Hello everybody,

I'm (fairly) new to D&D Beyond and I'm a DM. I've done a bit of looking around; I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere else.

Has anyone ever created a campaign where you wanted the players to only build and play one character? I ask this because I create all kinds of "homebrew" content and these players are coming together from different parts of the world. So, in effect, they're not sure what each other can do (In this case, homebrew Sub-classes) when they meet. I use this to "tilt" D&D on its head for new and old players - encountering surprises I have built all the way to higher levels.

BUT...if they can create a bunch of characters from scratch in my campaign, then they can just go through all my creations, pretend they're level 20, and see everything I've built. And, well, that's no fun...

I usually default to everyone having one character because we are a heavy roleplay group and I am a heavy RP DM, and doing more than one character can get that confused over long term play.

This is what Zero Sessions are for, in part. TO set these kinds of ground rules (1 player = 1 character), establish expectations and get questions out of the way (Can I do a multi class and have them be level 20?)(no, we are starting out at level 3).(what about multiclass?) (You want one or two levels of multiclass with no subclass and to be that many levels lower than everyone else, or do you want to have three levels in one class and get your subclass?)

Also, I am personally a big fan of DM presence during character creation (at least, the important parts, like ability scores, species, class). Not to influence what they choose, but to remind them of limits (like the level 3 thing).

Now, outside of that, there's noting wrong with them making as many characters as they like of whatever level they like -- hell, sometime sthat's just fun todo. But the one they play in the game? That is one, and the rest are just play.

It sounds like your real issue is that you don't want your players to see homebrew content you've created. Remove your homebrew from your collection, and it won't be accessible to them in the campaign, but will still be accessible to you. If you want to share some of it with them later, simply add it back to your collection.

Quote from Hhussk >>

Hello everybody,

I'm (fairly) new to D&D Beyond and I'm a DM. I've done a bit of looking around; I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere else.

Has anyone ever created a campaign where you wanted the players to only build and play one character? I ask this because I create all kinds of "homebrew" content and these players are coming together from different parts of the world. So, in effect, they're not sure what each other can do (In this case, homebrew Sub-classes) when they meet. I use this to "tilt" D&D on its head for new and old players - encountering surprises I have built all the way to higher levels.

BUT...if they can create a bunch of characters from scratch in my campaign, then they can just go through all my creations, pretend they're level 20, and see everything I've built. And, well, that's no fun...

 First of all, I don't think this is necessarily a good idea; people like knowing what they're signing up for, and your cool surprise may be unwelcome to somebody else, especially after they've invested a lot of time in the character.

Or maybe it won't, but if you're so set on keeping things a secret, I'm betting you're planning on surprising twists that upend what people thought they were playing.

That said, your first and foremost tool here is talking to your players. Lay it out up front, and ask them not to go poking around to figure out stuff in advance. If they're into the sort of game you're selling, they'll probably be willing to play along.

If you really must keep everything a secret, I believe it can be done, but it's a huge pain for you:

• You can fill the higher-level subclass abilities with dummy text, and edit the real deal in as the characters advance. (I believe this works, but it'll sometimes be slow to update.)
• You can prevent them from looking at each others' character abilities by telling them all to make their characters private.
• You can prevent them browsing other subclasses by keeping them out of your homebrew collection. Add them only when somebody's making a character, and remove them immediately afterward. Once it's in the character, I'm pretty sure it'll advance normally, but it's not shared to people in your games any more.

And, of course, don't publish your homebrew stuff.

Hi again everybody! And thanks for the comments. I truly appreciate your insights and hope to learn a lot from you.

What I normally do is work with players for a few weeks, going back and forth. I actually send them a finalized character sheet, so they know their own character.

What I was really focusing on was the other characters, hoping they don’t create extra characters, try out all the options/subclasses/races/etc., and then have advanced knowledge at the table.

What I’ll probably do is just build homebrew content, but only to current level. 

Thank you again. I look forward to sharing stories.

H.