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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 74074" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p><strong>Oy</strong></p><p></p><p>I would say this DM is being extra-tasty-controlling.</p><p></p><p>I mean, eek. It's one thing to say "Make characters within these parameters," which is fine. It's another to say "I'm making your characters, and if you don't like it, tough luck."</p><p></p><p>The closest I've come to this is when I introduced about 5 new people to the game in 1 campaign-starting adventure. I wrote up character sheets for them, as it would be infinately quicker than teaching 5 new people to play with 2 PHB's, and not a lot of time. After all, character creation is some of the most tedious work in D&D.</p><p></p><p>But even then, I provided them with options. I didn't say "You're this." I said "Give 'em a look, and see which ones you would like to play."</p><p></p><p>I'd do this in the future, too. If I had a great idea like the Ravenloft idea in my head, I'd say "All your characters are farmers on the same farm. Make it work." When the discovery came along, I'd give them their first level randomly, and allow them to take it from there (the character who can read runes may decide they don't want to be a wizard...). The plot can be created according to the player's ideas.</p><p></p><p>I might suggest certain character types for the plot that comes along (I always suggest a cleric/warrior/wizard/rogue dichotomy). But, in general, I work WITH the players to give them a game we can all enjoy. I don't dictate to them. I don't tell them what they do. I only tell them what they CAN'T do.</p><p></p><p>I would say try it. And please, post back here on what happens. But judging from your description of him (telling you what your characters do?!), it seems a bit slanted against him. Try it. And, if all else fails, you've got the rest of the character's progression in your hand.</p><p></p><p>I'd still say it's a very bad idea to tell players what they do. And I've almost never been a player. I just think that, if the majority (the players) aren't entertained, I'm not going to have very much fun. I don't have fun telling my story. I have fun creating it in conjunction with the PC's. If they don't have fun playing through the plot, then I don't have fun telling them what happens -- they are devoid of interest.</p><p></p><p>When I DM, I always create the plot according to the character's desires. Part of my fun comes from seeing how the characters they have created react to twists in the story, and going with them from there. It's happened that a PC has a "sneaking suspicion" about a nameless NPC I had no interest in, and suddenly they become the big baddie, because I go with the flow. I would never dictate to them. If I decided that that nameless NPC being the big baddie wouldn't work, I would just leave that suspicion unfounded. And I wouldn't force them not to persue it because it didn't fit in with my plot. If their suspicion is great enough, they may waste a lot of time while the real big baddie gains powers.</p><p></p><p>But, again, give it a try, and report on what he's doing once you have. I still think it's quite over-the-top for him to dictate what you must be, 99%, but I'm welcome to being proven wrong. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 74074, member: 2067"] [b]Oy[/b] I would say this DM is being extra-tasty-controlling. I mean, eek. It's one thing to say "Make characters within these parameters," which is fine. It's another to say "I'm making your characters, and if you don't like it, tough luck." The closest I've come to this is when I introduced about 5 new people to the game in 1 campaign-starting adventure. I wrote up character sheets for them, as it would be infinately quicker than teaching 5 new people to play with 2 PHB's, and not a lot of time. After all, character creation is some of the most tedious work in D&D. But even then, I provided them with options. I didn't say "You're this." I said "Give 'em a look, and see which ones you would like to play." I'd do this in the future, too. If I had a great idea like the Ravenloft idea in my head, I'd say "All your characters are farmers on the same farm. Make it work." When the discovery came along, I'd give them their first level randomly, and allow them to take it from there (the character who can read runes may decide they don't want to be a wizard...). The plot can be created according to the player's ideas. I might suggest certain character types for the plot that comes along (I always suggest a cleric/warrior/wizard/rogue dichotomy). But, in general, I work WITH the players to give them a game we can all enjoy. I don't dictate to them. I don't tell them what they do. I only tell them what they CAN'T do. I would say try it. And please, post back here on what happens. But judging from your description of him (telling you what your characters do?!), it seems a bit slanted against him. Try it. And, if all else fails, you've got the rest of the character's progression in your hand. I'd still say it's a very bad idea to tell players what they do. And I've almost never been a player. I just think that, if the majority (the players) aren't entertained, I'm not going to have very much fun. I don't have fun telling my story. I have fun creating it in conjunction with the PC's. If they don't have fun playing through the plot, then I don't have fun telling them what happens -- they are devoid of interest. When I DM, I always create the plot according to the character's desires. Part of my fun comes from seeing how the characters they have created react to twists in the story, and going with them from there. It's happened that a PC has a "sneaking suspicion" about a nameless NPC I had no interest in, and suddenly they become the big baddie, because I go with the flow. I would never dictate to them. If I decided that that nameless NPC being the big baddie wouldn't work, I would just leave that suspicion unfounded. And I wouldn't force them not to persue it because it didn't fit in with my plot. If their suspicion is great enough, they may waste a lot of time while the real big baddie gains powers. But, again, give it a try, and report on what he's doing once you have. I still think it's quite over-the-top for him to dictate what you must be, 99%, but I'm welcome to being proven wrong. :) [/QUOTE]
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