Yeah, that's what I do when I work with RPG Maker. Though I usually work as I get things done. And you're right, changing the story isn't fun to do.

And just so you know, you may need a few spriters. Someone for charasets, tilesets, and other spriting stuff. Everyone's got their own style, and it's hard to get more than one person to make the sprites look like someone else's. On the other hand, spriting takes a lot of time, and doing backgrounds and characters are two totally different worlds.