Remaking Your PC

[Killthorne]

So apparently I failed to notice the fine print on some certain standards details and asked approval for some supposedly "extraordinary" something or another ( I am not a forum devil like I used to be). I had been approved, though I completely wasted a rather valuable asset with the thought on what I indeed did ask for was legitimately "extraordinary". I don't want to argue with anyone on the logic behind these proposed standards as it seems firmly set in concrete already, despite some very good arguments and perceptions. I just want to remake and roleplay the PC out without this "extraordinary" something and replace it with something a bit more efficient and logical. Because honestly, by default, I could roleplay that "extraordinary" thing out anyways given my character concept.

Who do I talk to?

~Killy~

[Killthorne]

Bah, on second thought: I have too many things to transfer and it would be a big old pain in the butt.

Anyways. Nevermind me. But I do think we should consider dropping the "extraordinary" approval thing for certain traits that are supposedly some sort of gamebreaking extravagance. It's very misleading.

~Killy~

[hollyfant]

The "extraordinary" stuff isn't so much deemed "extraordinary powerful", but rather it's ""extraordinary rare". The extra hoops just act as limiter on the number of "extraordinary characters" we see running around, so that they can remain truly "extraordinary".

[Killthorne]

I can see that. But really, Faerun is an "extraordinary" place where in ALFA, I've seen plenty of "extraordinary" PC's running around with "extraordinary" abilities. Ever see a bard sing and all of a sudden this magical aura is around everyone?

Truly, some of those *ahem* feats you claim as extra-special aren't so special anymore due to the nerfbat of battiness. Now, they're more like Snake Blood or some relative thing.

~Killy~

[NESchampion]

Just play as a gnome, we're an endangered species even without hoops!

[Killthorne]

~Killy~

[AcadiusLost]

The Extraordinary PC catchall is used in a number of situations presently, most of which have nothing to do with how "powerful" the proposed PC would be. It is more about giving the HDM(s) a chance to review and approve/disapprove/negotiate potentially problematic aspects of "unique" character background aspects, from the perspective of retaining immursion/continuity of the gameworld.

With Favored Souls, for example, there may be a wide variance in how a given player imagines their PC may be connected to the diety, many of which may be objectionable to the server DM team (Thor was in love with my PC's mother / I have beers with Odin every fortnight / Loki haunts me and spoils all my fun / etc). Similarly with heritage/planetouched/warlock backgrounds, players shouldn't really be able to dictate important relationships/connections to major named gods/powers/demons/devils without DM team approval. If the player rolled up an over-the-top PC without some sort of feedback from the DM team, you could well end up with a situation where the DMs flat out disapprove of the concept of an existing character, which is a mess; either they'd end up ignoring the PC, or they might try to make plot out of changing/disproving the PC's backstory without their permission, which can be a touchy area.

So, it's really more about running the bio through the DM team to make sure it's compatible with the server/game environment, than keeping a lid on overpowered PCs. On the uniqueness angle, someone thinking about playing a super-rare race/class/type might actually appreciate a heads-up if there were already one (or more) of those in active play onserver, prior to rolling up and finding their special concept is old news for the area.

[Killthorne]

Yes I get that, AL... but anyone can make a PC concept with a extraordinary background without these special racials/classes. Some racial or class features may require that they need a bit of explanation, but this is a roleplaying game; such that, it's expected. If you're not roleplaying that explanation out and providing a decent bio for it, then it is purely for technical reasons. I'm not going to do that, but I will be honest and say that I have both roleplaying and technical reasons as to why I picked what I did ( as anyone would choosing a class/feat/skill for their character). Now I'm wondering why I even have it in the first place and feel it was quite a waste. And truthfully, I could have played this out the same way: with the same background given my class and without approval.

But as for speaking on the mechanics of it. You're not going to have anyone that will be actually creating something what you deem as "extraordinary" because it's a literal waste of a feat and I feel it's very much akin to Snake Blood ( which another PC of mine had, to give her a little RP quirk in NWN1 ALFA.. and certainly didn't need approval for a level one only trait feat). There are no distinguishing, physical features of either of those "special" traits that make them any different from members of the same race. If you want explanations for these "special" traits then why not probe and require every person to ask for approval when they take a feat like Able Learner, Toughness, Cleave, or Combat Expertise and ask why they think their character should be able to do those sort of things?

From reading the thread on what I am speaking of here, it seems very hypocritical to me and people have these horse blinders on that are saying "opportunity to powergame and farm and solo", without actually realizing that it is not as bad as it seems. I would like to speak more on this mentality as it seems like the ounce of prevention here has become a metric ton, but that's whole different subject. But I will say this: if you have cheaters, it is the person who is cheating or abusing the system, not the system itself!

Edit: Also, I again agree that players who make their PC's out to be some sort of blessed Chosen one need to perhaps tone it down just a wee bit. It's God-moding and serves no purpose in a game where DM's and lore dictate such things. However, I think that if you would know my character's bio, you would understand my path and reasoning as to why I might be a little different and why I chose to ask for approval on something I thought would blossom out instead of being some rather unnecessary roleplaying "quirk" at level one.

~Killy~