How Can I Design an Oblivion-style Opening?

[Crow]

Our group will be making some new characters, but I wanted to try something similar to the opening sequence in Oblivion, where the characters' actions can determine their attributes and class to some extant.

For the ability scores, I was thinking that I would not want it to come out as entire ability arrays, but that the players would roll 3d6 (arrange as desired) when it was all over and the characters' actions would give them a boost to certain abilities based on how they proceeded (In addition to racial mods).

For the classes, I was leaning towards letting the players select their class as normal, but giving them a 10% bonus on all future experience if they select the class that their actions favored.

As far as implementing this into an adventure though, I am having difficulty. I was planning on making a dungeon as normal, and then analyzing it closely to determine what possible actions the characters could take, and then assigning an ability/class to each action or resolution. Even supplying the characters with a variety of weaponry and wands (we assume they work for them) would play a part, based on their weapon selection. I would then run the adventure and keep tally of the characters' actions to hash out at the end. Certain classes would need to be eyeballed a little too. Rate high for Fighter AND Cleric, Paladin. Ranger and Cleric, Druid. Heavy reliance on one wand, Sorcerer. Used a wide variety, Wizard.

Of course, this idea is only half-baked so far. I would LOVE suggestions from the playground as to how I can make this work.

[DragoonWraith]

As someone who has spent a lot of time modding Oblivion, reading about modding Oblivion, and writing about modding Oblivion, I have to say... that system does not work well. It's better than the rest of Bethesda's system for figuring out stats (the token system on level-up is so dumb), but it really doesn't work well at all.

The primary problems are, A. you don't really have ample opportunity to display aptitude for certain skills. This is less of an issue with starting ability scores, simply because there are fewer of them and they're more broad, but nonetheless, it is an issue. B. the easiest or best ways to solve the dungeon may not be the way players want their abilities set up - you may want to play a weak but incredibly smart mage, but if the easiest way to solve it is to get out and push, so to speak, then it's going to be hard to show that without being exceedingly arbitrary. By the same token, unless the player who wants to be an Int 6 Barbarian wants to simply not get past the puzzle, he's going to end up acting smarter than he "is". C. Bethesda simply didn't have complicated enough algorithms to really handle every action you take.

Now, with D&D, C. is a non-issue. You are a human being, not a computer, you can look at their performance and assign numbers on the spot, you don't need the preprogrammed answers. A. and B. are dungeon-design issues, and you'll just have to be careful. There's a fourth issue, that doesn't really come up for Oblivion but may for D&D - your characters are going to need temporary stats for getting through the dungeon (probably); 3.5 is a very roll-heavy game, so not having those numbers will be difficult. You could use all 10's, but then how do you handle the character who really isn't supposed to be even that strong/dexterous/steadfast/smart/wise/charismatic? You could use all 8's, but then people are going to look very weak in areas where they're supposed to be strong. You could try to avoid dice rolls altogether, but they may be hard if you really want the intro to be similar to Oblivion's (with combat and traps and things).

Unfortunately, I don't really have a lot of tips for you. These are just the likely problems that I see.

[Swordgleam]

I'm not totally sure how to help you, but I have a suggestion in answer to this:

your characters are going to need temporary stats for getting through the dungeon (probably); 3.5 is a very roll-heavy game, so not having those numbers will be difficult. You could use all 10's, but then how do you handle the character who really isn't supposed to be even that strong/dexterous/steadfast/smart/wise/charismatic? You could use all 8's, but then people are going to look very weak in areas where they're supposed to be strong.

Let them pick from some really basic array, like 8 8 10 10 12 12. That way you can get hints of where they want their characters to be strong and weak, and tweak your dungeon to let them show off those areas.

I think the "sub-optimal solution" thing is also not as big a deal, since it's a party game. Want to play a smart but weak mage? You'll stand aside while the fighter-hopeful bashes aside the rocks. Want to be a 6 int Barbarian? You'll make unhelpful suggestions while the mage is solving the puzzles.

[Carden]

My advice? Do what Oblivion does and give them everything to toy with. Don't assign stats or anything, just let them DESCRIBE how they work past everything in the dungeon. They want to sneak past your undead? Fine. They want to pray to their god to destroy/rebuke it? Go ahead, it works. Blast it with magic, shove knives into it repeatedly, fill it with arrows, cry and let it eat them, whatever they do that would be normally possible, don't stop them. Oblivion did that, it let you choose how to get through the first dungeon. It was so easy you COULDN'T die without trying.

You can explain away their seemingly omnipotent power as a dream sequence later. You can even tie it into the plot as some sort of prophecy. The only other conceivable way to do it would be to give them all the Lightning Warrior to play with and an array of all 18s, or something of the such. Just remember, to make it all encompassing, go ahead and unbalance the class by adding the familiar. ;)

[LibraryOgre]

In the World of Greyhawk hardcover that came out on the 1st/2nd edition cusp, there were rules for playing a 0th level character, which would let you sort of build your own class, trying different skills and the like from different classes. It sucked, but it was there.