Character Sheet and DM Approval

[eriadoc]

This is probably a simple question. If I am running a campaign, how am I able to approve/disapprove a player's character? For instance, if I pick up a new player and he has a fighter with a 25 STR at level 1 or somehting insane, is there any recourse short of kicking him? I am totally new to the software, so I appreciate any help. Thanks in advance :)

[Cypher]

This is probably a simple question. If I am running a campaign, how am I able to approve/disapprove a player's character? For instance, if I pick up a new player and he has a fighter with a 25 STR at level 1 or somehting insane, is there any recourse short of kicking him? I am totally new to the software, so I appreciate any help. Thanks in advance :)

Your best course of action would be to clearly state your character creation guidelines such as: starting level, starting gold, ability generation method, rule books used. If you decide on any methods that require rolling, have a blanket policy that all players roll the dice in front of you (you may have to have a rolling session before the game starts to allow players to get that part done before fleshing out the rest of their character).

If a player has broken your generation rules ask them about it. When dealing with someone you haven't had experience with before always give them the benefit of the doubt first. They likely made an honest mistake.

If you can't resolve the conflict then just tell the player that they're not going to find what they're looking for in your game, and wish them better luck somewhere else.

All of this really hinges on you clearly defining how you expect your players to create their characters right up front. If you don't do that... well... good luck :)

As for the software doing some sort of character validation like Neverwinter Nights? No. That task is left to you.

[mr_h]

When my group made our characters, we had one session where all of us logged on, I explained the rules (I also sent out a document prior to help them design the character), and we used up an entire session making characters.
I know for pickup games that's probably not the easiest solution, but if you have a set group, that's definitly the way to go.

[richvalle]

When my group made our characters, we had one session where all of us logged on, I explained the rules (I also sent out a document prior to help them design the character), and we used up an entire session making characters.
I know for pickup games that's probably not the easiest solution, but if you have a set group, that's definitly the way to go.

I agree.

I made it even easier by using the point buy system so players could create their characters offline and then show up with the numbers to input on the character sheet.

rv

[Jozie]

I just tried the point buy system with my group and it went great. Evens the players out and really made them think about what type of character they were making.

Before just kicking a player, I would just ask him to explain how he got the 25 in your example. Maybe there was a misunderstanding of how you set up the game. My thoughts have always been if a player is going to cheat they are going to cheat. Just watch to ensure it doesn't make the game less fun for the other players. If that happens, then it is time to ban.

Players that cheat should always encounter mobs that cheat. It kind of balances things out.

[Cypher]

I use point buy in my games as well, and I've always been happy with it.

As to getting a 25 in a stat; sometimes players don't understand how point buy actually works, and they think every ability point always costs a single point. I've seen players make this mistake a lot.

[eriadoc]

Thanks for the input. I've had no such instance - I was simply using an exaggerated example. I am hosting my first game this weekend and trying to figure out the tools. Getting my players characters into my campaign has turned into a bit of a challenge, as I don't even know how they can roll up characters locally and then play them after connecting to me.

For the sake of clarity (and anyone that tries searching as I did), I've started a new thread asking about this at

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=27680#post27680

Thanks for the help!