who should choose familiar/spells DM or player?

[Ciaran]

Strike a dramatic pose and speak thusly to your DM:

"Fear my sorcerous power, for I am Agrafel of the Flame! Born of a long lineage of fire sorcerers, our bloodline tracing back to the Pasha of the Efreet! Indeed, the very essence of flame burns within my soul. Now stand back, for I shall demonstrate to you the fullness of my magical might: the spells of erase and tenser's floating disk!

"Alas, I cannot linger, for I go now to visit my cousin Maxa, daughter of the dreaded Were-Tigress of Westfall! Given her feline affinity, it should come as no surprise that her recent attempts to obtain a familiar brought her a small crested lizard!"

 

[Shroomy]

I still think the random roll for a familiar is preposterous unless it was an agreed upon house rule, especially when you have a well thought out reason for having a cat familiar. I think the worst part of the whole situation is the chance that you would not get a familiar at all. Talk about nerfing a class ability with no compensation; maybe if the familiar thing proves to be too much of a hassle your DM will allow you to explore the variant abilities presented in the PHBII.

BTW, dare I ask, what are your DM's plans for when you gain a ranger animal companion?

 

[el-remmen]

I don't allow players to choose their familiars either.

I use the method detailed here: http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Summon+Familiar

 

[rgard]

Hey there MonkeyDragon - thank you for such a balanced and thought out reply!

<SNIP>

Elfwitch - thank you for posting the description about the DM. Your favorable depiction is EXACTLY what I picked up "between the lines" of the post ... and I am more than glad that you are willing to continue playing the game and not just up and away because something did not "go your way"! We need more playing like that.

<SNIP>

I don't know...this is more than 'did not go your way'. The point of the game is to have fun and part of having fun is playing the character the way you want to play it. The sorcerer class isn't broken so there is no need to mess with it and diminish the player's fun. I would define 'did not go your way' more like a situation where the PCs thought that they had prepared for just about every eventuality, when they didn't and the battle didn't go to plan.

The really, really, bad part is that the player was blind-sided by this whole random spells and random/DM selected familiar crap. The multiclassing to sorcerer process 'in-game-role-play' was done and after that the DM dropped the random edict.

'Did not go your way' implies a petulant response to an minor situation and that doesn't describe the situation as Elf Witch has conveyed.

Elf Witch sounds like a good sport about this mess and would be justified (in my eyes) to walk away, argue the point in game, or drop the plans for becoming a sorcerer.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Shroomy]

I don't allow players to choose their familiars either.

I use the method detailed here: http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Summon+Familiar

But the key difference is that your rules aren't sprung on the players (I hope, ). BTW, interesting system.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I, as a DM, set limits on the spells and familiars that are available on the basis of game balance (some books are borken) and campaign versimilitude (no snakes in ireland, fer instance). I don't choose things for my players, I simply set a few boundaries if/when I think necessary. And with the exception of things forbidden due to game balance, I don't place restrictions on character developed things, like the spells learned at each level.

As a player, I don't mind a bit of boundaries that make the world feel like a living place. Being told "there are no snakes in ireland" tells me that if I want a snake, I need to travel!

I would become absolutely irate at a GM who re-jiggered the magic system after I'd leveled in a class. It's a total bit of wankerdom and it mentally "poisons the well." From now on, you'll look at your character and sigh, thinking of the sorceror he could have been if your DM wasn't equipped with a ferrous rectal girder.

I'm a long time SR player. Ask him when the last time he rolled dice in SR to see which totem he got or what the nature of the ally spirit he conjured was. This is a case of the DM running a game based on his impression of the game and who has no intention of letting any old facts or rules get in their way. He knows that in D&D you roll for everything so, by god! you are going to roll for everything.

Quit whining and be a man! After all, this is D&D where you roll everything!

PS- if elf witch is female that line becomes even funnier.

 

[Voadam]

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.

Random spell assignment will really affect a sorcerer's comparative power.

You could end up with no combat useful spells. You could end up with combat spells that do not fit the style of the character.

Unseen servant and Nystul's magic aura are just as likely as mage armor and color spray.

You could have a familiar that is a detriment to the type of character you are developing instead of a benefit.

Replacing player choice for sorcerers with random rolls can significantly hamper the character compared to the others in the party. And multiclassing a caster is a suboptimal build power wise to start as well.

You would have not only a caster level 2 below dedicated spellcasters, but no choice in spells known compared to clerics and druids (full spell list) and wizards (who learn and can buy).

Let him know that it is significant enough that you choose not to take such a character development path.

 

[sniffles]

I could see some reason behind having the GM determine what new spells a wizard could learn, especially if the wizard is out adventuring. A wizard wouldn't necessarily have access to just any old wizard spell if he's out in the wilderness somewhere. But since a sorcerer's spells come from within (or wherever you decide they come from in your campaign), shouldn't a sorcerer be able to decide "I'm going to try to learn how to cast mage hand now", or whatever spell the player would like his character to know?

And isn't choosing a spell theme roleplaying? If you can't choose spells to suit your intended theme, where's the roleplaying in that?

A familiar is indeed a class feature. The rules don't say anywhere that you don't get to choose. Of course the GM can alter the rules to suit, but I can't see his rationale at all here. The only way he should be able to restrict your choices is if you're in an environment where some of the potential choices aren't likely to be found. I once played a sorcerer in a post-apocalyptic game where animals like cats were rare, so it was fine with me that my familiar was a rat. But if that's not the case in your GM's setting then he should let you choose, IMHO.

I'd tell your GM that randomly rolling to determine what spells or familiar you get is rollplaying, not roleplaying. He's far too interested in randomizing - or controlling your character.

If he wants you to be able to roleplay your character in a way that is fun for you he shouldn't take away your choices.

 

[pawsplay]

I don't allow players to choose their familiars either.

I use the method detailed here: http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Summon+Familiar

Interesting. I think, as a player, I would have some reservations of having the familiars arranged linearally, especially as the stronger creatures don't grant skill bonuses. And I can think of plenty of occasions where I would find a constrictor snake to be a bizarre result.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Tell him that since he wants to pick the spells and the familiar he can play the character too, and that you will roll up a new character with no spellcasting. Maybe he will take the hint. If not then dump the character and possibly the game - this is not likely to get any better if the DM is not willing to talk things through.

The Auld Grump