Out with the Old...

[Orryn Emrys]

... In with the next sucker....

Does anyone else have a player who, every six months to a year, becomes unsatisfied with his/her currect PC and wants to bring in a new one? Does this ever cause continuity problems?

I tend to work hard to integrate everyone's individual characters, particularly their backgrounds and goals, into the primary plot threads in some fashion. This can be a serious drawback if someone gets killed, but it is obviously necessary to take this in stride, and the players have no trouble accepting the plot reconstruction that follows during the course of play. Despite our focus on character-driven play, suspension of disbelief becomes strained when everyone at the table is aware that someone simply chose to abandon a character who is tied to the plot somehow.... Not to mention that treachery isn't entirely unknown among the heroes in my campaigns, and inter-character loyalty is at a premium, making new characters a potentially uncomfortable addition to the game.

I know that I should know better by now, that this particular individual is likely to make this choice somewhere along the line, but if I don't integrate his characters like I do the others, I fear that his attachment to them will become even more tenuous. Of course, it's not as if this development has a tendency to seriously damage the fabric of the campaign; I do what I can to plan ahead. And I've made it a condition of such a choice among the players that the fate of their former character is no longer their concern.

I was primarly simply curious whether this kind of thing was common at all amongst other gamers.

 

[Sammael]

One of my players is just like this. He's gone through five different characters in my current campaign. Not only that, but his current character has changed so much that he is basically a new personality in an old body.

Since my stories tend to be fairly character-driven as well, I've had to adjust to his transformations. One thing I've learned is that the main plot points, whatever they are, should not be tied to any one character in particular. Sure, some characters may have more at stake than others, but that's not the same as plotline not occuring at all without certain characters.

I think I've achieved a decent mix of character-driven and story-driven play. The main plot is moving on regardless of who the characters are. The subplots may be tied to one or more characters, but they aren't essential to move the story forward. I'd have problems if all the characters were to change, but no single character is longer strictly necessary for the campaign.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

In a prior campaign this happened where the player either hated his character or the other players hated his character. It was a nghtmare.

 

[Piratecat]

I had one player like this. I ended up tossing him from the game for other reasons.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I AM a player like this!

I'm not that bad, and lately, I've somewhat been cured because I suffered so many PC deaths that I got to make enough new PCs to satisfy me for a while...

When I get to the point that I want to change my character, I usually try to work it in-game. The character will retire from adventuring (possibly after a near-death experience) or simply die (I've had a couple of characters become suicidally courageous) and not come back to life.

Is the player in question looking for a mechanical change or a character (RP) change? Does he feel that his character is ineffective, or is it that he has no fun to RP him?

Have you talked to the player about this? My DM(s) have talked to me about my "problem" (we're all good old friends, so it wasn't a confrontation) and what has come out is:
1) I have to try a little harder to make my characters live longer.
2) When I can't take it anymore, I'll advise the DM in advance, so I don't screw too much with his plans.

If the player in question won't change his ways, don't work so hard in integrating his characters into your story, simple as that. His characters will somewhat become pseudo-NPC's and the player will tire of being a second-rate character and will either quit or shape up.

Hope this helps!

AR

 

[Ibram]

Since I started DMing when 3e came out that has happened maybe three times in my campaigns. As long as the player told me well ahead of time that they wanted to switch characters I'd allow it. Since a 6 month period is the lenght of my longest story arch I doubt I'd have much trouble with a player who wanted to change his character often, but I would probably get old after a while.

Truthfully I'm more likely to get bored of a campaign before my players get bored with their characters.

 

[Sammael]

My player doesn't have any mechanical or RP problems, as far as everybody else can tell. He just likes changing characters. My guess is that he wants to try out different character concepts and, since this is the only game he participates in, he has to try them out somewhere.

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

Well, the game is all about the players having fun, so if it's not too disruptive for the other players, perhaps you could just let it slide.

Or, you could let him do it, but make it cost a little. For example, his new character must start one level beneath the other one. In other words, he can give up a 7th level PC, but he has to replace it with a 6th level PC. This gives him the opportunity to change characters if he really wants to, but he won't do it on a whim.

Have fun!

Vigwyn

 

[Orryn Emrys]

Is the player in question looking for a mechanical change or a character (RP) change? Does he feel that his character is ineffective, or is it that he has no fun to RP him?

Actually, despite the fact that this particular player has been gaming for more than ten years, I suspect that he isn't real clear about the reasons for these changes. At some level, I believe that he becomes discouraged with his consistant inability to portray the character he wants people to see, and is unable to establish the types of relationships and rapport he frequently sees among his fellow players' characters. This is, of course, an aspect of his own personna, as he is one of those types of people that others find difficult to take seriously.

Well, the game is all about the players having fun, so if it's not too disruptive for the other players, perhaps you could just let it slide.

Or, you could let him do it, but make it cost a little. For example, his new character must start one level beneath the other one. In other words, he can give up a 7th level PC, but he has to replace it with a 6th level PC. This gives him the opportunity to change characters if he really wants to, but he won't do it on a whim.

To be honest, despite the complaint that's heavily implied by this topic, I have yet to do much to discourage this behavior. At the heart of it, I believe that a player who isn't going to properly enjoy playing a given PC should certainly not feel obligated to, particularly to satisfy the needs of a campaign whose details are most assuradely beyond his ability to directly influence. In most campaigns, I do require anyone who brings in a new character to do it at a level below the party average, regardless of the reason for the change.

 

[ph34r]

We average about 1.5 character deaths per session so most of the time the plots aren't very character background/goal driven. I just happened to bring in a new character last session (played him 4-5 sessions) because a player lost a PC and made a wizard. I was already playing a wizard and we needed a tank so I made a War Hulk!