D&D 5E Relocated PC approaches

[jgsugden]

Hypothetical for DMs: You're running a game (around 7th level PCs) and one of your players moves away. You continue on a player down, but meet someone new, speak with them and decide they'd be a good fit with your group. You tell the player about your game and they say they're interested and - excitedly - ask if they can bring in a beloved PC they had been playing in a game that fizzled out. They pull out the character sheet and you can see that it is a balanced PC and - mechanically speaking - there are no issues with a PC like it joining the game.

How would you approach the situation?

 

[aco175]

Get the other players buy-in first. Everyone should have a say about bringing a new player into the group. My group may elect to start a new campaign, we tend to get to around level 9-10 before a new campaign starts anyway.

If the PC is balanced and not superman compared to the others and not loaded with magic or something then I have no problems with bringing an ew PC in from another game.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Where are you drawing the line between pulling out the character sheet that they used in the old game, and simply generating the same character according to the rules of your game?
I'm really not seeing much of a distinction.

 

[el-remmen]

Where are you drawing the line between pulling out the character sheet that they used in the old game, and simply generating the same character according to the rules of your game?
I'm really not seeing much of a distinction.

If there is no distinction then accepting the character should not be an issue.
But anyway, as @aco175 mentioned, assuming the rest of the group is okay with bringing in a new player and they seem like a good "social fit" (I'd probably have them sit in for a session or two first just to see our style of play first hand and just all get to know each other a bit - maybe let them run an NPC for a session) then my guess is there would have to be some tweaks to the character's backstory to fit the setting and maybe having to give them more or less magical items depending on how generous (or not) their previous DM was with them.

 

[Rabulias]

Are you asking more about adding the player, adding the character, or both?

 

[iserith]

The character would have to be a fit for the campaign, so I'd share what would need changing in order to make this character work. If it does not, then the player can perhaps play the character in a future campaign. I would then establish, per our table rules, that the current PCs all know this new character and trust them at least enough to boldly confront deadly perils together in ways the players are free to establish. Then we play on!

 

[CreamCloud0]

First: like has already been said raising the idea of a new player by your current players is only good manners, ‘hey i met someone who’s interested in seeing if they can join our group, is that fine with you guys?’

Second: how much baggage are they bringing with them from their previous session, this comes in two forms: equipment and history, you said their sheet looked fine so presumably they’re not dripping with magic items or gold and therefore equipment is fine but history, take another minute to see if they’re bringing anything that doesn’t align with your gameworld ‘your parents were killed by tieflings and you forever renounce them and feinds because of it? But my campaign doesn’t even have tieflings or the outer planes’ or referencing hyper-specific people or places from the previous campaign that don’t exist in yours or otherwise untranslatable narrative boons ‘i am a recognised knight of the realm who everyone knows’

Otherwise I don’t see why not it couldn’t be done
Edit: would you not just be introducing them like you would any other replacement pc, For a player who’s character died and just rolled up a new one? The only difference is that 1)there was an interim period before they were replaced, 2)a different player is filling the party slot and 3)the new character might have slightly more history to them than your average fresh out of character creation addition.

 

[Shiroiken]

I'd obviously scrutinize the character for OP magic items and other nonsense, but the hypothetical already assumes the mechanics are good. I'd probably have the PC fall through a magical portal to my world, taking out any concerns about overlap with events from the other campaign. Other than that, it'd just be the usual issues with introducing a new player to the group.

 

[overgeeked]

Hypothetical for DMs: You're running a game (around 7th level PCs) and one of your players moves away.

Online gaming with this person is not an option? Setting up a video conference, FaceTime, Zoom, etc simply not possible? I work around whatever needed to be worked around to keep that player in the game. Only if that's not an option would I move on from there.

You continue on a player down, but meet someone new, speak with them and decide they'd be a good fit with your group. You tell the player about your game and they say they're interested and - excitedly - ask if they can bring in a beloved PC they had been playing in a game that fizzled out.

I'd be incredibly leery of this. In my experience a lot of people are clamoring to play 5E and their characters but not really caring about the specific game or setting. The desire to play any game is greater than the desire to play any specific game, if that makes sense. Characters specifically made for the game you're actually playing are an infinitely better fit than something pulled in from elsewhere.

They pull out the character sheet and you can see that it is a balanced PC and - mechanically speaking - there are no issues with a PC like it joining the game.

The mechanics are maybe 10% of the question. The other 90% is the lore, the setting, the other characters, the group dynamic amongst the players, etc. I'm way more concerned about the rest than the mechanics.

How would you approach the situation?

If there's absolutely no way to keep the original player, then I'd consider a new player.

If there's absolutely no way to get the player to make a character suited to this game, then I'd consider a transferred character.

Characters are not precious. They shouldn't be treated as such. It's a simple matter to make a new character. In my experience, it's a similar situation to the player who's 1st-level character with 0 XP has a 40-page backstory. The player already has a fixed and unalterable idea of who their character is, what they'll do, and how they'll act/react in situations. This will lead to more problems than necessary.

 

[R_J_K75]

No. Personally, I'd make them roll up another PC and start with a clean slate seeing as it's a new game/campaign, new DM and new set of players/PCs. My instinct tells me that they may fall back to roleplaying their character based on events of the previous game they played which has no bearing on the current campaign. I decided a long time ago that I don't let players bring PCs in from other games into my game. Though this was back in 1E/2E when people would show up with 4 million+ GP, 47 magical items, a keep and the deed to the planets moon. This is just the stance I've taken way back and have stuck by it since.