Avatar of the Irrelevant
Diomedes
Commander
3173 Posts
    
 | | 06/17/2005 10:27 AM |
| | recovered topic 4909 | |
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Avatar of the Irrelevant
Diomedes
Commander
3173 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 10:27 AM |
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So people seem to have a lot of different opinion on this topic. I'm just stating that as a pre-amble so that you know that a lot of folks can/will disagree with my opinion (and heck, you might be one of them).
Don't run a PC. Run an NPC. As a DM you will know what all of the encounters are ahead of time, yeah yeah, you /could/ pretend to not know, but then you're just a bad PC. You'll know where the traps are, but if suggest to the group that they search for them you'll be giving things away, at the same time, if you /don't/ suggest it some times then you're a bad PC. Further many DMs don't like to kill their own PC.
My opinion: Can you do it? Yes. Can it be done well? Sometimes. Should you do it? I don't think so. Given how much trouble it is to run a PC, you could /much/ more easily run an NPC and give that NPC their own motives/story/depth.
Just my take on it.
-Diomedes
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Count Dooku
Commander
4636 Posts
New York
| | 06/17/2005 10:42 AM |
| You would be an NPC if you did that.
Just like what was sent before if your character solves the riddle or figures out the trap its looked at as you having knowlege of the game.
And you will see that when your character fights the monsters you wont be cheered on like the others. You dont get any high fives from your friends for defeating yourself.
I would either create an NPC or just have a 3-man party.
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nyjastul69
Commander
2710 Posts
Rhode Island
| | 06/17/2005 10:45 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Diomedes:
My opinion: Can you do it? Yes. Can it be done well? Sometimes. Should you do it? I don't think so. Given how much trouble it is to run a PC, you could /much/ more easily run an NPC and give that NPC their own motives/story/depth.
Well said Dio. I agree completely. As Dio pointed out opinions will vary greatly on this subject. Good luck on your first (I think) session. | |
You know, I keep thinking that after the new design team gets done with D&D 4e, D&D won't stand for Dungeons and Dragons anymore, because well, that's just not fun. It's old and stuffy. - Originally Posted by BabWryter on Kenzerco.com | |
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Lady-Bast
Warrior
242 Posts
Central Illinois
| | 06/17/2005 12:43 PM |
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Well, all here have pretty much said what I'm going to say.
I really can't see how it would be any fun for a DM to play a PC. I mean, being the DM you're gonna know everything that's around the corner. That's no fun. And your players may feel weird about it.
An NPC is a different story. In one group I played in, we desperatly needed a Cleric, so my DM created a friendly Cleric NPC to join our party. Eventually, another player joined our group and made up a Cleric, and so the NPC left our party and started some church somewhere or something.
Anyway, you could still level-up the NPC when most of the party does, just to keep him on level with them. While he should help out the party he should not be a major voice in the party.
Let your players BE THE PLAYERS!
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Knight of Argenis
Corim Danex
Warlord
6621 Posts
West Valley City, Utah
| | 06/17/2005 12:49 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Lady-Bast
An NPC is a different story. In one group I played in, we desperatly needed a Cleric, so my DM created a friendly Cleric NPC to join our party.
It seems funny to me that the most common NPC that I hear about in situations like this is a cleric. It doesn't seem like people line up to play clerics the way they do other classes. Maybe it is just coincidence. | |
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griffrat
Commander
3506 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 1:04 PM |
| Here, is my take as this is the way that I am running this situation right now in my Thursday night game. I have a guy at the table that took Leadership feat. I created the character gave him a history and all his gear. I do all the roleplay aspects as what is in the scope of what the NPC has in his history and depth of wandering the lands. But for all the dice rolling and the actions of the character the PC/Player with the leadership feat does all that. I only intervene when it is what I feel the character would do as a LN bodyguard who swore to defend the PC.
So, I think that it can be done and there is no right or wrong way…just remember to have fun and it all works out…[)]
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Vash
Underboss
1995 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 1:32 PM |
| Thanks for all the input, I think I have figured out what NPC will be joining them and how, and the best part it I don't have to change the story to do it [:D].
-vash | |
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E.C. Organizer
galneweinhaw
Commander
2646 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 2:12 PM |
| Well, I should throw in my dissenting opinion to the general consensus. I play a PC while DMing and I love it. The trick is choosing the right character. For example, the character I play is a conspiracy theorist who offers more stumbling blocks than hints to the players, the good thing is that I CAN throw in hints when they are super stuck on something without making it obvious, because most of the time they ignore him anyway =)
I think you have to really enjoy the ROLE playeing part in order to play a PC as well though, because you don't want to get invloved in much of the problem solving and interaction with those other than the PCs (or you'll be talking to yourself...heh). If you can come up with a unique and fun to play personality, I saw go for it =D | |
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Monsoon28
Underboss
2299 Posts
Toronto
| | 06/17/2005 5:31 PM |
| I gotta say make a character but so long as you DM this character is an NPC but if DM'ing duties transfer between members of your group you could all still use the same characters expect that the DM's character always becomes NPC. Now this is a tricky situation and has to be carefully thoughtout beforehand and controlled.
If you are the only DM (or the other DM has a completely different campaign) then just stick with an NPC. | |
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kniterangr
Warrior
285 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 7:53 PM |
| | We actually have the PCs run two characters until someone else joins the group. Usually the best character player gets the extra character. I think it is too much work for the DM unless the character becomes a NPC. For the PCs the extra characters are more like henchmen rather than full characters because the players tend to focus on their favorite, which they should. We do the same thing if someone does not show for a night, then someone else has double duty. [xx(] | |
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B
Underboss
1189 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 8:20 PM |
| | If you are going to run an NPC with the group I would suggest that you play a class that does well in a passive role. If you make up "one of the guys" then you may end up stealing their thunder...and that never goes well. I would suggest playing the healer class. They have no real offensive capibilities, and they enhance the other characters in a way tht is non-invasive. I wouldn't have any problem with our DM playing a healer. If he played a front line fighter I would be very tempted to walk away from more fights and let him deal with it. Honestly, I don't think I could DM and play a character. I don't think I'd be honest enough not to fudge rolls when I thought the party needed a certain result. But to each their own [:)] | |
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kestrel.ca
Underboss
1678 Posts
| | 06/17/2005 11:40 PM |
| | Similar to others, our group has found it easiest when players double up on characters -- at least easiest for the DM who already has enough problems juggling all the other factors involved in the game. When everybody shows, we have a party of 6, divided among 3 players and 1 DM. Invariably though, one person can't make it and so we usually end up with 4 PCs anyway. | |
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rhane
Underboss
1412 Posts
| | 06/22/2005 3:49 PM |
| | I rarely do it...only if we are very short on players. When I do, the NPC is usually someone who can help the storyline along - especially when the players get stuck. I don't like killing characters, so the NPC is a good target for my nastiest surprises. Its nice for the players to see what could have happened to them. Finally, I recommend NPC's that play a support role in combat. As a DM, you have too much other stuff going on to worry about how much to power attack with, whether or not to use rapid shot, etc. That's why Clerics and Bards are such good choices. Hang back, heal people as necessary, kick off an inspire courage song, but generally stay out of the melee. | |
Rhane
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The Great
Choco Monster
Ghendar
Warlord
11227 Posts
The Dark and Forbidding Lands of The Necromancer.
| | 06/22/2005 4:37 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Lady-Bast
I really can't see how it would be any fun for a DM to play a PC.
It's not. It's a tremendous pain in the neck. At least for me. I'm talking about an NPC, not a PC. I had a player leave the group and the character effectively became an NPC under my (DM) control. It's sucks to have to juggle all the DM stuff and then have to also handle an NPC. | |
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Darastrix Maekrix
dariustad
Warlord
6322 Posts
| | 06/22/2005 5:29 PM |
| Ghendar: You might want to see if any of your players are willing/capable of running two characters at once. It does tend to take someone who's often "crazy" to begin with since they have to think through both characters, but it's not that difficult. I think the "crazy" people (yo!) tend to have more fun with it for the challege factor.
It would free you up to concentrate on building the game. | |
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