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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Falling Icicle" data-source="post: 5947463" data-attributes="member: 17077">I love the concept of backgrounds and themes, but I'm not very happy with their current implementation. Right now, backgrounds are just a pre-selected skill packages and themes are just pre-selected feat packages. The problem is this is directly contrary to the entire reason for having skills and feats in the first place. Skills and feats exist primarily to let people make their characters customizable and have their own identity. Assigning players with a pre-selected package is, IMO, a terrible idea. Every character with the same class, background and theme will be almost exactly the same.Yes, I am well aware that people can pick their skills and feats a la carte. But in order to do so, you have to have no background or theme for your character at all. That also bothers me, as I'd like to have both the distinctiveness of backgrounds and themes AND the ability to choose. I suspect that a large majority of players will prefer to choose their own feats, and that means that the entire system they're putting together for themes won't even be used by most players.I'd much prefer if themes were more like 2e kits or Pathfinder archetypes, customizing your class by adding features and/or replacing some features with others. As for backgrounds, I don't mind getting certain skills for free, but I'd also like to be able to pick other skills on top of that. Not every commoner or sage should have the exact same skills! Besides, I think 3-4 skills are too few, in any case.But what about the newbies? Weren't themes and backgrounds made specifically for them, to make it easier to make characters? Well yes, but I think that was a bad idea. People don't stay newbies forever. Besides, it's quite easy to suggest feats for beginners. That, and if the whole thing they promise about not having feat taxes and such is true, then it really doesn't matter what feats a player chooses because there won't be any must-have feats. Even if they fail at that goal, experienced players can simply point out which feats are best to take and which to avoid, as we've been doing for years.</blockquote>

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