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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 7443294" data-attributes="member: 5100">My general feeling is that players running multiple characters promotes a more &quot;hack and slack&quot; or &quot;board game&quot; mode of play, which I do not care for. I much prefer more character/plot driven games. I like to get to know the characters and give everyone a chance to be &quot;the star&quot;. When a player has to split their attention, they don't really get the full effect of being in the spot light.What I've done, when running games with only a couple players is to present the opportunity to recruit NPCs as party members. I make the effort to portray them as equals in status, but they're there mainly for the PCs to play off of, story-wise, and don't compete for the cool scenes -- unless the players seem to enjoy a rivalry. I don't treat them as DMPCs, though, and adamantly refuse to play them, in those groups where we've rotated GM duties. I generally don't even let this sort of character recur between parties or groups, just to avoid the potential to get too attached, and will usually kill off or retire the NPC if they start to get too showy. The other factor, when I GM, is that I generally use home brew settings and adventures, so I can tweak things for both scale and gaps. So, if no one wants to play the Cleric, I can make potions more available, tweak the danger level by feel, or some combination.As a note, I feel differently about troop-style play, henchmen, or extras. As long as each player has a clear &quot;main&quot; character, that's what's important.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 7443294, member: 5100"] My general feeling is that players running multiple characters promotes a more "hack and slack" or "board game" mode of play, which I do not care for. I much prefer more character/plot driven games. I like to get to know the characters and give everyone a chance to be "the star". When a player has to split their attention, they don't really get the full effect of being in the spot light. What I've done, when running games with only a couple players is to present the opportunity to recruit NPCs as party members. I make the effort to portray them as equals in status, but they're there mainly for the PCs to play off of, story-wise, and don't compete for the cool scenes -- unless the players seem to enjoy a rivalry. I [U]don't[/U] treat them as DMPCs, though, and adamantly refuse to play them, in those groups where we've rotated GM duties. I generally don't even let this sort of character recur between parties or groups, just to avoid the potential to get too attached, and will usually kill off or retire the NPC if they start to get too showy. The other factor, when I GM, is that I generally use home brew settings and adventures, so I can tweak things for both scale and gaps. So, if no one wants to play the Cleric, I can make potions more available, tweak the danger level by feel, or some combination. As a note, I feel differently about troop-style play, henchmen, or extras. As long as each player has a clear "main" character, that's what's important. [/QUOTE]

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