Playing a character while DMing. Yes or No?

[Merkuri]

In our group we had four dungeon masters who switched off running games; all of us had player characters in the party because we rotated the chair behind the screen. My character was not an npc - it was my player character.

We're doing the same thing in my group at the moment, except when we DM, our PC goes off and does something else.

Even though technically it's the same character, I can't imagine playing my PC the same way in a game I'm DMing as I do in a game where someone else is DMing. I think about the character differently. She ceases to be my avatar, and just becomes another set piece. She may still have the same voice, the same powers, the same sense of humor, but she acts differently in a subtle way. She would get a lot quieter while the party is deciding what to do, for example. She wouldn't lead the way into a dungeon, except maybe at the direction of another character.

And that wouldn't feel right to me, which is why, when we were setting up this campaign, I voted to have the DM's PC fade out during the adventures they run. I'm not saying I couldn't play my PC while I DM'd - just that I felt it it would cheapen my relationship with that character while I was DMing.

My point is that a good DM will play their PC differently in such a situation to the point where the character is not really a PC anymore. It becomes an NPC that's a member of the PCs' group. It's the same character that was there last adventure as a PC, but it's not a PC this time.

Again, this might just sound like semantics, but I find that having different labels can help (especially for new DMs). If you treat your PC like an NPC when you DM then you are probably fine, but if you treat it like your PC, along with all the emotional connection that tends to go with it, you have the potential for problems.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I actually prefer not to run NPC's with the party. In my current campaign I added a Favoured Soul NPC to the group after it became apparent that a TPK was inevitable without a PC with the ability to heal in the party. The Favoured Soul had been a PC earlier in the campaign, but that player switched to a rogue (ironically because the party had no rogue, but had 2 healers, a Cleric and the Favoured Soul! ).

Even though the Favoured Soul is an NPC I let one of my players run him in combat and he is in the background for almost all non-combat situations. I have enough to worry about in combat, without also trying to run a spellcaster on top of that.

I have also made sure that the NPC will never be as strong as the PC's and overshadow them. I do level the NPC up, but he is, and will always be, 2 levels lower than the PC's. His only real functions are to be a heal-bot, a way for me to add a in-game voice to point the party in the right direction when things get right off track, and another way to lay plot hooks in the party's path.

It has worked well for us so far, but if one of the players changed to some sort of healer PC I'd remove the NPC from the group at that point.

Olaf the Stout

 

[aco175]

Most game I run I have a character in it. Mostly due to player numbers and lack of diversity in the party. I end up playing the role nobody else took. This has never been a problem for myself or the players, indead mostly my character gets shafted in terms of treasure and goodies.

Right now I have 2 characters in 2 games. One if a full character and the other is more of a combo between an npc and companion character. The full character has more powers and such, but takes longer to play and complete a turn. The npc is easier and more free to play with . He has limited cool powers and a basic power that gets used a lot. I would recomend it for groups like yours.

The only problem with having a character in the game is that sometimes he gains a tactical advantage over the monsters in that I know where the monsters are going and though I roll randomly if there is a choice of who to attack, I usually attack my guy.

 

[Lanefan]

I usually have NPCs in the party, at any given time for some or all of the various reasons listed previously in this thread...and for one other reason:

If I want to put a spy or turncoat or hidden threat into the party it's easier if they're used to having party NPCs come and go. If NPCs never happened and I suddenly wanted to lob one in it would stand out like a sore thumb.

As for emotional attachment, I've only ever become really attached to one party NPC - and the rest of the players shared that attachment; they all loved her.

If an NPC looks like it's becoming too successful I'll pull it - if the party and-or players will let me. They don't always.

Lanefan

 

[Diamond Cross]

As long as they don't overshadow the PCs, then it's fine.

As long as the DM doesn't favor the charater over PCs, then I'm fine with it.

As long as it's not uberDrizzt clone then I'm fine.

As long as it's not a superpowerful worldbreaking powergaming know every single thing in the multiverse including the name of Galactus's third lash in his eyelash unable to defeat in any task God character, I'm fine.