Are your players allowed to play 'special' characters?

[Decamber]

Hello!

I'd like to know how something works in your group. Are the players allowed to play "cool" characters, or is these character concepts for NPCs only, limiting the players to play "common" characters. Cool characters (don't take the word too serious) means unusual ones, like a minotaur with extraordinary strength and the ability to access raw magic and play mandolin at a decent level. And common ones, OTOH, is for example a human ranger like Aragorn. (With that said, you shouldn't take the words cool and common too serious).

I've been thinking on this for some days now, and I think my opinion is that the players shouldn't play too weird characters, but more common ones instead. The reason is that if you have too much odd flavour, the day when the DM let you fight his homemade monsterish clown with glowing eyes, isn't going to be as good as otherwise. And read a good fantasy book, or play Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights or such - you don't play a minotaur in there, but a common fighter (I do, anyway ).

Well, the latter was just some rambling...

So, let me hear your wisdom!

 

[Crothian]

I allow things that are unusual as long as they fit into the game and the group.

With your example of the minatuar since it is an ecl creature it couldn'd be made at first level obviously. THe great strenghth would depend on their attribute rolls, and the perform skill would be up to them to place skills points into mandolin. THe magic can be done through multi classing or I would desig n a specific feat for it.

 

[Drawmack]

I don't allow monster characters. Your character has to have a typr of humaniod. Other then that though I don't see a problem with allowing ''cool'' or unique characters.

 

[Balgus]

as long as it fits into the game- why not?

Of course he would always have to clear it up with the DM before creating something like that- and it is always on a case by case basis.

In playing a "cool" character, the player has to look at what he is giving up- usually a couple levels. So in exchange for a cool char concept, he is not as powerful as the other players. but hat is up to him...

 

[garyh]

I don't see a problem with it in general, as long as ECL's are even. If the starting level is 4, no Minotaurs, but enjoy an Aasimar. Starting at first level? Orc guud. Of course, I'm biased, I've got an Orc, a Goblin, an Ogier, and a Half-Dragon over in the In Character forum.

If the flavor of the campaign is more low fantasy (does that make sense?) where monsters are rare in the first place, then PC's should be standard races.

 

[Desdichado]

In general, no I don't have a problem with "kewl" characters.

In campaigns that I'd be interested in running in the near future, yes, I wouldn't allow them. Wouldn't "fit the game."

 

[Arnwyn]

Generally, I discourage odd characters and encourage "common" ones. I also don't allow any monster characters.

Reasons are simply for "campaign fit".

 

[Pielorinho]

I've allowed slightly weird characters -- a magically-transgendered fighter, a sickly mage placed int he body of a strapping farmhand by his evil mage father, etc. -- but I've never had anyone ask to play a monster PC. (I did give one of my players a four-handed djinn bodyguard PC to play for a couple of sessions, just to mix things up, but I'd designed the character).

If a player asked me for a monster PC, I'd judge on a case-by-case basis. Minotaurs probably don't exist in my campaign, for example, unless a player comes up with a really cool backstory for minotaurs that I can use.

Daniel

 

[XCorvis]

My friends are fond of 'odd' characters.

Here's the lowdown:
Game 1 (Planescape style):
Half-Celestial Mind Flayer Paladin. Will not eat brains. (My character.)
A Maedar who was trapped in a gem then mounted in a statue, which he magically animates. He also has 7 arms and is... not quite right in a Lovecraftian sense.
A Chaotic Neutral Efreet - class "the other half of a shai'ir." (Basically a sorcerer, but he gets spells randomly.)
The Gunslinger - the man with no name, and two kick-ass pistols.
A Half-smoke elemental sorcerer - (the most mundane character of the lot).

Game 2 (Undermountain):
Awakened Dire Cave Ape Fighter (str 30, dex 22, con 23). (My character.)
A rogue Modron wild mage (sorcerer), CN, with two intelligent weapons named Bob and Jim.
A wingless Avoriel necromancer (with a little psionicist thrown in)
A Svrfneblin (sp?) Ranger/Sacred Fist with an AC in the 40's (with evasion).

Can anyone beat that?

 

[Shard O'Glase]

I virtually never start past level 1 so any ecl+1 or more are out. Also even if you ad a characte later in the game I wont allow it because no one else started with that benefit.

I dissalowed all subraces until soemone came up with an adequete number of sub-races for all the races instead of just letting the dwarfs, elves, and gnomes shine. (humans were easy I just took the greyhawk races and gave them the attribute mods and culture they had in 1st ed with +-2 instead of 1) 1/2 elves and 1/2 orcs were based of the elf/human sub-race respectively and took some work, 1/2lings were a problem since there are very few examples we were aware of, and one of the kalamar ones was broken.

But wierd backgrounds as long as they make some sense and fit the level 1 backgorund I allow, and wierd class/multiclass/race/skill combos etc I'm ok with as long as the wierdness doesn't disrupt the game and others enjoyment much.(you have to make a character that plays well with others, no habits that would get the other players thinking about a lynching etc)