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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 7652510" data-attributes="member: 8835"><p>Using D&D 3e as my example, deciding what feats, skills, etc your PC has right when it matters becomes an interuption in game play to make sure you have enough skill points, etc. Doing the math, making sure you have enough free Feat slots, calculating attack bonuses is all stuff that I prefer to be done on your sheet before the game actually starts.</p><p></p><p>Further, getting to pick you skills right when you need one in the game feels too much like Johnny RightTool, who always happens to have the right tool for the job, rather than solving the problem with the tools he has, not the tools he wants.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I subscribe to the definition of role playing that you are defining a character and then choosing to restrict yourself to that character's definition when you play the game. So if you choose to play a Lawful Good Fighter, you are choosing to restrict yourself from wanton slaughter of villages as a means to Restless Native Pacification.</p><p></p><p>So, what you know how to do, what equipment you start with, who your parents are, what your PC is like is all starting state decisions.</p><p></p><p>What your PC grows into is a different matter of course.</p><p></p><p>It may be a bad way to play a GAME, but it may be one of the correct ways to play a ROLE PLAYING game.</p><p></p><p>An RPG is more about player's screwing themselves with initial character restrictions and trying to optimize from there, than a regular game of Monopoly or Poker where you'd never choose starting from any restriction if you could.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Where you may see my choosing Swimming as a skill before the game starts as not adding to the game, versus picking it when my PC really needs to cross that river, in fact, it shapes the game because my PC is going to seek out solutions where his ability to Swim is an advantage over NPCs who can't.</p><p></p><p>So a non-swimming NPC being chased by PCs is going to blow up the bridge to thwart pursuit. A PC with an empty skill slot is just going to pick swimming to bypass the challenge. A PC who actually took swimming originally is going to come up with swimming across the river as his solution. A PC who didn't take swimming is going to come up with something different.</p><p></p><p>I actually get more organic game play by virtue of the "locked in" choices the PCs made during character creation that were independent of the actual adventure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Janx, post: 7652510, member: 8835"] Using D&D 3e as my example, deciding what feats, skills, etc your PC has right when it matters becomes an interuption in game play to make sure you have enough skill points, etc. Doing the math, making sure you have enough free Feat slots, calculating attack bonuses is all stuff that I prefer to be done on your sheet before the game actually starts. Further, getting to pick you skills right when you need one in the game feels too much like Johnny RightTool, who always happens to have the right tool for the job, rather than solving the problem with the tools he has, not the tools he wants. I subscribe to the definition of role playing that you are defining a character and then choosing to restrict yourself to that character's definition when you play the game. So if you choose to play a Lawful Good Fighter, you are choosing to restrict yourself from wanton slaughter of villages as a means to Restless Native Pacification. So, what you know how to do, what equipment you start with, who your parents are, what your PC is like is all starting state decisions. What your PC grows into is a different matter of course. It may be a bad way to play a GAME, but it may be one of the correct ways to play a ROLE PLAYING game. An RPG is more about player's screwing themselves with initial character restrictions and trying to optimize from there, than a regular game of Monopoly or Poker where you'd never choose starting from any restriction if you could. Where you may see my choosing Swimming as a skill before the game starts as not adding to the game, versus picking it when my PC really needs to cross that river, in fact, it shapes the game because my PC is going to seek out solutions where his ability to Swim is an advantage over NPCs who can't. So a non-swimming NPC being chased by PCs is going to blow up the bridge to thwart pursuit. A PC with an empty skill slot is just going to pick swimming to bypass the challenge. A PC who actually took swimming originally is going to come up with swimming across the river as his solution. A PC who didn't take swimming is going to come up with something different. I actually get more organic game play by virtue of the "locked in" choices the PCs made during character creation that were independent of the actual adventure. [/QUOTE]
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