Do You Build As You Go?

I range anywhere form starting with a general idea of where I want the character to end up to knowing exactly everything about the way I want the character to be (usually, leaning a little closer to the former). Then I let the campaign change things or not, as it will. I think of it as being like real life. Some kids know exactly what they want to do with their lives, others find out through trial and error.

Chad

Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant? I've seen allocating skill points differently because of in game events, but generally nothing much more than that. Usually its something that people overlooked earlier, in my experience. The fighter player notices a feat he didn't see before or we realize how good something is that we previously thought was worthless. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take a level in a class they weren't planning to take from the get go, for example.

Sometimes campaign suggestions make me plan out and advancement for a character. For example, if I were told up front we were going to play a pirates game I might start with the plan to go for a specific prestige class. More often it just evolves, but i try to have a guiding concept that will be easy to deal with regardless of the circumstances. For example, my current PC is a Battle Sorcerer who I invisioned as a fantasy take on a wild west gunfighter. So far no need to change my plans in that regard.

EDIT: As a DM i have had the opposite happen, a campaign that I changed to accomidate PC design. I had planned on it being an exploration camapign where the PCs were privateer types comissioned by a noble house to recover various artifacts before their rivals did. Not a single PC worked for that (until much later in the campaign when one player created a replacement PC) so the events I had planned changed significantly.

SECOND EDIT: We were asked: "Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant? " - The player creates a ranger/cleric dedicated to fighting the undead hordes that wiped out his village but the campaign features almost no undead and instead focuses on aberrations. The player creates a rogue he invisions as a stealthy fighter only to find out that most of the enemies can't be SA'd so he takes some levels of wizard to make him more effective. The pirate character winds up in the deep jungle for 5 levels and so changes to ranger. Typically IME this comes because the DM fails to communicate the expectations of the campaign to the player; or because roleplaying concerns and opportunities change the character concept over tiem.

ThirdWizard said:

Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant?

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In a standard, beer & pretzels D&D game, I don't think there will be as much (if any) in-game circumstances that would cause you to change your build. There certainly could be but the chances are fairly low.

It's much more difficult to plan ahead in campaigns that are story-based or at least where there is much more "unknown". If the players know they are playing an Adventure Path, they have a reasonable idea of how the campaign will develop.

If they are playing a low-magic, survivalist campaign, the change that they will have to adapt to survive is much greater.

Earlier editions of D&D didn't allow a whole lot of development choices, of course. But in 3e, and all the other systems I've played that allow for development choices, I've not played a game where I could predict well enough where the game was going to go to choose my build beforehand.

In a couple of cases, if I'd informed the GM beforehand that I wanted to go a very specific direction they'd have helped make sure that fit the campaign, but it would have restricted the flow of the game somewhat.

Thankfully, I prefer organic growth anyway. Character growth is like... real person growth. What you want when you enter high school or college is only rarely what you find you'll want or need when you're 35 with a kid. Same basic idea. it is good to have a plan, and goals, but it is also good to be able to allow the world to change the plan and for goals to evolve and change in response to what has happened around you.

ThirdWizard said:

Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant? I've seen allocating skill points differently because of in game events, but generally nothing much more than that. Usually its something that people overlooked earlier, in my experience. The fighter player notices a feat he didn't see before or we realize how good something is that we previously thought was worthless. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take a level in a class they weren't planning to take from the get go, for example.

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I've seen this exact thing happen.

One guy started with a halfling rogue, planning to go into sorcerer and whatever that PrC is that lets you combine them. In the game, he gets a lucky sneak attack + critical at low level taking out a powerful ogre chief. When the local barbarian tribe hears of his exploits they name him 'Ogre-Slayer' and he spends some time with them. The guy abandoned his magical plans and took barbarian levels instead.

In a previous campaign, as I said, I had a character that I had planned to make a sailor/pirate type. She was a paladin that was going to follow in her sailor mother's footsteps. This fit with the DM's greater campaign plan in the beginning. She was going to become a Privateer of sorts and go slay the BBEG.

But, then, it became obvious that the king *was* the BBEG and so becoming a state-sponsored Privateer sort of lost its luster. Not only that, the group ended up choosing a path that took them far, far away from the ocean.

Hence, my character never became a sailor. Instead, she started taking levels in Cleric.

As GlassJaw says - most any story driven game will have circumstances that change one's character concept. In my experience, that event usually revolves around finding out the king is corrupt. hehe.

ThirdWizard said:

Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant? I've seen allocating skill points differently because of in game events, but generally nothing much more than that. Usually its something that people overlooked earlier, in my experience. The fighter player notices a feat he didn't see before or we realize how good something is that we previously thought was worthless. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take a level in a class they weren't planning to take from the get go, for example.

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Yes, two of my recent characters would be examples of this.

Both are Dawnforge characters:
Lorac was a Fighter you I thought would be great leading into the Epic General PrC (Dawnforge book). He has since qualified for it, but has yet to take it due to campaign events where I ended up taking a different PrC (DM Created) and plan on following it for a time.
Morigath was a Wizard, and still is. I orginally thought to make him an Elmental Savant (Complete Arcane), as I played him I realized he was much better as a Generalist. And due to a recent adventure in the campaign has taken a feat I would have never thought to take for him. Granted the feat would have been more useful before that portion of the campaign, and might never be needed again. It just made good RP since.

ThirdWizard said:

Can someone give an example of an event that changes the way someone would level up their PC due to events in the campaign from actual play that is significant? I've seen allocating skill points differently because of in game events, but generally nothing much more than that. Usually its something that people overlooked earlier, in my experience. The fighter player notices a feat he didn't see before or we realize how good something is that we previously thought was worthless. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take a level in a class they weren't planning to take from the get go, for example.

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In my GF's case her Fighter / Rogue kept on getting knocked over in combat, so she took more levels of fighter before rogue (which was out of her planned sequence) to get her HP's up. in the end it delayed access to her PRc by a level. Was that poor planning ? more due to group mix and the fact they tended to face groups rather than just one or two enemies

My Ranger took levels in weretouched master which was never an option when i started but became the preferred route mainly due to the group dynamics and a tendency of other party members to yell 'fetch'. Growing fangs, stripes and snarling tends to put people in their place.... I like to RP so it was definitely the better 'flavour' than other choices - and didn't limit the character if i'm honest.

In another campaign, a friends character took a completely different character concept after dying and became a 'born again' warlock, a completely plot driven change

Flexor the Mighty! said:

Ditto. I don't plan characters I play them and see where they go.

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ditto. almost.

i don't plan characters i live them and see where i go.