D&D 5E The "Sealed Envelope" Character Campaign. Would you play?

[FrozenNorth]

Speaking for myself only, I wouldn’t say this is a minimal impact thing for the GM.

If your group has enough players firmly entrenched in certain roles, they become a bit of an open book for you. If- taking my above-mentioned group as an example- you know one guy will always play the sniper and the other the wizard, their reactions to certain things will be fairly predictable.

Fair enough, though that does describe a very particular case where the players would be unwilling to accept the premise of the campaign in the first place.

 

[FrozenNorth]

yeah after more details pass... I was thinking there would be some cool hidden thing in here, this is just 'cause random realism' doesn't mean much to me

In light of the additional details provided by the OP, I am also of this opinion. I’m not into randomness for it’s own sake.

One thing that might be interesting would be pre-gens that you would not be able to make using the standard rules, like a wizard with their hand cut-off who cannot cast somatic spells, or a fighter-type character that can polymorph at will into a wolf, or a character that starts with a custom magical item.

 

[Laurefindel]

I'd be in.

I like that you don't get to choose who you are (well, you get two "you" to choose from) but then get to choose what you are doing.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

One thing that might be interesting would be pre-gens that you would not be able to make using the standard rules, like a wizard with their hand cut-off who cannot cast somatic spells, or a fighter-type character that can polymorph at will into a wolf, or a character that starts with a custom magical item.

yeah making mixed classes that can cast spells from 2 lists, or a fighter with evison or something

 

[Deset Gled]

I’m not into randomness for it’s own sake.

Pure chaos gets old quick, but I can support a certain amount of forced randomness.

This envelope method appeals to me more than "3d6, in order, no rerolls" for attribute generation.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Fair enough, though that does describe a very particular case where the players would be unwilling to accept the premise of the campaign in the first place.

Amusingly, even though they are quite thoroughly sticks in the mud as far as PC designs go, they’re both relatively willing to try new campaigns and games. (Systems, not so much.)

Even the most hidebound of us can surprise at times!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

"3d6, in order, no rerolls" for attribute generation.

Tangent: last did that as a player in a 2Ed Player’s Option campaign in response to another player’s whining (during ChaGen) that my cleric was “Superman” compared to his. Just kept on about it. Tore up my character sheet in his face, and rolled up a new PC with Str15, Dex15, Con13, Int11, Wis8, Cha6, made him into a thuggish NE Thief using just the PHB.

Oddly, had a blast, and the character was quite memorable. The whiner’s character managed to get himself exiled from the country mid-adventure, functionally killing the campaign.

(A few months later, I ran “Superman” in another campaign that had players from that same group. He got taken out early on by a skeleton with a 2Hd sword. Having seen both in play, the crossover players were quite puzzled by the fuss our mutual friend had made.)

 

[DND_Reborn]

"Because it is realistic," is a weak sell in a game with dragons and flumphs and stuff.

For some, certainly, for many it is a strong sell. Many posters here clamor about adding realism to their games, only to have such responses tossed back at them.

There are so many ways to get "outside the box" that are less of a hassle, though.

I don't really see this as a "hassle" in any way, shape, or form. YMMV, of course!

Edit to add: So, to be clear - I am not arguing against doing this. I just feel the conceit of getting half-a-character that I have to finish isn't really valuable.

No worries, and thanks for your input!

But, let me put it to you this way: your life is JUST like this. You are getting a half-character all the time, and life is waiting for you to finish it (or maybe death is waiting... depending on your point of view--I'm an optimist in general, so yeah, I'll go with "life").

 

[TwoSix]

One thing that might be interesting would be pre-gens that you would not be able to make using the standard rules, like a wizard with their hand cut-off who cannot cast somatic spells, or a fighter-type character that can polymorph at will into a wolf, or a character that starts with a custom magical item.

Yea, I like this. Stick a fairly fleshed out CR1 humanoid (maybe 3 hit die or so) with some funky special abilities into each of the envelopes, and then let the player choose what class to continue their advancement.

 

[James Gasik]

Tangent: last did that as a player in a 2Ed Player’s Option campaign in response to another player’s whining (during ChaGen) that my cleric was “Superman” compared to his. Just kept on about it. Tore up my character sheet in his face, and rolled up a new PC with Str15, Dex15, Con13, Int11, Wis8, Cha6, made him into a thuggish NE Thief using just the PHB.

Oddly, had a blast, and the character was quite memorable. The whiner’s character managed to get himself exiled from the country mid-adventure, functionally killing the campaign.

(A few months later, I ran “Superman” in another campaign that had players from that same group. He got taken out early on by a skeleton with a 2Hd sword. Having seen both in play, the crossover players were quite puzzled by the fuss our mutual friend had made.)

I think if a player has "stat envy", it's a good chance that there are larger issues at hand. I've played in lots of games where I was statistically weaker than other party members, and it's a little frustrating, but that's what you have to accept when you roll stats.

The way I see it, if the group wants to roll their ability scores, then you can either accept fate, refuse to play, or ask if you can use point buy or some other system to make sure you have a "good enough" character. Mind you, since this was an AD&D game, I'm really confused, because you almost always need an 18 before ability scores really matter.

Oooh, a 16! I got +1 damage, guys! C'mon, really?