Excited to Die: Do you keep backup characters?

[DiamondB]

I usually have an idea or two floating around in my head while playing. I didn't used to actually create a backup character until I started playing in a particularly lethal Ravenloft campaign. The party had gone through a number of characters already (mostly wizards) and as the primary fighter of the group I just figured it was a matter of time. So I created a backup that I was really excited about playing and I was pretty vocal about the existance of my backup.
Long story short, that campaign lasted a few years and in the end, my original character was the sole surviving member of the original party. He did die, but by that point everyone else was already dead. Based on his incredibly long campaign life I started making backup characters almost immediately after my primary character was done. I have ofte said, "I can't die, I have a backup."

 

[arwenarrowny]

If the DM "suggests" or requires players to have backup characters, then I'll do it. In games that seem like they are going to have a high PC mortality rate, I tend to kick ideas around in my head so that I have a concept I can use to start a new character as soon as it is necessary. Otherwise, I don't worry much about it.

 

[Sigdel]

Of course. I DM'ed X-Crawl for a while and found out how disposable characters can be. Since then I've always had a back-up in the wings. Just in case. I've never committed them to paper, but with the knowledge of what I want I could have him ready in no time flat.

 

[Rel]

I kind of keep my eye open for character concepts that I might like to play, either certain personalities or certain mechanics. But I never go so far as to actully draw them up or give them names unless I have to. I find that once I'm seriously thinking about the new character that I'm losing interest in the current character.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Normally when starting a game I will bring 2 alternate concepts to the table, and choose the one that best fits with the rest of the party, so frequently I will have one backup ready.

Oddly my groups best roleplayer is terrible at changing characters. He never forms the same attachment to the 2nd bloke. The replacement is normally just a bag off stats. Unfortunatly he has the habit of only rasing a PC once, having his soul refuse to return on the second attempt.

 

[AuraSeer]

In our current campaign everybody has a backup character ready to go. The DM requested that we stat them up at the start of the campaign, since he expected us to die early and often. (We're working through Return To The Temple Of Elemental Monte Cook is A Sadistic Bastard Evil.) Having the characters already generated saved a lot of inconvenience when it came time to replace a casualty.

The downside to doing the backups early is that they get left behind as the real PCs advance. Our party has just reached 8th level, but some of us haven't died yet, so the remaining unused backups are still at something like 3rd. If my PC gets killed off now, it'll take just as long to advance the backup character as it would to create a whole new one.

 

[Li Shenron]

I do sometimes have a couple of backup characters, usually half-statted out. It helps me cope with the fear of losing my current PC. However, I've never actually used them, if my PC dies I usually rather look forward to be raised (if appropriate for the campaign), or I'd probably start thinking about another PC from scratch.

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

Back when I actually *got* to play, yeah, I would jot down any notes on character ideas that came to mind, just in case my current character bit the dust. These notes usually took the form of the three "A's": Appearance, Attitude, and Aspirations. Even though I didn't use all of them, it was quite fun rolling them up on rainy weekend afternoons (and here in the PNW, that was almost *every*weekend! )

Now though, any character ideas that I develop are worked into my campaigns (such as they are) as NPC's.

 

[Zappo]

Not really, but if I do come up with an interesting character concept I'll flesh it out in my head so that I can quickly write a sheet if need be.

 

[andrew_kenrick]

In the game I GM PC death is so rare that nobody has a backup (that I know of). In the game I used to play in we used to have a scenario called "curse of the backup" - if you made a backup PC your main had a tendency to snuff it soon after. Happened at least 4 or 5 times!