who should choose familiar/spells DM or player?

[ThirdWizard]

Did you have to roll for age, weight, and height? Did you have to roll for eye color or where you grew up?

Some things can be out of the PCs' hands, but still decided on by the Player. I would try to figure out why he draws the line at the familiar. Unless of course, you had to roll for your character's background and such.

 

[schporto]

Isn't this a really bad case of roll playing? I mean he's rolling for the character you're playing. A dice roll shouldn't determine what your character wants to do or his inclinations.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I'd let him pick my personality as well! Meaning, the character becomes an NPC, and I find a DM that doesnt suck.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Amazing! It's his (the DM's) game? I thought the game belonged to everyone who plays in it. If it's not fun for the players why bother with the game?

The DM is acting like a jackass, and I wouldn't play a sorcerer (or even in his game) under those circumstances. There is no good reason to not allow a sorcerer to pick his own spells.

 

[Arnwyn]

I'm yet another "it's his game so he can run it the way he wants, but I wouldn't play a sorcerer under those conditions" posters.

I would certainly ask (ASAP) if there are other house rules that have impacts on the available character classes.

 

[IcyCool]

It doesn't sound like you'll be able to convince your DM that what he is doing is not fun. So try arguement B.

Play a fighter. If he asks why you no longer want to play a sorcerer, tell him it's because his house rules on them would make it not fun for you to play one.

 

[Lanefan]

I've never had a problem with rolling for what familiar you get, or if you get one at all. However, if you have your heart set on a particular familiar, there's one in-game way to stack the odds (if the DM allows it): find an area where there's lots of the desired animal, and cast your spell there. For a cat, I'd suggest the seedier part of downtown of whatever major city you happen to be in...though you'd also increase your odds of getting a rat...

Does your DM allow you to reject a familiar you don't want? In other words, if you want a cat and you get a toad, can you simply tell the toad "thanks for coming out" and send it on its happy way? If so, you could always just keep trying till you get what you want...though if your game still has the possibility of getting a "special familiar" (as mine does) your DM might put limits on repeat castings, or remove the chance for specials after the first try; otherwise, everyone would just keep casting till they got a special and they wouldn't be very special any more.

As for sorcerors, all I can say is that is one class I'd like to see just Go Away. I appreciate the flavour behind them, but the result (particularly if they can choose their spells-known) is rather ugly...who would *ever* want to play a wizard again?

Lanefan

 

[Shadowslayer]

Well, I tend to just let the player pick that stuff. I think the guy is being overly anal.

The whole "Roleplaying vs Rollplaying vs powergaming" argument is bogus here. Its an argument being used to distract from the fact that the DM is being a control freak. Like, come on...he's gonna get sticky because you want to have a cat as a familiar? I could see it if you wanted something non-standard...like a Displacer Beast, but a cat?

This, and the spell selection, are very, very basic choices that you should be able to make on your own. Ask the guy if he wants to roll your hit points for you too. Ask him if he wants to roll on a table to see what color cloak you should wear. Every time a situation comes up that requires a choice on your part, ask him if he wants to roll on it.

And if he says "but I thought you were a roleplayer" again, tell him a real DM would be able to handle you picking your own spells and familiar (within the rules) and would be able to roll with whatever came up. (then kick him in the d20s) Its your game too. When you're talking about eliminating a player's basic PHB choices, the whole "its his game to do with as he pleases" thing is hooey.

 

[Stormborn]

I just don't know how to apporach him and convince him that this is not just powergaimg concerns that I really feel that these two apporaches can really handicap my character.

First, a bit of compromise. Ask if, when rolling for a familiar, if you don't get one can you try again next time you take a level of sorcerer, to represent your growing connection to magic. Next consider following his decision about rolling to see what school you are most closely aligned with, but then ask if having done so you can choose your spells, with most of them coming from that school. Tell him that your character would feel the pull of magic, but would have to make choices about how to develop it.

If you don't want to do that simply tell him that you didn't know about these limitations when you first began and that if you had you wouldn't have chosen sorcerer. Ask if you can take another level in Ranger instead and then immediately declare your intent to study Wizadry for your next level.

It comes down to this: Do you want to keep playing or not? No, his house rules are not fair (and I don't think they have to do with controlling powergaming, they seem more like simple control issues to me), but if he refuses to bend then you have to accept it or move on.

EDIT: Ask the other players if they knew this was the case for sorcerers and see if they agree. If they did not and do not, then you can all try talking to him about following the RAW or a compromise. It has nothing to do about it being "his" game. It's simply if people can't agree on the rules then they can't play together, if you are the only one that can't agree then you have to decide what to do about it.

 

[amethal]

Eighteen posts in and all the posters in broad agreement? I don't think I've ever seen the like of this before.

Surely someone is going to stick up for the DM at some point? This is the internet, folks!

Anyway, its not going to be me.

The players of sorcerers choosing their spells doesn't make sense? What about rogues getting evasion, or barbarians getting damage reduction? I don't think those rules make sense either, but they certainly make for a fun game.

Will he be rolling up random spells for the NPC sorcerers you meet? If so, I suggest you attack them on sight. Chances are they will be lacking defensively, or offensively, or both i.e. free XP.

Will he allow you to use the variant rule in the PHB2, where you can give up your familiar in return for spontaneous metamagic not beiong a full round action?

I'd also try and get him to allow the bloodline feats from the Dragon Compendium. They are great for role-playing potential, and the incidental power-up is irrelevant unless the DM wants to be a roll player .....