Fantasy Draft Character Generation

[Wasp]

Hi everyone!

For a 5e one shot we decided recently to do character generation like a fantasy draft. Every player and the DM had to provide:

2 cards with a Class
1 card with a Race, and
1 card with a Background

And afterwards players determined "initiative" order for the first round, where each player one after the other could pick any card - that they didn't provide themselves originally - (so either a class, a race or a background card), anything picked could not be taken again.

After the first round the order switched and the last person went first while the first went last. The next round switched again etc. This was done four times until everyone had 2 cards with a class/subclass, 1 card with a race and 1 card with a background. And based on that each player had to build their character (in our case at level 9 with the restriction that you had to pick at least 1 level in each of the classes)

What do you think of this method? What could be added to the draft pool? I was thinking of

a) adding a free feat
b) having a subclass on the class card as well
c) and/or using the 6 by 6 stat grid for picking your ability scores

Any ideas?

[quindraco]

Hi everyone!

For a 5e one shot we decided recently to do character generation like a fantasy draft. Every player and the DM had to provide:

2 cards with a Class
1 card with a Race, and
1 card with a Background

And afterwards players determined "initiative" order for the first round, where each player one after the other could pick any card - that they didn't provide themselves originally - (so either a class, a race or a background card), anything picked could not be taken again.

After the first round the order switched and the last person went first while the first went last. The next round switched again etc. This was done four times until everyone had 2 cards with a class/subclass, 1 card with a race and 1 card with a background. And based on that each player had to build their character (in our case at level 9 with the restriction that you had to pick at least 1 level in each of the classes)

What do you think of this method? What could be added to the draft pool? I was thinking of

a) adding a free feat
b) having a subclass on the class card as well
c) and/or using the 6 by 6 stat grid for picking your ability scores

Any ideas?

I don't know how many players you had, but one of the things I like least about this approach is that you are specifically encouraged to submit the options you want to play least, since those are the only options you're banned from selecting. Even worse, you have to draft classes first or risk picking a class combination that's MAD beyond belief. The amount of impact these choices have are also wildly disparate, with background generally having the least benefit.
Since you know up front this is supposed to be a dual-classing situation, have the DM make a list of dual-class options, then either draft or shuffle and deal randomly. Here, I'll make you a list that isn't MAD anywhere.

Artificer/Fighter
Artificer/Rogue
Artificer/Wizard
Barbarian/Fighter
Barbarian/Rogue
Bard/Fighter
Bard/Paladin
Bard/Rogue
Bard/Sorcerer
Bard/Warlock
Cleric/Druid
Cleric/Fighter
Cleric/Monk
Cleric/Ranger
Cleric/Rogue
Druid/Fighter
Druid/Monk
Druid/Ranger
Druid/Rogue
Fighter/Monk
Fighter/Paladin
Fighter/Ranger
Fighter/Rogue
Fighter/Sorcerer
Fighter/Warlock
Fighter/Wizard
Monk/Ranger
Monk/Rogue
Paladin/Sorcerer
Paladin/Warlock
Ranger/Rogue
Rogue/Wizard
Sorcerer/Warlock

Additional MADness notes:
*Left out Barbarian combinations with spellcasters, as that's sad forever.
*Left out combinations that absolutely require either a specific subclass (Armorer, Moon Druid) or race (Dwarf, Tortle) to deal with MADness, as while those are valid, they seem counter to the spirit of this whole idea.

Recommendations within the RAW to make this suck less:
*Let Druids have access to non-metal armor, so they can wear anything they're proficient in, rather than being restricted to studded leather in practice. Makes multiclass Druids a lot more fun when proficiency in heavy armor is potentially meaningful.

Recommended homebrew to make this suck less:
*Let Martial Arts render weapons Finesse, so Monk/Rogue isn't awful.
*Let partial casters use un-nerfed progression (i.e. round partial levels up, not down) like Artificers have, so combinations like Cleric/Ranger feel less awful.
*Let all Warlocks with Pact of the Blade swing their blade with Charisma, so Martial/Warlock combinations don't feel constrained to be Hexblades specifically.
*Let Rangers multiclass with Str or Dex 13 plus Wis 13, like how Fighters are Dex or Str 13 to multiclass. This will allow Cleric and Fighter Rangers to explore Heavy Armor.
*Let Paladins multiclass with Str or Dex 13 plus Cha 13, like how Fighters are Dex or Str 13 to multiclass. This adds Paladin/Rogue as a non-MAD choice without causing any harm.
*Let Barbarian abilities that are only on melee weapon attacks to instead be on attacks with melee weapons, which opens up leaning into thrown weapons (generally javelins and daggers).

[Wasp]

Thanks for the feedback.

To fix those issues, maybe it would be easier to give incentives instead of restrictions. Like

- you don't have to actually use both classes, just one
- you are not limited to the chosen classes, BUT the majority of your levels have to be in those classes/subclasses (either a single class or the two of them combined)
- for every card you pick (and actually use) that you haven't submitted yourself you receive a "point buy" point you can spend to increase attributes (maybe for backgrounds have a different bonus, maybe a common magic item that is stated on the card)