[PLOTS] The classic body-swap episode (and other wacky ideas)

[Napftor]

I was just wondering if there were any DMs who have used this classic plot. You know, where the main characters find their minds swapped with the bodies of their friends. With sudden access to new physiologies, abilities, and powers, the most common foes seem a bit more dangerous while the PCs must get a hand on their "new" powers. I did this once to some success and chuckled as the players asked each other what good stuff their characters could do! This is recommended for campaigns that have seen the same characters used for a while. This way, the PCs might gain new-found respect for the powers their companions bring to the table (especially if one character disparaged another about his "useless spells" or something similar).

If you've tried this story idea, how did it work? If you haven't, then here's something new for you to consider.

 

[Piratecat]

I haven't tried this specifically. I have put the PCs into other bodies, but it wasn't those of their friends.

 

[James McMurray]

Not yet, but I hope to at some point (probably in a later campaign).

For DMs who like to throw PCs into incredibly weird circumstances I whole-heartedly recommend Ravager of Time. I believe it was module I2? It requires conversion to 3.x to play, as its a 1 or 2e adventure, but is was well worth the effort.

The premise is that an evil sorceress captures the party and drains their youth and vitality. She uses it to create younger duplicates of the characters. These duplicates exist by feeding off of the temporal energy of the party members. Most of their energy was used simply to create the copies, and that leves he party members old. They get all of the physical and mental chnges involved with old age, including some randomly rolled traits ranging anywhere from baldness to forgetfullness to just plain rotchety.

The duplicates' continued existence is made possible by further siphoning, which promises to kill the poor old geezers fairly soon. It also has the side effect of permanetly hasting the younger versions, as well as some other stuff.

The party has to somehow manage to find their younger selves and kill them, as well as track down the sorceress. All while being much older and feebler than their opponents, who know everything they know.

 

[Capellan]

Haven't used it yet, but do plan to (eventually - it's a long way off) in my Spaceship Zero campaign. I mean, if you're doing a campaign ripping off the tropes of 50s and 80s SF series, you really have to do the body-swap episode at some point, don't you

 

[Dingleberry]

I've been planning to eventually have my PCs' minds switched into the bodies of their familiars/animal companions/animal cohorts/mounts for an adventure or two.

 

[scottdunphy]

If you've tried this story idea, how did it work?

I used this plot device in a one-off, character provided convention event (i.e. 4 hours) I wrote. The characters had lots of secrets that were revealed due to the switch and all kind of problems relating to other people in their lives (for D20 Modern - wives, boyfriends, etc.). And of course their whole focus was on finding a way to switch back, which nicely drove the action for the rest of the event.

The results were fantastic. Everybody loved it when I handed them new characters sheets about an hour into the event. I think some where sad to be switched back!

I think it's a great device as long as the tone of the event/campaign isn't too serious. The one piece of advice I would give is make sure you think it through all the way. Do your the players have access to the new body's memories or emotions? Do the characters retain the INT, WIS, and CHA of their original characters? How about skills? What about class abilities, spell-like abilities, spell casting, etc?

I would reccomend writing up character sheets for the mixed up PCs and handing them out at the switch (need to predetermine who switches with whom). And I would also reccomend making the PCs interact with well known, friendly NPCs right after the switch. You won't be able to keep them switched for a long period without ticking them off, so make sure you are ready to milk it for all it's worth during the short time you have.

 

[Silver Moon]

I used that plot once for a group of NPC's. The story was that a trio of adventurers - male human ranger, female elf wizard, male halfling rogue were losing a battle to a minotaur when the desperate rogue broke a magical orb of unknown powers against the monster. The effect was that all four of them, plus the wizardess's chipmonk familiar, then switched bodies. The minotaur wound up in the elf's body, became terrified, and ran off. The NPC's had to get the party's help to track it down and then dispel the magic.

 

[Zappo]

Never used, but once I did an adventure where the players had to temporarily take over different characters in a different timeline, and I made sure that everyone got something very different from what they usually played. It went well.

I used that plot once for a group of NPC's. The story was that a trio of adventurers - male human ranger, female elf wizard, male halfling rogue were losing a battle to a minotaur when the desperate rogue broke a magical orb of unknown powers against the monster. The effect was that all four of them, plus the wizardess's chipmonk familiar, then switched bodies. The minotaur wound up in the elf's body, became terrified, and ran off. The NPC's had to get the party's help to track it down and then dispel the magic.

Heh. I can imagine it.
Ranger: "Oh Gods! I have a !!!"
Rogue: "Squeeee!" *runs around*
Elf: "MOOO!" *runs away*
Minotaur: "Hey... not too shabby..."
Chipmunk: "AARGGH!! STOP YOU BLOODY MOOING ELF, STOP!" *hanging for his life on the elf shoulder*

 

[Silver Moon]

I can imagine it.....

Actually, your description is not that far off. It was rather comical in fact. The chipmonk wound up in the ranger's body. The halfling wound up in the minotaur's body, and they had a hard time talking him into making the switch back afterwards, as he prefered the power of the new body.

 

[Talon5]

Used it in a number of campaigns for GURPs campaigns.

It was funny and comical, have yet to figure out how to handle it in D&D (thou haven't really thought about it as the campaigns are very different).