Switching Characters
- Thread starter Dextolen
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candidus_cogitens
Explorer
I was forced to play a sorcerer once, when i wanted to be a rogue. It was a terrible experience. (Not that being a sorcerer is necessarily bad.)
No player should ever have to play a character that they are not happy with.
No player should ever have to play a character that they are not happy with.
Desdichado
Hero
Seems to me like all you've got to do is sit down with the players who want to switch characters, tell them your concerns and work with them to get a solution that makes all of you happy. There should be something you can do that makes all three of you happy, right?
Oh, and carpedavid -- interesting system. Has it been implemented yet? Do you have any war stories to share?
Oh, and carpedavid -- interesting system. Has it been implemented yet? Do you have any war stories to share?
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Sanackranib
First Post
retireing
You are not alone! this has come up in my game before as well and my responce has always been for the player to come up with a good reason to take his character out (assuming he wasn't killed) multi-clasing into a mage or priest is a good excuse (it takes a year or longer in my game and most groupes aren't willing to wait around for a year. Philosophicial differences (alignment) can also work. I sometimes "encourage" new players yto the group to play somthing the group is lacking so that their character will stand out and play a more criticial roll but I think it's bad form to "make" you players play what you want them to.
You are not alone! this has come up in my game before as well and my responce has always been for the player to come up with a good reason to take his character out (assuming he wasn't killed) multi-clasing into a mage or priest is a good excuse (it takes a year or longer in my game and most groupes aren't willing to wait around for a year. Philosophicial differences (alignment) can also work. I sometimes "encourage" new players yto the group to play somthing the group is lacking so that their character will stand out and play a more criticial roll but I think it's bad form to "make" you players play what you want them to.
Kilmore
First Post
A note on retiring characters...
A retired character doesn't have to mean a dead character. Let's be honest here... what does an adventurer do? He fights a lot, he makes lots of people mad, he dies more than just about anyone else in the campaign world, and eventually he'll get himself some kind of killed he cannot come back from. Plus he gets a lot of treasure.
"Okay, guys. This was fun, but I'm done with the hassle. I'm taking my sack of treasure and I'm going home."
Who can blame him for that exit? This kind of exit is good for two reasons... 1.) It could certainly be motivational for his replacements. 2.) The character can be brought back into action at a later date.
Just my 2 cp.
A retired character doesn't have to mean a dead character. Let's be honest here... what does an adventurer do? He fights a lot, he makes lots of people mad, he dies more than just about anyone else in the campaign world, and eventually he'll get himself some kind of killed he cannot come back from. Plus he gets a lot of treasure.
"Okay, guys. This was fun, but I'm done with the hassle. I'm taking my sack of treasure and I'm going home."
Who can blame him for that exit? This kind of exit is good for two reasons... 1.) It could certainly be motivational for his replacements. 2.) The character can be brought back into action at a later date.
Just my 2 cp.
Sanackranib
First Post
retireing
That is SO true. so many of my pC's have retired and set up Inns that I have lost count!
Kilmore said:
That is SO true. so many of my pC's have retired and set up Inns that I have lost count!
I'd get angry at the players who want to switch, try and dissuade them from switching, construct voodoo dolls with their favorite lucky dice in the centers and then...
...help them create new characters at the average party level.
The way I look at, as DM your role is fundementally that of entertainer; you're playing well if your players enjoy themselves. If the players aren't happy with the characters they made, let 'em try new ones. Ours is a service profession.
I realize this can wreck hell with a story you put time and effort, possibly blood and tears, into. But roll with the punches. Just as you'd expect your players to adapt/react to the twists you throw at them.
Consider it a challenge. Work to fit their new PC's into the storyline. And make it beliebable. That's the mark of the good storyteller.
...help them create new characters at the average party level.
The way I look at, as DM your role is fundementally that of entertainer; you're playing well if your players enjoy themselves. If the players aren't happy with the characters they made, let 'em try new ones. Ours is a service profession.
I realize this can wreck hell with a story you put time and effort, possibly blood and tears, into. But roll with the punches. Just as you'd expect your players to adapt/react to the twists you throw at them.
Consider it a challenge. Work to fit their new PC's into the storyline. And make it beliebable. That's the mark of the good storyteller.
Yup. My campaign changed from "Lets kick out those invaders and restore the true heir to the throne" to "Lets root out that rebel scum and pacify the new territory" when a crucial PC was switched, and I have the same fun DMing.
I have to admit though, that people who switch PCs often will not get that much attention in a campaign for me - you won't find me preparing subplots and reaching arcs for a PC that may or may not be still around 2 more sessions down the road.
I have to admit though, that people who switch PCs often will not get that much attention in a campaign for me - you won't find me preparing subplots and reaching arcs for a PC that may or may not be still around 2 more sessions down the road.
jdavis
First Post
It's always a pain in the butt to get the guy who reads the players handbook and changes characters just to see if that Monk class is as cool as it looks, or man Bards can do everything. Then after two or three sessions decide that it isn't working out and try and change again.
We had a guy change characters just because his sheet got lost and he didn't want to fill out another one. The whole this week I'm a elf but next week I'll be a dwarf just took away from the game.
It is real important that the characters who are changing are not just experimenting or trying to power play.
We had a guy change characters just because his sheet got lost and he didn't want to fill out another one. The whole this week I'm a elf but next week I'll be a dwarf just took away from the game.
It is real important that the characters who are changing are not just experimenting or trying to power play.
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