Would you roll the d4 if...

[chris.crouch]

I voted "No I just don't like it", but I quite like the general idea. I'd just much prefer it if I could just choose one of the options. Rolling for something like this just seems wrong.

If I were in a game where this was offered to me, I'd seriously think about using it, but only if it were offered at the very beginning - before I'd even thought about a character concept.

Chris

 

[Rystil Arden]

Hence the vow now!

No, I wouldn't do this.

What if the vow was the level 1 feat though?

 

[Technik4]

The basis of this was, would people play a game if a d4 determined the level they started at.

Imagine:

d4
1: Level 1
2: Level 2
3: Level 3
4: Level 4

If you did not want to roll, you could start at level 2. Then I decided that was a little weighted in favor of the rollers. What if there were conditions to getting the levels. I eliminated level 4, and tried to make the conditions worse depending on the higher level. Then I gave the level 1 guy a little something, so it wouldnt be that bad.

As for the weapons and gold - you had it yesterday, its just a little hook for your first side-quest (the intent wasn't to just screw you out of some items). Someone took them, you have to find them and figure out what they want.

Interesting responses so far though.

It would be pretty funny if someone playing with a Vow of Nonviolence or Peace then rolled the d4 and wound up with the result where they were forced to be a murderer by the chart

Dominate has the [Evil] descriptor sometimes, in games I've played

 

[Rhun]

I'd definitely cast the d4! I would own that thing.

 

[Twowolves]

Not only would I roll, I've done something similar. I made a wizard to join a campaign in progress. I could start two levels below everyone else and have full gear, plus a unique magic item, or start one level below with standard gear. I jokingly said "hell, I'd start naked if I were the same level as the rest of the party", and did!

 

[Fieari]

I hate all randomness at level up and character generation, which is why I always push for point buy and some sort of house rule on HP. I'd enjoy this if it was a case of choosing instead of randomness.

In a way, A Game of Thrones D20 has this built in, where you can start at a lower level but be socially connected and matter to the plot, or start with a higher level but be despised at court (which MATTERS, since AGoT is primarily "d20 politics").

 

[Ealli]

It'd really depend on how firm of a character idea I had coming into character creation. If I had a really specific idea, I'd take the base level 2 so the plot hooks wouldn't interfere with the background I've written. If I'm generating a character's stat and then figuring out who he is, I'd absolutely roll.

 

[Jdvn1]

Lemmie see: Start at lvl 2 with no problems OR have a 25% chance of starting lower with better stats, and a 75% chance of starting at equal or higher level with a plot hook.


err...

Oh hell. I'll throw the d4, but probably live to regret it.

That's me too.

 

[Rystil Arden]

I bet your characters ALWAYS draw from the Deck of Many Things

Oo, oo, that's me! Although only if it's the DoMT that I use with more moderate and interesting results, not the one in the DMG with the boringly straightforward drastically good and terrible stuff.

I like Wild Surges too--in 2e, I once had an NPC Wizard who agreed to help out the party for a while, but little did they know that he was a Wild Mage who filled every last spell slot with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer (a 1st-level spell that attempts to cast any spell you can cast but automatically rolls a Wild Surge).

In one of my Living ENWorld games, they just found the room with the Deck of Many Things and Wild Surges!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've used or been in campaigns that used things like this in the past, especially in campaigns where we used the old Central Casting books, and (of course) when playing original Traveller.