While I think it's an interesting plot device, it is arguably railroading character creation. I would recommend taking a break immediately after the "offer" to have an open discussion with your players. They might think it's a great idea. They might also hate it, but go along because they think they have to. Acceptable? You know your players better than any of us!
I would always advise against pushing a pre-written narrative onto your PC's, removing player agency. A lot will depend on the story and the set up and how organic it feels to your players.
I would never allow anyone, DM or otherwise, force me to take a level in something I had no control over.That's an offer I would find a way to refuse. Good luck with that though. Let us know how it goes.
Taking a level seems like it would be crossing the mechanics/rp streams in a weird way. It's going to take, say, a fighter longer to learn how to fight (more xp to get one more fighter level) because of this offer? You'd have to really make that make sense in the context of the game. It could work I suppose.
It feels weird because 'gaining a level' seems like it's a bonus, but it's really spending resources that players work pretty hard to get (xp) in a way that's out of their control. In addition, a character level seems to be pretty intrinsic to the character, it feels weird for the DM to impose one.
Could you use alternate mechanical ways of doing similar things? For example, instead of gaining a level, the offer requires the players to each attune to a magical item (e.g. a hat) that they then cannot voluntarily take off (so, a cursed item - could be removed with remove curse). This item will give them various bonuses and penalties (which could be mechanically very similar to "a level in a particular class" if you want them to be!)
Does it have to be a level you give them? I’d be annoyed about a level — even if it was free, it’s going to make my advancement slower for my character build since now I need more xp to get where I want to go and you’ve closed off my 20th level class ability, or whatever would have come last at the campaign’s end.
On the other hand, a free feat could be cool. If you wanted to, for example, give them all a level of cleric, maybe just give them the magic initiate, cleric feat. Even choose the spells for them. Since that’s all just bonus. “Now I can cast three spells for nothing. I didn’t really want to, but it doesn’t cost me anything.” That’s the kind of thing that would feel more like a reward than a railroad.
But it's an idea that might work! Especially if you use the milestone system. You could have a demon offer a pact, and whoever takes it gain a level of warlock. And insist that it changes nothing from progression, and that the next level will come at the same time, whether they would have taken the deal or not.
I would not go with an actual level though, this might make for some clumsy builds, and even if you want them to have a pact with a demon (in my example), you might just as well pull out a piece of paper and have them, in real life, sign their character's name on the paper with the contract.
As for the idea of "offer they can't refuse", I feel like it's better to make it an "offer they don't want to refuse". If you know your players well enough, it can be relatively easy. Permanent flying is always a thing that interest people, for instance. Or their own demiplane to shape as they wish.
But we would probably need more details, about the deal itself, its content, and the context. I'm just saying: don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, if you want to have your players make a deal with something they shouldn't, you can find ways to make it work without forcing them. People will sometimes go against their better interests for something shiny. And if they don't take the bait, well, maybe leave the deal on the table for them to change your mind. And create situations where the content of the deal, while definitely not required to solve their problem, would definitely be a huge help.
What might make it slightly more "universally acceptable" is if the class level itself was treated as a curse of some kind and part of the reward for the "offer they can't refuse" is to remove that extra level/exchange it for something they want. Then, when it comes time to break the "curse" they can even opt to keep the level if they enjoy the results of it.
What if the level was given up to current exp grade. So if you're 1000 exp short of gaining a level, you gain the new class level and only need 1000 exp to level again.
This is the closest to "free" level I can think of.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
I feel like a lot of people are taking issue with the word "'level". You could also just as well give some class feature, without giving an actual level.
If, for instance, you want to give them a warlock level to signify their pact, you might just give them the Pact Magic feature. This way, it feels like a straight boost, without any downside. You might even add the patron's 1st level feature, this way they have all the powers of a lv1 warlock, but don't feel like they lost their progression towards the next level.
I would not do this, as a player or dm I would HATE this it. It is bad on 2 reasons 1 it makes it harder to gain levels in the main class 2 it kills RP if the thief suddenly gains a level as a barbarian. It makes no sense and the player will never use it.
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The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
Like what everyone said, it sucks to not be able to choose how my character levels up. You really shouldn't take that particular choice away from a character. There are, however, ways to make it work. Aside from those listed above, a single gestalt level accomplishes that goal without interfering with natural character progression. The problem we run into is every way mentioned to fix it makes it more of a bonus and hardly a curse at all.
I'm curious as to why you want them to take a level in a class of your choosing, how this fits story-wise as a "Here is an amazing offer, but you must pay the price of... CHARACTER PROGRESSION!" or how it translates to "the dumb level 15 barbarian is cursed with the arcane knowledge of a level 1 wizard?"
If you're going with milestone xp, it seems pretty feasible. Just, you know, read the room. Make sure the players are people who will take it. And make sure it works within the confines of the story. You should be fine with that. Is it some sort of divine deal?
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Later in my game, I want to give my players an option to accept the stereotypical "offer they cannot refuse."
If they accept this offer, I want to make them take a level in a class of my choosing. Only one level is required one time.
Is this acceptable, or am I being too much of an *******?
While I think it's an interesting plot device, it is arguably railroading character creation. I would recommend taking a break immediately after the "offer" to have an open discussion with your players. They might think it's a great idea. They might also hate it, but go along because they think they have to. Acceptable? You know your players better than any of us!
I would always advise against pushing a pre-written narrative onto your PC's, removing player agency. A lot will depend on the story and the set up and how organic it feels to your players.
I would never allow anyone, DM or otherwise, force me to take a level in something I had no control over.That's an offer I would find a way to refuse. Good luck with that though. Let us know how it goes.
Taking a level seems like it would be crossing the mechanics/rp streams in a weird way. It's going to take, say, a fighter longer to learn how to fight (more xp to get one more fighter level) because of this offer? You'd have to really make that make sense in the context of the game. It could work I suppose.
It feels weird because 'gaining a level' seems like it's a bonus, but it's really spending resources that players work pretty hard to get (xp) in a way that's out of their control. In addition, a character level seems to be pretty intrinsic to the character, it feels weird for the DM to impose one.
Could you use alternate mechanical ways of doing similar things? For example, instead of gaining a level, the offer requires the players to each attune to a magical item (e.g. a hat) that they then cannot voluntarily take off (so, a cursed item - could be removed with remove curse). This item will give them various bonuses and penalties (which could be mechanically very similar to "a level in a particular class" if you want them to be!)
Does it have to be a level you give them? I’d be annoyed about a level — even if it was free, it’s going to make my advancement slower for my character build since now I need more xp to get where I want to go and you’ve closed off my 20th level class ability, or whatever would have come last at the campaign’s end.
On the other hand, a free feat could be cool. If you wanted to, for example, give them all a level of cleric, maybe just give them the magic initiate, cleric feat. Even choose the spells for them. Since that’s all just bonus. “Now I can cast three spells for nothing. I didn’t really want to, but it doesn’t cost me anything.” That’s the kind of thing that would feel more like a reward than a railroad.
Well like I said, it was an idea I had. Thank you for the advice.
But it's an idea that might work! Especially if you use the milestone system. You could have a demon offer a pact, and whoever takes it gain a level of warlock. And insist that it changes nothing from progression, and that the next level will come at the same time, whether they would have taken the deal or not.
I would not go with an actual level though, this might make for some clumsy builds, and even if you want them to have a pact with a demon (in my example), you might just as well pull out a piece of paper and have them, in real life, sign their character's name on the paper with the contract.
As for the idea of "offer they can't refuse", I feel like it's better to make it an "offer they don't want to refuse". If you know your players well enough, it can be relatively easy. Permanent flying is always a thing that interest people, for instance. Or their own demiplane to shape as they wish.
But we would probably need more details, about the deal itself, its content, and the context. I'm just saying: don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, if you want to have your players make a deal with something they shouldn't, you can find ways to make it work without forcing them. People will sometimes go against their better interests for something shiny. And if they don't take the bait, well, maybe leave the deal on the table for them to change your mind. And create situations where the content of the deal, while definitely not required to solve their problem, would definitely be a huge help.
Click to learn to put cool-looking tooltips in your messages!
What might make it slightly more "universally acceptable" is if the class level itself was treated as a curse of some kind and part of the reward for the "offer they can't refuse" is to remove that extra level/exchange it for something they want. Then, when it comes time to break the "curse" they can even opt to keep the level if they enjoy the results of it.
What if the level was given up to current exp grade. So if you're 1000 exp short of gaining a level, you gain the new class level and only need 1000 exp to level again.
This is the closest to "free" level I can think of.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I feel like a lot of people are taking issue with the word "'level". You could also just as well give some class feature, without giving an actual level.
If, for instance, you want to give them a warlock level to signify their pact, you might just give them the Pact Magic feature. This way, it feels like a straight boost, without any downside. You might even add the patron's 1st level feature, this way they have all the powers of a lv1 warlock, but don't feel like they lost their progression towards the next level.
Click to learn to put cool-looking tooltips in your messages!
I would not do this, as a player or dm I would HATE this it. It is bad on 2 reasons 1 it makes it harder to gain levels in the main class 2 it kills RP if the thief suddenly gains a level as a barbarian. It makes no sense and the player will never use it.
The 6 most hated words in all of d&d history: make me a dex saving throw .
Like what everyone said, it sucks to not be able to choose how my character levels up. You really shouldn't take that particular choice away from a character. There are, however, ways to make it work. Aside from those listed above, a single gestalt level accomplishes that goal without interfering with natural character progression. The problem we run into is every way mentioned to fix it makes it more of a bonus and hardly a curse at all.
I'm curious as to why you want them to take a level in a class of your choosing, how this fits story-wise as a "Here is an amazing offer, but you must pay the price of... CHARACTER PROGRESSION!" or how it translates to "the dumb level 15 barbarian is cursed with the arcane knowledge of a level 1 wizard?"
If you're going with milestone xp, it seems pretty feasible. Just, you know, read the room. Make sure the players are people who will take it. And make sure it works within the confines of the story. You should be fine with that. Is it some sort of divine deal?