I'm still undecided on doing this, but it's tempting to try it out at least experimentally - allowing a secondary, 125-point base character to accompany your main character.
Benefits
The main benefits I see are:
In the Action More - it's harder to suffer from "save or sit there" effects, combat inujury, or even PC death when you have a second character to run.
Backup PCs on Hand - You also have a ready PC to move into a 250-point role. I'm not sure if I'd bolt on extra points to bring you up to 250 if your main guy dies or choose some other method, but you'd have a PC right there to develop.
- It's a fun twist, really. You get to make another PC, you get to try out some of the DF15 templates. I can see a lot of creative character generation and personalities come out of this kind of move.
Obstacles
The main obstacles to it that I see are:
Too many characters - we're not lacking in players or PCs at this point. A slow. small session is 5-6 people. We've had 9 fairly often. Since one of them is usually Gerry with his 5 skeletons and a skull spirit (usually), we're talking 10-15 minis in the marching order.
Adding 5-6 additional 125-point guys would mean this is easily 15-20.
This might have been a better idea back when the group was smaller.
Unresolved Questions - how many of these guys do you get? Are they interchangeable with each other? Can you have a pool and swap them in and out as needed, or are they tied to a specific PC? Can you loan them to each other? If there is a limit, what happens when one dies?
Are these essentially part of a communal pool for the player with regards to gear? As in, you can loan it back and forth without issue, and borrow it for Felltower delves while the other character is away?
Point cost? - Should it just be done as an Ally? Just fork over the 8 points for an Always Available 50% point value PC and be done with it? That would aid the players who can't be bothered - they won't be giving anything up and those that want them have to abide by the usual rules about Allies . . . except for it being a fully player generated and run PC. But then, why have an Ally as written now, if these are available?
There are issues to be worked out. But it's an idea worth exploring further.
"Why have an Ally as written now, if these are available": GM created allies can be from backgrounds unavailable to PCs. Animals, angels, demons, snake people, etc... Backgrounds that if you let a PC run amok in, it could be detrimental to the game.
ReplyDeleteAs for how many each player gets, one per 8 points is self-limiting, so that is tempting. You could also do the Bioware thing for equipment: As long as both characters end up with armor and a weapon, everything is swappable. No leaving em naked in the rain though :)
Here's something that's not easily added to current PC's, but it is an idea: there could be a race or culture with communal thinking, and their gear could be swappable - but only among them, so it's limited.
ReplyDeleteI've once considered giving orcs 2 allies racially, inspired by Warhammer orcs having strength in numbers.
Stretching that, gear could be swappable among characters who pay some extra points for a form of Claim to Hospitality.