More Mad Pondering Of Pov

[*Product of Void]

what are your personal rules to builds? I know what mine are, yet find it interesting to see what the do and do nots everyone has.

Keep in mind this is just to put your two cents in, no one is right, no one is wrong.

My rules
1. no religious characters meaning no paladins, clerics, FS, or anything that requires a deity field filled in.
2. I like to have four classes and as soon as possible so I do not see that big list on level up.
3. having 1 level in a class is fine, some classes would make more sense if they had the ability in my view.
4. do not like a build dependant on something like on use per day feats or a one trick pony.

why no religious? I do not feel comfortable rping one. I have such beliefs RL though oddly enough find rping atheist more comfortable in dnd. I also see clerics as a wizard who got auto still spell feat 1-3 for free, along with shield use.

as for number 4. why? because I forget about those things. one character has a dozen wands and I have not used them due to I forget they are there. Some times I run them as a melee basher because I forget about casting ability.

next :D

[*Spiegel1]

Hmmm, my rules . . . Or rule . . . Is rather simple. If it fits my character's personality or RP then go for it.

[*Minotaurs88]

My rules are..."There are not rules."


If it fits I go for it.

Though I do very much dislike rolling rangers, so No rangers!

[*Ceremorph]

1. A character must be interesting... not just to me, but to the people I will play with. If I can't come up with a convincing (to me) backstory without thinking hard, I know that most likely I'll wind up getting bored with the character in a day or two.

2. A character must be unique. In other words, I personally refuse to base on a build that someone else has created. Even if I plan in advance to take something basic, I'm going to plan out a capabilities sheet... not necessarily an exact build path that the character would take, but a listing of feats/skills/prestige classes that I find it likely this character's journey will merit. It's not powerbuilding, it's simply ensuring that I don't wind up making a stupid mistake at L1 that will come back to haunt me at L10.

3. Single-class characters bore me. I'd prefer to plan for at least one prestige class or alternate class, but if possible leave my options open to take others.

4. Before hitting the "finish" button, I'll look over the character again. Does it still fit the background and storyline I wish to progress? If not, it's time to start over.

This doesn't only apply to PCs... it applies to NPCs too in my mind. If I'm going to go through the trouble of getting an NPC into the module, I want to be certain that is possesses the capability to be an interesting recurring personage. Sure, sometimes that means that there's more to the character than anyone will ever find out (Seethe has a quite intricate backstory fully mapped out, for instance... and has come to the point to say exactly two sentences about her background in game besides "I'm a merchant").

[*ovarf]

little to no magic seems to be the rule for me.

[*SavageAxe]

I have no issue with playing a religious character; in fact, my 2nd in ScoD is a pure class Priest. I don't like to play characters with Divine ability that don't recognize the origins of their abilities, or fail to seek to spread the influence of their patrons at every opportunity. To me, divine power is not given on a whim, but for a purpose, although certainly that purpose can be shrouded in mystery.

As for builds, heh, we all have our preferences and quirks. I find it extremely hard to take just 1 of any class, in fact I never have. Probably because in our PnP groups, and on our last server, we never allowed such. Whether or not I'll break this tradition *shrug*. I feel that to gain the abilities of a specific class I must make some dedication to it.

I agree about unique characters . . .which, oddly, is why I like pure-class or "traditional" ones, since few seem to play them. I prefer a character with a strong background in their respective class(es), versus a jack-of-all-trades with seemingly "natural" ability who doesn't train or work to gain them. I don't mind strong builds, even cheese builds, though, as long as I can put my particular spin on them.

[*LittleMissWonderful]

1) Does the class / alignment / skills / feats match who this character is?

2) Do I have one of these already / have I played one before?
2a) If yes, did I like it enough to do it again?

[*Cenpuppie]

Really no rules per say, if anything i like to have a character built around all concepts..the smart mage, religious priest, straight fighter and what not. However same rules as LittleMissWonderful.

If anything, i can't do chaotic evil, so i would consider that a no-no.

[*Mr_Otyugh]

My rules: Survivability longer than 10 seconds, not too powerful - or you get bored. Generally high amount of options on the character (which usually means caster... while I have nothing against non-casters, I just can't arse myself to play something that has no real other options than hit and hit again). Also generally it should be something I can represent as interesting character, if I fail at that, then I don't like the build either.

[*Lost and not Found]

Generally, I do not like playing with builds that have levels in Weapon Master.

Unless a persistent world offers a "Mystic Theurge" option for combining two different divine classes, I tend to focus for a single Divine base class. In otherwords, if my character build has levels in any of the following classes; Cleric, Druid, Favored Soul, or Spirit Shaman, the character is what that class is supposed to be without the "odd" divine multitasking.

This does not always hold true, but you can presume that all my builds are able to solo three Balors, 12 Succubus, and 24 Imps with relative ease once reached epic levels. This test of capacity is often done in Vordan's Hero Creator.

I think that all builds should be playable from level one to level 30. ( This kind of shows up in the recent DC topic. ) But there is an exception, mainly my main character, Nym, who is build to get his ass-kicked. And the exception is not without an exception, Nym does kick ass when players mistake his scruffy appearance and pink hair as sign of weakness, or low level.


A low charisma score doesn't stand for timidity, it stands for a vulgar mouth. I love that new gnome character of mine. :wub: