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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 6283138" data-attributes="member: 29398">Guess I won't be inviting you in, huh? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Seriously, to me the game is more than just a series of encounters that add up to a series of adventures that add up to a single story path.  It's more about the personalities of the characters that cycle in and out of the party/parties, and how they interact - are they friends, lovers, deadly enemies, tricksters, etc. - as that's where a large part of the entertainment (and what is the point of any of this other than entertainment, in the end?) comes from.  Sure, there's adventures and things to do, and a story out there somewhere that we'll pay attention to now and then; and we'll gradually get better at what we do (i.e. level up) as a side effect of playing the game and occasionally succeeding at a mission.  Characters (and players) will come and go - characters die, retire, return, split into different parties that get played at different times, re-merge or reshuffle party lineups, etc.; players join, leave, move away, return, etc. - but the game endures and carries on.What bores me quickly is the tactical chess game, where no character is ever able to go off plan without seriously endangering the whole party - fine once in a while, but as a constant playstyle it's not for me.Maybe an answer is to come up with character concepts that are not - or are much less - mechanically dependent.As an example, start with: "This character is going to be a happy-go-lucky type who falls madly in love with every dashing knight that crosses her path; she's more courageous herself than she realizes but hasn't had much chance to show it yet (field adventuring will soon fix this!), her dream is to become famous enough that the bards will sing her name in their tales, but her shorter-term goal is to pay off some debts for her family.  Oh, and she never knows when to stop talking, particularly when she's nervous."  So far this concept could fit with any class and most races; about the only mechanical thing the concept points to is that if not a Cleric her dump stat will probably be Wisdom.  From there you just take it as it comes, and create the concept on the fly as the character develops through play both mechanically and socially.Or, if you want a more mechanical setup, try: "This character hasn't got much self-esteem, he's somewhat socially inept and doesn't know how to start or end any conversation, and this has always bothered him.  That said, somewhere along the line he heard of this thing called magic, and that people could learn how to shape it to their will; and dammit, if magic can make him better-spoken and get people to listen he'll do whatever it takes to learn how."  So mechanically we've got a low-Cha high-Int magic-user (any race) who is going to focus on anything that will enhance either or both of Charisma and communication to the exclusion of pretty much anything else.  From there, see where the run of play takes you.Notice that both these examples are *starting* points; largely open-ended (as should be the game as a whole) and malleable to suit whatever may happen through play.  Trying to start from the end (as in "this character is going to be a 20th-level Necromancer with a nightmare steed, a castle outside Waterdeep, and who specializes in spells that summon and control Devils") before you've even started roll-up is the highway to madness.Lanefan</blockquote>

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