How much do you plan your characters?

[sniffles]

I voted "other" because I do all of the options dependent on the character and the campaign. Although I have to admit that the PCs that are all planned out right to level 20 are usually the ones I'm not actually playing.

 

[the Jester]

It varies with the character. A lot of the time I roll up a character and just go with it. Sometimes I have a concept first, such as "I want to make a hunter of the dead." Sometimes once I have a character in play, the amount of planning increases dramatically.

 

[Sigurd]

Too much

I think the whole thing with 3e is way too complicated.

Rolling along in your class or multi classing used to be the only choices. I think one 3e character is about as much work as 5 2e characters.

Ironically because of the level of abstraction in some ways a 2e character was more rounded. At least in the games I played, in AD&D you could say he's a X level character can he do _____? Because there was no rule in place adventure dynamics took over and the DM assigned a one time ruling. Because there is a system now more DMs feel their hands are tied. Do you have the skills?

No, I've been adventuring in the wilderness for 5 levels but I have no checks in survival... desert....

No, We've always glossed over the knowledge gained from dealings with kobolds, I have no recorded knowledge entry for 'knowledge kobolds'.

Feats, and skills, and entry requirements, and different numbers for different attacks, and different numbers for different defences, and combat measured in much more strict time slices because movement and position are more important -- Yes I think I do too much character planning by half. Its all possible but it gets in the way of the story.

Sigurd

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I voted "organic" but with a caveat - it isn't "to better fit the story". That implies a sort of metagaming, "The story is gong this way, so I'll make my character go that way too..." Instead, I think of it being like life - people may have life plans, but those plans are almost always modified by the circumstances of what has happened, or by changes in their own outlook and goals.

So, not so much "to better fit the story" as "As a result of the story".

Kind of like what he said.

Usually during the first few levels my characters develop along the lines of an initial vision I have, but as they progress that vision evolves as a reflection of the experiences of the characters.

 

[JoeGKushner]

depends on the campaign. Generally, I try to find a character concept I like and then look for the mechanics to build it.

 

[shilsen]

Kind of like what he said.

Usually during the first few levels my characters develop along the lines of an initial vision I have, but as they progress that vision evolves as a reflection of the experiences of the characters.

Same here. I've had characters develop in unexpected directions just because the character's experiences made certain unforeseen choices seem more logical than others.

 

[PieAndDragon]

Have an idea, but often the choices of feats, skills, classes etc are guided by campaign events and other parts of the party. If I'm playing a cleric and the party needs a bit more muscle, chances are feat picks etc will go down the fighting route etc.

 

[drothgery]

I'd say 1-7 to start out with (to build a focus for my character, and/or to qualify for a PrC), and then I look about three levels or so ahead; usually my DM likes to wrap up campaigns in the level 11-14 range (and start in the 1-3 range), so there's no point in planning beyond that.

 

[Frater]

I voted Other because it really is different every campaign. I have doen the fully planned out, Levels 1-20 approach and I have done the random/organic growth as well. Most campaigns end up somewhere in between

 

[WayneLigon]

I rarely plan out a progression unless I've had time to think about the campaign for some time in advance. The last time I did that was for a campaign that was basically 'Robin Hood against the Romans': I planned out a guy to the point that he could take the CG paladin variant in UA.

Usually it takes me three or four levels worth to really work out my character, even if I do have a strong concept to begin with. I need to see how others play their characters, work out some backstory, and see what develops through roleplay and background.