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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 8:06AM
#1
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Hi,
One of my players is a true min/maxer, who wants to have the best PC possible. I allowed him to change his class once, from avenger to barbarian after the first session. Now he wants to change to a runepriest/barbarian after the 3. session. I told him "sure, if you start from lvl 1", but this he rejected. So he wants this new class with the XP from his previous class.
Any advice on how to deal with this? He's insistent on changing class, even though I've said "no" several. times. He's a good friend so I don't want to just kick him out of the group. Would any of you DMs out there allow this? Is there precedence for doing something like this?
And is a hybrid-character runepriest/barbarian even possible?
Thanks for any advice.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 8:12AM
#2
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Yes, let him do it. It hurts nothing. Don't have him start at level 1 again either.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 8:45AM
#3
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So he wants this new class with the XP from his previous class.
My advice is to just let him. In the long run, having PCs at different levels will make your job as DM harder. Much better to just allow any new characters to start with whatever XP the rest of the party already has. Same goes for magic items, BTW. Any new characters should have at least level-appropriate magic weapons, implements and neck slot items. Doing otherwise just creates headaches.
He's insistent on changing class, even though I've said "no" several. times.
I can't think of a single good reason to say 'no'. Your job as DM is to make sure everybody is having fun. If 'fun' to him means building a new character every couple of sessions then, as long as that doesn't spoil anybody else's fun, you should probably just let him.
The only caveat I'd have is that I think it ought to be the player's responsibility to come up with a plausible explanation for why his old character is leaving and this new guy is joining the party. If it's meant to be the same character, just with different mechanics, then that's even easier (although I would personally not allow changing ability scores by more than a couple of points in that case).
And is a hybrid-character runepriest/barbarian even possible?
Yes. Quite a good hybrid combo, IIRC.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 9:25AM
#4
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Here's my problem with it: He knows about the campaign story line now, and has some idea about which monsters he will face. It feels very much like cheating if you just change your character to a cleric just because you discovered a dungeon full of undead....
But I've given him the green light for his class change now, with the NB that he doesn't change again.
Also: does the runepriest/barbarian has any particular weaknesses that I should be aware of? Does he have options of dispelling/harming the undead?
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 9:31AM
#5
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His change of class to suit the upcoming monsters may simply be fortuitous, but even if it's not, this is not an issue if you're building your encounters to include a mix of threats and objectives that don't include killing everything on the map.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 9:41AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2006
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While some of their powers inflict radiant damage, Runepriests don't have specific anti-undead traits. Barbarian/Runepriest is reasonably thematic and reasonably functional, but it isn't overly strong or weak. (The hybrid rules are in the PHB3. In effect, he's trading off some damage-dealing for the sake of gaining some buffing.)
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 10:10AM
#7
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While some of their powers inflict radiant damage, Runepriests don't have specific anti-undead traits. Barbarian/Runepriest is reasonably thematic and reasonably functional, but it isn't overly strong or weak. (The hybrid rules are in the PHB3. In effect, he's trading off some damage-dealing for the sake of gaining some buffing.)
Thanks, very helpful.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 11:36AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Jul 21, 2004
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Just change the dungeon. Or, you know, make challenges that the players can't win just by killing the monsters.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 1:28PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Nov 30, 2005
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I'd let him. Especially if he is a good friend you don't want to scare out of the game. So long as its the same character, just built different, it shouldn't hurt your story any. Who cares what he looks like mechanically? Maybe ask him to keep class changes to a minimum, but really I can think of no reason to say no.
5e comments and thoughts all in one place. Check it out to provide feedback, mock, or steal ideas.
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/28835423/Krusks_5e_Design_Goals?sdb=1
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10 months ago ::
Aug 06, 2012 - 3:01PM
#10
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Just let him do it. There's no real reason not to, and as a player, I wouldn't want to be stuck playing a character who I don't like for a long period of time. And having a party where all the characters are at different levels is bound to be frustrating to both you and the player.
Also, these classes don't seem to be very different conceptually. I mean:
Avenger: Religious guy in light armour with big weapon
Barbarian: Guy in light armour with big weapon
Barbarian/Runepriest: Religious guy with a big weapon
Rather than insist on creating a new character and trying to figure out where the old character went and why this new guy is hanging out with the party, as long as he doesn't want to play a vastly different race, I'd just hand-wave it and say that Throbbin has been a Barbarian/Runepriest all along.
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