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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brimshack" data-source="post: 3173679" data-attributes="member: 34694">I've always used DM PCs, as have the players I learned the game from back in the early 80s. I remember games in which the DM PC was the center of the action and everyone played along. I hated it, and I wouldn't put up with it now. But that same thing can be done with offcial NPCs. I've often seen DMs become so attached to specific NPCs that over the course of a few games the NPC becomes a virtual PC for the party. The NPC that was along for the ride or just there to help us through a tough spot ends up becoming a central force in the party. What then separates it from a regular player character is that it isn't subject to the character generating rules that the rest of us used. Hence, the NPC hero is often several levels higher than the party and much better outfitted. It knows more about everything that counts because the DM has already decided it does and he has know shame in running the character as brighter than the rest of th group. It clearly dominates the campaign much more so than a a regular PC would have. I have never felt like a tag-along from PCs half as much as I have from one of these unplanned bonding experiences when a DM decides to just keep playing the bad-ass NPC over and over until the only thing that separates him from a PC is all the extra power and foresight he gets for being a pawn of the DM.The problem emerges often enough that I'd rather just deal with it up front myself. I'm playing a PC or two, just like my players. I like playing PCs and I want a chance to develop a character just like the other players, so I'm going to. Selfish, I know, but being up front about it, I can control the matter a bit more. My character(s) will be rolled up using the same rules as the other players, and so it will be comparable to their characters without being overpowering. That said, there are a couple extra rules that we usually apply to DM characters: They don't take point, they don't act as leaders, and they don't make or contribute to strategic decisions. The DMs character will not solve puzzles and it will not be the first to try a problem solving tactic. If other characters want specific actions from my own PCs they are encouraged to shout instructions and/or suggestions. I usually draw my characters up with that in mind, making them a little bit aloof and/or subserviant. Or I just make them querky enough that no-one will want to consider their judgement on real decisions. I also tend to design them as support characters (Cleric's, Druids, etc. or for that matter the meat shield whose stated purpose is to keep the Mage alive).One additional problem which can arise with DM PCs is that if your players come and go a lot, you may end up with a level advantage or 2. That's because you are always there while your players miss a game every now and then. You can account for this in a variety of ways, but the main thing is just to keep it in mind and take steps to correct it when necessary.DM bias in favor of a character is a problem. The temptation to spare your favorite character is there, but it occurs with other players' characters as well. In the end, I suspect I overcompensate a bit, thumping my own characters more than those of other players. I tend to lose my own characters a bit faster than the other players, and I think I've seen comparable problems with the other DMs playing PCs in my area.</blockquote>

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