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RE: (TFT) Starting characters?



In my opinion, if you want a stronger starting character, play one of the
greater races from the onset. (I forget how many points Reptile men or
Gargoyles start with, all I know is that they bring some serious whoop-ass
especially at the beginning of the campaign. They also develop more slowly
over time, which is the price you pay for early campaign "job security"
*smile*)

Separately, will all the other players get to 1) play two characters and 2)
allow one of those characters to be high powered?

eric
-----Original Message-----
From: tft-owner@brainiac.com [mailto:tft-owner@brainiac.com]On Behalf Of
John Paul Bakshoian
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2001 02:11 AM
To: tft@brainiac.com
Subject: Re: (TFT) Starting characters?

>From: "David Michael Grouchy II" <david_michael_grouchy_ii@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: (TFT) Starting characters?
>Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 15:06:04 -0500
>
>>From: Michael Taylor <MichaelTaylor1@compuserve.com>
>>
>>Here's a question for the group:
>>
>>I'm trying to start a new campaign.
>>
>>I have a player that wants to play TWO new characters at the
>>same time, one with 30 points and one starting at 40 points.
>>
>>What do you people think?
>
>Michael,
>     I would allow it.  He would have to make a starting character with new
>followers.  Then he could take a job and work him untill he was a fourty
>point character.  Facing the chance of being killed and/or getting old.
>     As he got extra points he could add them to the character.  There is a
>HUGE difference between growing a character too fourty points and designing
>one from scratch.  I would NEVER allow a player to start a fourty point
>character from scratch.  Some designs always die.  If they can't survive at
>low point totals then they would never make it to the big time.
>
>     David Michael Grouchy II

David,

(please forgive me the following rant...  it is truly not raised at you, but
just defending a playing style that I have adopted.  I know the following is
controversial going in and am not surprised that others have differing
viewpoints.  The words may seem heavy at times, but none of us are in the
same room to guage visual cues or joking comments; take the following not as
a flame.)

I'm the guy with the 2 simultaneous characters that starts off as 40 points
and 30 points.

We are going to play a campaign that is lasting tentatively only 6 games.  I
have a very solid creative concept of how my character is at the start of
the game.  It does not fit the mold of a thirty two point character and I
don't have the time to pre-play the 6 games it will take for him to enter
this game as a 40 point character.  If one watches a movie, not all the main
players are lowlies.  Some start out the movie as 40 point characters.  That
is all I am doing.  There are all sorts of comments that TFT allows a player
to role-play the game and not be too worried about the mechanics.  This is
one mechanic that I would like to put aside for this particular game to
allow the player (me) the ability to play the character he envisions.

I take the TFT concept with me when I play D&D.  I can't even think of
rolling up a character and being stuck by the rolled parameter to being a
halforc assassin.  I imagine what I want the character to be, create the
stats to fit it (never overdoing it), and outfit the character in the armor
that I imagine he would wear (not full plate and shield, more often leather
jerkin).  I would even choose a lower level if I thought it was apt for the
character.  The other D&D players *never* question how I make a character
and if they did, I would say that I am a Fantasy Trip player and can't roll
up a character.

I am taking liberties on 2 counts when I am making this request:  One is
that I want to enter a game with a 40 point character.  Two is that I want
to play two characters simultaneously.   I just covered one above.  Lets
look at two.

Running two characters is a lot like running one or five characters.  Your
character has a personality.  When you run Miss Piggy,  you run that
personality.  When you run Kermit, you run that personality.  It is not
difficult to have Miss Piggy and Kermit in a game even together.  It is not
difficult to have the same person run these two characters in a game
together interacting.  Their personalities and drives make it easy.  With
someone else running Gonzo and Fozzie Bear at the same time, one could have
a Game that  allows for great interaction and advancement and takes the
arbitrary NPC load off the Gamemaster.

I have played many a TFT (and D&D) game running simultaneous characters.  I
have loved it and it has actually made better play because it filled out a
group much better.  I have run games where several players have run two
characters.  That is also easy.  Just ask player Joe what Spock is doing.
Then ask him what Bones is doing.  Easy to keep them seperate.

BUT WHAT ABOUT PLAYER KNOWLEDGE????  Yea, so Spock 's player knows what
Bones is going to do next turn.  If he is playing Spock correctly, Spock
will do what he character must do, regardless of foreknowledge.  Come now,
you've replayed dungeons where you know that 12 spiders are going to jump
out of the chest...If you were really playing the character, you should
probably still have him open it.

Anyway, regardless of what I think, I will bow to the other players will and
the GM's because playing matters more than not playing.  But I will make
them logically defend their premise before I back down.

By the way David,  If all your players rebelled and said they wanted to play
Camelot at the time of the Holy Grail, would you force all the Experienced
Knights to be 32 points?

Hail Melee,
John Paul

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