Ex-PC's?

[steev42]

I have two characters that occasionally make appearances, and others that ended up background characters. I have a white wolf character whom I can't actually remember if he started as PC or NPC, but has been both at various times, and is one of my favorite characters. Then I have a fallen-rerisen jedi that makes appearances in either SW or D&D games, merely as a bar-contest being.

I also have a god from another game that made his way into my world, along with my PC who brought the worship of that god to the world. He's never actually been seen in play, but he's there in the background.

 

[Len]

One of my co-players switched characters a couple of months ago. Recently his ex-character showed up as an enemy. He'd been possessed by a fiend, so it looked like we were fighting a maelephant but it turned out to be good old Jolan.

The best part was that Jolan's ex-player Andrew was the first one to spot that the fiend wasn't what it appeared, but he didn't recognize his own character because his current character had never met his previous one.

After we "dis-possessed" Jolan, Andrew got to play him again for a while, so he was role-played properly. It was a nice episode, and the DM certainly enjoyed springing it on us.

 

[Taneel BrightBlade]

Yes, plus ones I'm going to play

 

[eXodus]

i am currently running a game that takes place five years beyond the conclusion of the last game i ran. the previous party accomplished a whole lot in their trek to 13th level. so now the new party hears of the old party in fame and legend.

in time they will actually meet some of these older heroes and i will run them as npcs.

my plan is for the older party to reunite to face an evil that their younger counterparts cannot take on in a reunion adventure.

 

[tarchon]

It's a little tricky sometimes with a DM's own PC (sometimes there's a sentimental attachment), but I've seen it done a lot.
MM (alsih2o knows who) used to use some of our old characters, I recall.

 

[robberbaron]

For my next campaign (starting this weekend - hopefully - Story Hour to follow in due course) I intend to make the surviving PCs from the previous one integral to the storyline.
The new party are evil and the old one was goodish so perhaps I'll make one of them the BBGG. Hmm, now there's a thought.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

Once had a DM bring in her old party to beat up our party - apparently for fun, since they initiated the fight, used subdual damage, and stopped fighting before anyone got knocked out. Completely changed the lycanthrope rules too (full healing upon change), plus they were higher-level.
Don't use old PCs in that role - to say "Yeah, well you guys still aren't as tough as this party I once was in."

 

[ghettognome]

You know, of all the campaigns that I have played in w/ all sorts of dm's and groups, I have only had one dm do that, and he only did it because he got his favorite character put in a FR adventure as an NPC...Erky Timbers.... I had never even considered bring some of the goods one back as NPC's. I usually retire the character sheet to an unkown place and find it years later and reminice (sp?) about it. I have a couple of characters that I did a story on after their adventuring days are over.

 

[Evilhalfling]

consistantly.
The Old PCs are still part of the world and will continue to have an impact on other games in that same world. Recently the current PCs stopped by a town built by former PCs, the mage got training from the elvish eldrich Knight, and crafted a wand for him in return. One PC from 2 campaigns back is one of the Patriachs of a theocracy, while another chararater from the same party is now a dretch - (formerly a high lvl tiefling sorcerer, he died in the last game of the campaign) He hasn't shown up yet, but he will, and call the pcs by the wrong names. Uncontrolled PCs tend to settle down into office, or they get killed off. The retired brother just returned and was offered captain of the city guard.
I have never used them against the players, as they have almost always played good but there have been exceptions - hmm.....

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Does anyoen else do this regularly? Maybe even turn players old PC's on them?

My DM does this. In fact, in the epic level campaign we are in now, the party was manipulated into retrieving an artifact for my old PC, who turned evil so I had to 'retire' her into the DM's keeping as an NPC. Although I found it hilarious, most of the other players didn't, and let's just say that the characters were extremely unhappy.