NO character concept what so ever, ahhh the freedom.

[Dagger75]

Well for the game I get to play we needed a cleric. I gave up playing my Wizard which I really really wanted to play to make a cleric for the party. I had 2 levels to start with. Since I had also wanted to play rogue in the begining, I made on 1 level of rogue and 1 cleric.

Thats my plan, just play a cleric. I have a story, here it is. He is a thief, was about to get captured, prayed to the god Risk (Kalamar God) for an escape route, he then noticed a small grate in a wall and escaped the city and left. Now he is a worshipper of Risk.

Thats it, thats all I gave myself to go on. He is kinda of a sarcastic jerk (its easy to role play since I happen to be one )

I have no path I want to follow with classes, feats, prestige classes, magic items, skills and what not. Hell I took Improved Init at First Level, then Weapon Finess Short Sword. We are fifth level. I have no idea what I want to take at 6th level. I am letting the way the campaign takes to determine what I am going to take.

Its fun just letting the character growth flow. I have no primary weapon other than the short sowrd cause thats all I had at third level. Now I found a magic long sword, I might take Weapon Prof Long Sword at 6th level of all things. No desire to make magic items yet. Not working towards a PrC opens up a lot feats I might not have normally taken, plus some I never considered. Also I got skill points to spend were I feel like since I am not working for a PrC.

I've done the whole I want to make a swashbuckler, let me get all these feats. It might just be something different thats made this character so fun but not havng tied myself down to any preconcieved ideas on what I wanted this character to be is just so.... refreshing.

[Edit] Noticed a typo, there may be more, watch out!!

 

[Drawmack]

I agree completely. In my current campaign we all made up characters with one rule no back story. Now at almost fourth level I've decided on a PrC but it took that long.

It's very refreshing to allow the character to grow instead of having their whole life planned out. It is one of the things that 3e is very good at with it's flexibility. I now see planning a character's entire career before they start as an abuse of the flexibility.

 

[Hygric]

Sounds like good fun to me! I might give it a try on my next character.

It's actually one of the three things that I just don't like about 3e. The whole "career path" concept that PrC have created. I just loath it when I see a PC level up and within 20 seconds they have spent their new feat and skill points because a little chart they worked out at the start of the character tells them that this is how they spend those points at this level.

 

[Drawmack]

This is why I see ''character path'' as an abuse of the system.

In my mind what a PrC models is special training that was granted to a character due to their affiliation with a specific organization. A player should not know what organizations they will be affiliated with and therefor what PrCs will be available to them. Don't get me wrong if a player comes to me and says hey I really like X PrC I'll do what I can to work the training into the storyline but they shouldn't have their entire path planned. Maybe they won't get PrC x but something close. Another thing about character paths is that many times it breaks with character development. Spending feats and skills ahead of time to qualify for a PrC what if that character's life leads them in a different direction. I mean I learned to play three instruments and wanted to be a professional musician but due to get disenchanted with the music business I am now a programmer. Why can't the same thing happen to characters? This is actually how I'm going to handle class paths from now on. Someone plots everything out so they qualify for PrC x at Level y. I'm going to make something about the affiliations the character needs in order to get that PrC be very disenchanting.

In 2e I wanted a kit so that my thief could do two weapon fighting. The DM granted it to me, after my character spent a year training for the stuff. A year for a kit and people want PrCs for free????

 

[Sagan Darkside]

A player should not know what organizations they will be affiliated with and therefor what PrCs will be available to them.

Yeah, those doctors in rl just wander about until they happened to find a medical school. If it happens like that in rl, then why not in a game? A game is supposed to be realistic, right?

A year for a kit and people want PrCs for free????

Free? Ugh, this argument is getting very old.

1) There are requirements.
2) The PrC's are in the DMG. They are the DM's prerogative to allow them, and how to put them in your campeign.

If a dm in question wants to just allow them without any rp-work, then that is an issue with that dm. It is not an issue with the system.

SD

 

[nsruf]

I just loath it when I see a PC level up and within 20 seconds they have spent their new feat and skill points because a little chart they worked out at the start of the character tells them that this is how they spend those points at this level.

The problem seems to be that there are a lot of technical prerequisites for entering PrC and virtually no roleplaying requirements. So people focus on the game mechanics - and these force you to start planning early on for most PrC.

At least from my experience, once you have taken a few levels without looking at the "big picture", it becomes very hard to meet the entry requirements for any PrC. Usually, the only viable path involves multiclassing into Rogue to get enough skill points and turn the right skills into class skills.

So it is either play "free flowing" character development (I prefer that style, too), or prepare for a PrC early on (and basically be a clone of some "how to get there fastest" character). I wonder what could be done to improve this. Cutting back on mechanical prereqs in exchange for more in-game requirements is probably the way to go.

 

[Sagan Darkside]

Usually, the only viable path involves multiclassing into Rogue to get enough skill points and turn the right skills into class skills.

That is only true if you want to take the PrC at the lowest level available. You could just take it a bit later then it normally would be available.

Of course, if d&d had better and a wider variety of skill-related feats (other then +2/+2 bs), then it would be possible to customize a character skill-wise without looking at other classes.

SD

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

The easiest way to qualify quickly for a PrC you haven't been training for is to break the "one point per level per skill" model. Take one level in a class that has most of your skill prerequisites as class skills, and drop most of your skill points into those skills.

Two levels of Fighter (if you're not already a Fighter) will solve feat requirements for most combat-based PrCs.

That also makes sense from a training perspective-- you've encountered the organization, decided you wanted to join, and dedicated some time to train yourself up for it properly.

 

[Kugar]

It's a Game about NOTHING

For some reason when I read your first post, I was reminded of Sinefield.

What do you mean it's a game about nothing.

Exactly! It's about nothing

It has to be about something.

What did you do today?

I down went to the Inn and meet some guys, we're going down to the old caves later

That is a session.

 

[Drawmack]

Yeah, those doctors in rl just wander about until they happened to find a medical school. If it happens like that in rl, then why not in a game? A game is supposed to be realistic, right?

And those janitors had their eyes on that from childhood as well. Wanna have an I picked my profession at 12 contest, I bet I'd win. Anyway if the person has a good reason I might let it work. I.E. The character was raised by priests and wants a PrC affiliated with that church. The thing is that a lot of PrC are designed so that a character would not even know they exist without the appropriate affiliations. I mean we all know about assassins but what about spymasters?

Free? Ugh, this argument is getting very old.

1) There are requirements.
2) The PrC's are in the DMG. They are the DM's prerogative to allow them, and how to put them in your campeign.

If a dm in question wants to just allow them without any rp-work, then that is an issue with that dm. It is not an issue with the system.
[/B]

Yes there are prerequisites, but those are purly mechanical when encourages munchkining and class paths. I was stating why I don't like class paths.

You, yourself said the game is supposed to be realistic. Okay a player wants a PrC which needs +8 ranks in Hide. Though they have never hidden in game they keep their ranks in this skill maxed so that they can get into this PrC. Sounds uber-realistic to me.