Character progression planning, how do you do it?

[Lanefan]

No planning, as most of my characters don't last until their first level bump anyway.

For those few that do, any choices I make will usually be based on what's happened in game to the character thus far and where those events seem to be steering him/her.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I plan for level 20. Then I play the game. And everytime I don´t stick to the plan because the game is played at the table.

 

[Li Shenron]

I'd rather focus on what happens in the adventures than planning about a future which won't necessarily arrive ever.

So when I create a new PC, I always think only of whatever level we are starting at. Then if we reach a level up, I'll think about where to go next.

Generally speaking however my PCs have a strong identity since their inception. So whether I decided to play a swashbuckling rogue with a signature two-blades fighting style, a shadow-themed wizard, or a noble knight, I usually stick to it. I don't do big deviations, and I don't generally multiclass (those few times I did, it was basically since the start). So I might not know in advance what feats or spells I am going to take, but they will mostly match with the original character concept anyway.

 

[aramis erak]

Pretty self explanatory question. When you make a character, do you plan out each level in advance, and play with a definite goal in mind? Do you not plan anything and just go with the flow and when level up arrives, you advance based on how you're feeling in the moment, or based on what's going on in the game? Or somewhere in between?

≥90% of the time, I GM. Therefore, I don't do much level up.

I discourage players from planning too far ahead, especially if it's a "optimized build" based plan . If I feel someone's done so, I gleefully steer the game away from that being a used optimization. One player in D&D AL season 2 couldn't figure out why his "optimized" fighter sucked; I simply made certain he got the extra point when target determining for attackers who exploited its weakness.

(in league play, I always randomized between eligible targets as a matter of fairness. but I always use a die bigger than the group size so that there's some swing for just such shenanigans.)

 

[Salthorae]

I discourage players from planning too far ahead, especially if it's a "optimized build" based plan . If I feel someone's done so, I gleefully steer the game away from that being a used optimization. One player in D&D AL season 2 couldn't figure out why his "optimized" fighter sucked;

That seems really mean spirited to me, and like you're out to kill a player's fun, which defeats the purpose of playing a game together.

 

[Tallifer]

That seems really mean spirited to me, and like you're out to kill a player's fun, which defeats the purpose of playing a game together.

I agree. As a dungeon master, I find that I never have to go out of my way to undermine an optimized character: the normal flow of adventures means that very specialized builds will often seem useless when in unusual (meaning usual for a roleplaying campaign) circumstances. The killer fire sorcerer meets stone creatures and fire demons; the charming witch meets undead; the awesome dual-wielding cuisinart meets flying creatures; all three of them meet a set of puzzle traps or a delicate social situation requiring more than thought than "I roll Persuasion."

At the same time, the natural course of events always offers those characters the occasion to really shine and satisfy the player.

On topic, I like to dream about my characters' futures but the chaos of events and circumstances means that such dreams remain in my head.

 

[aramis erak]

That seems really mean spirited to me, and like you're out to kill a player's fun, which defeats the purpose of playing a game together.

Considering that the players doing so are min-maxers, and the rest of the players have all felt that penalizing them by increased targeting was not only fair, but beneficial to the group...

Nothing mean about it. I hate it when players ignore campaign realities for some idealized build, and find build pursuit itself a non-prosocial behavior, which can and should be curbed by behavioral modification techniques. Some players realize they've screwed up in the general dynamic, and others simply get annoyed and leave. For players who are doing non-prosocial actions in what is supposed to be a prosocial endeavor, good ≤expletive≥ing riddance.

 

[Salthorae]

Considering that the players doing so are min-maxers, and the rest of the players have all felt that penalizing them by increased targeting was not only fair, but beneficial to the group...

Nothing mean about it. I hate it when players ignore campaign realities for some idealized build, and find build pursuit itself a non-prosocial behavior, which can and should be curbed by behavioral modification techniques. Some players realize they've screwed up in the general dynamic, and others simply get annoyed and leave. For players who are doing non-prosocial actions in what is supposed to be a prosocial endeavor, good ≤expletive≥ing riddance.

there is a big difference between optimization and “min-max”.

but more importantly... do you ever bother to talk to the player in question rather than destroying their fun with some passive-aggressive DM’ing?

 

[aramis erak]

I actively discourage "optimized builds" and warn players of the folly, so if they're engaging in it, they've been warned, and I will not play to the strengths.

Build-focused min-maxers are the vast majority of the build-focused players. They are inherently anti-social - their fun is based upon testing their latest strategem.

Also, passive aggressive is entirely the wrong term. I openly mock their strategem first, and then, if the stick to it, make certain it's shown to be as big a waste of their time as it is of the rest of the group's.

 

[steenan]

It depends on the game in question.

In most cases, the games I play don't have levels and have little if any interdependencies between various aspects of advancement. I have a general direction in mind ("that ability looks interesting and I'd like to get it"), but I mostly follow what happens in the fiction.

In games where advancement is strongly structured I do plan so that I'm able to get the abilities I want. It's not a fixed plan for the whole career, but many things are planned and my in-fiction activities are chosen to support them.