D&D 5E DM's: what do you do with players who want to switch characters?

[leonardoraele]

Let he do it, off course! If the player isn't satisfied with his character, he must change. You need to add a penality, however. Like "your new character will start with half the total amount of xp of your previous character". He will start at one level of disadvantage from the other players. This avoids the player changing characters every time. You must warn him to choose his character wisely, because the penality for doing so is hard.

 

[Wuzzard]

I'd let them switch, unless it becomes a regular event. I'd rather have the players occasionally switch to new characters (with same xp, etc) than have a player passive-aggressively sabotage the campaign.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I had two players multiclass because they weren't happy with their original choice of class and were trying to salvage things. Within a few adventures, they both ended up just making new characters.

I'm not a fan of multi-classing, but if other people want to, so be it.

I let them switch. I don't allow multiclassing. It's never really posed an issue unless it's repetitive.

 

[Mercule]

Much like the thread on missing players, my answer depends on the style of game.

1) If I were running an old school 1E game, they'd start at 1st level (probably). That's just the way it's done. Gary would be proud.

2) If I sense the player is trying to bring in a "superior" character, or are just too ADHD to actually stick with a character, they generally come in a half or full level behind their current character. The half level penalty isn't bad enough to really hurt other players who might lose a character or have a "good" reason for switching. It really, really turns off the player trying to one-up the other players, though. It's also a compounding penalty for anyone who likes to rotate through PCs to a level that would annoy the rest of the group.

3) If the character has kinda run its course, doesn't easily fit with the other PCs, or it otherwise makes good narrative sense for the character to go, there's zero penalty. The old character takes his stuff and the new one comes in. Ditto for builds that have proven themselves to be broken (upwards or downwards) to an un-fun extent.

Note that I've used option #3, exclusively, for the past decade+. The longer I play, the more I gravitate towards groups that are friends, first, and don't jack with each other. We also get more resistant to anything that would break continuity. Option #2 was the norm when I was in college, because we generally had more random folks rotating through. I'd still be up for #1, but it would be as part of a totally different game than what I'm playing, now.

 

[Midknightsun]

We just let them bring in a new character at the same level as everyone else. I really don't have a problem with this and do it myself sometimes. The player should be able to enjoy what they are playing. I do agree items go away with that pc and the new one starts with some basic funds and maybe one uncommon magic item if they are higher level. We also let players rebuild their character if they prefer. I do ask for some kind of back story so I can fit the character into the current campaign, but other than that its no big deal to me. And if they have more fun as a result, everybody wins.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I run a "second string". A group of backup characters whom the players play and advance in short, unconnected adventures on days when not everybody can make it to the session. If a main character dies or retires, the player's second-stringer gets introduced to the party and joins the ongoing story. Second-stringers start at 1st level, but earn double experience if they're lower than the party level. Players can start a new second-stringer at any time for any reason, and can even rotate between second-string characters if they want, because the adventures are no more complicated than "Here's a town with a problem; who shows up to solve it?"

 

[Kalshane]

I let players switch characters without penalty (though they have to work with me to iron out the story details of their original character's exit and their new character's introduction) though the magic items belong to the leaving character, they don't switch over. The new character arrives equipped as appropriate for their level (and if they qualify for magic items, I determine them, though I will accept player input on them.)

 

[sleypy]

I let the player switch with no XP penalty. We work together to come up with a reason for the character's departure. After that their treat like any other NPC.

The Player has to come up with a reason the new character would want to join the party, and must work with the other players on a reason the party accepts this new person. I will provide any necessary story details to make it work.

The Player "penalty" is to reconcile the story reason for the character change.

 

[Xvartslayer]

If a particular player has a short attention span or simply likes experimenting with new characters I try to accommodate that player's preferences. Unless I were paying the player to be there, in which case, "stop griping and get back to work." But since I don't, I just ask that the player creates a backstory that justifies the character's sudden arrival and potential sudden departure. Often the player will hook into the present conflict, with the understanding that he might leave after it is resolved. Or the character will say something like, "my family was kidnapped by the evil pirate Marquis de la Montalbán." When and if the player wants to switch, he will let me know and I will arrange a clue that draws the character away from the party. If the player is willing to work with the DM it can be an absolute boon. In truth, my ideal is one party member with a short attention span and an open mind that will collaborate with the DM to create a cast of characters that are relevant to present and future conflicts.

Oh, and same level as the party (since we use party level instead of character level), and the minimum gear necessary to make them competitive with the rest of party.

Edit: This was intended as reply to the previous posts about creating a negative incentive for changing characters frequently.

 

[Umbran]

I don't think of this as an edition-specific question.

Most often, I just let them change. I either allow them to come in at the same level they were, or at the start of the level of the lowest-level party member. In general, I try to get them to roughly the same power level as the rest of the party.

If someone is trying to change characters every few sessions, then we'll ahve a discussion of whether his or her desires match what my campaign has to offer, which is usually a longer-term story.