Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [DF] Replacing a dead/retired character, what CP build total?

PseudoFenton · 12-17-2013, 09:30 AM

So let's say your 400 point character just died to a dragon (or whatever), their body is utterly destroyed, and you have to make another. Everyone else is equally powerful, they've got many hundreds of CP under their belts. You, however, are now forced to start over at 250 points!

Or, lets say your character, having defeated said dragon, is now rich beyond your dreams. Reminded of your mortality due to the loss of a friend during the fight, (and a little bored of the character you've been playing for the last year) you decide to settle down and start your own inn. You effectively retire from adventuring, and look to make a new character. Your new character will obviously be joining your former characters companions, who are all 400+ points... but you'll be a novice just out of training with 250 points!

Or, lets say you're just a friend who's never played before, and happen to be over during the game. You watch this epic dragon fight go down, and get really interested and want to join in next session. So you learn the rules, and decide what sort of character you want to play, and then roll em up... on only 250 points, hardly an equal to the legends you saw slay that dragon!

Okay - if all of the above happened at the same time, I'd ask the other players if they wanted to make a new group/start a new campaign or whatever, as that's three players who are all 'new blood'. Assuming only one of these scenarios happen though, is this fair?
Should you have to start over from scratch when everyone else playing are clear veterans with massive character point pools? Can it still be 'fun' at the bottom of the ladder when everyone else is so powerful in comparison?

How do you handle these situations in your games? What point totals do you allow for building new/replacement characters?

(For full disclosure, I have rules for all of the above situations, each slightly different - but contention with a current player has led me to consider re-evaluating my position on them. So I'm curious as to what everyone else does. I also wish to build a consensus of opinions which either backs them up and changes my mind, or backs me up so I can point at them and go "see, I'm not the only one who thinks that" in an attempt to convince them I'm not a tyrant.)

12-17-2013, 09:30 AM	#1
PseudoFenton Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Land of the Britons	[DF] Replacing a dead/retired character, what CP build total? So let's say your 400 point character just died to a dragon (or whatever), their body is utterly destroyed, and you have to make another. Everyone else is equally powerful, they've got many hundreds of CP under their belts. You, however, are now forced to start over at 250 points! Or, lets say your character, having defeated said dragon, is now rich beyond your dreams. Reminded of your mortality due to the loss of a friend during the fight, (and a little bored of the character you've been playing for the last year) you decide to settle down and start your own inn. You effectively retire from adventuring, and look to make a new character. Your new character will obviously be joining your former characters companions, who are all 400+ points... but you'll be a novice just out of training with 250 points! Or, lets say you're just a friend who's never played before, and happen to be over during the game. You watch this epic dragon fight go down, and get really interested and want to join in next session. So you learn the rules, and decide what sort of character you want to play, and then roll em up... on only 250 points, hardly an equal to the legends you saw slay that dragon! Okay - if all of the above happened at the same time, I'd ask the other players if they wanted to make a new group/start a new campaign or whatever, as that's three players who are all 'new blood'. Assuming only one of these scenarios happen though, is this fair? Should you have to start over from scratch when everyone else playing are clear veterans with massive character point pools? Can it still be 'fun' at the bottom of the ladder when everyone else is so powerful in comparison? How do you handle these situations in your games? What point totals do you allow for building new/replacement characters? (For full disclosure, I have rules for all of the above situations, each slightly different - but contention with a current player has led me to consider re-evaluating my position on them. So I'm curious as to what everyone else does. I also wish to build a consensus of opinions which either backs them up and changes my mind, or backs me up so I can point at them and go "see, I'm not the only one who thinks that" in an attempt to convince them I'm not a tyrant.) __________________ ...like a monkey with a wrench.