Class, Concept and Optimization

[Treantmonklvl20]

I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately. How do players come up with their concept? Does it include a class, or does that come later?


For me I think I usually have a mental image or I see a picture that I think is cool, then the concept starts to fill in around it. I use reskinning with abandon to make the concept as optimal as I can, because usually being effective is part of what I'm picturing.


I shared my views in my latest video:

 

[Umbran]

Well, a lot of games I play don't *have* classes, so I don't generally think class first.

I am the sort who prefers to "fill in the gaps" in a party composition. Tell me what everyone else is playing, I think of the broad general capabilities that would be good to add to the mix, I build the character around what would make that interesting for me to play.

 

[Ancalagon]

I will have to watch this later.

I think that about 50% of all my PCs have been fill in the gap type. It can be fun, esp if you find a creative way to fill said gap.

 

[Umbran]

I think that about 50% of all my PCs have been fill in the gap type. It can be fun, esp if you find a creative way to fill said gap.

Some people are good at "blue sky" creation. They are happiest and most creative when you give them the fewest restrictions.

I am not one of those people. I tend to do my best, most creative work, when given restrictions. I am, in effect, better at writing sonnets than I am at writing free verse. When I get to ask myself, "How do I do this particular thing in a fun way?" I come up with cool answers.

 

[iserith]

I come up with a silly name then build a character around that.

So behold, Chugstein, my drunken master hill dwarf Viking-esque sailor, who is certain he's a human despite his affinity for masonry and hammers, and drinks to quell his roiling cognitive dissonance. And to quiet the memories of the loss of the all-granite ship he built, The Sinking Stone, which was lost with all hands save Chugstein on its maiden voyage.

 

[Immortal Sun]

Sometimes it's a cool picture, sometimes it's a vague idea, I don't really have a process. Just something catches my attention and I see how far I can run with it. "Running with it" usually involves writing a short story about the character, where did they live, what was their live like, who were their family and why did they leave home to start "adventuring". Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's not. Martial characters are the easiest for me to work with, I tend to find their motivations are pretty clear-cut. You're a rogue because you were poor. You're a fighter because you got conscripted. You're a pirate because you were kidnapped as a child. You're a barbarian because everyone else you know is.

I try to keep things simple, details vague so that a DM can easily work my into a world (if that's necessary for the game).

The numbers don't mean much to me outside the game, I just put them where they need to be to make the concept work. I write my stories like everyone else does: the character succeeds when they need to and fails when they need to according to the story.

 

[Stalker0]

I go both ways on design. Sometimes it’s concept first, how do I make it happen. Others it’s “I want to play a paladin”, and then I make a background that fits the bill.

 

[Blue]

You know, if you asked this a few years ago I would have said that I come up with a concept and then see how I can realize it within the mechanics of the game. Until I taught my eldest about D&D. Then I realized just how much I let game mechanics fetter my creativity and shape my thoughts. Her concepts never would fit within classes - at best there were parts of several (but NOT other parts of the same - and that's important) plus things the system just doesn't offer. Even when forcing her to pick and chose though ideas where we decided to be a druid, she wanted to be "agile like Peter Parker". (Not like Spider-Man, like Peter Parker. Sticks in my memory. And she wanted to be very impulsive and have a low WIS. Yeah, still not fitting into the classes even when picking features.

So I try to give myself more latitude and freedom to come up with a concept, even if it's not one easily realized in the rules.

All of that is coming up with concepts in a vacuum. Joining an already existing party I like to (a) not step on anyone's toes and (b) fill in a gap they have. So that's a lot more bound. Doesn't mean I won't try non-traditional ways of fulfilling those two points, but it's a lot more catering around the game system's expectations then the first.

 

[Umbran]

And to quiet the memories of the loss of the all-granite ship he built, The Sinking Stone, which was lost with all hands save Chugstein on its maiden voyage.

Aside: Is there a story behind how he got enough people who used Int or Wis as their dump stat to make up that crew?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I used to just fill the gap and play the stereotypes, and used roleplaying to differentiate between Sword & Board human fighter #1 from Sword & Board human fighters #2, 3, and so forth. Over my decades in the hobby, I have become more focused on realizing PC concepts. Part of that is the influence of other games- mostly HERO- but also a certain boredom with playing the same PCs with minor variations.*

So since the 1990s, my first question to myself is “What would be fun to play in __________ setting?” And my answers have come from inspirations as diverse as literature, minis, specific game mechanics, music, obscure weapons, movies, TV series, comic books, art (genre-centric or otherwise) and even the odd dream or two.

Once I settle on a concept, then I try to figure out how I can model the character within the system and setting.

Just to be clear, I still play gap-fillers. But don’t expect me to play cookie-cutter ones...anymore. One of my last 3.5Ed PCs was a gap-filler. The group was playing through Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and two of the 3 players with any healing capacity moved away. The remaining character had 1 level of Cleric.

I retired my character and created a new healer PC. The inspiration was trifold: the original Sacred Healing feat, the Geomancer prestige class, and DC Comics’ Swamp Thing. The character took all the plant-centric Drift options from the Geomancer class. With a high Charisma and by taking Extra Turning to bolster his number of Turn Undead attempts/day, he was able to fuel Sacred Healing enough that he rarely had to actually cast a healing spell.

He couldn’t turn undead all that well (as a Cl/Sorc/Geo) but in that adventure, that was almost never a concern.






* “No, dude, this dwarf warrior has a GERMAN accent, not Scottish!”