D&D General Do you transfer characters between campaigns?

[Clint_L]

A discussion in another thread made me reflect on a practice that I think has all but vanished from modern TTRPGS: the character who is considered separate from the campaign.

Back in the day (late 70s/early 80s), it was common practice to have one or two primary characters that you took with you to play in different games run by different DMs. Mine was a ranger. If you levelled up or got a new magic item, that counted going forward, even if your next game was with a different group of players, in a different setting. This was a widely accepted practice, and Gary Gygax sometimes discussed D&D as all of it was all one big campaign, with different iterations.

It strikes me that TTRPGS have radically changed in this regard. Now, it is typical for a character to be confined to one campaign, where their narrative arc plays out. Does anyone still have characters that they take with them to different campaigns? Do any games still assume this practice?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Only when they take place in the same setting and the campaign is being run by a DM from our same large playgroup.

 

[Horwath]

only if that campaigned ended early and I really like the concept of the character and didn't have the opportunity to develop it fully.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

I like to play the same character in different campaigns at different levels, but i haven't been able to progress a character through levels in different games. I would like too!

 

[KYRON45]

Back in my day, campaigns fizzled out at an alarming rate. As such from time to time it was not unusual to someone who was attached to a PC to port it over to the new campaign. Since we didn't really play in a "setting" it was easy. Yesterday you were in Mikes game, today you are in Steves game. No portals or deals with the devil required.

 

[jgsugden]

Sort of.

I tend to be a role play heavy player, so the PCs I run tend to shape themselves around the adventures they endure. To that end, I tend to keep a specific PC tied to a specific world and do not take that specific PC out of a world to play in another world...

... but, I do subscribe to the 'Multiverse' idea and I'll use a different copy of the same PC in other worlds.

My most common monk build is Lex Hecitan, a human monk from a clan that ingests silver to tinge their skin (Argyria). It is a fairly traditional monk with a tinge of supernatural abilities (accomplished either via a feat or multiclassing). When I do a one shot or play in a short standalone adventure and decide to play a monk, it is a version of Lex. I have similar default PCs for Barbarians, Gish, Arcane Thieves, Sorcerers, Wizards, etc... I have about 20 PCs that I have played in multiple one shots or short adventures after running them as a campaign long PC.

 

[TiQuinn]

I don't think I've ever done this. Something about it never worked for me. I associated PCs with certain campaigns, and with all the ideas I've had for PCs, I've always seen it as an opportunity to play a new one.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

Sort of.

I tend to be a role play heavy player, so the PCs I run tend to shape themselves around the adventures they endure. To that end, I tend to keep a specific PC tied to a specific world and do not take that specific PC out of a world to play in another world...

... but, I do subscribe to the 'Multiverse' idea and I'll use a different copy of the same PC in other worlds.

My most common monk build is Lex Hecitan, a human monk from a clan that ingests silver to tinge their skin (Argyria). It is a fairly traditional monk with a tinge of supernatural abilities (accomplished either via a feat or multiclassing). When I do a one shot or play in a short standalone adventure and decide to play a monk, it is a version of Lex. I have similar default PCs for Barbarians, Gish, Arcane Thieves, Sorcerers, Wizards, etc... I have about 20 PCs that I have played in multiple one shots or short adventures after running them as a campaign long PC.

Very similar to what I do. It is my favorite way to try out different branches of a build which helps in longer games.

 

[GreyLord]

Its done more regularly than some may think with Pathfinder Society and the Living Campaigns done in gamestores. That's the most common situation for characters being transferred between games.. There are rules for doing so, however, in order to keep everything on the same page and working right.

 

[Bedrockgames]

A discussion in another thread made me reflect on a practice that I think has all but vanished from modern TTRPGS: the character who is considered separate from the campaign.

Back in the day (late 70s/early 80s), it was common practice to have one or two primary characters that you took with you to play in different games run by different DMs. Mine was a ranger. If you levelled up or got a new magic item, that counted going forward, even if your next game was with a different group of players, in a different setting. This was a widely accepted practice, and Gary Gygax sometimes discussed D&D as all of it was all one big campaign, with different iterations.

It strikes me that TTRPGS have radically changed in this regard. Now, it is typical for a character to be confined to one campaign, where their narrative arc plays out. Does anyone still have characters that they take with them to different campaigns? Do any games still assume this practice?

I remember people doing this when I started in the 80s, but I think it wasn't really standard for people my age so it never really became a practice I kept up. I think the last time I saw anyone do this was the 90s. I have nothing against it, but I am not sure how thrilled I would be about a guy bringing a campaign hobo into an existing campaign from another one if I were playing in the group (if I were a GM it would phase me less provided the character is appropriate to the setting, but I would definitely ask the other players if they are okay with it)