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Nevar
2007-10-09, 11:28 AM
Just a curiosity poll do you

A: Plan your character out to lvl 20 and never deviate

B: Know what class you want to play at first and let the campaign shape your charater?

C: Have an idea of where your character wants to be an try to make an attempt at it but has the campaign shape your charater and in the end having a hodge podge of a character.

DraPrime
2007-10-09, 11:41 AM
I'll go with B. Rarely do I ever fully plan out a character. I'm too lazy.

CrazedGoblin
2007-10-09, 11:44 AM
C: Have an idea of where your character wants to be an try to make an attempt at it but has the campaign shape your charater and in the end having a hodge podge of a character.

this one most probably

psychoticbarber
2007-10-09, 11:44 AM
C. I create the character with the character's goals in mind, but sometimes what is important to a character changes over the course of a campaign. Not to mention the things the DM pulls on me (like calling my Lawful Good fighter to Paladinhood. The bastard :smallwink:.)

Mr. Friendly
2007-10-09, 11:55 AM
C. Definitely C.

I make a character, often taking the time to build it the whole way to 20, then sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't.

PnP Fan
2007-10-09, 12:00 PM
I usually just start with Concept (i.e. fluff), make the character, then I'll look at a 20 level build. Inevitably though, I find that campaign occurences influence later decisions. So, "C" I guess.

For example, one of my current characters is a valenar elf cleric/swordsage that paid special reverence to one of his ancestors (an elf that had children on Xendrick, and later became a Chosen of Bahamut (Which we are calling a chosen of Siberys)). The DM liked the idea enough that my character is being chased by Vol and her minions, and he is slowly becoming the subject of prophecy. My plan was just to take cleric and swordsage levels until the game is over, but I will probably wind up taking levels in Heir of Siberys before it is all over with. Not part of the original plan, but it fits for where the DM is taking the campaign.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-10-09, 12:04 PM
C, taken to ECL 100.

Kurald Galain
2007-10-09, 12:07 PM
B usually, although I tend to plan a few levels ahead (changing those plans if the situations or the campaign warrant it). A is not all that effective given that most campaigns never reach level 20.

cupkeyk
2007-10-09, 12:17 PM
A.

When your a batman wizard or a skill monkey (the only two types of classes that I take), there should be no situation the dm can throw at you that you can't work with, thereby I maximize my build to be the most powerful type of that flavor.

Green Bean
2007-10-09, 12:21 PM
I'm more of a B, personally. I always have a concept first, then build a character to it. Of course, since I'm an uncreative guy, nine out of 10 of my concepts are inspired by idly leafing through the class descriptions. On the plus side, this makes building them pretty easy. And naturally, my concept can change as campaigns go on.

Tallis
2007-10-09, 12:24 PM
Usually B, though lately I've been drifting into C. Most campaigns I'm in don't get very far, so planning out 20 levels wouldn't be very useful. Every other DM I've played with arround here just can't sustain a campaign.:smallfrown:

AKA_Bait
2007-10-09, 12:24 PM
B. I decide on the personality of the character and their race then let the build flow from there. Given that most of the people I game with are not inclined/capable of serious optimization this works just fine, even though the character ends up as something of a mishmash.

Dubie
2007-10-09, 12:50 PM
I'll go with B. I generaly come up with a character and a backstory, and some ideas on the characters goals derived from my back story. Then, the adventuring starts, and things change.

Example, I'm currently playing an Elven Ranger/Totem Demon Hunter. As the Adventure started off (My character joined in at level 3), he was set out to hunt down and kill an Orc that killed his Ma and Pa. Heading into town to seek help, he ran into the rest of the party, and got swept up in the story. Throughout the campain, he has delt with alot of demonic type things, and eventualy branched out his Ranger skills into a prestige class directly related to dispatching demons.

The story should influence your character, change thier goals, and allow them to grow acording to the circumstances rather then a preconcieved notion. Just like real life does to real people.

I may have started out life wanting to be a doctor, but due to circumstances throughout life, I wound up being an army Medic...

TroyXavier
2007-10-09, 12:55 PM
Usually B but sometimes I have a build I want to try and it's A. Very occasionally it's C but it has to be very unusual.

Telonius
2007-10-09, 01:33 PM
C. I usually end up being multiclassed into oblivion because players keep dropping out midway through. I'll take a few levels of this and a few levels of that just to shore up some weaknesses.

Brawls
2007-10-09, 01:45 PM
C as well. I start with a concept and plan it out to about level 10. The n the campaign makes me change things based on RP or opportunities/necessities.

It's all good.

Brawls

OzymandiasVolt
2007-10-09, 01:51 PM
I go mostly A, but with a bit of flexibility built in at various places.

Indon
2007-10-09, 02:03 PM
Completely dependant on the campaign I'm in.

Presently, I'm working on a B and an A (and a C if I weren't the DM for my Exalted campaign).

serok42
2007-10-09, 02:11 PM
C

I like to have an Idea of where I am going with a character but you never know what the future will hold. So I tent to let the campaign shape them as well.

Thinker
2007-10-09, 02:19 PM
Definitely campaign dependent. If I know the end level for a campaign I will do A: its more efficient and more likely to give you the character you envisioned. If its more of a sandbox approach or I don't know where it will end, B.

tainsouvra
2007-10-09, 02:19 PM
Just a curiosity poll do you

A: Plan your character out to lvl 20 and never deviate

B: Know what class you want to play at first and let the campaign shape your charater?

C: Have an idea of where your character wants to be an try to make an attempt at it but has the campaign shape your charater and in the end having a hodge podge of a character. D: Have an idea of what my character wants to be, and let the campaign and character development shape the method by which he goes about fulfilling his dream.

No hodge-podge, rather a coherent vision that integrates the reality of the game world.

Bender
2007-10-09, 02:45 PM
A bit of A and a bit of B, and maybe some C...
I have a concept that can include a PrC I want to go for, but things can change...

Runa
2007-10-09, 02:53 PM
Just a curiosity poll do you

A: Plan your character out to lvl 20 and never deviate

B: Know what class you want to play at first and let the campaign shape your charater?

C: Have an idea of where your character wants to be an try to make an attempt at it but has the campaign shape your charater and in the end having a hodge podge of a character.

Definitely C.

For instance, I've always wanted to play a Paladin of Freedom, and I like Elistraee as a goddess, and I knew we were going to try a Gestalt game for a change...

...so I decided to create a cheerful, fun-loving, evil-fighting Bardadin (as another member of these forums once called it). That's right: Bard//Paladin. And I made her a Drow, because I LOVED the concept of a non-angsty fun-loving, singing, dancing, sword-swinging Drow (then again, I'm the same person who in our first game, convinced the DM to let me be a Fey'Ri LG Paladin. If you know what a Fey'Ri is, you're probably as surprised as I am that the DM allowed it, heh). Or a fun-loving character, for that matter, as I've been playing either angsty or "I don't know what I'm doing with this character to be honest" characters. :P

Originally, the idea was to make her eventually a Sword Dancer... but then someone told me about the Dervish prestige class, which is basically a class built entirely around the idea of... well, let's call it what it is: Dance Fu. :smallbiggrin:

And initially I was focusing on her being a fun-loving Paladin...

...then I discovered how FUN playing a Bard can be (our group actually did a performance, wacky hijinks resulted), and realized some of the crazy stuff I could cast from the spell list (yeah, I'm a horrible PC, I almost never look up the spell lists for these things!), and now I'm thinkin' I'll focus on the Bardic abilities and build her up to Dervish, with Paladin the secondary half, if you will. So she'll be a fun-loving, singing, Mandolin-playing, Dance Fu artist with a bastard sword, who happens to also be a Paladin of Freedom. Who worships a god that is pretty much obsessed with music and dance.

:smallbiggrin:

Also, I knew my character was the type to goof around and be easygoing, but thanks to two fellow PCs picking utterly unpronounceable names for their characters, I found a character quirk: my character is now prone to giving anyone with a hard to remember or weird enough name (that she's friends with) a slightly silly nickname. The two players' characters are now called by mine... Willy, and Silly (her name was something like Selianay or something; I can't remember what his was). Amusingly enough, "Silly" DOES act kind of silly, so it works... heh.

Also, I realized my character was impulsive. Very impulsive. Even though she's squishy.

Also, "Silly"'s tendency to not think before she speaks has led the DM to pointing out that NPCs are going to start slapping her if she's not careful... and being that my character is Good first, Chaotic second (if you will), I decided that she wouldn't stand for her friend getting beat up... and then I realized that if this happens ALL THE TIME...

...she's going to view her like that little sister that can never seem to stay out of trouble. :smalltongue: "Siiiigh... OK, OK, wait, don't beat her up please. Thank you... so... what did she say or do THIS time...?"

So definitely C. :P


-Runa

valadil
2007-10-09, 03:01 PM
Somewhere between A and C. I come up with the personality/background first and then figure out what class(es) represent that, while remaining effective. I figure out the quickest way to my prestige class and go from there. I don't plan past qualifying for a PrC though. And if the PrC leaves room (like if I qualify at level 9 but only need 2 feats) I just leave the extra bits blank till I get to that level.

Quirinus_Obsidian
2007-10-09, 03:04 PM
I start with (A) and mix in a little (B). The base character class and PrC(s) normally do not change; but some of the feats, skills, and item/spell plans do change. I do not like to be reactive too much.

leperkhaun
2007-10-10, 02:01 AM
I ussually plan to level 20, however i have almost never actually stick to the plan, ussually the campaign will cause me to deviate. My current DM likes to throw in loops and twists and as my current group does not mind it makes it more fun to see where the character goes.

Even with that though i always have an idea where i want the character to go so i rarely end up with a hodge podge character. I tend to optimize my characters, on paper, but then end up downgrading to keep with the party's power level.

Jannex
2007-10-10, 02:43 AM
My play style usually falls somewhere between B and C. If there's a particular Prestige Class that I think makes sense for the character or that I really want to try out, I'll make sure that s/he gets all the prerequisites filled out pretty quickly, but everything else is largely contingent on what makes sense for the character at the time, and where the campaign has taken him/her. Of course, it doesn't hurt that a lot of the time, I'm content to stick with the base class I started with.

Kompera
2007-10-10, 04:18 AM
Just a curiosity poll do you

A: Plan your character out to lvl 20 and never deviate

B: Know what class you want to play at first and let the campaign shape your charater?

C: Have an idea of where your character wants to be an try to make an attempt at it but has the campaign shape your charater and in the end having a hodge podge of a character.

C. I've yet to run into a campaign where there were zero house rules or even retro-rules by a GM who went "Oh, sh*t! You can do what? Um, let's talk after this game."

I've done the same myself as a GM.

And frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Letting the "rules" ruin your campaign or break your setting is not in the interest of a fun RPG experience by all the participants.

tannish2
2007-10-10, 04:27 AM
i rarely plan out til 20, unless im starting around 15ish. but i DO plan out characters. and i usually even have IC reasons to do so.(i want to go to ___ university and get a degree in ___ then go work for/as a _____ is no different that planning to get into IOTSFC... if that planned job is major league puppy kicker, or something along those lines)

Dhavaer
2007-10-10, 04:37 AM
A. It makes it easier to scale the character up or down depending on the campaign.

Saph
2007-10-10, 05:41 AM
B. I'll generally plan the class and prestige class for my character well in advance, because PrCs have such strict entry requirements. However, feats, spells, skills, and so on I'll choose and alter along the way.

- Saph

LordLocke
2007-10-10, 06:03 AM
B with A tinges.

I usually decide my levels of advancement in... well, advance. I generally know WHAT, going in, I want to be through where the campaign's expected to end.

HOWEVER, what I pick for stuff like feats, spells, and skills going between start and finish are entirely a B affair- generally, it's like the ol' Gamgee rope scenario. If it's something I found myself wanting, I take the first opportunity I have to take it so I don't regret it when I've left it behind.