Character creation

der_kluge · Jun 2, 2005

Just curious what the general consensus on character creation is around here. It seems like some rules variants, like C&C favor a more rules-light approach to the game, but end up sacrificing character creation.

In other words, creating a rules-light system reduces the complexity of a character, and makes character creation a lot faster. This can either be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

I favor complex character creation. I like tweaking characters and adjusting minutia, and planning out paths, including feats, spells, or possibly prestige classes. I've seen others complain about this process.

The_Warlock · Jun 2, 2005

I like it somewhere in the middle, where the players can have an easy time of creating the character and I can create fast NPCs, but where tweaks and unique characters are achievable by favorable combos.

That's why I like the class abilities as feat system in Blue Rose/True20.

In Core D&D, I try to re-use NPC builds to speed up my prep time, while letting the players have access to an avalanche of feats I've approved or rewritten for my home campaign.

The_Universe · Jun 2, 2005

I didn't answer the poll, because the first and second options both apply to me. As a player, I love being able to spend some time creating a meaningful character. As a DM, it's a pain in the ass to have to spend more than a few minutes giving an NPC numbers, etc. to represent their abilities.

I'm bilocated on both sides of the fence!

Queen_Dopplepopolis · Jun 2, 2005

I really enjoy coming up with *concepts* for characters, so I spend a lot of time simply decicing what basic idea I'm going to go with as there are always SO MANY to choose from.

After I finally make the decision, the process moves quickly.

Rodrigo Istalindir · Jun 2, 2005

As a DM, I like complex character creation so long as the players don't munchkin out on me. I like having enough character detail that the players know what they can do, and I know how to adjudicate it fairly. Also, if everything comes down to 'uh, make a STR check' then I think the players lose some of the pleasure in seeing their character do something cool, and I lose the pleasure in creating situations that require them to stretch themselves. Not saying it can't be done with a rules-lite system, just that I eventually found old-style D&D a little repetitive.

In thinking about this, I also discovered an interesting quirk. The more modern (or futuristic) the game, the more I demand in terms of rules and complexity.

Belen · Jun 2, 2005

der_kluge said:
Just curious what the general consensus on character creation is around here. It seems like some rules variants, like C&C favor a more rules-light approach to the game, but end up sacrificing character creation.

In other words, creating a rules-light system reduces the complexity of a character, and makes character creation a lot faster. This can either be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

I favor complex character creation. I like tweaking characters and adjusting minutia, and planning out paths, including feats, spells, or possibly prestige classes. I've seen others complain about this process.

I detest the mechanics, but spend a lot of time on the "character" creation. Thus I write a backstory and flesh out the personality of the character. The mechanics are always mold to the history, not the history to the mechanics. I think about a class I want to play, come up with a background, then create the crunch.

I really dislike those people who are all about the crunch and "kewl" abilities.

Tonguez · Jun 2, 2005

Wishy washy option

I like narrative character creation ie think up a concept (say Half-orc Voodoo Witchdoctor) then I write out a general backstory and abilities and assigne mechanics accordingly

So Voodoo Witchdoctor - Cleric with Domains: Death, Trickster and Protection maybe
He grew up in a swamp and so has skills Boathandling, Swim and Prof:Herbalist and Prof:Cook because his mama taught him to do a mean crocodile gumbo...

ThirdWizard · Jun 2, 2005

Creating the character is half the fun!

diaglo · Jun 2, 2005

3d6 in order. str, int, wis, con, dex, cha

Henry · Jun 2, 2005

I love playing with a new character's options for a few hours, and I love spending time on level-gains, too. Every once in a while I'll play something else lighter, but usually because I want to play something with characters that are butt-kickable but expendable.