roll your own?

[alsih2o]

does anyone else have any interest in gaming where you are handed a character to play rather than creating your own.


seems to add something to the whole roleplaying end, but could be disastrous with the wrong group.

any thoughts?

 

[Crothian]

I like pre made characters sometimes. I like it because the DM can weave a common backstory with all the characters and really taylor it to what he wants to do. However, you need to leave them a little flexible so that each player can add a few individual touches to make the character his own.

You also need to make sure the character you are handing the player is something he can not only play, but wants to play.

 

[Buttercup]

I think premade characters can be really good if you have a group of players who are new to the game. Give them a framework and allow them to fill in a few bits & pieces.

 

[Darkness]

My players tend to want to create their own characters - unless they are starting with amnesia (which happens seldom in D&D, but often in other systems like GURPS).

Myself, I almost never play (always the DM... ) but I wouldn't mind to play a pregen char, I guess...

 

[Wormwood]

We just wrapped up a Mage game with pre-made characters, and we liked it so much that we're doing the same thing for our upcoming Champions game.

The GM handed out a list of character concepts (no gamespeak, no stats) and had each player pick a couple. He would then tailor each character to it's player.

Worked out great, and eliminated a lot of problems.

 

[Darkness]

We just wrapped up a Mage game with pre-made characters, and we liked it so much that we're doing the same thing for our upcoming Champions game.

The GM handed out a list of character concepts (no gamespeak, no stats) and had each player pick a couple. He would then tailor each character to it's player.

Worked out great, and eliminated a lot of problems.

Interesting idea; I might try that some day...

 

[Patrick-S&S]

There are pros and cons to both sides of this actually. I as a GM/DM I prefer to spend some time creating the characters myself and then I present them to the players through illustrations (like these on this thread ). Now I know that not everyone has access to illustrations as these but it is far easier for a player to accept a character's stats if they like his/her looks.

We use to roll characters in the past but these days I prefer to create them for the players. The reason is that I do not want too much variation between them at least not when stats are concerned. A crappy character/player will always feel a tad bit disappointed if the other characters/players have far greater stats. I know that RPGing is the most important, and I stress it, but people are like that even if they do not show it all of the time.

For more info on how much time I put into my players and campaigns take a look at this site here and you will find out.

 

[Zappo]

Yes, there are pros and cons. It is a technique that must be applied to the correct situations, such as one-shots, mini-campaigns where you have everything planned, for guest players, and whenever you know that you won't have time to roll characters (eg. at conventions).

 

[Crothian]

Yes, there are pros and cons. It is a technique that must be applied to the correct situations, such as one-shots, mini-campaigns where you have everything planned, for guest players, and whenever you know that you won't have time to roll characters (eg. at conventions).

It can work in a long campaign if the players are of the right type. Some people are great at making a pre made character their own. It just takes the right DM and the right players. Like all styles of character construction (point buy, rolling, 0 level etc) it is not for everyone.

 

[EOL]

I think for me it would depend a great deal on how long the campaign was going to last. For a one shot I think it would be excellent. A campaign that lasted less than six months could also greatly benefit from this, anything beyond this and I would be wary. If you're going to play something for that long you need to be really committed to the character concept.