Smoot
member, 168 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 16:51 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Just thinking in terms of a short-run game- would you find it appealing or off-putting if, instead of going through chargen,there were premade PCs to choose from?
(A lot of older grab-and-go modules and such did that. Haven't seen it much lately, more like templates.)
Assume there's 1-2 more PCs written up than there are players, so while there's some first-come-first-served involved, the last one to choose doesn't end up with junk.
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Sir Swindle
member, 374 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 17:07 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Definitely would not apply
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donsr
member, 2787 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 17:18 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs? i play games for the RP part. The Big thing about RP is Building your character and watching them grow. I have done preset in the loooong years past., they were never quite fun.
My games you build the character and they grow, with actions and RP...some of the games I am in are like that as well.
But presets are good for table top to sane time if your aren't in a campaign
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bigbadron
moderator, 16159 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 17:21 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I have used this approach myself. I was running a Traveller game, and wanted to make sure I had characters to fill all the roles in a ship's crew - pilot, engineer, gunners, medic, etc... I created six characters for each position and each player just told me which role they wanted and chose one of the characters for that role.
I only created the basic mechanical stats for each character. Name, gender, personality, cascade skills... were all left up to the players.
So I'd probably apply to a game that used pregens, depending on the system and the game concept.
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nauthiz
subscriber, 765 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 19:02 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I think it depends on the expectations of the game.
If it's intended to be something akin to a "one shot" as you mentioned, I think there'd be more traction than doing the same for an open ended game or full campaign module situation.
There might be better reception if the pre-gens have some room for customization. The basic outline is there, but there's room for some skill or ability or equipment choices, either by using the generation rules or being able to pick from several pre-generated options.
Still, you're going to have some folks who will always want something they had a say in from the ground up. However there's been plenty of games I've been in where a new player steps in to take over an existing character, which is similar enough to a pre-gens. So there is a playerbase who may be interested in such a proposal as the one you're requesting feedback on.
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BlessedOracle
member, 13 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 19:16 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?As I run and play GURPs, I like their template approach where the basics are worked out but a lot of flexibility on how to customize the character is left to the player.
So you could set up some templates that the players could choose from, with options to customize them to the players preferences.
One big benefit of pregens is allowing players who have never played the game pick it up without having to worry about building a good character for the game. So if there was a game with pregen characters that I've never played and the GM is willing to help teach the rules, I might go for it.
This message was last edited by the user at 19:18, Sun 26 Feb.
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LaughingKefka
member, 7 posts
Sun 26 Feb 2023
at 19:20 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Outside of a convention environment or demo game? Almost never. For a play-by-post environment where even a one-shot or demo game are going to take days/weeks/months as opposed to a few hours, I'm more likely to watch paint dry than grab a pre-gen or take over an existing character.
Then again, I build my characters in particular ways which vary from character to character, but whatever method whim has inspired me to use at a given moment, there's always some core concept or element that I'm interested in exploring. There's no guarantee I get that if I'm slotting my brain into someone else's ideas and numbers. Someone with different priorities is likely to give a different answer.
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Greymist
member, 31 posts
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 03:20 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?If the system and the game sounded appealing, playing a pre-gen would not be a concern for me.
This is assuming that there would be some leeway in playing the PC's personality.
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Gaffer
member, 1771 posts
Ocoee FL
45 yrs of RPGs
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 04:50 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I have and would. Prehensile eliminate the (too often) weeks that can elapse between being accepted in a game and starting the story, while someone takes their own sweet time creating their character.
I came to RPGs 50 years ago from a theater background, acting and directing. So, being cast in an already-written role was second nature. And I’ve played in a lot of con events for the last thirty years where preens are the norm.
That said, it’s up to the game runner/author to give me a good character to portray and one significant to the story. I don’t want a cookie cutter FBI Man #3. And I really don’t want some rolled-randomly first level farm boy. Give me Dread Pirate Roberts.
It’s a plus if I can provide some back story and a must to have mostly Free rein with personality and characterization.
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Korentin_Black
member, 584 posts
I remember when all
this was just fields...
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 04:53 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs? Yes and no.
I think I'd be more likely to go for it if it was set up a bit like Feng Shui.
Basically, the general shape of the character is set out along with key skills, but you've got a few discretionary points and you can sort out a lot of their story for yourself. Kind of a middle ground really - although I grant you, it's easier to fit a character into a Feng Shui group, because the 'story' such as it is exists entirely to move you between awesome fight scenes. ^_^
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facemaker329
member, 7437 posts
Gaming for over 40
years, and counting!
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 06:21 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?It depends entirely on the game and the characters. I've done pre-gen characters a few times, including my first-ever game on RPOL, and the secret to it working for me was having a character available that I resonated with in some way. It didn't even have to be a character type I'd normally play...it just had to look like something that would be FUN to play.
I got into gaming long before I got into theater, but in both cases, having a character that I could enjoy in some way makes all the difference in how fun the experience is.
If it was a system with which I'm not familiar, a pre-gen could be nice just to help get the game rolling faster (granted, I'd want some latitude for making it MY character, as opposed to A character I'm just playing...and some explanation of just how good or not good the character is, based on the stats). If it's a game I enjoy and it's going to be a quick one-off adventure, pre-gens are nice because I don't feel like I'm investing a ton of time into building a character that's only going to be used for a few months, at best...I'd still want to be able to tweak it a little bit, though. That was one of the things I loved about the old WEG Star Wars D6 rules...they had templates, plus rules for tweaking the template to be more what you wanted, and I could take someone who had never played RPGs before in their life and have them up and running in a Star Wars game in an hour or so, which is a far cry from any of the other systems I've tried in the last five to ten years.
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ladysharlyne
subscriber, 3626 posts
Member before Oct 2005
Been here for appx 20 yrs
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 06:27 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?In a ling running game there are times that characters get abandoned and are key to the game. They need a player again. In my games if a player is picking up one of these ‘premade’ characters The player picking up the ‘bones’ of the pregen character gets the backstory/background but then it is up to that player to breathe new life and personality into the character. If they aren’t allowed to do this they will swiftly lose interest and leave. Even an actor playing a part needs the leeway to play that part in their style or it won’t work or be believable.
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drew0500
member, 236 posts
D&D Gamer
Eclipse Classless
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 06:55 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I've done both. They have their pros and cons as everyone has eloquently stated.
Pregens with leeway to modify or alter the selections should be allowed. A reasonable backstory/background or what they've accomplished should help the player pick up the concept of the character.
Having watched players take upwards of 3 months to build a character, I can definitely see the appeal of a pre-made. I've also watched players create characters that did not fit the campaign setting, game theme, or otherwise be a good fit for a game.
That said, I think the GM should set clear expectations, and maybe have a couple of useful Pre-Gens ready to go for a new player (Or run the pre-gen while they work on their 'perfect' build). Anything to get a game up and running smoothly and keep the initial momentum.
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StarMaster
member, 400 posts
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 07:28 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I was at a convention years back and one of the players in a tournament game hadn't showed up so the GM wanted to fill that 6th seat. I was wandering around cause I hadn't gotten into a game, moderator asked if I'd be willing to sit in. I said yes.
I got handed the old retired general who was clashing with the new young upstart general. I'd have to say that was the most fun I've ever had in a role-playing game.
3 months later at another convention, the other player saw me and said 'I should have challenged you to a duel!' My instant response was 'I'd have kicked your ass!'
After all that time, we were right back into those characters!
What I guess it gets down to is you get out of the pregen only what you put into it.
So, while I like being able to tweak and customize a character, I just never put that kind of depth into it up front but let it evolve naturally.
Never played that tournament character ever again, never had any expectations to, but it was still a lot of fun. By the way, that GM was Jean Rabe.
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Hunter
member, 1897 posts
Captain Oblivious!
Lurker
Mon 27 Feb 2023
at 13:25 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?I typically avoid them unless it's a pickup game or I'm joining at the last minute; and in the latter case, typically for the session only. Yes, I've done them....but with mixed success.
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Waxahachie
member, 179 posts
The horn that wakes
the sleepers
Tue 28 Feb 2023
at 16:17 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Absolutely. I've enjoyed pregen characters as much as my own. There's something about the challenge of taking a character that's been conceptualized on paper, and giving life to it that I enjoy.
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moonbunny
member, 6 posts
Tue 28 Feb 2023
at 20:02 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Yes, I have played in Con Games and most of those were pre-gens.
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glaxton
member, 23 posts
I love...
CAKE!
Tue 28 Feb 2023
at 20:07 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?Honestly I would not use pre-gen characters. Most of the fun of DND is making your character.
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DeeYin
member, 46 posts
Tue 28 Feb 2023
at 20:37 | Opinion: would you go for a game with pre-made PCs?For me, it would be preferable to skip the game. In a face-to-face one-off setting, like a convention, or to learn a game, or sitting in once to help the DM, that is fine, but for a game that will run weeks to months (and even one-off games here will do that), I would much prefer to play someone I have envisioned. For that same reason, adopting abandoned characters are not for me. I just cannot invest myself the same way as with a character I created.
It's fine to have restrictions on creation, like 'we need a spellcaster, or we are looking for someone with medical skills, or we allow humans only', but a fully created character is just a turn-off.
This message was last edited by the user at 20:38, Tue 28 Feb.
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