How far ahead have you planned your current build?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Maybe its a Bard thing the way spells can't be traded out except on level up but I find myself planning my character's spell tree out a dozen levels in advance now.

Level 3 was the last time I could have taken a different path with a Bard. Do any other classes require major decisions after that?

How far ahead do you all plan?

How about the non-forum reading members of your party, the more casual players?

[Mortis_Elrod]

Maybe its a Bard thing the way spells can't be traded out except on level up but I find myself planning my character's spell tree out a dozen levels in advance now.

Level 3 was the last time I could have taken a different path with a Bard. Do any other classes require major decisions after that?

How far ahead do you all plan?

How about the non-forum reading members of your party, the more casual players?

Every game with progression that I control is planned to the very end.

From the very beginning.

[JakOfAllTirades]

I'm currently at 4th level, playing Tomb of Annihilation. I'm not sure how high this adventure goes in terms of character levels, and it's known for being deadly. I might need a new character before we're done.

So how much planning should I do?

My character is a Lore Bard with current Charisma of 18; I'll definitely bump that up to 20 at level 8 if I get that far. I have some, but not all of my spell picks decided. (No idea what I'll need as we go forward; no spoilers please and thank you.)

[Laserlight]

Curse of Strahd campaign. I'm pretty sure I'll stay pure Tempest cleric, although I might possibly MC into a CHA caster class for RP reasons.

Another player, also experienced, has built his character out to L20, despite the fact that we will probably not make it past L10 in this campaign.

I think it highly unlikely the other three players in the campaign have preplanned their builds or spells.

[MaxWilson]

How far ahead do you all plan?


As far as necessary to avoid making permanently bad/trap choices. I never want to be in a situation where my enjoyment is ruined by irreversible choices that I've already made. In a game like vanilla 5E, this means always planning out class progression (even for PCs who will never realistically hit level 20) and feat/subclass selection, and Magical Secrets, but not necessarily spell selection, beyond making a list of must-haves.

[LordEntrails]

I almost never plan what I will take for the next level until I have the experience for that level. Sometimes when I'm a session away from leveling up I will work out what I will take on my next level. Never had a need to worry about what I'm going to take 5 or 10 levels from now. Heck, who's to say what magic items, boons, banes I will have by then or even if the character will still be alive?

[CircleOfTheRock]

I always plan only about a few levels ahead, and alter it whenever I think something is more immediately needed than whatever I had planned, so long as it doesn’t jeopardise the character I had in mind when I began.

[Maelynn]

I only plan the asi/feat I'll take at level x, about a level or so before we reach it. For the rest I decide around the time that we level up. Other than some new spells, there's no vital choices that need to be made. And I'll choose those spells to fit to the situation as it is by then. What area are we in, what monsters do we face, what spells will the others pick? Those influence my choice and can hardly be chosen 3 levels in advance.

Well, and of course there's the class archetype. I decide upon this when I create my character, even if I were to start at level 1. But luckily the last 3 characters I made started out at level 3 or higher, so I haven't had to plan that in a while.

[DarkKnightJin]

I only plan the asi/feat I'll take at level x, about a level or so before we reach it. For the rest I decide around the time that we level up. Other than some new spells, there's no vital choices that need to be made. And I'll choose those spells to fit to the situation as it is by then. What area are we in, what monsters do we face, what spells will the others pick? Those influence my choice and can hardly be chosen 3 levels in advance.

Well, and of course there's the class archetype. I decide upon this when I create my character, even if I were to start at level 1. But luckily the last 3 characters I made started out at level 3 or higher, so I haven't had to plan that in a while.

I work a lot similarly. I'll think of where I'd like to go with the character, story wise.
That usually means figuring out a Feat or ASI I want to pick up when the time comes, or if and when to multiclass, if applicable.

Then I let the narrative guide what happens.
This can derail some plan I had, but will more often than not enhance the story for the character.

My Cleric started with a level of Fighter, for the Heavy Armor Proficiency. (Death Domain).
Meaning he didn't have Wisdom Saving Throw Proficiency. Which came back to bite him, which turned me from grabbing Observant for flavor, into snagging Resilient (Wisdom) for a similar effect stat-wise.. but shored up a massive weakness he'd discovered about himself.

[MephitBlue]

I currently have two characters and I treat them both differently when it comes to planning ahead. I do little, if any, planning ahead with my Sorcerer. If it is an ASI level, I'll start thinking about it several weeks in advance. For non-ASI levels, I really don't plan ahead at all.

Now my other character is a multi-class Rogue Swashbuckler / Hexblade Warlock. Multi-classing really made me think about what I'm going to take with this character up to level 10, (we started at level 5). My plans aren't written in stone, but I have the character's progression pretty planned out. The complications of multi-classing made planning ahead necessary to make sure the build will work as I want.

[KorvinStarmast]

Current Ranger is planned to 8. Hope the game lasts that long. ToA.
Intend to get 18 Dex at 4 and pump wisdom to 14 at 8.

[TheCleverGuy]

I have it somewhat easy, playing a Fighter. Not too many decisions to make. I'm at level 4 now, and I have a pretty good idea what my next 4 levels will be. Two ASIs will max out my STR. The only real planning I have to do is choosing a couple new combat maneuvers at 7--I'm leaning towards Goading and maybe Pushing. I know everyone likes Trip, but i play with an Open Hand monk who pretty much has knock-downs covered.

[Ixidor92]

Most of the campaigns I've been playing start at or near level 1, so I'll usually plan out the first 4 levels of my character (covers the subclass choice and the first ability score increase). After that I'll usually look at what choices I need to make for the next level or two, but never any more beyond that. I find part of that is while you may have an optimal build in your head, there's the optimal numerical build for your character--but there's also the optimal build for whatever party you're with. And the two may not coincide as much as you thought.

So basically, after the character's foundation is settled, I just look at what makes most sense for the character and party a level or so in advance.

[BoxANT]

10. always 10.

if you cannot get your concept (mechanically) in 10, then save it for a high level campaign.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Heck, I haven't decided whether to take Warlock 3 or Bard 2 for my current character. And we've already been told to go ahead and level up. I'm currently Celestial Warlock 2/Bard 1. Stuck between getting a familiar or pushing through to lore bard faster. I know I won't go much beyond Warlock 3 (and if I go bard I'll stay that way).

[Naanomi]

Except for spell choices, I generally have things mapped out 1-20 every time... but if I need to go ‘off script’ I can reevaluate (for example, when I found my Cleric to be the only melee capable character in a sea of diverse casters...)

[EvilAnagram]

I usually map things out from level 1-6. Mapping out much more than that restricts my options and keeps me from making choices based on what's happened to my character, which is more interesting to me than choosing the optimal path at every level.

I do generally have enough system knowledge to be aware of what choices will help and hinder me as I go along, though.

[ZorroGames]

Depends.

If I am “trying a build” like my Earth Genasi Battlemaster I may just wing it until I decide to retire the figure or choose to move past Tier 1/early Tier 2.

Sometimes I plan to 20 but since I have yet to achieve 6 on any character I believe the build is still flexible, especially if I think I may Multi-class.

Edit: example is my generic Mountain Dwarf Fighter design before any decisions about MC potential, like Rogue.

ST 17, DE 14, CO 17, IN 8, WI 10, CH 8.

Unless I choose to dip Rogue or Barbarian I know my basic plan is +1 ST and +1 CO at 4th; max ST or CO at 6th; max the one I did not max at 6th when I hit 8th. If I dip either of those the first ASI is unchanged as I lean towards a Swashbuckling Rogue at 3+ levels or an enhanced Barbarian at 3-4 levels.Once I achieve my dip goals then back to Battlemaster Fighter until I have two attacks. After that... who knows?

PeteNutButter’s MC guide shows example builds of BM 6+/Swashbuckler 3+ and BM 6+/Bear Barb 3 that resonate with me but I do not fell compelled to achieve that lockstep if conditions suggest better options.

[Blacky the Blackball]

When I choose a class at level one, I normally have a pretty good idea of which subclass I'll drop into at level two or three...

...and that's about it.

I don't do multiclassing, and I don't normally choose what to spend an ASI on until I get it. There might be a spell or two that I have my eye on, but there's no planning involved there - just looking forward to being able to do something.

[DeadMech]

How much do I preplan my character builds? In 5e? Very little. There isn't much meat to character customization in 5e. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.

I know what I am going to do with my wizard's ASI's out to level 12. And I have a fair idea what to do with ASI's to level 16. Sounds impressive. Most of a career of a character probably... It's 4 choices. And not particularly difficult choices. level 4. Round out int and con one point each to get even numbers. level 8 increase int by 2. Level 12... int is already 20. So take Resilient Con. These aren't... original choices for a wizard. The only reason for the order and number of them is because of the stats I originally rolled up. If I had rolled an 18 and added my racial modifier... I'd have planned 1 of my ASI's and probably only that far.

I know I'll stick to Wizard til level 20... because there is no reason not to. There aren't much int synergistic classes. Yet. Ever. Who knows. Even if there was I don't like overly opportunistic class dipping. But that's a personal opinion. I'm also running a sorcadin in another campaign that probably wont be continued. I can't remember what ratio of levels I was going to take. Going back to feats I know my sorcadin's next feat has to be warcaster. Because he uses a sword and shield, stopping me from using spells with somatic components. The bonus to concentration is also helpful for a front line spell caster.

I need to preplan spell selection 1 level in advance. Because I don't own a players handbook. Also it's rude to hold up a session because I leveled up and need to spend an hour reading the DM's copy to pick my new spells. Also there is roleplay potential in alluding to what spells a wizard is currently researching. Though if time, money and opportunity present themselves in a campaign my wizard can learn other spells. So even my level up spell selection isn't a make it or break it decision.

And few of these have much in the way of prerequisites. I could choose to rearrange pretty much every build choice I've ever made in some fashion... and not lock myself out of anything. And that's actually a good thing about 5e. In 3.5 I loved the crusader I played. It was fun. It was satisfying. But I had to make allot of choices in advance to avoid locking myself out of entire catagories of options I might want later. Feat chains required us to choose things in order... sometimes things we had no interest in... in order to gain access to things we did want. Prestige classes had requirements. Again often things that were otherwise undesirable taxes on build resources.

[Rogerdodger557]

While I don't always pick spells, I plan all of my characters out to 20 when I'm building them. Part of this is due to the fact that I primarily play AL, and getting to level 20 while difficult, is more than possible. I know a few people that have multiple level 20 characters.

[Amdy_vill]

at most 3 levels but i am playing in a heavy rp game right now

[PeteNutButter]

Picture a square root curve. You plan pretty far ahead at level one, but then go level by level as you get higher as the curve tapers off.

I start by planning to about level 8 as that's a good point you can expect most games to get to. It is also where most MC combinations get both a tier 2 ability and a subclass from the second class. After level 8 I have a rough idea to get to about 11-13, but remain flexible. After 13 I am just winging it usually.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I always plan only about a few levels ahead, and alter it whenever I think something is more immediately needed than whatever I had planned, so long as it doesn’t jeopardise the character I had in mind when I began.
About this. I figure any more than a few levels ahead and you can't predict where the campaign will go. And if it'll even still be running; I've seen a lot of games finish or die before more than 2-3 levels have gone by.

[Sigreid]

Other than I have decided the current wizard will have an unreasonably large pool of hit points for a wizard, I don't. One of my favorite things about 5e is that i don't have to plan level 20 from level 1 to ensure I can get there. I can evolve my character in response to the game.

[PhoenixPhyre]

One of my favorite things about 5e is that i don't have to plan level 20 from level 1 to ensure I can get there. I can evolve my character in response to the game.

Agreed. One of the main sources of fun for me is not only seeing how my character changes the world, but how my character is changed by the world.

I'm also prone to analysis paralysis--in CRPGs I've been known to spend as long in the intro segment (combined, over many many characters) as in the rest of the game total, making and remaking characters until I'm satisfied. That behavior is a problem in TTRPGs--5e frees me from that feeling, since I can take what seems good at the time and I'll still muddle along reasonably well.

[Theodoxus]

I have an Excel spreadsheet with all my characters (I'm pretty OCD when it comes to characters, for some reason - so I make sure I have at least 1 of each class (even classes I don't like).)

I plot out the ASI/Feats, and any Multiclassing, and update the sheet as each character levels. However, I'm flexible enough to change things on the fly, or if I gravitate to a new idea.

Fortunately, since nearly everything I play now is AL, I have until 5th level to lock in a concept, so some characters have been radically changed from initial concept to final.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

How far ahead do you all plan?

Keep in mind that I like theory-crafting almost as much as role-playing in D&D. With that said, I always plan a rough character build to level 20 when I'm making my character. This isn't super in depth, but it helps me keep in mind where I'm heading, even though I don't expect to make it to level 20 in any campaign.

Example: Playing a Wizard

-Take Level 1 spells in accordance with the School of Magic I'll go into a Level 2.

-Plan all spells within the next 3-6 levels that I plan on taking. This can change if I scribe some spells on the way, but it helps me balance what to take when so that I'm well rounded and effective according to how I want to function in the party.

-Plan all feats and ASIs from first level through 20 so that I can figure out if it's worth taking a feat early or if I need to go ahead and boost my stats. Only getting one of these every 4 levels means the order in which you take these and what you take has one of the largest effects on your character.

-Think through the must have spells at each Spell Level

-Consider any multi-classing options (regardless of class) and what level I would go into those other classes

-Throw everything in the garbage if I find something else I like better halfway through the campaign.

[Naanomi]

Some classes require more flexibility in planning than others... ranger in particular with natural explorer and favored enemy are very campaign dependent

[Spectrulus]

I've planned my current character, Shillelagh Ranger (Primeval Warden), out to level 5, currently at 1. Dueling fighting style, PAM, then I dunno. I commonly make up spell lists to 20 if playing a caster, but usually stop everything else at 5 in case it never goes further.

[Tetrasodium]

I generally plan for the next several levels & have a rough outline for1-20, it's a habbit from 3.5. To some degree, seeing the rest of the group (what they are & how they play) makes a big difference as well

[DivisibleByZero]

I see very little need to plan much of anything in 5e.
Sorc/Bard/Lock spell progression, since they get limited spells known and might need swaps to keep the bases covered. That's about it. And even then only a level or three in advance.

[mephnick]

I just hit Zealot Barb 11 and I have no real plans for the future. I might just go to 15 for no death rage but I might multiclass if I think of something better. So..not a lot of planning.

[LordEntrails]

While I don't always pick spells, I plan all of my characters out to 20 when I'm building them. Part of this is due to the fact that I primarily play AL, and getting to level 20 while difficult, is more than possible. I know a few people that have multiple level 20 characters.


...
Fortunately, since nearly everything I play now is AL, I have until 5th level to lock in a concept, so some characters have been radically changed from initial concept to final.

I don't play AL, but why would planning out a character be more important in AL than otherwise? Why do you have to lock in a concept at 5th level in AL?

[PhoenixPhyre]

I don't play AL, but why would planning out a character be more important in AL than otherwise? Why do you have to lock in a concept at 5th level in AL?

Because up till then you can rebuild at will.

[DMThac0]

Yup, after playing AL I actually implemented that into my home games, it allows people to change their minds if they really do not mesh with a character.

I generally don't plan at all, I just go with what fits the story of my character, and where they are in their journey to 20. The exception to this is my current character, but that's because he started as an NPC and my players BEGGED me to make him a pc in the adventure my fiancee is running.