Are your players usually ok with restrictions?

[Nellisir]

I'd say they're OK with it. For this current campaign, my player had zero choice about character class. I started them all using the same class. I also had pre-determined backstories that the players had little input on. And, I even named the characters (because we don't really choose our names at birth--we're given names).

If everyone had the same character class, or the same restricted choices, I could go with that. I would not be cool with the DM handing me a pregen character and saying "you play the thief, he plays the wizard, and she plays the fighter."

The predetermined backstory is doable, though again I'd be concerned if it dictated character personality.

 

[gamerprinter]

Of course, Water Bob, runs adventures for Conan RPG, and his players are all running human barbarians, from the same family and village - so the choices are more limited, but seemingly appropriate.

(Water Bob has explained in multiple threads on this matter...)

 

[S'mon]

Hey, I thought the food improved dramatically between my visits in 1989 and 1997.

Yeah, really in London at least it's not bad these days. OTOH there certainly is no American style 'service ethic' and no sense that customers are entitled that whatever they want should be available. Gave my American wife a bit of a shock when she first came over here and had the temerity to ask at a sandwich stall for a baguette without mayonaise be made just for her...

 

[Water Bob]

If everyone had the same character class, or the same restricted choices, I could go with that. I would not be cool with the DM handing me a pregen character and saying "you play the thief, he plays the wizard, and she plays the fighter."

I just ruled that everyone be the same class, Barbarian, from the same clan. And, I gave the characters names. The rest--rolling stats, adding skill points, picking feats--was up to the players as usual.

Of course, Water Bob, runs adventures for Conan RPG, and his players are all running human barbarians, from the same family and village - so the choices are more limited, but seemingly appropriate.

I've done the same in normal D&D games, too. I think the first time was back in the mid-80's, playing 1E AD&D and the Dragonlance campaign. We were playing that, snapping up the adventures as soon as they came out.

With DL1, I simply took the six pregenerated Heroes of the Lance and gave them to players. I had five players and six characters, so I allowed one player to have two characters (Goldmoon and Riverwind). I had ideas on how the other characters should be played by, but I allowed the players to decide amongst themselves who would play who. Remember, back then, we knew nothing of Dragonlance. When I started this, the saga was just one adventure. I banned reading the novels because, at least at first, they were so closely linked with the first four adventures.

So, it was a lot like taking the pregenerated characters that used to come with 1E AD&D adventures and handing them out to the players. Who wants to be the fighter? Who wants to be the dwarf? That sort of thing.

It worked great. We had a tremendous time playing Dragonlance, and our version was a lot deadlier than the version in the books. Sturm died in the first adventure, and then we raised him. And, when we finally all read the books, we all laughed that our game mirrored what happened in them.




I'd do that today, outside of Dragonlance, if the story required it. Like in my example above where the story is tied to a Church. I might restrict the types of character classes available.

If I wanted to do a campaign based around a mercenary company, for example, I might limit classes to fighter, thief (scout), mage (battlemage), cleric (battlemedic) only, and I might rule that the cleric must be a deciple of a certain god (God of War, most likely).

It just depends on the story.

(Water Bob has explained in multiple threads on this matter...)

I do that often because, from experience, people automatically think I'm talking about D&D. There used to be tags we could put on the topics, but those are gone now. So, when it's important to know, I try to remind people that I'm playing a slightly (sometimes widely) different game than what they're used to.

As for Conan RPG games, there's plenty of GMs out there that run Conan games like you would a D&D game, where players can pick any class they want. I just chose not to do that for my story that focusses on Cimmerians.

 

[GSHamster]

I didn't realize the situation was so unique. Do many players think choosing character class is a player right?

Personally, I think it's reasonable for a player to want to choose the details of their character.

The DM has the rest of world. The players have their characters.

Not to say that the other way can't work for specific groups. But in general, I would rather give the players full choice in what characters they want to play.

 

[S'mon]

Personally, I think it's reasonable for a player to want to choose the details of their character.

The DM has the rest of world. The players have their characters.

Not to say that the other way can't work for specific groups. But in general, I would rather give the players full choice in what characters they want to play.

Characters have backgrounds. Backgrounds are part of the world.

One reason I like to set restrictions on PCs is that I don't like to set restrictions in-game. I love being surprised, seeing what happens. I hate GMing railroads as much as I hate playing them. It's not about my plot, it's about the PCs. That does mean the PCs need to be characters I like and am interested in!

 

[Water Bob]

Personally, I think it's reasonable for a player to want to choose the details of their character.

The DM has the rest of world. The players have their characters.

So, if I came to you and said, "Hey, I'm going to run a game that's set in the bowels of the Free City of Greyhawk. All the characters are going to be members of the largest, most powerful thieves guild. Your PCs will be 1st level, and I'm restricting classes to either fighters (muscle) or thieves. You can play a human, a half-orc, or a halfling. And, I'll give you your character's name once you tell me his race. You'll roll your stats and pick skills and feats as normal.

Normally, I'd let the players pick their character's name, but in this case, the name of the character ties in with prophecy that will become a major part of the story. So, this time out, I chose names instead of letting the players do it.

You'd have a problem with such a game? It doesn't sound like fun?

Characters have backgrounds. Backgrounds are part of the world.

One reason I like to set restrictions on PCs is that I don't like to set restrictions in-game. I love being surprised, seeing what happens. I hate GMing railroads as much as I hate playing them. It's not about my plot, it's about the PCs. That does mean the PCs need to be characters I like and am interested in!

Absolutely. I play the same way. I want my players to have as much freedom of choice in the game as possible.

For example, I'm prepping tonight for our next game on Saturday. The PCs are in a dungeon, and I'm pretty sure that they're going to get out of town while the getting is good and high tail it back to the clan village.

Now, when they come out, they've got three basic ways to go. They can go north, the way they came, but if they do, they know some of the dangers that they will face (considerable), and they saw an enemy patrol go that way just before they entered the dungeon.

They can go west, but this takes them in the exact opposite direction from their clan holme destination and farther into enemy territory.

East is blocked by some steep, unpassible peaks.

And, south leads them into the Cracked Lands--unexplored territory that, on the map, is visually the straightest line back to their village.

As GM, I think the players will go south, and if they do, I've prepared some encounters along the way.

But, the players may, for whatever reason, decide to go one of the other two directions--and although I don't want them to go that way, I will certainly allow it. And, I've set up some encounters to use if they do, in fact, go one of those directions.

It's really up to the PCs to make the best choice for themselves.

 

[Nagol]

So, if I came to you and said, "Hey, I'm going to run a game that's set in the bowels of the Free City of Greyhawk. All the characters are going to be members of the largest, most powerful thieves guild. Your PCs will be 1st level, and I'm restricting classes to either fighters (muscle) or thieves. You can play a human, a half-orc, or a halfling. And, I'll give you your character's name once you tell me his race. You'll roll your stats and pick skills and feats as normal.

Normally, I'd let the players pick their character's name, but in this case, the name of the character ties in with prophecy that will become a major part of the story. So, this time out, I chose names instead of letting the players do it.

You'd have a problem with such a game? It doesn't sound like fun?

Yep and nope. Well, actually I wouldn't have a problem with it; I'd just pass on playing.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

So, if I came to you and said, "Hey, I'm going to run a game that's set in the bowels of the Free City of Greyhawk. All the characters are going to be members of the largest, most powerful thieves guild. Your PCs will be 1st level, and I'm restricting classes to either fighters (muscle) or thieves. You can play a human, a half-orc, or a halfling. And, I'll give you your character's name once you tell me his race. You'll roll your stats and pick skills and feats as normal.

I wouldn't necessarily be against having these restrictions because it seems like you've made them to elicit a specific type of game. Although if I was interested in playing a specific race or class that I thought would fit well into the guild I would ask if an exception could be made. For example if the guild is teeming with half-orcs and humans, I might ask to break the restrictions and play an orc. Or perhaps a wizard who specializes in the subtle spells that a thieves guild would love to have at their disposal (scrying, sleep, invisibility, etc.).

Normally, I'd let the players pick their character's name, but in this case, the name of the character ties in with prophecy that will become a major part of the story. So, this time out, I chose names instead of letting the players do it.

I doubt this would make me quit a game but I really dislike this. Names are very subjective and getting a name that I disliked would be a constant blemish on the character. I'd feel like, "You can't throw me a bone here and rewrite all of the prophesies about Frodo to be prophesies about Bilbo?" I guess this restriction has an obstinate, my way or the highway feel to it that I don't care for.

 

[billd91]

So, if I came to you and said, "Hey, I'm going to run a game that's set in the bowels of the Free City of Greyhawk. All the characters are going to be members of the largest, most powerful thieves guild. Your PCs will be 1st level, and I'm restricting classes to either fighters (muscle) or thieves. You can play a human, a half-orc, or a halfling. And, I'll give you your character's name once you tell me his race. You'll roll your stats and pick skills and feats as normal.

Normally, I'd let the players pick their character's name, but in this case, the name of the character ties in with prophecy that will become a major part of the story. So, this time out, I chose names instead of letting the players do it.

You'd have a problem with such a game? It doesn't sound like fun?

I said I haven't had a problem with restrictions from my players, but I think if any of us were faced with this, we'd probably balk. We'd be sure to undermine anything about the names by renaming ourselves and using those names instead of the ones given. Frankly, I'd probably say "Just give us a pre-gen already and we'll play your scenario, then we'll get back to our own characters."

The number of limitations, the ties in with prophecy, part of an organization capable of ordering us around, they all are setting off my railroad campaign vibe. If I'm under such tight restrictions at the beginning, I rather expect further restrictions to come.