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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 5:31PM
#11
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Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2011
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Back in the old days, it took a while using the handbook and an index card...then later (2nd edition) using handbooks and character sheet. For 3.0/3.5 PCGen, and for 4e using the WoTC character generator was essential for me.
Now, just getting used to doing it by hand again takes me a little time...flipping pages back and forth between class, background, specialty.
Also, now I'm DMing our group, and my group has limited outside time, so I end up making lots of the characters for them. They just choose the one they want when we play. When D&DNext eventually comes out, they can make their own!
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 5:40PM
#12
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Future planning.
Nothing is worse than building a character, then finding out a week later that there's a feat in an accessory that makes perfect sense for your character, as if it were absolutely designed with your mechanical and thematic concepts in mind... but it requires a 13 Wis and you made that your dump stat. Planning for all that crap is what makes me spend far too long on character creation. I want prereqs gone unless there's a vital or strongly thematic need for them.
Shopping takes a while. 3e-style skills take a while, and the current list of skills is pretty extensive, too. 3e-style spells. And of course system bloat.
I'm with MindWanderer; by far I spend the most time on character planning. Once I have a concept its about finding all the material to make that idea work, then figuring out how it all fits together. I often plan characters for 1-15 or 1-20, in order to avoid being unable to meet prereqs at a later time, but that takes serous planning.
I'd love to see wotc have a character generater, compendium, and character planner at launch for 5e. The tools for 4e seemed to be pretty good once they were all there, but the system didn't do it for me and I lost interest before the tools were really in place. I tried it again a few years later, but they had changed the application so that your characters were only accessible online, which was no good for me.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 5:48PM
#13
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Date Joined:
Jan 15, 2009
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Hmmm finding a concept to inspire me.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 6:20PM
#14
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Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2004
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3.x: Convincing myself to use a character build appropriate to the group rather than a god build.
4e: I don't experience much slow down, I mean yeah a good character takes the better part of an hour, maybe 2, but considering that I could be playing this guy for a year or more (barring grenade toting moas) that seems like a good amount of time to spend.
Of course that's assuming I'm making him up on the spot, If it's a concept I've mulled over previouslythat drops to 30-45 minutes.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 6:24PM
#15
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Date Joined:
Apr 12, 2008
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BECMI:
1 - Making a good background story for the random PC I just rolled
1E:
1 - picking the right equipment
2 - making several PCs as they have the life-span of a housefly
2E:
1 - picking the right NWPs
2 - picking the right equipment
4E:
1 - Wading through reams of feats
2 - Making sure that I'm not accidentally picking the wrong class/feat/equipment combo
3 - Being constantly aware of each tiny decision that might influence the character at higher levels
4 - Selecting from tons of predetermined backgrounds
5 - Lack of the DDI character builder. I won't be making 4E PCs without it.
DDN:
1 - Nothing
In fond memory of Mark "Wrecan" Monack.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 6:24PM
#16
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Date Joined:
Jun 22, 2010
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The areas that slow me down for character creation is multi-classing, feat selection and racial ability adjustments that favor a specific class.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 6:35PM
#17
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Future planning.
Nothing is worse than building a character, then finding out a week later that there's a feat in an accessory that makes perfect sense for your character, as if it were absolutely designed with your mechanical and thematic concepts in mind... but it requires a 13 Wis and you made that your dump stat. Planning for all that crap is what makes me spend far too long on character creation. I want prereqs gone unless there's a vital or strongly thematic need for them.
Shopping takes a while. 3e-style skills take a while, and the current list of skills is pretty extensive, too. 3e-style spells. And of course system bloat.
100X this.
One reason why level requirements are better than stat requirements.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 07, 2012 - 7:15PM
#18
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Future planning.
Nothing is worse than building a character, then finding out a week later that there's a feat in an accessory that makes perfect sense for your character, as if it were absolutely designed with your mechanical and thematic concepts in mind... but it requires a 13 Wis and you made that your dump stat. Planning for all that crap is what makes me spend far too long on character creation. I want prereqs gone unless there's a vital or strongly thematic need for them.
Shopping takes a while. 3e-style skills take a while, and the current list of skills is pretty extensive, too. 3e-style spells. And of course system bloat.
I strongly dislike the return of feat prerequisites in the current playtest packet. Have you noticed that they added prerequisite feats and character levels this time around? Before, the only prerequisites any feat had (as I recall) were [ability score] 11, or ability to cast spells.
I really hope I'm not the only one that noticed and will be complaining about that change come survey time.
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8 months ago ::
Nov 08, 2012 - 1:22AM
#19
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Date Joined:
Oct 21, 2003
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What slows down my character (or even adventure) creation? Getting sidetracked by the interwebs...
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8 months ago ::
Nov 08, 2012 - 1:51AM
#20
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Date Joined:
Apr 22, 2001
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What slows it down for me (as a GM as I help others) is when a player comes up with a background concept and I realize the system doesn't support that concept unless I change rules and re-fluff classes which is not what I want character creation to be. I want players to come up with backgrounds and find rules that support them fully and unequivicaly with no rules adaptation required and no refluffing required. Any short of that exposes the systems lack of support.
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