Pre-Gen Characters

[ororo]

So, I'm at a bit of a lost. One of my D&D groups changed meeting days and times and I had to bow out because Friday is Date Night and I don't see a lot of my boyfriend during the week. I'm bummed as I like the people in the group and I was fond of my character and at 5th level in 5e, things start getting good.

I found this group through MeetUp, but the latest meetings posted all have pre-gen characters and I'm just not wild about the idea. I've played with pre-gen at a convention and it was okay, but even when you know the system it takes a while to get acquainted.

Thoughts? 

Comments

[deird1]

I've really enjoyed pre-gen characters. Our group uses them through necessity (time constraints) - but they tend to mean the party is well balanced, and the GM is prepared with some fun ideas for your character.

[jewelfox]

In systems with lots of "trap" choices, like Pathfinder, pregens tend to have lots of them and be really ineffective as a result.

In 5e, I'm not sure. Maybe ask the people in charge if you can make your own character, perhaps at the end of the first session once they've gotten to know you. The decision to not allow your own characters seems like it'd be an unpopular one.

[deaderthandisco]

Late, I know, but I've found that pre-gen characters can be a mixed bag. If you and your group have a specific story in mind, then it makes sense to have built characters ready to jump into, so long as the fluff and actual role playing is left up to the player. But I've also had experience with groups and DMs who use pre-gen characters to keep the players from disturbing his or her delicately planned plot, and that's just not fun.

[ororo]

groups and DMs who use pre-gen characters to keep the players from disturbing his or her delicately planned plot, and that's just not fun.

and THAT is what I am most afraid of. I decided to take a chance on a game-system generated template from Shadowrun, so we'll see how that goes. Templates are a bit different and I've done okay there in Star Wars D6.

[deaderthandisco]

I too think that templates are the better option. Hope it all works out for you. I've never played Star Wars D6, but the Shadowrun templates are pretty solid. Happy gaming!