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New DnD Player Seeks Advice

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
bootsforthewild
Dec 30, 2012 13:08:59 So I am a total newb at DnD, but I am really excited to play. I already have a group/DM and we'll be running the 4e in Eberron. I was wondering if anyone had advice for creating a character for the first time and if there are any special considerations for this particular setting. Thanks!
#2
Matyr
Dec 30, 2012 13:23:35 The first question is what do you want to play thematically / mechanically / tactically? Pick one of those ways and run with it.

Tactically:
Do you want to be a big guy with a sword who runs in first and keeps everything engaged so his allies don't get turned into meat-pinatas? You might want to look at playing a defender.

Do you want to be the chosen weapon of the party, hitting harder and faster than everyone else? You might want to be a striker.

Do you want to cripple your enemies and arrange the battlefield to suit your whims? You might want to be a controller.

Do you want to rally your allies behind a single cause directing the ebb and flow of battle like a conductor in an orchestra? You might want to be a leader.

Thematically:

How do you see your character? Is he/she charismatic? Strong? Smart? Did you read the Ebberon setting and see how cool it would be to play as a Mech and tear people's faces off? Tell us what concept you want to start with and we can give you a baseboard to spring from.

Mechanically:

Is there a piece that you want to build around. The sneaky guy with a dagger (Rogue). The meathead with a hair-trigger temper (Barbarian). The stalwart warrior of the wilds (Warden/Ranger). The devout hand of god bringing divine judgement upon the non-believers (Invoker/Avenger).

TLDR: Need more input.
#3
Krusk
Dec 30, 2012 15:50:50 My advice would be to get a copy of the character builder so that you don't go insane trying to make a character.

I'd make an effort to read the first couple chapters in the eberon book, just so you get the rough idea of what the world is like, but I wouldn't read more. Your DM will probably change some stuff, and you don't want to get caught up and confused with it. Maybe just read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberron

At its core know that eberron has a lot of little magic everywhere, so you can expect stuff like steam trains powered by bound golems and continual flame street lights.
#4
Centauri
Dec 30, 2012 16:05:44 Make a character you enjoy. If it's in D&D, there's a place for it in Eberron.

Don't get fixated on anything going a certain way when you sit down to play. You're sitting down with other creative people and sometimes their ideas will need to come first. Let their ideas come first as much as you can, and build off of those. This will build trust at the table, which can support further ideas people come up with.

Good luck.
#5
crzyhawk
Dec 30, 2012 16:49:57 Matyr has the best advice. Ignore the setting for the moment, how do you envision your character? If you see yourself playing Conan, someone telling you to build a wizard probably is not very helpful.
#6
Mad_Jack
Dec 30, 2012 18:24:03
General advice...

As previously stated, Eberron is a magic-as-technology setting, a sort of Rennaissance-era version of Casablanca-meets-Chinatown-meets-Raiders of the Lost Ark - with magic... It's set about 50 years after what's basically a World War between the five nations of what was previously an empire (until the Emperor died and his kids (who ran each of the nations) each tried to take power).
Almost any plot from any adventure movie, political thriller, detective story or murder mystery could be run in Eberron just by changing some names. Ask your DM what sort of campaign he's running, and consider looking to movies and novels of that genre for character inspiration. There's a lot of imformation about the world of Eberron available online. After choosing a race and character class, figure out how your character fits into the world and give him or her an appropriate background and personality.
If you already have some idea of what sort of character you want (a grizzled soldier turned adventurer, a bored minor noble, academy-trained wizard, etc.), ask the Dm where in the campaign world that sort of character would fit, and work out the details from there. If the character isn't a typical example of some sort of character archetype (i.e., when the veteran former soldier takes up wizardry instead of becoming a fighter), ask yourself what events in their life and parts of their psychological makeup influenced them in making non-standard choices.

- Make sure you read all the rules that pertain to your character and understand how your powers and abilities work. You should be familiar with your character sheet and have a good idea of where to find something on it when asked about it. If you don't understand something, make sure you ask someone to explain it to you. You don't need to know all the rules right from the start, but you should definitely be making an effort to learn. Pay attention when it's not your turn and be thinking about what you're going to do when your turn comes up. Know your powers/class abilities/other options and keep them in mind so you can decide how best to use them in and out of combat.

- Remember that "fluff" (the narrative aspects of your character) and "crunch" (the mechanical elements of the game rules and the numbers on your character sheet) are two different things. Your class is a set of job skills and the mechanical aspects of how the character fights in combat, not your character's personality or a set of rules on how they should behave. Barbarians aren't required to be played as ignorant, violent meatheads, and someone who kills for money isn't necessarily a member of the Assassin class - you don't need to be a Thief to steal things, and being a Thief doesn't mean you're required to steal things. Your Thief could be a spy, a scout, or even a court jester. You may have a longsword written on your character sheet, but it could be described as a knight's sword, a katana, or a wooden Aztec war club embedded with sharp pieces of obsidian.

- Find a balance between "sounds cool" and "works well" when choosing powers, feats, skills and equipment. A mage who specializes in fire powers, for example, should have some method of doing something other than fire damage in case he comes up against a monster immune to fire.

- Regardless of who your character is, come up with reasons for why they work with (even if they may not completely trust) the rest of the party. Remember that D&D is a group activitly and that it's your responsibility to contribute to everyone having fun. "I'm roleplaying what my character would do" is not an excuse for doing things that are disruptive or dickish.

#7
salla
Dec 30, 2012 19:21:31

General advice...

As previously stated, Eberron is a magic-as-technology setting, a sort of Rennaissance-era version of Casablanca-meets-Chinatown-meets-Raiders of the Lost Ark - with magic... It's set about 50 years after what's basically a World War..."window.parent.tinyMCE.get('post_content').onLoad.dispatch();" contenteditable="true" />

Actually, the Treaty of Thronehold was signed in 996 YK, and the game timeline starts at 998. The Last War is VERY fresh in the minds of everybody.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bootsforthewild Dec 30, 2012 13:08:59	So I am a total newb at DnD, but I am really excited to play. I already have a group/DM and we'll be running the 4e in Eberron. I was wondering if anyone had advice for creating a character for the first time and if there are any special considerations for this particular setting. Thanks!
#2 Matyr Dec 30, 2012 13:23:35	The first question is what do you want to play thematically / mechanically / tactically? Pick one of those ways and run with it. Tactically: Do you want to be a big guy with a sword who runs in first and keeps everything engaged so his allies don't get turned into meat-pinatas? You might want to look at playing a defender. Do you want to be the chosen weapon of the party, hitting harder and faster than everyone else? You might want to be a striker. Do you want to cripple your enemies and arrange the battlefield to suit your whims? You might want to be a controller. Do you want to rally your allies behind a single cause directing the ebb and flow of battle like a conductor in an orchestra? You might want to be a leader. Thematically: How do you see your character? Is he/she charismatic? Strong? Smart? Did you read the Ebberon setting and see how cool it would be to play as a Mech and tear people's faces off? Tell us what concept you want to start with and we can give you a baseboard to spring from. Mechanically: Is there a piece that you want to build around. The sneaky guy with a dagger (Rogue). The meathead with a hair-trigger temper (Barbarian). The stalwart warrior of the wilds (Warden/Ranger). The devout hand of god bringing divine judgement upon the non-believers (Invoker/Avenger). TLDR: Need more input.
#3 Krusk Dec 30, 2012 15:50:50	My advice would be to get a copy of the character builder so that you don't go insane trying to make a character. I'd make an effort to read the first couple chapters in the eberon book, just so you get the rough idea of what the world is like, but I wouldn't read more. Your DM will probably change some stuff, and you don't want to get caught up and confused with it. Maybe just read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberron At its core know that eberron has a lot of little magic everywhere, so you can expect stuff like steam trains powered by bound golems and continual flame street lights.
#4 Centauri Dec 30, 2012 16:05:44	Make a character you enjoy. If it's in D&D, there's a place for it in Eberron. Don't get fixated on anything going a certain way when you sit down to play. You're sitting down with other creative people and sometimes their ideas will need to come first. Let their ideas come first as much as you can, and build off of those. This will build trust at the table, which can support further ideas people come up with. Good luck.
#5 crzyhawk Dec 30, 2012 16:49:57	Matyr has the best advice. Ignore the setting for the moment, how do you envision your character? If you see yourself playing Conan, someone telling you to build a wizard probably is not very helpful.
#6 Mad_Jack Dec 30, 2012 18:24:03	General advice... As previously stated, Eberron is a magic-as-technology setting, a sort of Rennaissance-era version of Casablanca-meets-Chinatown-meets-Raiders of the Lost Ark - with magic... It's set about 50 years after what's basically a World War between the five nations of what was previously an empire (until the Emperor died and his kids (who ran each of the nations) each tried to take power). Almost any plot from any adventure movie, political thriller, detective story or murder mystery could be run in Eberron just by changing some names. Ask your DM what sort of campaign he's running, and consider looking to movies and novels of that genre for character inspiration. There's a lot of imformation about the world of Eberron available online. After choosing a race and character class, figure out how your character fits into the world and give him or her an appropriate background and personality. If you already have some idea of what sort of character you want (a grizzled soldier turned adventurer, a bored minor noble, academy-trained wizard, etc.), ask the Dm where in the campaign world that sort of character would fit, and work out the details from there. If the character isn't a typical example of some sort of character archetype (i.e., when the veteran former soldier takes up wizardry instead of becoming a fighter), ask yourself what events in their life and parts of their psychological makeup influenced them in making non-standard choices. - Make sure you read all the rules that pertain to your character and understand how your powers and abilities work. You should be familiar with your character sheet and have a good idea of where to find something on it when asked about it. If you don't understand something, make sure you ask someone to explain it to you. You don't need to know all the rules right from the start, but you should definitely be making an effort to learn. Pay attention when it's not your turn and be thinking about what you're going to do when your turn comes up. Know your powers/class abilities/other options and keep them in mind so you can decide how best to use them in and out of combat. - Remember that "fluff" (the narrative aspects of your character) and "crunch" (the mechanical elements of the game rules and the numbers on your character sheet) are two different things. Your class is a set of job skills and the mechanical aspects of how the character fights in combat, not your character's personality or a set of rules on how they should behave. Barbarians aren't required to be played as ignorant, violent meatheads, and someone who kills for money isn't necessarily a member of the Assassin class - you don't need to be a Thief to steal things, and being a Thief doesn't mean you're required to steal things. Your Thief could be a spy, a scout, or even a court jester. You may have a longsword written on your character sheet, but it could be described as a knight's sword, a katana, or a wooden Aztec war club embedded with sharp pieces of obsidian. - Find a balance between "sounds cool" and "works well" when choosing powers, feats, skills and equipment. A mage who specializes in fire powers, for example, should have some method of doing something other than fire damage in case he comes up against a monster immune to fire. - Regardless of who your character is, come up with reasons for why they work with (even if they may not completely trust) the rest of the party. Remember that D&D is a group activitly and that it's your responsibility to contribute to everyone having fun. "I'm roleplaying what my character would do" is not an excuse for doing things that are disruptive or dickish.
#7 salla Dec 30, 2012 19:21:31	General advice... As previously stated, Eberron is a magic-as-technology setting, a sort of Rennaissance-era version of Casablanca-meets-Chinatown-meets-Raiders of the Lost Ark - with magic... It's set about 50 years after what's basically a World War..."window.parent.tinyMCE.get('post_content').onLoad.dispatch();" contenteditable="true" /> Actually, the Treaty of Thronehold was signed in 996 YK, and the game timeline starts at 998. The Last War is VERY fresh in the minds of everybody.