It's been 20 years since I played any kind of D&D (or D&D derivatives), but I've recently been roped into running a few game nights for some old buddies. I thought I would short-circuit the (potentially) time-consuming process of character generation, and try a variation of the Dungeon Crawl Classics "funnel" concept.
I'm generating approx. 20 0-level characters, using the approach outlined below. Each PC is written up on an index card. Players take a card at random, and play that character until they die, or complete the scenario.
I'm toying between having Proficiency bonus be +0, to reflect just how weak a 0-level character is, versus making it +1 so having proficiency in a particular skill actually makes a difference. 0-level characters are supposed to be weak, and plenty of character death is part of the fun of the funnel concept. That said, without a proficiency bonus, some backgrounds and species end up much weaker than others -- eg, Magic Initiate becomes quite useful, but being a scribe maybe not so much. But maybe that's ok? It'll all even out in the end.
At the end of the funnel, players get to keep the character they are currently playing. There follows a period of in-game downtime, where players can 'uplift' their characters to a 1st level class of their choice. Apply all the usual bonuses and abilities that come with being 1st level, uplift their hit points, increase proficiency, and so forth. If they are super-unhappy with the character they end up with, they can randomly choose an index card if any remain. But they can only do this once.
We all grew up playing old-school D&D, with 3d6-straight for chargen. I loved the variety you tended to get around the game table -- fighters weren't always the strongest, wizards weren't always the smartest, etc. But bad luck could be kinda brutal. And 1e/2e had pre-requisites that would cut off a lot of class options. I feel like this approach gives the variety of randomness, remains reasonably fair, and still gives players plenty of choices to make. I'm hoping it speeds up the first session, and reduces the min-maxers a bit.
Like I said, it's been 20 years since I've played any D&D. I completely skipped 3.5e, 4e, and 5e 2014. In fact, 5e 2024 is the first time I've bought any RPG books in maybe 15 years. So I'd appreciate any sage feedback.
I'm generating approx. 20 0-level characters, using the approach outlined below. Each PC is written up on an index card. Players take a card at random, and play that character until they die, or complete the scenario.
I'm toying between having Proficiency bonus be +0, to reflect just how weak a 0-level character is, versus making it +1 so having proficiency in a particular skill actually makes a difference. 0-level characters are supposed to be weak, and plenty of character death is part of the fun of the funnel concept. That said, without a proficiency bonus, some backgrounds and species end up much weaker than others -- eg, Magic Initiate becomes quite useful, but being a scribe maybe not so much. But maybe that's ok? It'll all even out in the end.
At the end of the funnel, players get to keep the character they are currently playing. There follows a period of in-game downtime, where players can 'uplift' their characters to a 1st level class of their choice. Apply all the usual bonuses and abilities that come with being 1st level, uplift their hit points, increase proficiency, and so forth. If they are super-unhappy with the character they end up with, they can randomly choose an index card if any remain. But they can only do this once.
We all grew up playing old-school D&D, with 3d6-straight for chargen. I loved the variety you tended to get around the game table -- fighters weren't always the strongest, wizards weren't always the smartest, etc. But bad luck could be kinda brutal. And 1e/2e had pre-requisites that would cut off a lot of class options. I feel like this approach gives the variety of randomness, remains reasonably fair, and still gives players plenty of choices to make. I'm hoping it speeds up the first session, and reduces the min-maxers a bit.
Like I said, it's been 20 years since I've played any D&D. I completely skipped 3.5e, 4e, and 5e 2014. In fact, 5e 2024 is the first time I've bought any RPG books in maybe 15 years. So I'd appreciate any sage feedback.
