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Playing multiple characters

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
dead_pool
Apr 08, 2008 0:16:51 the group I have been playing in has recently been wittled down from 5 members to 2, me and the other guy are still gungho about playing and our dm is as well for now. so here goes the question in your own experiences does playing multiple characters make the game less fun, also if you have ever been in a similar circumstance how long do you think the dm will stay with a two man party after he spent so much energy making a campaign for 5-6 players
#2
kouk
Apr 08, 2008 3:25:19 It may get tiresome having to control two characters, but some people may love it.

Your DM can adapt the campaign for just two players, or make a new one.

Other options include but are not limited to:

A. Players control two characters each.
B. Players get Cohorts.
C. Players use the Gestalt variant http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm
D. DM plays a character.
#3
tytalus
Apr 08, 2008 3:37:28 It depends. If you prefer a combat-heavy game, having more than one character can be fun as it opens new strategic options.

For role-playing-heavy games, I find that having more than one character detracts from the immersion.
#4
shadowshimmer
Apr 08, 2008 6:37:02 I guess it depends on the person but I love playing multiple characters. I had a Wizard and Fighter that I both played and they hated each other. It was really interesting and challenging playing two characters that hated each other but it made the game interesting for me.
#5
williamtanner
Apr 08, 2008 10:31:53 Back when I started playing (elementary school in the 80s), multiple characters was the norm. Sometime later I read that you were only supposed to control one character. I thought that would be lame.

At present I run a game with 6 players, soon to be seven, and I haven't had a night yet where everyone showed. When a fight begins, all party NPCs and PCs without a player are rolled for to control for that battle.

I don't think it will suck to play multiple PCs, aside from a degredation in role-playing. You will have a better ratio of time in the spotlight when it comes to combat.
#6
kuros81
Apr 08, 2008 17:59:19 There's a discrete difference between roleplaying two characters and roleplaying one character and controlling others in battle.

In terms of roleplaying, you never want to roleplay more than two at any time. Right now, I'm roleplaying two characters, but there's a whole party under my tactical control. Sometimes, when the party splits up, I get to roleplay the other 'lesser' characters.

Best to roleplay only one character if you can, but two at a time works.

But I highly recommend tactical control of as many as 3-4 characters at any time, especially with two players, as it makes combat more fun. The DM can roleplay the other characters out of combat.
#7
pigknight
Apr 08, 2008 18:12:17 I have 2 players. They each control 1 PC, share control of a Sub-DMPC, and I have a DMPC (that never really roleplays). Also if a NPC is close to one of the PCs the players control it.
#8
dead_pool
Apr 08, 2008 18:14:44 thanks for all the help guys. i am newly encouraged
#9
farsouth
Apr 11, 2008 0:03:42 In our first edition games we almost always played multiple characters each. For many years we played with one of us as DM and the other three players each playing three characters each. None of us found it a problem, and we had some truly memorable characters played in that period.

But it suits some people better than others. In my current group I have one player who definitely prefers to play a single character, while another player actually roleplays better when he's running more than one.

The main effect is to slow down combat a bit because players are having to divide their attention on the tactics for different characters. But other parts of the game can go more smoothly because there's less chance of the players distracting each other.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 dead_pool Apr 08, 2008 0:16:51	the group I have been playing in has recently been wittled down from 5 members to 2, me and the other guy are still gungho about playing and our dm is as well for now. so here goes the question in your own experiences does playing multiple characters make the game less fun, also if you have ever been in a similar circumstance how long do you think the dm will stay with a two man party after he spent so much energy making a campaign for 5-6 players
#2 kouk Apr 08, 2008 3:25:19	It may get tiresome having to control two characters, but some people may love it. Your DM can adapt the campaign for just two players, or make a new one. Other options include but are not limited to: A. Players control two characters each. B. Players get Cohorts. C. Players use the Gestalt variant http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/gestaltCharacters.htm D. DM plays a character.
#3 tytalus Apr 08, 2008 3:37:28	It depends. If you prefer a combat-heavy game, having more than one character can be fun as it opens new strategic options. For role-playing-heavy games, I find that having more than one character detracts from the immersion.
#4 shadowshimmer Apr 08, 2008 6:37:02	I guess it depends on the person but I love playing multiple characters. I had a Wizard and Fighter that I both played and they hated each other. It was really interesting and challenging playing two characters that hated each other but it made the game interesting for me.
#5 williamtanner Apr 08, 2008 10:31:53	Back when I started playing (elementary school in the 80s), multiple characters was the norm. Sometime later I read that you were only supposed to control one character. I thought that would be lame. At present I run a game with 6 players, soon to be seven, and I haven't had a night yet where everyone showed. When a fight begins, all party NPCs and PCs without a player are rolled for to control for that battle. I don't think it will suck to play multiple PCs, aside from a degredation in role-playing. You will have a better ratio of time in the spotlight when it comes to combat.
#6 kuros81 Apr 08, 2008 17:59:19	There's a discrete difference between roleplaying two characters and roleplaying one character and controlling others in battle. In terms of roleplaying, you never want to roleplay more than two at any time. Right now, I'm roleplaying two characters, but there's a whole party under my tactical control. Sometimes, when the party splits up, I get to roleplay the other 'lesser' characters. Best to roleplay only one character if you can, but two at a time works. But I highly recommend tactical control of as many as 3-4 characters at any time, especially with two players, as it makes combat more fun. The DM can roleplay the other characters out of combat.
#7 pigknight Apr 08, 2008 18:12:17	I have 2 players. They each control 1 PC, share control of a Sub-DMPC, and I have a DMPC (that never really roleplays). Also if a NPC is close to one of the PCs the players control it.
#8 dead_pool Apr 08, 2008 18:14:44	thanks for all the help guys. i am newly encouraged
#9 farsouth Apr 11, 2008 0:03:42	In our first edition games we almost always played multiple characters each. For many years we played with one of us as DM and the other three players each playing three characters each. None of us found it a problem, and we had some truly memorable characters played in that period. But it suits some people better than others. In my current group I have one player who definitely prefers to play a single character, while another player actually roleplays better when he's running more than one. The main effect is to slow down combat a bit because players are having to divide their attention on the tactics for different characters. But other parts of the game can go more smoothly because there's less chance of the players distracting each other.