Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 steve629 Feb 26, 2011 11:43:57	So I have this guy, a Human Rogue, who’s not bad but not great either.  I’m fairly new to DnD and he’s one of the first characters I made myself, and to be honest it shows at times.  In combat he’s pretty good, great sometimes if I play him right, but when it comes to skill checks he’s a bit lacking in certain areas, I really didn’t distribute his ability scores as well as I should have and didn’t train him in all the right skills.  And beyond the actual game play stuff the story stuff for the guy isn’t the best either.  I wrote his back story before getting acquainted with the world we were playing in, the tone of the setting or any of the other characters.  What I’m basically saying is I wrote the character for a more traditional fantasy setting but that not what I’m currently playing in so at times my guy at times feels a little awkward and out of place.  Also early in this character’s in game career I said in did some things that have kind of worked me into a corner role playing wise; I’m having a hard time “being” the character.  For example my rogue recently had a “religious experience” with a virtuous goddess and is now her follower, which on paper is cool and all, but it makes it kind of hard story wise to justify why my character is still running around a city picking locks and jumping out of windows.  Wouldn’t a thief who had a religious experience be more likely to put away his dagger and become a monk or something?  I’ve come up with cool things for a former thief turned pious monk to do, but none of them fit very well story-wise into our campaign, so I’ve had an idea. The things my pious rogue could do wouldn’t work to well in our campaign, but it would be interesting if a NPC were doing these things.  What I was thinking was that I could ask my GM to send our party on a big quest, then at the end of that quest have my character would decide he’s done with the adventuring life and put away his dagger and become a monk.  Then my GM could just turn my character into an NPC who would no longer fight with our party but would still help them out at times.  I’ve also written a new Rogue who is built better and whose back story fits into the world a bit better, I’ve even related his back story to this characters back story (they were once in the same gang of thieves together) so that it won’t seem weird that the second my party loses a thief they just happen to meet another.  So I think this is a clever way of getting rid of a problematic character without just killing him off.  What do you think; does anyone think my GM would have a problem with this?  Does anyone have better ideas?
#2 falstyr Feb 26, 2011 11:48:05	Normally DM's have no problem if a player starts a new character. As long as you have a good reason and don't have a new character every game session. That gets annoying and old fast. And there are DM's, me included, who will refuse to DM for you ever again. In this case you seem to have a valid reason. Make your new character and stop playing your rogue from now on.
#3 fehumir Feb 26, 2011 15:29:31	Talk to your DM. Especially if you're new to D&D, I'm sure they will be amenable to you changing things up. And if you've put the work in to keep it relevant/connected to your current character, all the better--it shows you're not just changing because the novelty's worn off, you've put some good thought into it. That said, you have a great suggestion right in your post: what if your roge just became a monk? Perhaps multiclassed with Rogue? Monk is still a striker so you'll fill that role, and if you're worried about stealth or thievery skills, you can work around it.
#4 tequila_sunrise Feb 26, 2011 18:52:41	Yeah most DMs are cool with the occasional character swap, especially with new players. That said, you have a great suggestion right in your post: what if your roge just became a monk? Perhaps multiclassed with Rogue? Monk is still a striker so you'll fill that role, and if you're worried about stealth or thievery skills, you can work around it. I think he means this kind of monk.
#5 mock26 Feb 26, 2011 19:51:51	If you like the basic character itself, then ask the DM to let you rebuild the character from the ground up.  Sure, he might say, "No," but if you do ask him he might actually say, "Yes."
#6 CCS Feb 27, 2011 0:47:57	As a DM I'd be fine with this method of retiring a character. But I think it'd be a waste to go on some new "big quest".  Just finish up whatever you're currently doing & then have your PC walk away.  Don't tell the other players you're going to do this, just work it out with the DM. Then the next session?  You introduce your new character, complete with a letter of reference from your old one. Maybe the new guy knows the full details of why the original left.  But maybe not.... Party:  "Well why'd he quit??  Where'd he go?" New Guy:  (shrugging) "I don't know.  He said he had to take some time off to go study at the monestary of _____. {Personally I think he's casing the place}  He sends his regards though.  Said to stop by & visit if you're ever in the area.  And he didn't want to leave you short handed and looking for another trustworthy rogue - so he set things up with the guild to have me come work with you."
#7 steve629 Feb 27, 2011 7:30:54	Well when I say "big quest" what I actually mean is that we're planning a dungeon crawl for our next session, and the crawl is to stop an Earthquake from destroying a city.  So since my PC is good in combat I figured the end of this crawl would be a good dramatic point to end his career on.  After they kill the evil whatever that under the city my guy can be like "I have had enough with fighting, for now at least, now I will live my life as a servent of the people," or whatever. And actually I was thinking about introducing the new character by having him come to the city to tell my old PC that the gang they were in has been destroyed and most of their memebers, save for the two of them, are dead, and that he needs to watch his back because whoever killed them are still out there.  But I do like the idea that the new guy would be under the impression that my old PC is casing the joint, that could be used in an interesting way in the story.  Thanks
#8 vampire_bat Feb 27, 2011 16:30:47	Talk to your dm- in 3.x there was a prestige class dedicated to recovering holy relics that had theif and priest as base classes if I recall right. Basically: you scout, but dont steal except in the name of good- and you -do- break in and steal the relics of your faith from faiths who have stolen them. Delve into ancient temples to recover holy items in ways only rogues can..
#9 kenlar Mar 04, 2011 5:48:40	So I have this guy, a Human Rogue, who’s not bad but not great either.  I’m fairly new to DnD and he’s one of the first characters I made myself, and to be honest it shows at times.  In combat he’s pretty good, great sometimes if I play him right, but when it comes to skill checks he’s a bit lacking in certain areas, I really didn’t distribute his ability scores as well as I should have and didn’t train him in all the right skills.  And beyond the actual game play stuff the story stuff for the guy isn’t the best either.  I wrote his back story before getting acquainted with the world we were playing in, the tone of the setting or any of the other characters.  What I’m basically saying is I wrote the character for a more traditional fantasy setting but that not what I’m currently playing in so at times my guy at times feels a little awkward and out of place.  Also early in this character’s in game career I said in did some things that have kind of worked me into a corner role playing wise; I’m having a hard time “being” the character.  For example my rogue recently had a “religious experience” with a virtuous goddess and is now her follower, which on paper is cool and all, but it makes it kind of hard story wise to justify why my character is still running around a city picking locks and jumping out of windows.  Wouldn’t a thief who had a religious experience be more likely to put away his dagger and become a monk or something?  I’ve come up with cool things for a former thief turned pious monk to do, but none of them fit very well story-wise into our campaign, so I’ve had an idea. The things my pious rogue could do wouldn’t work to well in our campaign, but it would be interesting if a NPC were doing these things.  What I was thinking was that I could ask my GM to send our party on a big quest, then at the end of that quest have my character would decide he’s done with the adventuring life and put away his dagger and become a monk.  Then my GM could just turn my character into an NPC who would no longer fight with our party but would still help them out at times.  I’ve also written a new Rogue who is built better and whose back story fits into the world a bit better, I’ve even related his back story to this characters back story (they were once in the same gang of thieves together) so that it won’t seem weird that the second my party loses a thief they just happen to meet another.  So I think this is a clever way of getting rid of a problematic character without just killing him off.  What do you think; does anyone think my GM would have a problem with this?  Does anyone have better ideas? To be honest, I've only read your post. Not all the others. So what if your character is a bit lacking in some areas and he generally doesn't live up to your expectations? That probably sounded like I accused you of whining, which was never what I intended. The way I see it, you have hundreds of ways to solve your problem. Always talk to your DM first, however, as some DMs may be a bit un-interested in Players changing PC all the time. 1: Settle for being inferior. Live with it and (if possible) get the DM to make your inferiority a major plot point. 2: Ask if you can rebuild your character before next session. 3: Slowly fade out and have your character leave the party. 4: Have your PC spontaneously replaced by a new character. 5: Anything else you can possibly imagine.
#10 chaosturtle Mar 08, 2011 11:57:29	I'd normally just say ask if you remake the character, but if you're looking to have your backstory fit in better with the campaign then an outright new char would probably be easier.  While you're still learning/are early in the campaign it isn't too big of a deal to want to change things up, just don't get too crazy with it.  As a rule of thumb I try to avoid ever remaking more then once in a campaign, usually only doing so at character death...though not going out of my way to get killed either just to remake.
#11 rambaldi Mar 13, 2011 16:52:24	Work with your DM, I am sure they would be happy to work with you as this all seems pretty reasonable.