Playing the PreGen as the PC for PFS

[Selter Sago de'Morcaine PFS]

I was kind of astonished to learn we have a few people at our local that play the Pregens as PC’s. What I mean by that is The make a 1st level character sheet that looks exactly like the 1st level Pregen (say Kyra for example). They make their build choices and purchases to eventually match the 4th level Kyra sheet. Then again for the 7th level Kyra sheet. Extra cash is not used unless something like a bribe, horse, or ticket is needed during a scenario.

I asked about it. The individuals said they just weren’t interested in learning all the rules to make their own characters. I offered to build a more effective character that still only used the CRB and wasn’t any more complicated to run. But not interested.

I don’t really have a problem with it. I think pregens meet what I would call the bare minimum of competence. They are decently system capable players and fun to have at the table. I think they would have trouble with some of the really difficult scenarios. But if it is rumored to be one of the difficult ones, they just don’t sign up for that table.

I just can’t hardly fathom getting long term enjoyment out of playing like that. I think the one player has 3 Kyra clones and 2 druid clones (forgot the name) at various levels. So not just a beginner. Been playing for quite a while and intending to play for longer. But no desire to build any other kind of character.

I would have thought every player enjoyed nearly endless possibilities of 'what can I be today?'

Have you encountered other players like that?

[baradakas]

Love of tinkering is not a universal attribute. It's very common in RPG players, but I can easily imagine people enjoying the game itself and not being that interested in the technical details and wide variety of options.

You know, the top-selling car in America is still the Camry. It's not a very exciting car, but it gets you where you need to be. The pre-gens are just the Camry's of PFS! ;)

[Selter Sago de'Morcaine PFS]

But do you think the Camry would be top selling if it cost the same amount as the 918 Spyder? I'm guessing not. ;)

I can easily see someone that doesn't like all the 'fiddly bits' of PF. But then I wouldn't think they would want to play PF since the fiddly bits are such a central part of the game.

[ElyasRavenwood]

Also something else to consider. I have been playing D&D then PFS since i was ten or eleven. I don't really remember. I think I started with Marvel Superheroes first, but anyways, I am familiar with this system because i have been playing with it for a very long time, and I have also watched this system evolve over the years.

Now, if I were presented with this system and I had no experience with it, I may find it quite overwhelming.

I also feel that the core rule book may be more then enough to digest.

Another possibility may be that this player may just be having fun hanging out with a friend, and may not want to be bothered with all of the "fiddly" bits of the rules.

as Mr. Feldman mentioned up thread, these players may be interested in the story of the scenario and their character's story, and are not overly interested in mechanics.

I have also had players who began with a pre-gen and decided to stick with the pre-gen, and simply called the character by a different name because they had become familiar with the character and were not ready to branch out quite yet.

Anyways, that's just a couple of thoughts.

[Brad McDowell]

Have these players ever said out loud...."Dang, how did they (other PC, NPC, BBEG, etc) do that? That was pretty cool."

That's your cue.

[Selter Sago de'Morcaine PFS]

Brad McDowell wrote:

Have these players ever said out loud...."Dang, how did they (other PC, NPC, BBEG, etc) do that? That was pretty cool."

That's your cue.

Actually yes. Several times. That was when I found out they were playing just pregens.

Like I said, not really a problem. Just kinda boggles my mind.

[Jessex]

Is anyone playing Harsk?

[kinevon]

The Druid's name, IIRC, is Lini.

And there was another thread, a while back, with an even more bizarre version of this, where the player was only actually ever playing the actual pregens, never made their own PC, even modeled on the pregen.

[RocMeAsmodeus]

I have seen this happen with a few newer players, but they all became comfortable with trying out other builds over time. This group has several other players who are optimizers, so I think the new players eventually were enticed by witnessing more powerful abilities as well as hearing veteran players saying that the pregens are poorly built.

[Dhenn]

I've never encountered this locally, and actually seen almost the opposite more common. Players running pregens, even brand new ones, often want to make cosmetic tweaks to pregens (making Merisiel Good, Ezren female, or renaming Valeros, for example), to help make it feel more their own. As long as it doesn't create a significant mechanical difference (like converting Kyra to a different deity), I tend to roll with it.

[RocMeAsmodeus]

Dhenn wrote:

I've never encountered this locally, and actually seen almost the opposite more common. Players running pregens, even brand new ones, often want to make cosmetic tweaks to pregens (making Merisiel Good, Ezren female, or renaming Valeros, for example), to help make it feel more their own. As long as it doesn't create a significant mechanical difference (like converting Kyra to a different deity), I tend to roll with it.

I've seen this as well. One of my players renamed Seoni to Lactosera, saying that in his character's backstory she was a dairy farmer's daughter. Another renamed Merisiel to Dex McDingus. Both of these characters played in my table of The Disappeared, which is to this date the most enjoyable session of PFS I have ever had.