I've started a game that will be determined much by chance. For a great many decisions I'm turning a deck of playing cards to answer yes or no, such that a red suit equals yes and a black suit equals no. For other types of questions I'm rolling dice. Eg, what direction might I go exploring? Roll a d4 where each number equals a cardinal direction. And so on.
So I figured I would play a Diviner. Seems fitting from a roleplaying standpoint. The dice were pretty good to me after 5 rolls.
Str 12
Dex 17
Con 11
Int 18
Wis 18
Cha 10
He scribes Blind, Identify and Sleep, memorizing the latter two.
Alright, I'm initially just testing this out to see if I really want to do it. From just outside the door of the Candlekeep Inn I roll a d4 which determines go North. Righto. Of course I run directly into Phlydia. Do I talk with her? I turn over a red card. So yes. She asks me to look for her book. Do I want to do it? I turn over another red card. So sure thing, Phlydia, I'll fetch your book.
I do this in earnest, roleplaying as if I'm really looking for the thing. (No dice rolls here, just looking where one would normally think to search.) And that takes me into the house where Shank is waiting. I had no weapons. I had Sleep memorized... but I figure, look, I'm a Diviner! What the hell do I know about fighting some guy who's trying to kill me? So I get the hell out of there.
I run towards a Watcher in front of the inn, assuming he'll do his job. Can you guess what happens? Bingo. He ignores the homicidal maniac on my tail. (Wth?) So I run into the inn. (Maybe Firebeard will help!) Again, they don't seem concerned in the slightest that a madman is chasing me around with a knife. (Hmm, maybe I wasn't so popular there in Candlkeep growing up.)
I run into the Candlekeep library garden, in the hope that either Tethtoril or Gorion will protect me. Shank is in hot pursuit. I run straight through the Chanters in a panic. They immediately scatter like a flock of frightened birds. That elicits a laugh right there. And for just a moment I seem to be outrunning my attacker. Maybe a Watcher finally responded! So I look back to see what's going on.
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I actually just caught a glimpse of the Voice of the West whacking Shank with his staff. You see my Diviner there basically staring in disbelief.
So anyway, yeah, this game is definitely on. Right at the outset I experienced something I've never, ever seen before in the Prologue in countless playthroughs. So that's an auspicious beginning.
Addenda:
1) As I've commenced this game I realize the best way for me to employ this RP concept is to have many decisions simply follow simply according to my conception of the main character. For example, there is no question but that this character would take Imoen along. That's just fundamental to who he is. But there are many decisions where the character might question what he might do next. And also, when questions aren't crucial then it might just be fun to leave them to chance. So those are the sorts of things being decided by the cards and dice by me as a player. From an RP standpoint the main character is then looking for omens, signs, and consulting various means of divination.
1) I guess at the end of the day that this character concept is Chaotic in practice, because you so often just can't predict what he will do next. (Nor can he, even if he faithfully and consistently follows divinations.) So I'm making him Chaotic Good. He is a prosocial and good hearted person. Although up for adventure and excitement he is not instinctively drawn toward battle. (He has high Int and Wis.) Beyond doing what is integral to his personality he will look to omens and such to guide his way. He is a pantheist (all the gods have something to offer, depending on the situation.)
3) One great thing about this RP concept is that you have to really pay attention to all the dialogue and narration, and the journal entries and even the manual (Manual 1 on the lore); and then really think about how the character would react, to decide what choices the character will make next. This means to try as much as possible to ignore the metagame knowledge I possess as a player and truly put myself in the shoes of each of the characters I'm controlling. For me this is a rediscovery of many basic elements to the story. This is all about how the story unfolds.
4) Although this is not a strict no-reload game, in the spirit of 'let the fates decide' I will accept all results to scribe spell scrolls and level-up HP dice rolls. If characters die I will not reload. If the PC (well, me playing as PC) has grown attached to a character who can be resurrected, he will do so. If the attachment is not so great, then he will cast his runes to decide.
5) I will try for the most part to leave the equipment that NPCs earn as spoils in their possession if they leave the party. In some cases I will ask for them to help us by giving us the item, and will draw a card as to whether they do or not. The exception to this rule will be an obviously selfish type such as Edwin or Montaron. I won't bother asking those types. The same idea also applies to NPCs who join with various belongings--those items stay with them. And during the course of the game, if I need a selfish NPC to share with another I will draw a card as to whether or not they will. (When there is a tactical advantage to do so, they might grudgingly agree.) I will also strive not to swap inventory items in the midst of combat. If a character needs a potion, then someone that has one will literally have to run over to the one who needs it, and hand it to them.
6) I will be roleplaying NPCs to the fullest extent possible as individuals, each with their own unique personalities and motivations, not just in relation to the unfolding events but also in relation to one another. I.e., relationships are going to form. And for each character decisions will be made that will affect everyone else.
7) I've added color coding to the 'out-of-game' comments enclosed in brackets: Green for when a yes answer is the result of turning a playing card (red suit), red for a no answer (black suit), and blue for dice rolls, party votes, and notes/commentary.
8) I'm using this dice roller from WotC.
So I figured I would play a Diviner. Seems fitting from a roleplaying standpoint. The dice were pretty good to me after 5 rolls.
Str 12
Dex 17
Con 11
Int 18
Wis 18
Cha 10
He scribes Blind, Identify and Sleep, memorizing the latter two.
Alright, I'm initially just testing this out to see if I really want to do it. From just outside the door of the Candlekeep Inn I roll a d4 which determines go North. Righto. Of course I run directly into Phlydia. Do I talk with her? I turn over a red card. So yes. She asks me to look for her book. Do I want to do it? I turn over another red card. So sure thing, Phlydia, I'll fetch your book.
I do this in earnest, roleplaying as if I'm really looking for the thing. (No dice rolls here, just looking where one would normally think to search.) And that takes me into the house where Shank is waiting. I had no weapons. I had Sleep memorized... but I figure, look, I'm a Diviner! What the hell do I know about fighting some guy who's trying to kill me? So I get the hell out of there.
I run towards a Watcher in front of the inn, assuming he'll do his job. Can you guess what happens? Bingo. He ignores the homicidal maniac on my tail. (Wth?) So I run into the inn. (Maybe Firebeard will help!) Again, they don't seem concerned in the slightest that a madman is chasing me around with a knife. (Hmm, maybe I wasn't so popular there in Candlkeep growing up.)
I run into the Candlekeep library garden, in the hope that either Tethtoril or Gorion will protect me. Shank is in hot pursuit. I run straight through the Chanters in a panic. They immediately scatter like a flock of frightened birds. That elicits a laugh right there. And for just a moment I seem to be outrunning my attacker. Maybe a Watcher finally responded! So I look back to see what's going on.
I actually just caught a glimpse of the Voice of the West whacking Shank with his staff. You see my Diviner there basically staring in disbelief.
So anyway, yeah, this game is definitely on. Right at the outset I experienced something I've never, ever seen before in the Prologue in countless playthroughs. So that's an auspicious beginning.
Addenda:
1) As I've commenced this game I realize the best way for me to employ this RP concept is to have many decisions simply follow simply according to my conception of the main character. For example, there is no question but that this character would take Imoen along. That's just fundamental to who he is. But there are many decisions where the character might question what he might do next. And also, when questions aren't crucial then it might just be fun to leave them to chance. So those are the sorts of things being decided by the cards and dice by me as a player. From an RP standpoint the main character is then looking for omens, signs, and consulting various means of divination.
1) I guess at the end of the day that this character concept is Chaotic in practice, because you so often just can't predict what he will do next. (Nor can he, even if he faithfully and consistently follows divinations.) So I'm making him Chaotic Good. He is a prosocial and good hearted person. Although up for adventure and excitement he is not instinctively drawn toward battle. (He has high Int and Wis.) Beyond doing what is integral to his personality he will look to omens and such to guide his way. He is a pantheist (all the gods have something to offer, depending on the situation.)
3) One great thing about this RP concept is that you have to really pay attention to all the dialogue and narration, and the journal entries and even the manual (Manual 1 on the lore); and then really think about how the character would react, to decide what choices the character will make next. This means to try as much as possible to ignore the metagame knowledge I possess as a player and truly put myself in the shoes of each of the characters I'm controlling. For me this is a rediscovery of many basic elements to the story. This is all about how the story unfolds.
4) Although this is not a strict no-reload game, in the spirit of 'let the fates decide' I will accept all results to scribe spell scrolls and level-up HP dice rolls. If characters die I will not reload. If the PC (well, me playing as PC) has grown attached to a character who can be resurrected, he will do so. If the attachment is not so great, then he will cast his runes to decide.
5) I will try for the most part to leave the equipment that NPCs earn as spoils in their possession if they leave the party. In some cases I will ask for them to help us by giving us the item, and will draw a card as to whether they do or not. The exception to this rule will be an obviously selfish type such as Edwin or Montaron. I won't bother asking those types. The same idea also applies to NPCs who join with various belongings--those items stay with them. And during the course of the game, if I need a selfish NPC to share with another I will draw a card as to whether or not they will. (When there is a tactical advantage to do so, they might grudgingly agree.) I will also strive not to swap inventory items in the midst of combat. If a character needs a potion, then someone that has one will literally have to run over to the one who needs it, and hand it to them.
6) I will be roleplaying NPCs to the fullest extent possible as individuals, each with their own unique personalities and motivations, not just in relation to the unfolding events but also in relation to one another. I.e., relationships are going to form. And for each character decisions will be made that will affect everyone else.
7) I've added color coding to the 'out-of-game' comments enclosed in brackets: Green for when a yes answer is the result of turning a playing card (red suit), red for a no answer (black suit), and blue for dice rolls, party votes, and notes/commentary.
8) I'm using this dice roller from WotC.