Am I insane? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Am I insane? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Rodzaju
04-28-06, 08:32 AM I've recently run a series of aborted campaigns.
The problem is that my players can't make up their minds what characters they want to play.
At least 1 player EVERY session wants to switch character because:
It doesn't play the way he expected it to or
He's seen another class he thinks would suit him better etc.
I think that maybe they have too many choices.
I'm getting heartily fed up of constantly adapting games to accomodate new characters & we have come up with an idea that we hope will help.
I'm going to start a hack & slash type game, with each player using multiple characters. (I don't think this would work in an RP heavy game)
Between them they want to use all of the 25 core classes my books have.
The theory is that by trying a little bit of everything, they will be able to determine what works for them & gets the whole shopping around thing out of the way.
My question is:
Am I off my trolley to try running a game with 25 pc's?
I don't anticipate the number staying that high. As they narrow down the one's they want to play, the rejects will be weeded out.
Pfisiar
04-28-06, 08:35 AM I've recently run a series of aborted campaigns.
The problem is that my players can't make up their minds what characters they want to play.
At least 1 player EVERY session wants to switch character because:
It doesn't play the way he expected it to or
He's seen another class he thinks would suit him better etc.
I think that maybe they have too many choices.
I'm getting heartily fed up of constantly adapting games to accomodate new characters & we have come up with an idea that we hope will help.
I'm going to start a hack & slash type game, with each player using multiple characters. (I don't think this would work in an RP heavy game)
Between them they want to use all of the 25 core classes my books have.
The theory is that by trying a little bit of everything, they will be able to determine what works for them & gets the whole shopping around thing out of the way.
My question is:
Am I off my trolley to try running a game with 25 pc's?
I don't anticipate the number staying that high. As they narrow down the one's they want to play, the rejects will be weeded out.

I wouldn't say you're off the trolley. I like the way you've set this up. It seems to be a good experiment in finding the mechanics that work best for you. But I would say that it might help if you kept the game to the 3 core books. Might help focus your players, who seem quite immature to say the very least.
LCD2YOU
04-28-06, 08:59 AM Yes you are insane.

Welcome to the club. There are many charter members on this board.

What Pfisiar said.

When dealing with players who want to be everything, remember the KISS principle, "Keep it Simple Stupid". No, I'm not saying you're stupid. I am just repeating the saying.

Use just these three books:

DMG
PHB
MM I

When the players mature, and only when they mature, let them stretch out into the other "semi-core" books, and then the splat books.
nyysjan
04-28-06, 09:24 AM Yes you are insane.
It may be due to the fact that you are spendng time on these boards. (everyone goes out of their minds after a while)
Or, like with me, it may be a pre existing condition.
kelvinaw273
04-28-06, 10:06 AM I have to say, give them a higher point buy character creation and encourage them to multi-class instead of changing characters. Make it clear to them that this is the idea of the campaign, that they grow into their characters and find the best way to exploit their strengths and minimise their weaknesses.

Or, you could try Gestalt characters, so they have two-into-one types.
imperialjunkie
04-28-06, 10:56 AM Off your freaking rocker. ;)

It's probably fine to do if you limit it to a one shot adventure. Trying to manage 25 PCs and their high number of enemies will be tedious to the max. Don't attempt to do this in more than one session.
Neverwrong
04-28-06, 11:02 AM Are you insane? Hmm. How many pseodopods am i holding up? Have experinced the need to spontaniously combust? Have you thought of suicide(and the answer is always yes, pink elephants). Ever written random, non-coherent posts? Do you find yourself increasingly doing things "Because"? Do you follow society's norms? Have you ever started writing a post and then thought: "Oh. I forgot to read what the scunner said" and then decided "Ah, what the heck, i'll post it anyway. Because".

No. You are not "Insane". It took a while for my vict... i mean players, to decide which class to play. It settles down.

p.s. Do you wear your underwear on your head? Generally a clear sign of madness.
aotrscommander
04-28-06, 12:16 PM 25 PCs seems a little many, to be honest. The combat round will slow to a crawl. If you are dead set on having 25, I would suggest you only give each player an initiative roll, on each character. Otherwise, trying to keep track of that many characters will be nightmarish.
Rodzaju
04-28-06, 12:26 PM I did think about suggesting they pop over to the character optimisation board to find the best class to mechanically fit the character they want to play, but I was terrified of what they might come back with :OMG! :gah: :bigeyes: :nonono:
Pfisiar
04-28-06, 12:54 PM I did think about suggesting they pop over to the character optimisation board to find the best class to mechanically fit the character they want to play, but I was terrified of what they might come back with :OMG! :gah: :bigeyes: :nonono:

One of the problems with this is that it takes actual play experience to really know how well you'll like or hate a type of character. Otherwise this would be a nifty idea.
PoeticJustice
04-28-06, 01:02 PM I recommend you give them an exorbitant amount of treasure (say, a Sun Blade at first level) and tell them they don't get to keep it if they switch characters.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rodzaju 04-28-06, 08:32 AM	I've recently run a series of aborted campaigns. The problem is that my players can't make up their minds what characters they want to play. At least 1 player EVERY session wants to switch character because: It doesn't play the way he expected it to or He's seen another class he thinks would suit him better etc. I think that maybe they have too many choices. I'm getting heartily fed up of constantly adapting games to accomodate new characters & we have come up with an idea that we hope will help. I'm going to start a hack & slash type game, with each player using multiple characters. (I don't think this would work in an RP heavy game) Between them they want to use all of the 25 core classes my books have. The theory is that by trying a little bit of everything, they will be able to determine what works for them & gets the whole shopping around thing out of the way. My question is: Am I off my trolley to try running a game with 25 pc's? I don't anticipate the number staying that high. As they narrow down the one's they want to play, the rejects will be weeded out.
Pfisiar 04-28-06, 08:35 AM	I've recently run a series of aborted campaigns. The problem is that my players can't make up their minds what characters they want to play. At least 1 player EVERY session wants to switch character because: It doesn't play the way he expected it to or He's seen another class he thinks would suit him better etc. I think that maybe they have too many choices. I'm getting heartily fed up of constantly adapting games to accomodate new characters & we have come up with an idea that we hope will help. I'm going to start a hack & slash type game, with each player using multiple characters. (I don't think this would work in an RP heavy game) Between them they want to use all of the 25 core classes my books have. The theory is that by trying a little bit of everything, they will be able to determine what works for them & gets the whole shopping around thing out of the way. My question is: Am I off my trolley to try running a game with 25 pc's? I don't anticipate the number staying that high. As they narrow down the one's they want to play, the rejects will be weeded out. I wouldn't say you're off the trolley. I like the way you've set this up. It seems to be a good experiment in finding the mechanics that work best for you. But I would say that it might help if you kept the game to the 3 core books. Might help focus your players, who seem quite immature to say the very least.
LCD2YOU 04-28-06, 08:59 AM	Yes you are insane. Welcome to the club. There are many charter members on this board. What Pfisiar said. When dealing with players who want to be everything, remember the KISS principle, "Keep it Simple Stupid". No, I'm not saying you're stupid. I am just repeating the saying. Use just these three books: DMG PHB MM I When the players mature, and only when they mature, let them stretch out into the other "semi-core" books, and then the splat books.
nyysjan 04-28-06, 09:24 AM	Yes you are insane. It may be due to the fact that you are spendng time on these boards. (everyone goes out of their minds after a while) Or, like with me, it may be a pre existing condition.
kelvinaw273 04-28-06, 10:06 AM	I have to say, give them a higher point buy character creation and encourage them to multi-class instead of changing characters. Make it clear to them that this is the idea of the campaign, that they grow into their characters and find the best way to exploit their strengths and minimise their weaknesses. Or, you could try Gestalt characters, so they have two-into-one types.
imperialjunkie 04-28-06, 10:56 AM	Off your freaking rocker. ;) It's probably fine to do if you limit it to a one shot adventure. Trying to manage 25 PCs and their high number of enemies will be tedious to the max. Don't attempt to do this in more than one session.
Neverwrong 04-28-06, 11:02 AM	Are you insane? Hmm. How many pseodopods am i holding up? Have experinced the need to spontaniously combust? Have you thought of suicide(and the answer is always yes, pink elephants). Ever written random, non-coherent posts? Do you find yourself increasingly doing things "Because"? Do you follow society's norms? Have you ever started writing a post and then thought: "Oh. I forgot to read what the scunner said" and then decided "Ah, what the heck, i'll post it anyway. Because". No. You are not "Insane". It took a while for my vict... i mean players, to decide which class to play. It settles down. p.s. Do you wear your underwear on your head? Generally a clear sign of madness.
aotrscommander 04-28-06, 12:16 PM	25 PCs seems a little many, to be honest. The combat round will slow to a crawl. If you are dead set on having 25, I would suggest you only give each player an initiative roll, on each character. Otherwise, trying to keep track of that many characters will be nightmarish.
Rodzaju 04-28-06, 12:26 PM	I did think about suggesting they pop over to the character optimisation board to find the best class to mechanically fit the character they want to play, but I was terrified of what they might come back with :OMG! :gah: :bigeyes: :nonono:
Pfisiar 04-28-06, 12:54 PM	I did think about suggesting they pop over to the character optimisation board to find the best class to mechanically fit the character they want to play, but I was terrified of what they might come back with :OMG! :gah: :bigeyes: :nonono: One of the problems with this is that it takes actual play experience to really know how well you'll like or hate a type of character. Otherwise this would be a nifty idea.
PoeticJustice 04-28-06, 01:02 PM	I recommend you give them an exorbitant amount of treasure (say, a Sun Blade at first level) and tell them they don't get to keep it if they switch characters.