Not exactly. In-character you think "Oh, if I want to join X group, I'll need to do Y, Z and C!", while on the sheet you get skills and spells/feats/whatever necessary for the PrC.
Fair, but -technically speaking - don't a lot of PrCs have a little 'how much you know about this PrC by making a knowledge check' table next to them? I'm not convinced that every PC being molded for their future has rolled on that table to even have heard of it! I know it's nitpicking, but defending many of the more silly-broken builds that we've all no doubt experienced as roleplaying choices with a straight face is also pretty absurd.

You should be thankful that RoD made such a concept viable. What does that say about "rollplaying", when it actually increases the variety of character archetypes available.
I think that we're all grown up to admit that RoDr is a book filled with a lot of blag that the writer never really thought about, let alone decided to balance in-line with other stuff. I think the line of thinking went: 'Dragownz are grate! My stuffz should be betta' or something similar.
I'd like to cite some of her previously stellar work for the prosecution!


If you want to play a cleric with worship of a particular god (for Domains presumably) why are you not a cleric of the people who worship that god???
Because race/region X gives a better build?

There is ZERO causal connection between Role-playing and Roll-playing.
There's a pretty good correlation between people insisting on being the best in the group - even at the expense of the enjoyment of their friends - and bad roleplaying though. Your experiences may differ.


I actually played a Kobold PC once, with all the **** stats and all. It was quite fun.
^This. Kobolds have always been the runt of the litter, and laughable foes. But that was the -for some- the fun of playing them. RoDr pretty much redefined their place in the world and changed them.

I think you mean theoretical optimization, the kind that's not meant to be played. Yes, it wouldn't make sense in a real game because that isn't it's purpose.
So when twenty posts a week ask 'what the best X I can build for my upcoming campaign', those people are only kidding. Phew: That's a relief


I look at numbers, you look at numbers. It doesn't preclude roleplaying. But please don't tell me with a straight face that the majority of people jumping through creative hoops and fielding fully optimised T1 characters are doing it for roleplay reasons. Because we know that to be a fiction. I really like Wee Jas as a deity, but I have too much respect for my co-players and GMs to turn up at the table with a RKV; let alone trying to blag RKV PrC for some other deity (...one with -say- Planning and Luck, maybe) for 'roleplay reasons'