Template based character generation

[kevin671]

Hello.  I'm new around here.  This is my second post.

I've found that template based character creation can be quite useful, provided the character has a clear cut "vision" of what they want thier character to be.  Whenever I GM games that use such systems, I make the players give me a solid concept and then explain to me how the individual "templates" they've chosen support that concept.  It's not that I'm one of those "control freak" GM's.  By my rationale, they should be able to make me understand how a given character fits into the concept.  In doing so, the player usually gains an understanding themselves of how the character fits the concept.

Example:  Player A wants to be a Valiant knight, seated atop a brilliant white charger holding a lance.  Great.  Obviously, player A's character is going to choose some kind of martial  template, probably one that has some ability in riding, as well as "knightly" combat skills.  If the scores in these skills seem to have take a "backburner" to something else, then bviously either Player A had a different character concept in mind, or didn't take the right template.  

As far as the whining about weak templates go, my response is usually "Then don't choose that template. "  Unless a template is obviously seriously either over or under powered then you shouldn't worry about it.  When players whine, it's often due to a lack of maturity, anyway.  I guess I've been lucky in that I've never really run into people like that.