do as the DM allows for his or her campaign. But if I had my druthers I would use the Elite Array from the 3rd Ed. DM's Guide.

    15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, put 'em where you want 'em. This way every character starts out with the same potential.

    I have run games where we used 4d6-drop the lowest and had a guy get three 18's and nothing below a 12. Another player in the same campaign got a high stat of 13 and most of them below 10. I know some of you are thinking "too bad, he rolled what he rolled", but the lucky player consistently rolled well (he used the same dice as everyone else) and he tore through my monsters while the rest of the party were fairly ineffective, the low-roller being all but useless. Luckily the RP was still good and it helped make the game interesting, but I'd rather have the players have characters that they can get into. The game provides enough random elements to kill a player.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I (not so) recently had a moment where I had been the DM for some time and got the chance to finally play in a Lamentations game run by PCB. All the people who usually play were ready with names, but I wasn't, and being first to the left of the DM I was first to announce mine... err... "Geoff!" No surname, no titles, just Geoff. Geoff the M-U. Still had a great game though! It's nice to be on the other side.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Great thread.

    Sir Yobgod Ababua the Handless re:
    "For more modern systems, I'm now a fierce advocate for the 'deck' method: (18 cards varying from 1 to 6 that add up to the desired average, minus two, plus an extra '2' that the player can add to any stat after the fact)."

    I like this. So, using a 3.5 average, I would shuffle three aces, 2's, 3's, 4's and 5's with four 4's and two 6's, deal them into six piles and add 2 points to one. Is this correct? Thanks for any help.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I take much the same approach as you, James, except I look for extremes in scores, as I find it more interesting to play a character with such differences.

    ReplyDelete
  51. H-Town said...

    I want to the see the random starting hat table!


    I use JB's chart, available here: http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2010/08/bx-headgear-new-charts-to-gear-up-your.html

    It's the first page in my DM binder. Not only is it fun in itself, but it takes some of the sting out of PC mortality. "Bah. My elf is dead. Now I have to roll up a new character... But I also get to roll for a new hat! Huzzah!"

    ReplyDelete
  52. 3d6 in order for 6 characters (drop 2 raise 1 allowed for purposes of xp bonus only). The other 5 are hirelings/henchmen npcs, that may turn into the PC if the primary one bites the dust.

    Imagine a god forming 6 PC's from clay...substitute "dice" for "clay". "Play 'em how the gods made 'em."

    ReplyDelete
  53. I use a different system. Players can play any character class they choose (to improve the game texture). I have trabsposed the probabilities from the 3d6 bell curve onto percentile dice, and have anumber of tables, where you roll percentile dice to get results 13-18, 14-18, 15-18 etc. Player rolls 3d6 against each ability. When s/he is satisfied with the chardcater stats (they can re-roll as many times as they like, but all six stats). When they are ready, and if by then a certain prime requisite (such as Paladin't Charisma) is not met, they roll percentile dice to get them into that class. I balance the game by taking all of the players rejected charaters. These will become NPC Antagonists, who will go aftre the PC throughout the campaign, and do their best to kill that palyer character. The better and more carefully selected PC, the harder s/he will have to fight to stay alive.

    A word of explanation. I run a sandbox without any signposts or railroading. I accomplish this by embedding he character into the back story. Simply put, the player writes a brief bio describing who the character is and how charadter came to be. I re-write the bio and effectively write the character into the story. Of course, all characters must be affliated with guilds, warrior houses, knights and temples in order to grow in level. Time spent adventuring represents only a small part of the PC's time, the rest of their lives, PC's are invlved with whatever guilds and retinues they belong to. More powerful NPC's, whom the Player Characters serve and who ultimately train them, can send players on various errands, missions and quests on behalf of the organisations they serve. The whole campaign is predicated on chaacters exploring and discovering the campaign world and taking parts and influencing certain events unfolding with or without the player involvement. Players success or failure will be judged at the end of the campaign based on whether they will be able to save the world in which the campaign is set from the doom that awaits it. No boss monsters. No linearity, and errands handed down by the guild will not put the players on the trail of the main quest.

    ReplyDelete
  54. "I balance the game by taking all of the player's rejected charaters. These will become NPC Antagonists, who will go after the PC throughout the campaign, and do their best to kill that player character. The better and more carefully selected the PC, the harder s/he will have to fight to stay alive."

    That's brilliant! I'm going to start doing that too!

    ReplyDelete
  55. Declare race and class then 3d6 in order. Roleplay opportunities and motivations galore.

    ReplyDelete
  56. I really like the idea of antagonists/hirelings for stabled/rejected characters.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Roll 3d6 6 times, in order. Rinse, repeat, write down next to them. Pick best of the two rolls for each of the ordered stats. Then, if you want, you get 1 reroll on any stat.

    Seems generous, but ultimately forcing players to play a conception they don't like is pointless because they'll get him killed or just not enjoy the experience. Not everyone enjoys that challenge.

    Another thing I don't do is audit XP, GP, or anything like that. If players want to cheat each other, it is their game they are gutting. Since I play with people with 2-3 decades at the game table, this tends to work fine.

    ReplyDelete