PC Body Switch: Bad Idea?

[superpriest]

I thought it might be fun to rip off an episode of Farscape and have the PCs switch bodies. I figured I would seek opinions as to whether this would be fun or not.

Let's say a magic portal or something causes pairs of PCs to switch personalities. The two players swap character sheets. All abilities are exchanged between the two characters, so a dumb barbarian could suddenly find himself becoming a smart wizard, but the personalities are still the same, so the players still get to roleplay their own characters.

I think the main advantage for the player is temporarily getting to play a different character. The disadvantage is having to play another character competently.

The PCs are level 18. They have seen each other's abilities for the past year. Some of the players are really good at the mechanical side of the game, and some not so much.

Good idea/bad idea?

 

[Barastrondo]

I feel like it's more cumbersome than cool the higher level you get. A full suite of abilities, plus paragon paths, plus items -- it's a lot to keep track of.

You say the players have seen each other's abilities for the last year. Have they paid attention? Do they commonly compliment one another on tactics or say things like "Man, I wish I had oath of enmity?" If they've been interested in the mechanics of each other's characters, that's a good sign. If you can't recall them ever taking an interest in one another's abilities, could be a warning of great, great slowdown at the very least.

 

[Chris Knapp]

Personally, I think it would be pretty fun, assuming I didn't get stuck playing a class I didn't like. But I would think you'd have to adjust encounters a bit to account for the unfamiliarity. I know if some of the guys at my table got handed my Shaman's character sheet, they'd be like "huh? How do I move this stupid bear thingy? And how does this heal work?"

Sounds like a fun idea though.

 

[Dan'L]

I think I would suggest not physically switching character sheets. Possibly, I would even temporarily collect the sheets as the DM and feed them the numbers they need once they decide what to do.

When a PC in a different body needs to do something, the player shouldn't be looking at the numbers on the sheet to figure out what's "best" in this situation. That's a meta tactic that works when a character knows their own capabilities & limits, even if the player doesn't. Plus, it could likely lead to a slow period of "let me look over all my options" every time something needs to be decided.

Instead, they should either (A) do what they would do in their own body, but then use the new body's stats, (B) do their best to remember what tactics they've seen their borrowed body do well with & then use the borrowed stats, or (C) have the character in their body instruct them, in character, how to use the new form.

If the body swap lasts long enough, where they've had time to really learn the capabilities of the new bodies, then I would consider letting them look over the sheets for the actual crunch.

-Dan'L

 

[OnlineDM]

This happened by accident at the game I run online via MapTool last Friday night. I have seven players in the game, though it's rare to have all seven at once. This particular session began with five of the players in the game.

One of the five normally plays a warlock named Alayne, but Alayne had gone off on her own during the end of the previous session to get a rest. Thus, I had Alayne's player and two other characters with no players, so I offered to let Alayne play Thorfin, the dwarf fighter who had led the charge into the current combat.

An hour into the session, Thorfin's player showed up, so Alayne's player switched to running the character of the OTHER absent player.

She had to scramble to figure out what the various powers and abilities could do, but she seemed to enjoy the change of pace (certainly better than sitting around doing nothing). The characters were 12th-level, by the way.

Would I do this on purpose? Well, only if the players seemed to be really into the idea.

 

[superpriest]

You say the players have seen each other's abilities for the last year. Have they paid attention? Do they commonly compliment one another on tactics or say things like "Man, I wish I had oath of enmity?" If they've been interested in the mechanics of each other's characters, that's a good sign. If you can't recall them ever taking an interest in one another's abilities, could be a warning of great, great slowdown at the very least.

Most of the players are somewhat interested in each others' powers. The warlord's and ranger's powers are talked about often enough. A slight problem here is the swarm druid, because all of his powers sound like the same thing (swarm burst or blast).

I think there is one player who would have a hard time adjusting; learning his own PC took long enough. If I can do this on a week when he isn't there, it might go better.

Two players are on laptops. I would probably have them either swap laptops or quickly jot down attacks and power names. These are my two players who are best with mechanics.

 

[superpriest]

Personally, I think it would be pretty fun, assuming I didn't get stuck playing a class I didn't like. But I would think you'd have to adjust encounters a bit to account for the unfamiliarity. I know if some of the guys at my table got handed my Shaman's character sheet, they'd be like "huh? How do I move this stupid bear thingy? And how does this heal work?"

Sounds like a fun idea though.

Thanks -- I'm hoping it's fun. My encounters have been too easy lately, so if the PCs are suddenly handicapped, that's OK.

 

[superpriest]

This happened by accident at the game I run ...
Would I do this on purpose? Well, only if the players seemed to be really into the idea.

I like how you handled that. I had a guest DM once and tried to get him to do something similar with a new player and our rotating cast of characters, but instead he decided to introduce a new character and while also having a character whose player was missing just fade into the background.

 

[superpriest]

I think I would suggest not physically switching character sheets. Possibly, I would even temporarily collect the sheets as the DM and feed them the numbers they need once they decide what to do.

I can tell that this will not work for my group. I myself will not be able to juggle character sheets for my 5-6 PCs, two of whom are on laptops. My players will also want a sheet in front of them... I 'm sure of that.

Plus, it could likely lead to a slow period of "let me look over all my options" every time something needs to be decided.

Instead, they should either (A) do what they would do in their own body, but then use the new body's stats, (B) do their best to remember what tactics they've seen their borrowed body do well with & then use the borrowed stats, or (C) have the character in their body instruct them, in character, how to use the new form.

These are good points. I expect a little slowdown, but I'd really hate to see everything come to a complete stop. It makes me think I should plan the switch for a session with minimal combat.

 

[Mengu]

It could be fun for an episode, though definitely shouldn't drag. The players have to play it up though. The wizard in the barbarian body cuts a goblin in half with his axe, then turns around and says "dude, you're really strong, but that blood spatter is gross!" Then the barbarian in the wizard body squeezes a magic missile out of his staff, then turns around and says "Ow, that hurts my head, how do you put up with that?" Barbarian gets hit in the head, the barbarian in the wizard body says "Hey man, try ducking next time, you're ruining my pretty face." Wizard gets shot with a half dozen arrows, the wizard in the barbarian body says "Hey there, I just had that robe dry cleaned, throw up a shield next time."

It could be even more entertaining, if any of the PC's have a boss/employee type relationship, or if they interact with NPC's who already know them. Before the switch happens, I'd make sure there was some sort of a delicate and time sensitive issue that needed to be handled by one of the PC's. Be sure there is a roleplaying challenge in there.

And as I started out with, I'd be sure not to drag it more than one episode.