Proposal: New Option for Character Retirement

LadyLaw · Feb 26, 2010

Per the discussion on retirement and character level curve, I submit the following proposal for a new option for character retirement:

When you retire a character you can replace it with a new character UP TO one level lower than it. Any exp lost in this way (a minimum of one level's worth by definition) is divided in half and credited to the player, trackable on a wiki page the same as DM Credits are.

Thus if I were to retire a level 2 character that had 1250 exp on it, I would be credited with 625 exp. That exp can be applied to any character at any time (with judge approval) the same as DM Credits.

To fix the "negetive wealth" issue, award gold to the character as if the exp credited was time exp. So if I were to turn around and apply that 625 exp to a level 4 character I would also get 700g.

625/145 (the monthly exp for level 4) = 4.3 (round down)
4 x 175 (the monthly gold for level 4) = 700g

Kalidrev · Feb 26, 2010

I loved it the first time you said it, and it's just as good now! I vote YES to LadyLaws proposal.

garyh · Feb 27, 2010

I'm not sure I follow. Perhaps if you show me how an example character would be retired?

Level 3 character with 4,625 XP (exactly halfway to level 4)
Level 5 item
Level 2 item
300 GP in "walking around money"

This character retires and is replaced. What does the replacement character look like?

I'm not a huge fan of a retirement option that requires you to lose a level. It takes too long to level up.

I'm contemplating retiring Growl when he's done with his current adventure, so the retirement system is of much greater interest to me now that it used to be.

Dekana · Feb 27, 2010

garyh said:
I'm not sure I follow. Perhaps if you show me how an example character would be retired?

Level 3 character with 4,625 XP (exactly halfway to level 4)
Level 5 item
Level 2 item
300 GP in "walking around money"

This character retires and is replaced. What does the replacement character look like?

I'm not a huge fan of a retirement option that requires you to lose a level. It takes too long to level up.

I'm contemplating retiring Growl when he's done with his current adventure, so the retirement system is of much greater interest to me now that it used to be.

4,625 xp is a level 4 character halfway to 5.

If I understand the proposal, you would create a new character at level 3 with the normal gear for that level. The level 4 character's accumulated wealth has no bearing on the process. The replacement character has 2250xp, the baseline for level 3. You also gain 1187.5 xp ((4625 - 2250) / 2), rounded up/down?, to apply to any character at any time. You also get some amount of wealth based on the level of the character you apply that xp credit to.

Phoenix8008 · Feb 27, 2010

Sounds pretty good to me, but I am not a judge so I can't vote.

Mewness · Feb 27, 2010

Is this supposed to replace existing retirement options or be added as a new option? I like it, but that needs to be clarified.

LadyLaw · Feb 28, 2010

'm not sure I follow. Perhaps if you show me how an example character would be retired?

Level 3 character with 4,625 XP (exactly halfway to level 4)
Level 5 item
Level 2 item
300 GP in "walking around money"

This character retires and is replaced. What does the replacement character look like?

I'm not a huge fan of a retirement option that requires you to lose a level. It takes too long to level up.

I'm contemplating retiring Growl when he's done with his current adventure, so the retirement system is of much greater interest to me now that it used to be.

The replacement character either level 1 or level 2, in that case, and follow all associated rules for creating a character of that level. However, you would have 2312 exp if the new character is level 1 (or 1812 exp if the new character is level 2) banked as a player to apply to a character of your choosing (meant to be one of your other existing characters), with judge approval. When you apply that exp to a character they will also receive gold in proportion to the exp assigned as detailed above.

I can understand not liking to lose levels, but part of the reason I suggested this is because the thread where it was originally discussed was in part discussing the desire to maintain a gap in levels over time. The idea being that you may not always want to have 2 characters only 1 level apart and the current retirement rules don't give an option to drop a high level character to start out low.

It was also in response to a call for a better retirement benefit than what currently exists, hence the application of some exp to other characters you have. Full details of the discussion can obviously be seen in the other thread, which I linked in the OP.

Is this supposed to replace existing retirement options or be added as a new option? I like it, but that needs to be clarified.

I meant it to be an additional option, but if people would rather that it replace one of the current options that's fine with me. I have no care for that part.

garyh · Feb 28, 2010

My first character is level 5, my second character (who I'm considering retiring) is nearing level 3, and I'm going to start a third PC when PHB3 is allowed. Since I'll be getting a new level 1 PC soon enough, these rules likely wouldn't be for me. I'd just take whatever option allows replacing a character with one of the same level, minus some wealth.

In any case, while I don't think I'd use this option, I guess there's nothing wrong with it. I'll hold off voting for some more discussion for now.

covaithe · Mar 1, 2010

garyh, I originally brought up the idea of something like this. The problem that I was trying to address was that sooner or later, your three characters are all going to get up to level 4 or higher, and you'll never be able to adventure with newcomers. If, as seems inevitable, the influx of new players slows down over time, we could find ourselves in a situation like LEW has, where new people join, post excitedly in the tavern and.... nothing happens, because there are no other level 1 characters. They quickly lose interest and go away.

This creates a way for someone like me, who has one high-level character and one or two mid-level characters, to have a way to retire a mid-level character and adventure with the newcomers without feeling like I wasted all that time getting up to mid-level.

garyh · Mar 1, 2010

I see what you mean. And while I may not be interested in doing that with a new level 1 character on the horizon, I can see why it might be appealing if I was at 3 PC's of levels 4 and above. So long as this is an option and doesn't replace the even level retirement/replacement rules, I'm fine with it.