what extent do you plan out your PC?

[fba827]

First off, I really don't like starting my own polls on here but this seemed the better way to do this ...

Curious:

(For when you are a player)

When making a PC for a game, how much planning do you put into _future_ character class/feats/skills/stat choices?

Do you simply make the PC at the starting level and give no real thought to future advancement and then just make the choices as the character advances during the course of the game?

Or, at the other end of the spectrum,
when you make a PC, do you also plan out what character level combinations the character will have up through 20th (or whatever 'epic' number). And pick every feat that the character will eventually take and how sklls will be distributed and ability scores will be assigned... (ie. she'll advance to level 5 as a monk then take 3 levels of paladin followed by 10 levels of the Superman prestige class. the 3rd level feat will be the Faster than a Speeding Bullet feat, the 6th will be Appear as a Bird while flying feat, and the 9th level one will be the Leap Tall Buildings in a Single Bound feat (12, 15, 18, etc..) and the 4th, 8, 12, 16, and 20th level stat increases will all be in Con)

Just wondering...

Edit: I realize there may be cases where some PCs are done one way and some another.. I am asking about "generally which do you do?"

 

[jollyninja]

i live in the now with some idea of where i want to go in the future. i'll start out with something like "elven archer with a chip on his shoulder" and from that build a backstory on which to base his actions. then i let circumstance decide where he ends up. if no life altering events occur he might become a deepwoods sniper or arcane archer but who knows he might become a paladin or stay a fighter and become a great swordsman as well as a great archer. i just flow with what i think the character would do. if he has a religous awakening great, i might take a few cleric levels. if life kicks him in the junk a few times he might take some rogue levels and start kicking back when nobody is looking. if he gets lost in the woods, for a decade, alone he might become a barbarian. if someone cuts off his arm and lives, he might get a stump knife and become a tempest. revenge is so much better when you use the bastards actions against him.

 

[fba827]

I was holding my own opinion so as not to have it in the first post for the thread.

But I like to do just initial creation with a vague idea of where the character would hope/plan to do with his life in the future. Of course, I leave it at that 'cause I like to think that the growth of the campaign also affects the growth of the personal character (fighting a lot may make the wizard take a level of fighter or something and throw off everything the character had hoped for his future or what not).. true, this way does cause problems if I want to take a particular feat tree or prestige class but I find that for me this is _generally_ how I like to go.

 

[AussieDM]

I pick a class, race and start at first level...

Never really pick any feats that would initially seem strange - hence I always take pretty much close to the standard setups as per the PHB, and my skills I max out as many as I can...

Then as we play and advance, I will develop as the game develops. For instance if playing a cleric and the game becomes heavy in undead, well Extra Turning and all the feats associated with undead become a priority...

If you plan initially to be an undead hunter and you end up traipsing around a forest playing with sprites and elves, how can you justify your increased powers??

Hence I voted option 1, and at this early stage, I'm the only one...

 

[zouron]

Okay I am a bit of an overplanner but at level one I know all classes feats, skills etc the character is plannning to gain to level 20 (and beyond usually stop around level 18 to 26 depending on what I want).
That said I obviously adapt the character over time depending on what happens and what is useful (having a useless character is no fun! and I seldom have seen dms that are throughly enough to allow every PC to shine every game... so players should adapt somewhat IMHO).

But usually my plan holds up with only minor adjustments, supposely since I tend to have very strong character traits in them

 

[Stone Angel]

Sometimes I seem to plan the character out then I'll let it fly for a while. Really I've found what works best for me is that I'll let the character develop themself. What I mean is I'll let outside influences direct my character (i.e magic items, quests, dislikes toward one npc or the next, and various other reactions to role playing stimuli). I have a basic idea of what type of class, there background, and goals, but after that it is all what happens in the game. After a couple levels I'll think about how my character developed, then I'll choose skills, feats, and multiclass if need be.

 

[Kweezil]

It varies from character to character. Sometimes I'll plan all the way down to the fine details, others I don't even know what to play (for these, the Hero Builder's Guide actually comes in handy, so nyah to those who think its useless ). Usually, I go the middle ground and plan roughly what I want the character to be, maybe a prestige class to aim for. After all, I don't want a plan that's so precise that sudden plot changes could derail it.

 

[alsih2o]

planning past the next lvl seems..odd, this is just imho, but i want my character to be shaped by the story, just like in rl.

 

[Crothian]

I get a vague idea of what I want, especially if I'm aiming towards a prestige class. But most of the time skill points and feats reflect what my character has been doing. My Ranger got his first animal campanion so I placed a few skill points in both Animal Empathy and handle animal.

 

[bwgwl]

i don't usually start thinking about prestige classes and other higher-level acquisitions until i get around 4th or 5th level -- at which point i curse myself because if i had planned out the character from the beginning, i could already qualify!