D&D 5E I want my players to ignore class in character creation

[O-Castitatis-Lilium]

I don't know if having people make characters without looking at classes and what they do is kind of setting them up for failure. A lot of people like to know what class they want to play first before creating a character. Asking them to create a character and then trying to wedge them into playing a class they don't see them fitting into could lead to problems and upset players. I think it would be best if they could look at classes and then make a character rather than make a character before the class. I mean, that's just my opinion on it anyways.

 

[FrogReaver]

The problem IMO isn’t so much the desire to imagine first, but that d&d isn’t a great vehicle for this. There is too much prepackaged in a class. Now if the goal is completely custom classes… awesome! But having them think of what they want only to be saddled with a bunch of stuff they don’t from the class package is most likely going to be a poor experience.

And all that’s assuming their character concept can even be mostly realized. Like, what if they want to be Spider-Man with a sword while considering magic to be off limits to the concept. Or they want to fight by transforming into a were-bear, while being really smart. A d&d take on the hulk.

Which is to say, imagining first with no idea what the system can support would end up feeling mostly like a waste of time and effort.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I like this in principle, but it has a danger: Some new players are extremely creative, and some may come up with ideas that well, can't be done well in D&D... but I think it's still worth trying to do what you are doing.

Yeah... some of them might feel like they were set up for disappointment.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

I’m trying to get my players to create their next characters in ignorance of class abilities.

Why?

 

[Horwath]

This sounds like you need to make an open "class" for players to play.

No fixed features just bunch of "feat slots" so their imagination can get mechanical representation.

or you are ready to swap out class features from class to class.

Good luck with both solutions.

 

[Ancalagon]

This sounds like you need to make an open "class" for players to play.

No fixed features just bunch of "feat slots" so their imagination can get mechanical representation.

or you are ready to swap out class features from class to class.

Good luck with both solutions.

and if you are going to do that... you might as well use another system that is much better geared for it.

 

[Horwath]

and if you are going to do that... you might as well use another system that is much better geared for it.

D&D is well suited for it.
I see classes just as a newbie guideline how to make a character concept.

That is why in 3.5e, fighter was very popular, you could build it any way you wanted to.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I would suggest using the life path generator in Xanathar's Page 61.

 

[TwoSix]

and if you are going to do that... you might as well use another system that is much better geared for it.

D&D isn't as bad at it as you would think. 5e certainly has a lot of defined, granular pieces within a loose framework of advancement, and it isn't particularly difficult to mix it up.

In my classless 5e game, when a PC levels up, they get a feat. They can take a feat from the book, or the player and I negotiate a "feat" based on the abilities that character wants to focus on.

 

[Vaalingrade]

D&D isn't as bad at it as you would think. 5e certainly has a lot of defined, granular pieces within a loose framework of advancement, and it isn't particularly difficult to mix it up.

In my classless 5e game, when a PC levels up, they get a feat. They can take a feat from the book, or the player and I negotiate a "feat" based on the abilities that character wants to focus on.

I feel like the larger problem is that a player very well might come up with and become invested in a concept that D&D just doesn't like or want them to do because it is very hard married to its tropes and no one else's.