Hello everyone, I am new to the D&D community, but not D&D and roleplay. So here is the situation, in the newest campaign that our group has started, we knew we needed back up characters. However, we weren't given a choice of race nor class. Our DM is giving us the option to roll for stats, point buy, name, etc. though. Beyond that, the class that we are being given isn't really compatible with the race. In other words, it's one of the least effective classes for the race we were given. He spoke about making players that are typically nonmagic types play magic types and vice versa. While I understand the mindset, as a longtime roleplayer myself, I think allowing players to venture out on their own allows them to find out what they like or dislike. Forcing a player into a character makes it hard for them to connect to it often times. This is important to me because the group, DM included, are all brand new to roleplaying and D&D. This is there first time and I don't want them to be forced into a role they don't want. We haven't made our backups yet but will have to do so soon.
So my questions are simple. For one, has anyone had this happen to them?
Two, how should I handle this? I ask because our DM is new to Dm'ing and roleplay. He is trying his best and I've tried to let him feel his way through it all, but I feel like this was a bit ridiculous. I've been very lenient, but I feel the need to assert how things are supposed to be done, what is ok, and what isn't. Anyway, if you all have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.
This sounds like a very poor way to start a campaign. I think they are trying to make you roleplay your character, but giving his own creations, and ones that might be mechanicall challanging, will be one of the hardest way to get you to enjoy their characters. I would start by asking people to write a paragraph or so about their characters. Making stories and developing concept would work much better then that i believe.
how every, there is no really "right" way. Im sure there will be players out there that enjoy that kind of set up, Just voice your concerns sensebly and with out trying to sound like your bieng to bossy or trying to dm from in front of the screen
Forcing players to play a character outside their norm works for 1-shots and "lets kill god" games, not major campaigns.
Zathris wrote:
TheRitualist wrote:
Thanks everyone, I'm going to talk to him about it very soon. We'll see how it goes.
D&D is about a group of people having fun -- not just one person. While the game is generally adversarial, the spirit of D&D is cooperation and collaboration between players and DM to produce a fun session of dice rolling. It's a understandable if the DM said "I'm running a game without magic, so no wizards." or something like that, but to to insist that races and classes don't match? Maybe he is just trying to avoid min/maxing? It might be polite on your part to ask the impetus for his decree.
Personally, if a DM tries to force me to play something I didn't want, my first step is to announce that I didn't want to play that character; if it was insisted, I'd simply opt out of the campaign. It doesn't have to be confrontational, or "I'm taking my ball and going home" or anything like that.
BTW... I agree with the earlier point about exploring characters for one-shot games.
I recently played with a DM that forced both my race and class. While I was not necessarily dissatisfied with the concept, and at least race and class had stats that lines up, it was indicative of a DMing style where I felt the story would progress in the exact same way whether I would participate or not.
So that is a worry I would bring to your DM.
Is there a reason the newbie is DMing instead of you? Because that seems like a recipe for disaster, especially if he hasn't asked for the help you are offering.
If he is the DM because he insists on being DM, let him know you are willing to help, but if he doesn't ask for it, let him make his own mistakes. If he's not abusive, you can still have fun even if the DMing is not of the quality that you are used to. If you feel a need to give unsolicited advice, do it away from the other players and not during a gaming session; at the table, he needs you to support him, not undermine him.
If he is not insisting on being DM, then IMO it is your responisbility, as the veteran, to handle the DMing duties (at least some of the time, there are various techniques for co-DMing or rotating DMs). Even if it is just until they learn the game.
Keep in mind that limiting options can be useful for new players, like the rest of your group, who can be overwhelmed by the array of options when they start out. Also keep in mind that you don't want your PC to be head-and-shoulders tougher than those of the new players, so you need to have the same limitations; they will lose out in an arms race between you and the DM.
If the whole group is chafing at the restrictions, then you need to have a talk with the DM. If it is only you who is chafing, then you can either vote with your feet or, (and this would be my suggestion), play within the limits you have been given and help the new players AND the new DM ease themselves into the game.
Beoric wrote:
You need to find out why the DM is taking this path, what his motivations are for it. He could be pursuing a good idea but misguided as to how to do it right, he could be unaware of where to draw the boundaries between DM and player control for a good game, or he could just be a controlling asshat who wants to play his game and doesn't care about anybody else. We'd need more information on his motivations and the thought process behind his decisions...
And you call it "playing your character". 2) that didn't work? Ok, suicide characters until the race/class combo you want comes up.... 3) of course you could also have a discussion with the DMCCS wrote:
thespaceinvader wrote:
Alright, so here is what happened. I opted out on his character and told him I would use one that I had from the previous campaign as my main and my new one as my backup. I also plan to simply make extra backups, so that all that will need to be done in front of him is background, physical aspects, and gear. I still need to talk to him about the issue of making a player's character and race to class incompatibility.
Edit: Also, as an explanation as to why I haven't talked to him about it yet... I have seen him, but we were in a room with other people. I didn't feel that it was the most appropriate time to talk about conflicting views. He also had to be there, so I couldn't really pull him aside to talk about it.
I've played in some old school (DM and system) games where this was done. I'll second that it works great for games where you don't want to become invested in a character. You've got a premade personality, and if it dies, you can grab a new one off the stack.
Its not done in more modren (DM and system) games, because its hard for most people to just grab a character description and immediatley get into the character. Most people prefer to develop their own.
What would I do in this situation? I'd probably make the most of it and see if I could enjoy the PC. I'd also make sure the DM knew I didn't want this to be the new norm for all games in the future, but rather that I was going to take a break from investing in characters much and just have some fun with it.