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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Luthien Greyspear" data-source="post: 2685675" data-attributes="member: 34334">I've done this myself several times, and I've had to actively make sure I didn't overuse the old PC.  It can get hard to resist the urge to drop back into an old character's habits and mannerisms, particularly if that character that you really liked to play.  To prevent that kind of tangent, I always plan in advance exactly why the character is there in the first place, and what limitations I can put on their interference.  That keeps me from overpowering or overshadowing the PCs.What I find to be more fun is using my players' old characters in supporting roles.  It gives them the impression of continuity, and occasionally the sense of rewards beyond the dungeon.  In one campaign I ran, one of my player's former characters was a stalwart but long-winded paladin in service to Heironeous.  I needed to run a murder mystery arc to introduce a vigilante non-evil assassin that would ally herself to the party, so I set him up as the Governor of an influential city on the Nyr Dyv.  The town was corrupt, and he had been sent there to restore justice and order by the Duke of Urnst.  When the party came through town, he made it a point to question them, just in case they were troublemakers hired by his political rivals.  The player (who was playing an equally long-winded half-orc ranger) decided to engage his former character in conversation about fighting giants.  We entertained the party for a good half-hour with more and more outlandish plans to trap, trick, ensnare, maim, and kill giants.  It was fun.It was even MORE fun (for me) when, on their next visit to the city, I revealed the murder-mystery plot...by having the paladin assassinated.  Everyone looked to the player, who paused for a few seconds as he realized that I had just killed his old character, then put on the most pained look and exclaimed, "Hey, you can't do that!"  Trust me, he was well motivated to solve the mystery, despite the fact that it was an urban adventure in which he was largely a support role.Oh, and....100 POSTS! (Woot!)</blockquote>

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