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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 6296563" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>Main reason: flexibility. To answer in reverse order, I run a modified 1e system, but I've seen this done in 3e as well.</p><p></p><p>Pros:</p><p>- flexibility, as noted above, in party composition and in players having more options</p><p>- when one character is off doing something else, or dead, or captured, or otherwise non-functional, the player still has something to do in playing the other one</p><p>- I as DM don't feel so bad if I do any of the above to a character, as to knock a player out of the game I need to get two (it still happens, but nowhere near as often as it would if they only had one each)</p><p>- when an adventure doesn't suit a particular character type very well (e.g. a dumb Fighter in an all-talk intrigue plot) its player can focus on their other character - who is, one hopes, more suited - and leave the less suitable one in the background (e.g. standing there as a quietly intimidating bodyguard) but still available if needed</p><p>- a player can play different things at the same time - I usually recommend having the two characters be quite different e.g. a front-line warrior and a back-line caster, or a sneaky type and a healer - without having to resort to ridiculous multi-class combinations</p><p>- a large party allows a less-focussed and looser playstyle, which I find to be more fun</p><p>- it's easier to fill holes in the party lineup, and some classes that would never get played in a typical 4-player 4-character party (e.g. Assassin, Bard, Monk) actually see the light of day</p><p>- there's less pressure to play jack-of-all-trades characters</p><p></p><p>Cons:</p><p>- if a player doesn't show it puts more burden on the others to keep the missing player's characters going ('round here if you don't show for the game your characters are still involved, played by the rest of the players)</p><p>- care must be taken to ensure characters run by the same player don't get too chummy with each other unless there is a valid in-game reason for it. (as a player I usually just roll dice to see what my characters think of each other on first meeting, then play to suit; and from experience I can tell you that playing two characters who really don't get along can be a challenge!)</p><p>- if you're running 3e the CR/EL system goes out the window; in 3e and 4e you also need to decide whether wealth-by-level or treasure parcel size applies to the overall party or to each individual character, and tweak to suit</p><p>- combats take longer</p><p></p><p>It's worth noting that some players will still choose to only run one character even when two-at-once are allowed.</p><p>I've long ago learned that the ability to take in new players on the fly is essential to maintaining a long campaign. That said, I'm somewhat lucky in that there always seems to be more players available here than there are places to put them.</p><p></p><p>Lanefan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 6296563, member: 29398"] Main reason: flexibility. To answer in reverse order, I run a modified 1e system, but I've seen this done in 3e as well. Pros: - flexibility, as noted above, in party composition and in players having more options - when one character is off doing something else, or dead, or captured, or otherwise non-functional, the player still has something to do in playing the other one - I as DM don't feel so bad if I do any of the above to a character, as to knock a player out of the game I need to get two (it still happens, but nowhere near as often as it would if they only had one each) - when an adventure doesn't suit a particular character type very well (e.g. a dumb Fighter in an all-talk intrigue plot) its player can focus on their other character - who is, one hopes, more suited - and leave the less suitable one in the background (e.g. standing there as a quietly intimidating bodyguard) but still available if needed - a player can play different things at the same time - I usually recommend having the two characters be quite different e.g. a front-line warrior and a back-line caster, or a sneaky type and a healer - without having to resort to ridiculous multi-class combinations - a large party allows a less-focussed and looser playstyle, which I find to be more fun - it's easier to fill holes in the party lineup, and some classes that would never get played in a typical 4-player 4-character party (e.g. Assassin, Bard, Monk) actually see the light of day - there's less pressure to play jack-of-all-trades characters Cons: - if a player doesn't show it puts more burden on the others to keep the missing player's characters going ('round here if you don't show for the game your characters are still involved, played by the rest of the players) - care must be taken to ensure characters run by the same player don't get too chummy with each other unless there is a valid in-game reason for it. (as a player I usually just roll dice to see what my characters think of each other on first meeting, then play to suit; and from experience I can tell you that playing two characters who really don't get along can be a challenge!) - if you're running 3e the CR/EL system goes out the window; in 3e and 4e you also need to decide whether wealth-by-level or treasure parcel size applies to the overall party or to each individual character, and tweak to suit - combats take longer It's worth noting that some players will still choose to only run one character even when two-at-once are allowed. I've long ago learned that the ability to take in new players on the fly is essential to maintaining a long campaign. That said, I'm somewhat lucky in that there always seems to be more players available here than there are places to put them. Lanefan [/QUOTE]
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