Vampire ?'s

[kreynolds]

But, if in the space of a normal campaign, a character declares a wish to take levels in one of these class, at what point along that progression of levels does the DM have to decide that either the character must leave the party (because the campaign focus no longer supports that character) or the focus of the campaign must change, possibly alienating the other members of the party?

IMO? As soon as possible without disrupting the game. I'd suggest working in the character taking leave of the party before he gains more than 2 or 3 levels in the specialized class, even sooner if he is receiving training from an NPC. This may not even be necessary if the rest of the party wants to follow a similar path though.

 

[Iku Rex]

How do you go about putting a stake through a vampires heart?

I'd say that any critical hit with a wooden weapon that would have killed the vampire if it had been [human] "stakes" it.

 

[dkilgo]

I just think that when ever you, as the DM, get worried that the other players are getting left behind then you have to make a tough decision. Either ask the player in question to role up a new character to be able to stay in the curent campaign, and take the old character on the solo route. Or, simply ask the other players to adapt to the campaign environment by adjusting thier characters. I belive that hte first assessment would be the best solution because dealing with one player is much easier than dealing with many.

 

[AuraSeer]

But, if in the space of a normal campaign, a character declares a wish to take levels in one of these class, at what point along that progression of levels does the DM have to decide that either the character must leave the party (because the campaign focus no longer supports that character) or the focus of the campaign must change, possibly alienating the other members of the party?

Ideally, never. If the player wants to run a PC whose abilities are suboptimal, the DM shouldn't feel obligated to stop him.

Maybe the player runs a demon-hunting knight in a campaign where demons are Very Rare. Or maybe he has a ranger whose favored enemy is undead, in a world where few undead exist. Or perhaps a sorcerer whose one and only combat spell is Ray of Frost. He should be made aware of the situation when he designs the character, but if he still wants to go ahead, it's not up to the DM to stop him.

If the player is having fun, and he's not ruining the game for anyone else, let him play whatever he wants. The only time you should force a character change is when it's preventing other players from enjoying the game.

 

[dkilgo]

I do agree with Auraseer on this.

 

[shilsen]

I do agree with Auraseer on this.

Me too. I would emphasize Auraseer's point that the player "should be made aware of the situation when he designs the character, but if he still wants to go ahead, it's not up to the DM to stop him."