What do you think when DM introduces old PC as an NPC?

[William Ronald]

Does it make a difference if the old PC is part of the campaign world you are playin verse a former PC that existed in a different campaign world? And does level matter? Not all former PCs are going to be high level though it does seem that many people are making that assumption.

Plus, I like that this has caused my own players to speculate which of the NPCs I'm using are former PCs or not since they were not involved in my former games.

I think it helps to have an old PC from the same campaign world. Although a character from another world can work on occassion, it can turn into the Man from Nowhere syndrome. An example of this would be on believing for years that you are the most powerful member of your class in the campaign, the DM introduces someone whom your character SHOULD have been aware of for several years who is tied to the setting. I think much of this does depend on the DM and the story line. So, introducing a former Greyhawk PC to a Forgotten Realms campaign because of an important story element (a common foe, a common ally) is one thing. Introducing a former PC just to show up the players is another thing.

I don't think level matters so much as ensuring that PCs can matter, and are not just there to fulfill a DM's wish fullfillment fantasies. (If the campaign begins to revolve around the NPC, it might be a sign to consider your options as a player.) I think that it is legitimate to have NPCs more powerful than the PCs in any setting. However, it is important that players feel that their characters are making a difference in the world.

This is the key point. Using former PCs is just a tool. Former PCs don't kill campaigns, Bad DMs kill campaigns.

I concur. I just think that a key thing that a DM should ask himself is what is the role of the NPC in the campaign.

 

[Romnipotent]

LTNP

Sometimes a NPC will be disregarded as scum or gold. Just last week I had to tell a low down fence (like a theives guild contact) that the sale was off because he couldn't reach an agreeable price, OR trust me. Some of them I treat well, pay them extra, give them trinkets because they treat me and the group well.

I treat them like PC's

 

[archastrel]

seen good and bad

I've seen the good and the bad of this. In the one campaign, the GM introduces a high level NPC (former PC) and then proceeds to have him killed off quite messily by the big bad guy.

Basically, he used his favorite PC to get the point across that "the bad guys are really powerful... you need to avoid taking them on directly for now." It was quite effective, as the players then went around trying to figure out how to counter the bad guys without directly confronting them.

On the other hand, I've seen campaigns where the rest of the party was mere lackies to the GMs hero. Those are not fun.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

We had a spellfire weilder who outshined the party. When they'd screw up, she'd just set off a "nuclear blast" (best desc. I can come up with..) and blow the baddies into nothingness. And then in a different group, same DM, he brought in his gf's pc from another game (evil character) to travel with our group. Woulda raised hackles with my cleric of Torm had she found out the character was evil. Said character wasn't played as any sort of evil.

 

[NCSUCodeMonkey]

I'm specifically not bringing in old PCs in the current setting. Mainly because I want to make it clear to the players that the setting is about them, not showing them how cool/powerful the old PCs are. Once they approach the power level of the old PCs, I might bring them into focus as a meeting of equals, but not as "ooh, look how powerful my old Geomancer was!"

That being said, I'm sure that you could feature old PCs without belittling the players. I'm just steering clear of it because I don't want anyone to feel overshadowed.

NCSUCodeMonkey

 

[WilliamAndersen]

Hi all,

I have always been very comfortable with other GMs playing their own character as an NPC. Personally, when I GM I like to avoid doing it out of personal preference. I do have favorite NPCs, but if one of my own characters (PC) makes an appearance, it is almost always a very brief one.

As for other GMs bringing in their old PCs: The only times it has happened in groups that I was playing in, it has ended up being a good story element. I like NPCs that seem real (have their own goals, motives, etc), and former PCs tend to come with that.

William
ComStar
Publishers of content for d20, Action!, Fudge and soon the Hero System
http://www.comstar-media.com

 

[diaglo]

That is the real issue. If the NPC is there to serve as an NPC, no problem. If it turns into the dreaded GMPC that exists only to do things better than other PCs and/or serve as a living extension of the GM's will to run the plot down a certain set of tracks, then there is a huge problem, and a game that I won't be playing in.

the other side is:

the Players don't feel like roleplaying. they'd just like to gain phat lewt and increase their powerups. so they make the NPC do all the work. find out all the information. or constantly pester the referee with questions to the NPC like: "What do you think we should do?" or "Why are you doing this since you are so "uber" powerful?"

edit: in re to the original question i'm in the "Oh, crap here we go again camp." cuz GMPCs suck the big one

 

[Zappo]

Every single time I've seen this done by a DM, it went horribly bad, with the PC/NPC becoming the star of the story and marginalizing the real PCs. Always. Invariably. And in very cheesy ways too. So it's "oh, no! eeeek!" for me. I guess that somewhere in the world, there is a DM that is using his old PC in a cool and interesting fashion - but I haven't met him.

 

[crystal]

As a DM, we call them GMs, I have often brought old PC's back in as NPC's and not just my own. The only real problem I have had with this is that the players sometimes know the characters and subconsciously or consciously play their PC's accordingly. You have to make sure they don't show up too often, like any super NPC. Still it does work out fairly well, but adding them into the group as a PC is definantly out. These old PC's make appearances or enter as a mentor or high powered villian. They are in no way supposed to be on the same level as the current PC's.

I agree 100%.... My hubby is our dm, He brings in his old pc's once in a while. They interact with our pc's once in a while, give info, or get us into trouble then dissappear. Leaving us to clean up tha mess. It is verry interesting, and fun. He really keeps tha ballance when he does this....No body in our grouip has any problems with him doing this.

 

[genshou]

I'll answer this from the other side of the screen. I love to bring old PCs of mine into the world. But my games aren't about NPCs; they are about PCs. They are usually higher-level, which means they are usually only involved with the PCs politically.

When it comes to NPCs who travel with the party, they are usually freshly-created and only used in single-player games. And it's never become a spotlight issue, because I am very good at GMing single-player games.