One of the best resources in the Guild is the community of
players we have: many have been playing and DMing D&D for years or even
decades and know all the ins and outs of 4e. This knowledge can be incredibly
helpful for a new player just learning about the game, but it can also be very
overwhelming. Therefore, we have a couple tips for how you can use this mind-boggling
wealth of experience to do what you
want to do.
Come in with an idea of what you want to do. This idea that you have could be very specific (“I want to
play a thief gnome obsessed with stealing nose rings who carries a spear that’s
way too big for her body”) or just a general vibe (“I want to play someone who’s
really tough and never backs down”). If you come in with a clear idea of what
you want, it’s easier for Build Chat to help you work toward that goal or offer
suggestions. With that in mind… Look for suggestions, not recipes. If you go into Build Chat and say “I would like to play a
ranger; tell me what powers, feats, and items to take,” you’ll probably be able
to make a really solidly built PC from a mechanical standpoint; however, it won’t
really be yours. It will be a cookie-cutter character where you may not even
understand how all the game elements of your character interact, and chances
are you won’t have a lot of fun playing it. However, if you say “I’m really stuck
between these two level 3 encounter powers, what do you folks think?” Build
Chat will be able to help you out by giving you examples of when each is useful
or not, or maybe offering an alternative. Likewise if you come in and give a general
character idea, Build Chat may be able to point you in the right direction
without necessarily leading you by the nose (“I want to build a guy who flings
water balloons filled with various things at his enemies!” might get you a “Check
out artificers. That might work for you”). On that note… Don’t be afraid to re-fluff! Just because a power
or game element has a specific flavor text doesn’t mean that you need to think
of that item/power/creature exactly as described. You
want your blink dog to look like a corgi? Go for it! You want your “longsword”
to actually be a folding chair? Go nuts! The game elements are there to provide
numbers and statistics for you, but NOT to limit what you can imagine your character doing.
Now, when you write up macros, use the correct name of the powers, but you can
describe what happens when you use them however you like, as long as you don’t alter
any of the mechanical effects. That zone of difficult terrain that the power
describes as slippery ice? Why not make it a zone of difficult terrain caused
by scattered marbles? From the beginning, the Guild has never been setting-specific : we are a multi-dimensional organization limited only by the creativity and resourcefulness of its members. The possibilities are endless, and will allow you to make
characters that are truly your own with their own unique flavors that make them
fun for you to play and fun for others to play with. Stand your ground if there’s something you really want to
do. Just as we recommend
when looking at Build guides , you should keep in mind that things that someone
in chat thinks are great might not actually fit what you want to do. Things that could be great for their idea of your
character may not actually fit with the type of PC you want to build, and that’s
totally ok! There is no “right” way to build a specific character, and while
people may give you a heads-up if you’re doing something totally unworkable
(e.g. having a starting 12 in your main stat), you should always keep in mind
that the recommendations of Build Chat are just that: recommendations. There may be some crazy, gimmicky theorycrafting happening in Build Chat, but remember that in the
end, the decision as to what kind of character you should build is up to you,
not up to your fellow Guild-mates. Remember the Guild motto: “ FUN ctional before
optimal.” Characters need to be workable, but they don’t need to be able to
lift mountains and punch gods at level 5. Make sure your characters are your
own and you will enjoy them more, whether they flee at the first sign of danger
or roll over all enemies in their paths. If you want to make something especially gimmicky, take it to Theory Chat The main purpose of Build chat is to help people make functional characters: to help them figure out good powers or feats to take, good items to get, or good races to pick for their idea of what they want to do. If you are trying to make something especially optimal or that relies on a somewhat off-the-wall approach to a character, take it to the opt-in theorycrafting chat by adding the Theory role to yourself in bot chat on Discord. If your talk in Build chat is likely to terrify new players with its complexity or goofiness, you should move it elsewhere. Most of all, remember to HAVE FUN!
