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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Anon Adderlan" data-source="post: 3615510" data-attributes="member: 53053">Wow, this has been incredibly useful.I've even been able to form a better question: How much of what happens to your character during a campaign affects the initial class, feat, and skill choices you made before play?...It is also a rather longer question.Thanks <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />This is even more important when dealing with players who are less familiar with the game.Strange, for me it's an owlbear 0_oI have also been bothered by the fact that so much play seems to occur outside of actual play. I don't mind the planning, just the unwillingness to change that plan based on what has occurred during play.Thing is, it appears that many class/level based systems just don't give you a realistic option of adapting your concept based on events in play, at least not without potentially making your character less effective than those who did plan things out. At times it seems that one wrong class selection can permanently screw your character up both conceptually and in capability.Indeed...<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> [*]"Heck, I remember taking ranger because a PrC I would like *IF* I happened to find the secret organization it was part of and get invited to join, because it required Favored Enemy.  How silly.  (Harper Paragon in the FR.)" [*]"Usually, the only planning-ahead that I do for my characters is making sure I qualify for whatever PrC I have my eye on." [*]"If you want to qualify for a prestiege class, you have to plan that out as early as level one." [*]"D20 encourages you to do so, especially if you'd ever like to get into a prestige class." [*]"D&D/D20 is a rather unforgiving system -- you have to work to "maximize" your character.  If you don't take Feat A by Level X, you won't be able to take PrC Y." [*]"Often not but occasionally, if I am going for a particular prestige class, I do plan out feat/skills as needed." [*]"This has gotten me in trouble with Prestige classes as I'll forget to take certain prerequisites and must wait a level or two to take the class later." [*]"I don't see too much room for change once a character is set up." [*]"This then adds up for Prestige Classes which would be a perfect thematic match for your character, but have prereqs that you might not have otherwise considered taking." [*]"There's nothing like getting to where you can take a prestige class and finding out that, no, you can't." [*]"Always for PrC prerequisites and/or feat chains (especially I'm always looking ahead feat masteries in IH)." [*]"This is one of the reasons I don't like PrCs -- having to decide levels ahead of time what to put my skill points and what feats to pick just doesn't appeal to me." [*]"The only time I've found it desireable (actually it was necessary) to plan out a characters advancement was with psionics where failure to plan for obtaining specifically desired powers, what with all the prerequisite power structures, would mean you'd NEVER get them." [*]"I will plan until I achieve the prestige class I am working towards (if any) and worry about the rest if I make it that far in the campaign."</li> </ul>I just wish that all this planning could be somehow integrated into the campaign itself. If the GM knows a PC plans to become a certain PrC, then why not make sure the campaign supports that journey/transformation?Class selection is like a reverse lifepath. Instead of mapping out who the character was in the past, you're planning for what they will become in the future. But if you're doing that, you might as well play in a campaign that reflects that.To be honest, I've never been able to let my characters grow 'organically' in class/level based games either.You know, I have the same problem. I kept comming up with cool concepts for Shadowrun, but the rules were so involved that that was all I could think about. Same with Masterbook. My own native rule tweakery instincts just bubbled up from the void, and it usually ended up dissolving the character concept entirely.</blockquote>

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