D&D General Do you re-use characters?

[ph0rk]

No. I mean, other than “fighter with a greatsword”, but the three or so of those I have played since ad&d days have all had very different backstories, goals, and so on.

 

[Tonguez]

Absolutely, Orbril the gnome has existed in 3e D&D, GURPS, FATE, and couple of Online games.

I also played the same Stats in two games just to see how the various experiences result in the characters developing in different ways

 

[Mannahnin]

Occasionally; if I really liked a character but the campaign they were in was short-lived and I didn't get to play them enough to be satisfied and explore them. If they died or I got to play them over an extended period and see what happened to them, no.

For example, I always liked the idea of the Half Ogre from the old Dragon magazine articles, and I loved the name "John Grond" given in one of them as one from the author's campaign. This past year I rolled a very high strength Fighter in an OD&D game online, and I decided that after 30-ish years I would finally play my own John Grond. While the DM didn't actually want to use rules for a half-ogre race, he was open to me describing John as close to 7' tall, massive, beetle-browed and hulking, with slightly too-protuberant and pointed teeth, etc. John is Chaotic, bold, crude but cunning, and revels in his size and power, happy to smash down doors and bellow at monsters. Sadly, that DM had to end his game shortly after I made John, and I only got to play him once or twice. So when another OD&D DM invited me to join his game, I asked if I could import John, and he was open. John's been running strong in the new game for several months, has made 4th level, had a number of excellent adventures and I'm still enjoying him quite a bit.

I also like the idea of using existing characters in a higher level one shot or limited adventure, like Conan appearing in a new short story. "Hey guys, we're finally going to try Tomb of Horrors; who wants to bust out your old high level characters?"

 

[iserith]

Yes, I reuse characters in various campaigns and in one-shots. I find it fun to play a familiar character in new circumstances.

Our group will also reference old characters in almost every campaign or use them as NPCs. When we were playing Descent into Avernus, for example, we encountered our Planescape characters there from a couple campaigns ago.

 

[Gilladian]

I have a few character types I often play; a female halfling rogue, for example. Each time the personality is similar, but not identical. Fore example , she will always rely on size and cuteness to seem innocent and trustable. The details, however, are always shaped by the specific campaign and DM limits/worldbuilding. In one world she was a mob princess, and in another a hardscrabble street urchin. I don’t get to play often, and I want to be my favorite choice when I have the chance. I get to play versatile roles as the DM.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I've re-used a character once. The first time I played 4e, I made a tiefling rogue named Akretos Noone. The DM that ran it was only visiting in town and everyone wanted to continue playing; I was the one that stepped up to run it, so back into the folder went Akretos. Come 5e, I enjoyed the character so much that when I got to play in 5e Adventurers League, he was my second character.

One thing I've done on multiple occasions is to reuse the last name I bear here - there have been many Redhammer dwarves over the years, going back to BECMI, though they've each had different concepts. Fighters, Bards, Deckers, Paladins, Clerics, and so on...

 

[Elodan]

I've two or three characters I've used in at least one campaign in every version of D&D I've played. 5E has inspired me to branch out into some new classes / concepts.

 

[el-remmen]

I think there is a difference between re-using a character you ran in a full campaign and re-using a character that you played once or twice but the game fell apart or whatever. In my Out of the Frying Pan campaign, two players started with characters they had made/played in a GEN CON one-shot together and decided the dynamic was cool enough to re-create them in a longstanding game.

 

[Umbran]

I think there is a difference between re-using a character you ran in a full campaign and re-using a character that you played once or twice but the game fell apart or whatever.

Yeah. I have a handful of character concepts that I developed, but that never got well-explored in play. If a different game comes up in which that concept would fit well, I'm okay with reusing it.

 

[Grogg of the North]

Yes. Usually because the first time I played them they either died early on, were used for a one shot session, or the campaign fizzled out before I got to explore the character concept.