A fun roleplay and gaming exercise

[Ganymede425]

Here is a fun roleplay opportunity I stumbled upon.

Basically, you run the game like any other. The main difference is in character creation. All characters start at level two. Each character is multi classed to two different, randomly-determined classes. Once the classes are determined, each player can customize his or her character in any manner they choose. In between character creation and the first play session, the players each take an opportunity to "make it work."

The whole point of the exercise is to open up some novel and interesting roleplay and thematic opportunities that might not ordinarily exist. What do y'all think?

[Ciaran Barnes]

Sounds like fun. Although, there could be a few bad combinations that a player should not be forced to suffer.

[Ganymede425]

Ciaran Barnes wrote:

Sounds like fun. Although, there could be a few bad combinations that a player should not be forced to suffer.

I don't think any particular combination is TOO crippling at level two. Plus, I do use some checks to make sure things don't get crazy. For instance, I use fractional BAB to ensure that everyone has at least a BAB of 1 at level two.

Anyways, when else are we going to see Paladin/Barbarians and Sorcerer/Wizards?

[The black raven]

Backstory and consistency just died.

In painful agony.

But if your party enjoys it, do not let my opinion stand in the way ;-)

[Ganymede425]

The black raven wrote:

Backstory and consistency just died.

How do you mean?

[Bigtuna]

The random thing - as Ciaran Barnes said could be a problem. Some comboes would be quite usefull/have a nice synergy- oracle+paladin, paladin+sorc, while others such as monk/barbarian wouldn't work...

Perhaps just give the players a random class and let them pick another class as lvl 2. That way players still get to choose what line of work they want, a ranger/Gunslinger who really wanted to be a wizard is gonna have a bad time - but then agian if the players don't have any solid ideas as to what they wanne be - go for it...

[Mikaze]

I wouldn't want to run a game like this for a serious campaign, but as a creative exercise...

d21 roll
1 Barbarian
2 Bard
3 Cleric
4 Druid
5 Fighter
6 Monk
7 Paladin
8 Ranger
9 Rogue
10 Sorcerer
11 Wizard
12 Alchemist
13 Cavalier
14 Inquisitor
15 Oracle
16 Summoner
17 Witch
18 Magus
19 Gunslinger
20 Ninja
21 Samurai

Rolling on Invisible Castle got:
4,6 - Druid/Monk
7,20 - Paladin/Ninja
1,8 - Barbarian/Ranger
6,9 - Monk/Rogue

I think I can work with this. Postan concepts later today or tomorrow. Paladin/Ninja is the one that really sparks with possibilities to me right now. Monk/Druid, Rogue/Monk, and Barbarian/Ranger are so easy it almost feels like cheating.

[Ganymede425]

Bigtuna wrote:

Perhaps just give the players a random class and let them pick another class as lvl 2. That way players still get to choose what line of work they want, a ranger/Gunslinger who really wanted to be a wizard is gonna have a bad time - but then agian if the players don't have any solid ideas as to what they wanne be - go for it...

I think you're missing the point of the exercise.

The point isn't to punish or handicap people who have a specfic vision of a character they want to play. The point isn't even to play what you really wanna be, or to give direction to players without a vision for their character. The point is to try a new experience, one that opens up previously unconsidered and unexplored roleplay and interaction possibilities.

This is not something you try with a group that simply isn't amenable to doing something different. It is intended for groups who want to try something a bit unconventional. Think of it as akin to the creative writing exercises you did in college.

(As an aside, I intended this to work with the core Pathfinder rulebook without all the added classes and archetypes. I can't vouch for the craziness that would happen if it were expanded to those additions)

[David Haller]

It's basically Gamma World 4E - lots of fun for a one-shot or (at a stretch) mini-campaign, not as fun for a full-length campaign.

It could make a fun break between games, though.

Back in the day, people used to roll dice to determine ability scores - if you were hard core it was straight 3d6 per ability, if less so it was things like make six rolls and then assign to traits, or roll 4d6 and drop one, and so on - but you basically statted out the character and THEN decided what you'd play based on that (hey, I have a 5 Strength and 17 Intelligence... I'll play a wizard, then!), and THEN would adapt a backstory accordingly... really, the reverse of how characters are generated now (where we say "I want a cool, dual-wielding half-orc guy" followed by "um, I guess a ranger" and then "I'm buying good stats for a TWF ranger").

I will agree that constraints tend to bring out people's creativity in RP (which is why characters with flaws - something lacking in d20 games generally - tend to have more depth). This would be a fun exercise :)

[Bigtuna]

Druid/Monk - wis to AC while i wild shape nothing wrong with that...

Paladin/Ninja - Cha to saves and Ki - plenty potientiel...

Monk/Rogue - flurry with sneak - not sure what kind of flatfootedness you can pull if doing only core.. But Im sure there is something...

Barbarian/Ranger - never been a fan of the ranger, but the fluff fits...

I think this could an interesting experiment... None of the random output is really bad - in fact most are comboes I would consider if I was just one of the class. Have fun!

[Malachi Silverclaw]

When I had to roll up a character on the fly last Monday I decided to roll stats and then decide what class to be!

Part of my choice was dictated by the classes of the already existing players, but a real concern was the stats; if I only had one good score I wasn't going to play a MAD class, but if I had a few good scores then I could.

In the end I got 14,14,14,12,10,9 before racial adjustments, and I chose an Elven archer ranger, and ended up with 14,16,8,14,12,9 (it was a 3.5 game). Not optimal stat choices but RP is always a factor for me. : )

[DayneTheWickman]

I'm going to build a party using the following combos that I rolled according to how Mikaze organized the classes:

11,3 - wizard/cleric
19,15 - gunslinger/oracle
15,20 - oracle/ninja
8,18 - ranger/magus
12,16 - alchemist/summoner

Personally, I'm really liking this! I might play a fluff-laden campaign with me as the GM and characters just for fun at this point!

The wizard/cleric is really looking interesting! Someone that can use arcane magic, has a familiar, can use divine magic, can channel energy and has domains? Sounds like a helluva ton of fun! Can't wait to see how I explain that back story!

Then the gunslinger/oracle. For some reason I get the image of a gunslinger with bandages over his eyes, firing rounds from his flintlocks and hitting targets effortlessly at incredible distances, each bullet seeming to literally fall into the path that the target is walking along! Seeing into the future and knowing where your target will be? Sounds nice! That's just a little fluff though...for now...

Oracle/ninjas!!! Oh noes!!! An order of oracles dedicated to carrying out the divine orders of a deity attempting to maintain balance in the world? The whole "divine assassins" is sort of cliché, yes, but if done properly a good cliché is an amazing original idea! Might be able to work on it a bit and add a little middle eastern fluff on how the character is designed, give them tattoos over their eyes and possibly make them the worshipper of one of the zodiac animals for flavor. Don't know yet.

Ranger/magus. The thought is flawless. A young woman that lives off of the land and hunts down those that would attempt harming her self-designated home as well as being the student to an ageless magus that lives in a hut and teaches her how to use her innate arcane abilities and mix them into her way of fighting, while still allowing her to harness the latent divine magics of being a ranger. Kind of a more combat oriented version of the wizard/cleric above!

And last but not least...the alchemist/summoner. This one makes my gut twist. The possibility of someone having the ability to both create all sorts of potions, mutagens and bombs that would give them awesome powers as well as being capable of summoning an eidolon, among many scary monsters, makes me tremble! Plus, the summoner has the ability to prepare arcane spells, and the alchemist can store spells in bottles! Ever run out of prepared spells for the day? No problem! Just drink this up and fireball your enemies away!

Ganymede425, you have just given myself and my game group HOURS of wonderful entertainment! Not to mention you've given me some awesome ideas for some pathfinder based writings!

I'll flesh out these characters and post what I have so far in a couple days! :D

[Mikaze]

Aimed from the start to make these Golarion-specific, but I had been thinking of of the Inner Sea Region at first. But expanding from that to the east...

Druid/Monk - Sirahla, LN female nagaji druid(naga aspirant)/monk(flowing monk)

An acolyte of one of Nagajor's many temple cities, jade/blue-scaled Sirahla aspires to ascend from the caste of her birth to that of the sacred nagas. Possessed of a serpent's instinct and fluid grace, she weaves about and between her foes with unsettling ease. This bare-necessities ascetic lives a life of extreme focus and discipline, and has been sent from the temple with little more than her monk's robes by her guardian naga masters to carry out their will outside Nagajor, first by finding and aiding...

Paladin/Ninja - Norio Shinjitsu, LG male human(Tien) paladin/ninja of Tsukiyo

Most often clad in an unsual white shozoku lined with silver prayers in Tien and Celestial, Norio is one of the unusual "lunatic knights" or Tsukiyo, god of the moon and spirits. Seeming to fade into the moonlight itself, Norio always strikes at injustice from unexpected angles. Largely a mystery to all but those closest to him, Norio's personality seems to shift with the phases of the moon, but though his demeanor may regularly change the honorable and just core of his being remains unchanging. Tirelessly seeking the truth of matters before exacting justice, this native of Minkai has managed to subdue, then save, then win the loyalty of...

Barbarian/Ranger - Arashi, CN->CG female tiefling(onispawn) barbarian/ranger

Left largely to fend for herself since childhood, this hulking beast of a woman has lived alone in a cave not far from the village that banished her human mother shortly after her birth. With only fractured memories of her half-mad yet loving mother, Arashi's early development was shaped as much by the wild animals she fought and later lived alongside for survival. As she grew, so did her presence and shadow over the small village that cast her mother out. She took what she needed and later wanted by force. She claimed the village as hers, simultaneously becoming its tyrant and protector as her feral strength and her tetsubo kept the village she considered hers safe from banditry and other raiders. Upon her defeat and later rescue by Norio and finally meeting someone that showed her neither fear or hatred, she has reluctantly begun searching for a new place in the world.

Monk/Rogue - Goen Dao, NG male samsaran rogue/monk(martial artist)

Viewed with concern by many of his more enlightened kin, Goen Dao is an unsual "backslider" among the samsaran people. Living a life of ascetic perfectionism much like Sirahla for most of his early years, he found himself slipping, or possibly outright rebelling, against the confines of society's expectations into a more hedonistic lifestyle. But while Goen Dao is unrepentantly lax with regards to discipline, the one restraint he has never freed himself from, or sought to break, has been his conscience. Looking back upon the shadowy memories of his past lives, he remembers only similar experiences to his youth and feels only stagnation. He's a man desperately seeking a new focus in his life, or lives, and currently seeks it in the last places samsarans are expected to delve into, be it gambling, drink, or pleasures of the flesh. And so he easily falls into the unusual group of Sirahla, Norio, and Arashi; both because they offer a strange mix of variables he can't remember ever experiencing, and because their trade tends to take care of his numerous debts.

[Ganymede425]

Now that's the spirit!

What I'd love to see is a background justification for a Paladin/Druid, a character with possibly the two most difficult classes to mesh together.

[Adamantine Dragon]

I think this sort of exercise appeals to players who get to play frequently enough that a randomly built concept is a novel way to approach the potentially boring process of building yet another character.

Unfortunately I don't get to play that frequently, so this would probably not be a good exercise for my group which might manage to meet for a session about once, rarely twice, a month.

[clff rice]

Ganymede425 wrote:

Now that's the spirit!

What I'd love to see is a background justification for a Paladin/Druid, a character with possibly the two most difficult classes to mesh together.

some-kind of undead smiting sun deity worshiping druid.

[Oceanshieldwolf]

Great thread, great concepts. Obviously I'm a fan of this idea.
If you want to start playing some of these ideas at level 1, by all means check out our range of Multiclass Archetypes .

We have more than 60 completed and another 40 or so either needing a final edit or works in progress.

[Ganymede425]

clff rice wrote:

Ganymede425 wrote:

Now that's the spirit!

What I'd love to see is a background justification for a Paladin/Druid, a character with possibly the two most difficult classes to mesh together.

some-kind of undead smiting sun deity worshiping druid.

The tricky part would be that a Paladin/Druid will have to either be an ex paladin or an ex druid. You can't be both lawful good and neutral at the same time.

[PhelanArcetus]

Definitely not a way I would run a game. But it does make for an interesting exercise in both story & mechanics:

Given this random pairing of classes, write the backstory that led to it, and figure out what can be done to build an effective, synergistic character.

But yeah, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't sit down to play a game like this unless it was just a one-shot (and designed to be forgiving of both power level discrepancies and lack of "standard" capabilities in the party makeup).