I know this may be considered "cross-posting", but I'm not exactly sure where this question goes:
First -- if you've already read/posted on this over at BG, then don't worry about re-posting; as I regularly check both sites. If you would rather do your posting there, here's the link.
Now, on to the issue:
so, I've got this game idea, but I'm a bit stuck on how to implement such a thing. Well, it's not really my idea at all -- actually, I totally ripped it off (what can I say -- I'm a hack 
).
First, in order to save me a bunch of typing, I'll just link you to the inspiration. Okay, so it's a kind of "quantum leap" type thing. I'd like to take this thing to 25-30 levels (total campaign, that is -- I'll be starting the weird stuff sometime after 10th level).
Just as a side note: my players have already been informed that ALL of my campaigns are considered to be Planescape campaigns (whether or not we actually ever leave the Material is completely irrelevant 
).
Okay, I figure that I'll have some grand unifying campaign theme, played out through several (seemingly) disparate adventures, with each adventure with its own set of characters and each set of characters isolated to a single adventure. I figure that the final adventure just before they "leap" back to their original bodies will be a trip to the Court of Light, where they will gain their true enlightenment. Once that is done, they will "leap" back to their original bodies, just before the point of there death, allowing them another crack at the encounter that resulted in their first TPK -- the difference will be that they will have the opportunity to "level-up" before they begin (more on that in a minute).
So, I've got a handle on making the story work (I figured I'd have each adventure demonstrate a snap-shot of a particular faction in action); the issue I have is how to implement the character sheets. I do have several ideas, so here they are (PEACH):
When the first "leap" happens (or TPK, if you will), I will randomly hand out partially filled-in character sheets, and have everybody transfer over their current skill ranks, and base mental stats. Once that is done, I will collect their original character sheets, record their current xp and abilities, and put those character sheets away in my campaign folder. These partially filled-in sheets (that now have the said character info transferred over) will already have the following information on them for the players (all of which will be pre-generated):
- HD and HP
- physical stats
- base saves
- BAB
- racial mods for mental stats (I'm considering leaving INT and WIS alone, and only applying racial CHA mods)
- any natural AC, racial DR and SR, other racial adjustments (for skills, racial bonus feats, etc.)
- visual description of their equipment
- up to 3 random abilities possessed by they person who previously owned this body; this could be:
-- feats (independent of any prereqs)
-- class features (in the case of spellcasting levels that that creature may have had, only get one level (e.g., only 5th level spells))
They will also be able to retain a given # of abilities that they previously had from their former life (determined at random). Everything else they will have to figure-out as they go. As they gain xp (i.e., "level-up"), they will be able to "unlock" other abilities that their 'new" characters had, as well as abilities that their previous characters had; they will also be able to "level-up" as desired, but it will have to be relevant to the context of the RPing.
when they achieve their enlightenment and come back to their original bodies (as described earlier), they will be modifying there character sheets to the extreme. I am considering 2 different approaches:
- gesalt: one side of the gestalt equation being there original character, and the other side being all the stuff they learned along the way
- give them xp equal to the amount they earned along the way, and have the advancement be in "racial" HD; and all of the stuff along the way being the "features" of those "racial" HD.
Hopefully, I will presumably have enough of a handle on the story to be able to logically link everything together -- if done right, this could have epically awesome results; if done wrong, it will all be completely made of "epic fail".
Okay, that's all I've got so far. Feel free to play around in this sandbox as much as you'd like -- I need the help.
A few disclaimers/considerations:
-- I would NEVER pull the trigger on something like this unless I trusted the players in my group to be mature enough to handle this type of thing.
-- I would NEVER do this type of thing without some sort of foreshadowing (as subtle as it may be)
-- if this experiment goes horribly awry, I am fully prepared to "hit the reset button" (though I'd prefer to save that option as a last resort, to be used in the event of a total group revolt).
-- Yes, I do fully appreciate just how ambitious this thing is gonna be in order for this to come out just right.
I would fall into the revolt category.
I tend to notice when I am in a game where the DM is planning to kill the party at some point. And your campaign revolves around you doing just that. This sets up the DM vs. the PARTY which is a very bad IMHO way to go.
When I am playing my characters I am trying to survive. I try to get out of situations that are sure death.
If I am in a game where the DM is determined to kill me I leave. It is too easy for a DM to kill the PC's, no contest really, but when you are one of those PC's getting killed its like you just got victimized and that is wrong.
Thats just my ethics and I know from many experiences that very few players share my feelings on this, but I don't want to be victimized.
I much prefer a game where I am struggling against the environment the DM has created, not the will of the DM itself. If I am to die its because I ignored some danger signs and got in over my head. I want to trust that my DM aims to entertain me, and I certainly aim to entertain the DM and other players with my antics, my solutions to the problems before me, and my willing emmersion into his creation.
I would fall into the revolt category.
I tend to notice when I am in a game where the DM is planning to kill the party at some point. And your campaign revolves around you doing just that. This sets up the DM vs. the PARTY which is a very bad IMHO way to go.
When I am playing my characters I am trying to survive. I try to get out of situations that are sure death.
If I am in a game where the DM is determined to kill me I leave. It is too easy for a DM to kill the PC's, no contest really, but when you are one of those PC's getting killed its like you just got victimized and that is wrong.
Thats just my ethics and I know from many experiences that very few players share my feelings on this, but I don't want to be victimized.
I much prefer a game where I am struggling against the environment the DM has created, not the will of the DM itself. If I am to die its because I ignored some danger signs and got in over my head. I want to trust that my DM aims to entertain me, and I certainly aim to entertain the DM and other players with my antics, my solutions to the problems before me, and my willing emmersion into his creation.
first, thank you for the response.
My question isn't "should I do this?". My question is concerning the "how", as in the transition points, and thoughts on what I've come up with so far (as it pertains to the transition points).
The characters don't neccessarily have to be getting killed-off every time (or even at all) -- haven't you ever seen the show Quantum Leap?
also, here's some stuff I said earlier on a different site:
well, the "killing them over and over again" is not the point. the point is the story being told throughout. the story would be about redemption through enlightenment. Could a similar story be told in a much different way? Sure; but the idea is to come up with something different than the players have ever done before; I want to do something that I have never done before. I see this idea, and I'm inspired. I'm inspired by the images that flash vividly in my head as I take myself through various scenarios. I'm inspired by the prospect of having my players' jaws hit the floor when they realize what is going on. I'm inspired by the potential of the enormous satisfaction and gratification that my friends and I will have at the conclusion of this campaign, because of the immersive RP experience that we just had.
There will be no middle-ground -- it will either be an epic success, or an epic failure. The success or failure of this will heavily depend on the implementation and integration of the transition points. It is the transition points that worry me and give me doubts. It is the transition points about which I seek advice.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Seriously though -- I would make sure that that they knew something was coming, and that they were all okay with it. I would first (very early on) make subtle probes (in a very general and innocuous fashion) concerning the idea of playing a game where everybody was issued a character, but they would have the freedom to play and advance it as they wish. If that seemed like it went over well, then I'd present them with something along the lines of (and I would wait to spring this on them 1 session before I wanted to implement this):
"hey guys, I've got this idea for something very experimental, and is intended as an exercise in immersive RPing, and will probably push you out of your typical 'comfort zone'. The concept is very story-intensive, and there IS going to be a point to the whole thing at the end of it. There may be times that seem like I'm railroading the story on you guys, but it is only temporary, and we're gonna go back to the old characters at the end of it -- and those old characters will have something very cool at the end of it. What do you think?"
Would something like that be sufficient?
I'm not asking you to play in this. I'm trying to work out all the kinks so that it actual has the potential to play well (hence why I'm seeking advice).
BTW -- one of my players already said that he'd be all for it.
If I parse this correctly, you ask for advice on handling level-ups and what happens when jumping between bodies. Is the "gestalt" option you mention from Unearthed Arcana 3e or something?
Mechanically, it sounds you're headed for a headache that would be solved by directly carrying over class levels (with no multiclass penalties) and all skill ranks (treating all skills as class skills), and asking them to roll new physical scores and pick a new class. One problem I see off-the-top for that is that feats are sometimes the feature of the class (ie Fighter) and those have physical score prerequisites.
If you want them to start from scratch each time before attaining enlightenment, have them do that: level 1 each time, but sum their xp totals when they create their enlightened versions from scratch. I think the model you were considering was changing their classes but keeping their levels where they left off, but I can't comment on what the enlightenment for that method is because I don't know how "gestalt" works.
If I parse this correctly, you ask for advice on handling level-ups and what happens when jumping between bodies. Is the "gestalt" option you mention from Unearthed Arcana 3e or something?
Mechanically, it sounds you're headed for a headache that would be solved by directly carrying over class levels (with no multiclass penalties) and all skill ranks (treating all skills as class skills), and asking them to roll new physical scores and pick a new class. One problem I see off-the-top for that is that feats are sometimes the feature of the class (ie Fighter) and those have physical score prerequisites.
If you want them to start from scratch each time before attaining enlightenment, have them do that: level 1 each time, but sum their xp totals when they create their enlightened versions from scratch. I think the model you were considering was changing their classes but keeping their levels where they left off, but I can't comment on what the enlightenment for that method is because I don't know how "gestalt" works.
first -- yeah, gestalt is a 3.5 thing. basically, the way it works is that at each level, you advance in 2 classes, taking the best of each. Here's the full rundown.
However, I'm actually leaning towards the 2nd option.
That being said, the adventures will definitely be more fluff than crunch.
Now let me try to articulate things a little better -- the idea is to drop them in to a pre-gen character (race, level and class are really irrelevant for the purposes of the exercise), with the exception is that they (the PCs) would substitute their mental stats in place of the pre-gen character's mental stats. I would have all of the vital info on the pre-gens, but the players would not, except for HD/HP, physical stats, etc. (as listed above). As they progress (whether it be by "leveling-up", or simply through roleplay), they would "unlock" different features of the new pre-gen, which would be representing them getting attuned to who's body they have taken over. Likewise, as they progress, they would also begin to fill-in their own memories; which very much resemble swiss cheese at this point. When they then "leap" in to their next body, the process starts all over; except that stuff that they begin to "remember" could be from any of their previous bodies, as well as their original.
Let me try to give an example of what I'm talking about (I was hoping to avoid this, as I wanted to keep this as edition-neutral as possible):
Lets say that one of the PCs is a 10th level wizard, who "leaps" in to the body of a 6th level fighter. To begin with, the player would bring with him all of his skill ranks and his mental stats. He would know that he had 6HD and about 60 HP (ball-park). He would also have all the equipment that that particular 6th level fighter had (and none of his 10th level wizard equipment). The PC would also have access to a couple of feats that this fighter already had, and may have access to, say, one spell of each level that he previously had (perhaps usable 1-3 times per day as SLAs, depending on the level of the spell). Throughout the course of the adventure, as he levels-up, he would be "unlocking" previous abilities (both from the original PC, and from the new body); signifying both the further attunement to his new body, as well as filling-in the holes in his own memory.
On his next "leap", let's say that he "leaps" in to a chain-devil. Follow the same as above, except that instead of class abilities, he recovers racial abilities. But he would also bring with him abilities that belonged to both his wizard as well as the fighter.
Rinse and repeat until the "enlightenment".
Now, for the return to the original PCs, I had thought that maybe that they could advance several levels (form all the new experiences that they have integrated); except that instead of just throwing together a bunch of disjointed levels, have the leveling-up be in what I would consider "racial" HD, and have the abilities that were retained simply be features of those HD.
I know that this seems disjointed, but I would take care to make sure that the abilites were something that was useful and relevant to the overall campaign.
So, that's the base concept. It is still open to adaptation, but I want the core of it to remain intact. To me, it feels a little shoe-horned; so I was looking for insight on the mechanics as well as the implementation process.
And yes, it is going to be a bookkeeping and mechanical nightmare -- I have already accepted this. One of the major goals is to shift that nighmare away from the players, and over to my shoulders (AFAIC, it'll be worth it).
But that's only the first step. The second step is to simplify and streamline things for me, so that I don't spend every waking hour between sessions trying to organize and anotate everything.