DM gives you your PC; annoyance or opportunity?

[Djeta Thernadier]

Don't know if this is really quite the same as what you're talking about, but right now I'm playing a druid who was found wandering around the woods when she was a very young child, and taken in by druids. She's now a young adult and really has no idea who she is or what her past is. She has a name (I chose) but knows it is not her real name. She has no memories of her early life and has no idea why.

Now, I know the setting of the game, and I came up with my PCs stats but gave the DM pretty much free range with my history and , in a way, my future, since my PC has no idea who she really is.

I think some players would feel weird about playing a PC like that, I see it as an oppurtunity to have to my PC react to things she finds out about herself as she goes along. Things she finds out could be awful, or could be great. I have no idea, nor do I at the moment have any idea how I as the player will have her react to these things. She is lawful good, so if she should find out that something horrible happened....will she abandon her druidic life and seek revenge? If she finds out she's royalty or something, would it go to her head and change the way she is? Who knows?

If the DM had given me my stats and everything as well, I think I would also take it as an oppurtunity to do something different.

Now, if I had no character sheet at all and did not know what my skills were etc, ...that might be a bit annoying, but I'd have to expereince that to really decide.

Also, I have played pre-made characters before and enjoyed but I agree with the person who said, as long as the DM had no pre concieved notions about how the PC would develop as time went on.

~Sheri

 

[kamosa]

I wouldn't do this in my campaign, but then I've always had good luck finding players that create characters within the scope of what I'm looking for in the world.

If you do decide to create characters, I would create twice as many as you need for the game. Then let the players draw two each and decide which they want to play.

This will obviously take more time and will require you to adjust to the characters that make it into the game, but will also allow you to have more control over the character creation process.

 

[Nightfall]

It depends on how good the rapport is between the DMs and the players. Normally I just work around the PCs concepts, but some times it can work IF you have the people willing to try it out. Just really a chancey thing no matter what. Hope it works for you.