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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5664207" data-attributes="member: 42582">I can't say much about the player in question, but I've always assumed that in any game with level-based PC development part of the pleasure of play is gradually building and shaping your PC over the course of those levels.In D&D I think this is particularly so, because (as others have noted upthread) a number of "signature abilities" - like Lightning Bolt, building a tower or stronghold, etc - are level-dependent.I certainly agree that "cool things" can go beyond the character sheet, to engaging interesting situations in an interesting way ("explore, interact, plot, discover, and fight"). But I can see why what is on the character sheet would also be an important part of it. For example, if my conception of my PC is as a shapechanger, D&D is going to make me wait a while before I realise that conception in the build of my PC.And the fact that any AD&D druid or magic-user of 7th level can be a shapechanger doesn't have to make it less cool to be playinge one - the reason it's cool to play a shapechanger isn't because there is anything unique (in conception or realisation) about being a shapechanger, but because being a shapechanger is fun!And D&D has some funny quirks here. The last time I played in an AD&D game - many, many years ago now - it was 2nd ed with Skills and Powers. My conception of my PC was as a very militant cleric expelled from his homeland and therefore having had to forsake the inheritance of his noble birth. I was able to implement this conception at 1st level - cleric tweaked via skills and powers to be more of a fighter, wearing heavy armour, fighting with a mace, and having the cavalier kit.Whereas the player who wanted her magic-user to have fireball as a signature spell had to wait four levels.And even in 3E, the player who wants a swashbuckling rogue has to wait until 2nd level to take Weapon Finesse. And for many viable multi-class mage options, you have to wait until 7th level or higher as the relevant prestige class kicks in.I don't think there's anything particularly virtuous about happening to prefer a character conception that can be realised from 1st level, nor particularly wrong with wishing that you would hurry up and get to the level where your conception can be realised. At worst, it seems a bit futile to wish that the game's build rules were different from what they are - any level- and class-based system is probably going to have this consequence, that some builds can be realised at first level but others can't.</blockquote>

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