You are an eternal champion, a paragon. Your soul has been born again and again. Only fragments of your past lives remain, but a driving need to destroy fiends always surfaces.
Like a moth to flame you are drawn forth to combat fiends and the arch fiends that rule them. A seemingly never ending cycle, an endless war. An endless war you sought to end.
Again and again you have fought them back. Again and again the archfiends returned, stronger. Like you they too were trapped in this cycle, but they remembered every life and every defeat.
A cage was built to trap the worst of the worst. Thirty-one of the most heinous and evil archfiends. Trapped in a cage. A cage powered by your eternal soul.
You sacrificed your body, power, and eternal soul. You have become a warden, trapped in a cage, of the very fiends you swore to defeat. And for a time… there was peace.
The caged fiends whispered promises of power and threats of vileness in exchange for their freedom. You learned to block them out in a meditative trance. Time becomes meaningless as you become lost in the fragments of your past.
Until now…
Your eyes open. You’re sitting in a chair at a rough hewn wooden table. On the table is a one foot long polished heartwood rod, with arcane carvings on its handle. You’re dressed in simple rough linens, leather shoes, and a belt.
A large silver ring is on your left hand. Six empty spots circle a diamond, which sits in its center. The ring itself is covered in arcane glyphs.
The room is a simple cabin, wooden counter and cookware built around an open hearth in front of you, a shuttered glassless window is open to your left, an open door is on your right, and there is bedding and a trunk behind you.
Sunlight filters in through the open door. Beyond the door you can glimpse a golden wheat field swaying in the wind. The rustle of wheat in the wind, sun, and temperature tells you it’s late spring early summer.
SIX PLAYERS… IN ONE BODY.
The game will start with the players sitting at a table, in a single room farmhouse, facing a slightly open door. They will not be told that they are all in the same body. They will be wearing simple clothes and a large ring on their left hand. On the table is a wooden billy club with arcane carvings on the handle. I’ll give them a couple minutes to acclimate.
Before they get comfortable, a couple of Lemures enter the room followed by a Harvester Devil (downgraded to CR 1). The harvester wants the ring they are wearing. Even if the players agree to give up the ring, they can’t. The ring won’t come off their finger.
Combat… more lemures… blocked door… open window… (this is supposed to be a flee scenario). When they jump out of the window the setting switches to a modern one. They have actually jumped out of a third story window into an alley.
The story will jump back and forth between a fantasy setting and a modern one. In the modern setting the player will appear to be a homeless person that talks to themselves. Combat will take place mostly in the fantasy setting.
The player will see themselves as demon hunters trying to stop a demon invasion. In the real setting they will unknowingly be fighting against organized crime. They will think the bad guys they see are actually possessed by demons.
INSPIRATIONS
Split (2016)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Oldboy (2003)
The Fisher King (1991)
The Thirteen Ghost Of Scooby-Doo (1985)
THE HOST BODY
The host body is the body shared by all the players. Each player still has their own class, hit points, stats, etc. Players are physically limited on equipment. You can’t wear more than one set of armor, hats/helms, glasses/mask, cloaks, clothing, bracers, gloves, boots, or belts. You can wear more than one necklace and rings.
MANIFEST SELF
At the start of your turn, as a bonus action in combat, you can manifest yourself in an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of the host body.
Your manifested self steps out of the host body and appears as you see yourself. This leaves the previous player, still in the host body, in control of the host body. You are fully equipped and dressed in the exact same manner as the host body. While using manifest self you act completely independent of the host body. Any expendable items used by the manifested self are deducted from the equipment total.
The manifested self lasts a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus. At the start of the next turn, after manifested self ends, you are yanked back into the host body. This happens regardless of distance, as is anything dropped or thrown.
Spells similar to Banishment (4th level), which remove, trap, or teleport enemies to other planes, include Plane Shift (7th level) for permanent banishing, Forcecage (7th level) for absolute containment, and Banishing Smite (5th level) for damage plus banishment act as normal on the manifested self.
SUBMERGE SELF
As a bonus action, you can submerge yourself within the host body.
Your submerged self appears in a large hexagon shaped room, facing a large hexagon shaped cage in the center of the room. Your submerged self appears as you see yourself dressed in simple clothing.
As a bonus action on your turn you can return to the host body.
INTERPOSE SELF
As a reaction to incoming damage, you can interpose yourself in place of whoever is currently in control of the host body.
You take the damage that they would have taken and are now in control of the host body until the next player takes control of the host body.
MOVEMENT OF THE HOST BODY
Any previous host body movement, from a move action or action, during a combat round is cumulative and subtracts from the current player's host body movement. This does not affect bonus action movement from abilities like a Rogue’s bonus action dash, Monk’s Step Of The Wind, or spells like Expeditious Retreat.
TARGETING OF PLAYERS
Enemies can only target the player currently in control of the host body or a manifested self. They can not target a submerged self.
Players in the host body may target themselves, any other player in the host body, or a manifested self. They can not target a submerged self.
Players using manifested self may target themselves or the player currently controlling the host body. They can not target a submerged self.
Players using submerged self may only target another player using submerged self.
Potions may be drunk as a bonus action, but only affect the player currently in control of the host body.
ATTUNEMENT
Multiple players can attune to the same non-sentient object. If an item does not require attunement it can be used by all players.
ARMOR AND SHIELD
Armor and shields will only be effective if the player is proficient in them. If the player is not proficient armor and shields provide no armor value nor disadvantage. Shields are strapped to the arm and take an action to drop.
A shield hand can be used to hold other things, but not attack except with a bow. If a shield hand is used to attack with a bow that player loses the shield bonus until the start of their next turn.
COMMUNICATION
Despite sharing one body the players don’t share one mind. This means they have to communicate out loud with each other.
FIENDS
Demons, devils, and yugoloth will be used interchangeably.
CHARACTER CREATION
SPECIES
Custom Lineage
Ability Scores: Choose any +2
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Instead of choosing one of the game's races for your character at 1st level, you can use the following traits to represent your character's lineage, giving you full control over how your character's origin shaped them:
Creature Type: You are a humanoid. You determine your appearance and whether you resemble any of your kin.
Feat: You gain one feat of your choice for which you qualify, before selecting background or class.
Trait: You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.
Your race is considered to be a Custom Lineage for any game feature that requires a certain race, such as elf or dwarf.
BACKGROUND
You may select any official background or use Tasha’s rules to create a custom background.
Bonus: All players start with one background feat at 0 level, unless the background they choose already has a feat attached to it. You must meet all requirements for this feat at this level.
CLASS ZERO
HITPOINTS:
Hitpoints at 0 level equals your Constitution score (not modifier).
For hitpoints at 1st level you add max hit die, of your selected class, to your 0 level hitpoints.
For hitpoints at 2nd level, and higher, you add Constitution modifier plus average for your class hit dice.
HIT DIE: At 0 level you have no class hit die. On a short or long rest you regain your constitution modifier in hit points
ARMOR PROFICIENCY: None
WEAPON PROFICIENCY: Proficiency with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows; plus anything your race bestows
SAVING THROW PROFICIENCY: None
LANGUAGE, SKILL, and TOOL PROFICIENCY: You start only with the language, skill, and tool proficiency of your background and race.
STARTING EQUIPMENT and GOLD: None
PROFICIENCY BONUS: +1
MAGIC ITEM
Wilhelms Schlagstock
Wondrous Item, Rare
This foot long polished heartwood rod is engraved with arcane symbols, on the handle, representing different weapons.
As a free object interaction, a creature holding this rod can transform it into any ordinary handheld weapon. When in the form of a ranged weapon, this rod magically creates its own ammunition, which disappears after the ranged attack hits or misses.
This rod can also store additional weapons inside it. By holding the rod against any non-sentient weapon for one minute that weapon becomes stored inside the rod. A new symbol, for that weapon, appears on the rod’s handle. The rod can now be transformed into that weapon. Pressing the arcane symbol for that weapon, for one minute, releases the weapon from the rod.
This rod can also be used as both an arcane and druidic focus.
A friend of mine did 4 characters in one body, but she was playing all of them. 6 Players for one body would be special difficult.
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
This feels more like an idea for a book or a tv show or a video game than an rpg. Inherent in the idea is that some people will just be sitting there watching while a couple play. (There’s only 1 bonus action a round. By the time the last person exits, the fight will be over.)
And it would take a group that really knows, trusts and respects each other to have them all control one body when 2 people want to do one thing, three want to do another thing, and the last wants to do a third thing. Just seems like it’s begging for player v player (as opposed to character v character) conflict.
And the split worlds angle will give the players too much to keep track of. Most players can barely keep one plot in their head, let alone two.
And the gimmick of springing it on the players is a non-starter. This kind of high concept idea needs player buy in from the beginning.
So, yeah, a good story to read, probably not a good one to play.
This feels more like an idea for a book or a tv show or a video game than an rpg. Inherent in the idea is that some people will just be sitting there watching while a couple play. (There’s only 1 bonus action a round. By the time the last person exits, the fight will be over.)
And it would take a group that really knows, trusts and respects each other to have them all control one body when 2 people want to do one thing, three want to do another thing, and the last wants to do a third thing. Just seems like it’s begging for player v player (as opposed to character v character) conflict.
And the split worlds angle will give the players too much to keep track of. Most players can barely keep one plot in their head, let alone two.
And the gimmick of springing it on the players is a non-starter. This kind of high concept idea needs player buy in from the beginning.
So, yeah, a good story to read, probably not a good one to play.
No. They would all play as normal, with their full actions every turn, but there would only be one body. There would be no more to keep track of than normal characters.
A friend of mine did 4 characters in one body, but she was playing all of them. 6 Players for one body would be special difficult.
It shouldn't be that much more difficult. Each player would still just be controlling one character. That one character however would be sharing the same body. So on initiative the only real thing that changes from a normal game is that everyone is in the same square using the same token (unless they manifest themselves).
Armor and shields will only be effective if the player is proficient in them. If the player is not proficient armor and shields provide no armor value nor disadvantage. Shields are strapped to the arm and take an action to drop.
So are the fighter and/or paladin going to be nerfed by wearing lighter armor than they otherwise could, or are the rest of the characters going to be nerfed by wearing armor that's too heavy for them -- or any armor at all, in the case of a monk and/or barbarian?
Strength. If the table shows a Strength score in the Strength column for an armor type, that armor reduces the wearer’s speed by 10 feet unless the wearer has a Strength score equal to or higher than the listed score.
Level 1: Unarmored Defense
While you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a Shield, your base Armor Class equals 10 plus your Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers.
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid) PIPA - Planar Interception/Protection Aeormaton, warforged bodyguard and ex-wizard hunter (Warrior of the Elements monk/Cartographer artificer) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
There is a lot going on here, and much of it is antithetical to the general D&D experience. I think AntonSirius hit the nail on the head about some of the logistical difficulties of doing this, given gear restraints, so I will not harp on that other than to say I agree that is one problem.
Other problems I can think of:
1. DMs make the world, the encounters, the lore, and so much else about the game - one of the few things players actually get dominant agency over is the creation of their character. Your idea steps on the toes of player agency by fundamentally rewriting their character by placing an extreme limitation on that character. This is made much, much worse by dictating what species the players must play.
2. A lot of the fun of D&D comes from building relationships with your party - you are removing that, in favor of effectively telling players they have to cosplay as Moon Knight. By removing that social element of the same party, you have taken out a foundational component of D&D enjoyment in a way that likely renders the entire game unstable.
3. So much about this is a red flag of the DM ruling by order, not by storytelling - for example, you dictate "your characters will see the modern world criminals as demons." That is really problematic storytelling and DMing in a collaborative game - your goal as DM is to set the world and let them draw conclusions, not tell them what their conclusions should be.
All told, this feels a lot like one of those ideas where the DM is trying to be cute and original, and is really just removing a lot of the foundational elements that make D&D fun. There might be a hypothetical player that would enjoy this, but I do not think I have ever met that player and expect most would be against this idea.
This feels more like an idea for a book or a tv show or a video game than an rpg. Inherent in the idea is that some people will just be sitting there watching while a couple play. (There’s only 1 bonus action a round. By the time the last person exits, the fight will be over.)
And it would take a group that really knows, trusts and respects each other to have them all control one body when 2 people want to do one thing, three want to do another thing, and the last wants to do a third thing. Just seems like it’s begging for player v player (as opposed to character v character) conflict.
And the split worlds angle will give the players too much to keep track of. Most players can barely keep one plot in their head, let alone two.
And the gimmick of springing it on the players is a non-starter. This kind of high concept idea needs player buy in from the beginning.
So, yeah, a good story to read, probably not a good one to play.
No. They would all play as normal, with their full actions every turn, but there would only be one body. There would be no more to keep track of than normal characters.
Firstly, my comment noted that they will need to track two separate stories, nothing about character information.
Second, they will not be entirely normal. Either the wizard will take their turn after the barbarian and be in melee they don’t want to be in, or the barbarian will go after the wizard, and be too far from the melee they do want to be in.
And when it’s the ranger’s turn, does the animal companion just spring into being and then vanish again when their turn ends? What about if you target one of the others, or yourself, with fly, now does everyone get to fly? Or does the body just fall to the ground?
And if, say, the cleric is concentrating on maintaining a spell, well, someone else can just pop in with their reaction to take the damage, so said cleric never needs to even make a concentration check.
And if a power lasts until the end of my next turn, but someone hops in and takes over, does my turn actually end, or does that power just get to keep going? Or if it’s a negative effect, I can take my turn sooner to just end it quicker.
This sounds like a classic case of trying to beat D&D into a shape it's not supposed to be. You're going to make the cooperative side of the game antagonistic—if the fighter persona wants to be effective they need to be wearing armor, but this makes the spellcaster, monk, or barbarian personas ineffective. If the melee personas want to be effective, the ranged personas suffer and vice versa. I would fear rather than creating a fun puzzle to solve, it'll create frustration for the sake of a gimmick.
Also the way you frame presenting this idea hints at maybe you have an idea of how it "will" go and haven't entertained how it might go. That's a recipe for disaster also.
Something like this could be an interesting concept for a single encounter or so, but I can't see it working well for an entire game, for reasons others have already brought up.
They will not be told that they are all in the same body.
That is a major problem. Who is this suppose to be fun for? The DM? All of the players or just a couple of them Just reading this concept, creating a sorta character then finding out it is all for naught ? Sorry but I can see how this is fun for some, but I would want to know this was happening before agreeing to play.
My 2cp worth just to throw this out into the ether but why not use the Adult Oblex?
Each player is a persona inside the Oblex, as a group they decide how the oblex will move and interact etc but they can then use the Sulferous Impersonation ability to represent one of the characters coming to the fore to do a specific task.
EDIT: you can then have the "ooze" resemble anything you want, you're just using the oblex as stat block/game mechanic.
Further edit: you could also then give the oblex an ability to generate something akin to an intellect devourer which would allow more the characters to "find a host" which would then allow them to move around as normal, gain some special abilities etc. This might create a bit more of a body horror vibe though.
I really like the creativity of the idea. This could be a really cool movie or novel.
However:
For D&D, I think the "coolness" of the idea is going to be lost on the players with what basically amounts to playing D&D with a lot of hindrances.
What will probably happen in 99% of all combats is that each player will spend their Bonus Action on their first turn to Manifest themself. There doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of reason not to do that, besides losing your bonus action on your first turn. After that, for the next 2 rounds minimum each character basically behaves as a normal D&D character without optimized armor (thinking that the armor worn will be light or medium at most so that the greatest number of characters can benefit from the armor).
If they don't manifest, that means that between the 6 players they each have about 5ft of movement if they want to split it fairly (spoiler: they won't), because it is stated the total movement for the round is based on the base movement of the one body. If they don't manifest, that means the last 2-3 characters at least will probably not be able to choose to move at all.
When outside of combat, it is going to be very unclear who is "in charge" of the body. Person A wants to go check out the arcane library. Person B wants to investigate a crime scene. Person C wants to spend time building traps. Etc. If the party is let in on the "you all share one body" thing at the beginning and buy into the idea, maybe it can work, but it will require a level of cooperation never before scene in a D&D group. Otherwise the players, not the characters, are going to start butting heads.
I don't think the bouncing back between "realities" is a bad idea. That could make for a very cool campaign! uncovering what in the fantasy world bleeds through to the "real" world,
However, it isn't clear if many of their abilities will work in the "modern" world. If one of the characters is a wizard, can they still cast fireball in the modern world? If they are stripped of magical powers as they are just a mundane human with 6 personalities, then players like a rogue or fighter are going to have a lot more fun/be more useful in half of the game than the casters.
Overall, it sounds like a cool idea for a story to hear/read/see, but less fun as a game to play.
Even if you work out all the logistical and rules issues mentioned above, if your players feel tricked by such a major twist in how the game is played and/or don't understand up front how all of the rules for this will work and/or aren't interested in this play style, they will lose interest/investment very quickly. The coolest story/campaign idea in the world won't stand up to bunch of bored, disinterested or uninvested players.
My 2cp worth just to throw this out into the ether but why not use the Adult Oblex?
Each player is a persona inside the Oblex, as a group they decide how the oblex will move and interact etc but they can then use the Sulferous Impersonation ability to represent one of the characters coming to the fore to do a specific task.
EDIT: you can then have the "ooze" resemble anything you want, you're just using the oblex as stat block/game mechanic.
Further edit: you could also then give the oblex an ability to generate something akin to an intellect devourer which would allow more the characters to "find a host" which would then allow them to move around as normal, gain some special abilities etc. This might create a bit more of a body horror vibe though.
My setup still has each player play a full fledged character with all of their character's abilities and action per turn. Your idea would work if I were running a game based on The Thing with the players being The Thing. I'm not running The Thing. I already have roughly 50% of the campaign mapped out, but that's too long to go into here.
I really like the creativity of the idea. This could be a really cool movie or novel.
However:
For D&D, I think the "coolness" of the idea is going to be lost on the players with what basically amounts to playing D&D with a lot of hindrances.
What will probably happen in 99% of all combats is that each player will spend their Bonus Action on their first turn to Manifest themself. There doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of reason not to do that, besides losing your bonus action on your first turn. After that, for the next 2 rounds minimum each character basically behaves as a normal D&D character without optimized armor (thinking that the armor worn will be light or medium at most so that the greatest number of characters can benefit from the armor).
If they don't manifest, that means that between the 6 players they each have about 5ft of movement if they want to split it fairly (spoiler: they won't), because it is stated the total movement for the round is based on the base movement of the one body. If they don't manifest, that means the last 2-3 characters at least will probably not be able to choose to move at all.
When outside of combat, it is going to be very unclear who is "in charge" of the body. Person A wants to go check out the arcane library. Person B wants to investigate a crime scene. Person C wants to spend time building traps. Etc. If the party is let in on the "you all share one body" thing at the beginning and buy into the idea, maybe it can work, but it will require a level of cooperation never before scene in a D&D group. Otherwise the players, not the characters, are going to start butting heads.
I don't think the bouncing back between "realities" is a bad idea. That could make for a very cool campaign! uncovering what in the fantasy world bleeds through to the "real" world,
However, it isn't clear if many of their abilities will work in the "modern" world. If one of the characters is a wizard, can they still cast fireball in the modern world? If they are stripped of magical powers as they are just a mundane human with 6 personalities, then players like a rogue or fighter are going to have a lot more fun/be more useful in half of the game than the casters.
Overall, it sounds like a cool idea for a story to hear/read/see, but less fun as a game to play.
Armor is an issue, and I already partially addressed that. Since I've started playing 5e I have rarely seen anyone wear heavy, and I have been through many campaigns including two level 1 through 20+ games. I keep thinking on other ways to address armor.
Outside of combat, just like any group that last for a long time (my current has been going on for 4 and half almost 5 years.). They'll have to learn to work together. This will be a very narrative driven goal focused game, not a sandbox. The characters will have a very specific goal from the very beginning of the game.
As for magic users... this is the feedback I was looking for. I could soften the approach In the real world and have their magic becomes more... incidental. A bottle of whiskey and a lighter becomes a fireball? Lightning bolt an unexplained electrical short?
This sounds like a classic case of trying to beat D&D into a shape it's not supposed to be. You're going to make the cooperative side of the game antagonistic—if the fighter persona wants to be effective they need to be wearing armor, but this makes the spellcaster, monk, or barbarian personas ineffective. If the melee personas want to be effective, the ranged personas suffer and vice versa. I would fear rather than creating a fun puzzle to solve, it'll create frustration for the sake of a gimmick.
Also the way you frame presenting this idea hints at maybe you have an idea of how it "will" go and haven't entertained how it might go. That's a recipe for disaster also.
I already addressed armor and shield and ranged weapons to make that not antagonistic as armor will only affect the player proficient in it. Not proficient in it then it neither benefits nor hinders you.
And the "gimmick" would be part of the whole campaign as something for the players to solve.
As for how it will or might go, I obviously have entertained that or I wouldn't have posted on here for feedback. I have played tons of different rpgs over the past forty years. MOST games involve beating the system into a shape it's not supposed to be. That's why we all have house rules. That's why the dungeon and the dragon magazines existed, That's why paizo was formed and why pathfinder exist. Heck, it's why AD&D (my first edition playing), 2nd edition, 3rd edition, 3.5, skills and powers edition (so good but everybody hated it but me), 4th edition (worst edition), 5th edition, and now 5.5e exist. These have all beat D&D into a shape it's not supposed to be.
I only have one current player that might be an issue and it's because they are constantly playing characters looking for an excuse to be evil. We even actually had to subdue and restrain his current character and are currently trying to figure out what to do with him. He'll probably be making a new character soon.
Well, to be fair, context like that you have 40 years' experience and your group has been playing together for 4-5 years was not in the OP and happens to be incredibly relevant to the feedback given. I would still agree with the others insofar as warning you that this may not go as smoothly as you have in your head, but if you've contorted the game with this group before and they are primed to trying out new and interesting ways to play, then more power to you. Just have a backup plan, or prepare to abandon the idea if it proves to have more friction in the actual play than you anticipated.
I agree with Sabin76, mentioning about the players would have been helpful. I believe a lot of the criticism is based on people trying to imagine who would be playing e.g. themselves.
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REVISED INTRO BASED ON FEEDBACK (02/28)
You are an eternal champion, a paragon. Your soul has been born again and again. Only fragments of your past lives remain, but a driving need to destroy fiends always surfaces.
Like a moth to flame you are drawn forth to combat fiends and the arch fiends that rule them. A seemingly never ending cycle, an endless war. An endless war you sought to end.
Again and again you have fought them back. Again and again the archfiends returned, stronger. Like you they too were trapped in this cycle, but they remembered every life and every defeat.
A cage was built to trap the worst of the worst. Thirty-one of the most heinous and evil archfiends. Trapped in a cage. A cage powered by your eternal soul.
You sacrificed your body, power, and eternal soul. You have become a warden, trapped in a cage, of the very fiends you swore to defeat. And for a time… there was peace.
The caged fiends whispered promises of power and threats of vileness in exchange for their freedom. You learned to block them out in a meditative trance. Time becomes meaningless as you become lost in the fragments of your past.
Until now…
Your eyes open. You’re sitting in a chair at a rough hewn wooden table. On the table is a one foot long polished heartwood rod, with arcane carvings on its handle. You’re dressed in simple rough linens, leather shoes, and a belt.
A large silver ring is on your left hand. Six empty spots circle a diamond, which sits in its center. The ring itself is covered in arcane glyphs.
The room is a simple cabin, wooden counter and cookware built around an open hearth in front of you, a shuttered glassless window is open to your left, an open door is on your right, and there is bedding and a trunk behind you.
Sunlight filters in through the open door. Beyond the door you can glimpse a golden wheat field swaying in the wind. The rustle of wheat in the wind, sun, and temperature tells you it’s late spring early summer.
SIX PLAYERS… IN ONE BODY.
The game will start with the players sitting at a table, in a single room farmhouse, facing a slightly open door. They will not be told that they are all in the same body. They will be wearing simple clothes and a large ring on their left hand. On the table is a wooden billy club with arcane carvings on the handle. I’ll give them a couple minutes to acclimate.
Before they get comfortable, a couple of Lemures enter the room followed by a Harvester Devil (downgraded to CR 1). The harvester wants the ring they are wearing. Even if the players agree to give up the ring, they can’t. The ring won’t come off their finger.
Combat… more lemures… blocked door… open window… (this is supposed to be a flee scenario). When they jump out of the window the setting switches to a modern one. They have actually jumped out of a third story window into an alley.
The story will jump back and forth between a fantasy setting and a modern one. In the modern setting the player will appear to be a homeless person that talks to themselves. Combat will take place mostly in the fantasy setting.
The player will see themselves as demon hunters trying to stop a demon invasion. In the real setting they will unknowingly be fighting against organized crime. They will think the bad guys they see are actually possessed by demons.
INSPIRATIONS
Split (2016)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Oldboy (2003)
The Fisher King (1991)
The Thirteen Ghost Of Scooby-Doo (1985)
THE HOST BODY
The host body is the body shared by all the players. Each player still has their own class, hit points, stats, etc. Players are physically limited on equipment. You can’t wear more than one set of armor, hats/helms, glasses/mask, cloaks, clothing, bracers, gloves, boots, or belts. You can wear more than one necklace and rings.
MANIFEST SELF
At the start of your turn, as a bonus action in combat, you can manifest yourself in an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of the host body.
Your manifested self steps out of the host body and appears as you see yourself. This leaves the previous player, still in the host body, in control of the host body. You are fully equipped and dressed in the exact same manner as the host body. While using manifest self you act completely independent of the host body. Any expendable items used by the manifested self are deducted from the equipment total.
The manifested self lasts a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus. At the start of the next turn, after manifested self ends, you are yanked back into the host body. This happens regardless of distance, as is anything dropped or thrown.
Spells similar to Banishment (4th level), which remove, trap, or teleport enemies to other planes, include Plane Shift (7th level) for permanent banishing, Forcecage (7th level) for absolute containment, and Banishing Smite (5th level) for damage plus banishment act as normal on the manifested self.
SUBMERGE SELF
As a bonus action, you can submerge yourself within the host body.
Your submerged self appears in a large hexagon shaped room, facing a large hexagon shaped cage in the center of the room. Your submerged self appears as you see yourself dressed in simple clothing.
As a bonus action on your turn you can return to the host body.
INTERPOSE SELF
As a reaction to incoming damage, you can interpose yourself in place of whoever is currently in control of the host body.
You take the damage that they would have taken and are now in control of the host body until the next player takes control of the host body.
MOVEMENT OF THE HOST BODY
Any previous host body movement, from a move action or action, during a combat round is cumulative and subtracts from the current player's host body movement. This does not affect bonus action movement from abilities like a Rogue’s bonus action dash, Monk’s Step Of The Wind, or spells like Expeditious Retreat.
TARGETING OF PLAYERS
Enemies can only target the player currently in control of the host body or a manifested self. They can not target a submerged self.
Players in the host body may target themselves, any other player in the host body, or a manifested self. They can not target a submerged self.
Players using manifested self may target themselves or the player currently controlling the host body. They can not target a submerged self.
Players using submerged self may only target another player using submerged self.
Potions may be drunk as a bonus action, but only affect the player currently in control of the host body.
ATTUNEMENT
Multiple players can attune to the same non-sentient object. If an item does not require attunement it can be used by all players.
ARMOR AND SHIELD
Armor and shields will only be effective if the player is proficient in them. If the player is not proficient armor and shields provide no armor value nor disadvantage. Shields are strapped to the arm and take an action to drop.
A shield hand can be used to hold other things, but not attack except with a bow. If a shield hand is used to attack with a bow that player loses the shield bonus until the start of their next turn.
COMMUNICATION
Despite sharing one body the players don’t share one mind. This means they have to communicate out loud with each other.
FIENDS
Demons, devils, and yugoloth will be used interchangeably.
CHARACTER CREATION
Custom Lineage
Ability Scores: Choose any +2
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Instead of choosing one of the game's races for your character at 1st level, you can use the following traits to represent your character's lineage, giving you full control over how your character's origin shaped them:
Creature Type: You are a humanoid. You determine your appearance and whether you resemble any of your kin.
Feat: You gain one feat of your choice for which you qualify, before selecting background or class.
Trait: You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.
Your race is considered to be a Custom Lineage for any game feature that requires a certain race, such as elf or dwarf.
You may select any official background or use Tasha’s rules to create a custom background.
Bonus: All players start with one background feat at 0 level, unless the background they choose already has a feat attached to it. You must meet all requirements for this feat at this level.
HITPOINTS:
Hitpoints at 0 level equals your Constitution score (not modifier).
For hitpoints at 1st level you add max hit die, of your selected class, to your 0 level hitpoints.
For hitpoints at 2nd level, and higher, you add Constitution modifier plus average for your class hit dice.
HIT DIE: At 0 level you have no class hit die. On a short or long rest you regain your constitution modifier in hit points
ARMOR PROFICIENCY: None
WEAPON PROFICIENCY: Proficiency with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows; plus anything your race bestows
SAVING THROW PROFICIENCY: None
LANGUAGE, SKILL, and TOOL PROFICIENCY: You start only with the language, skill, and tool proficiency of your background and race.
STARTING EQUIPMENT and GOLD: None
PROFICIENCY BONUS: +1
MAGIC ITEM
Wilhelms Schlagstock
Wondrous Item, Rare
This foot long polished heartwood rod is engraved with arcane symbols, on the handle, representing different weapons.
As a free object interaction, a creature holding this rod can transform it into any ordinary handheld weapon. When in the form of a ranged weapon, this rod magically creates its own ammunition, which disappears after the ranged attack hits or misses.
This rod can also store additional weapons inside it. By holding the rod against any non-sentient weapon for one minute that weapon becomes stored inside the rod. A new symbol, for that weapon, appears on the rod’s handle. The rod can now be transformed into that weapon. Pressing the arcane symbol for that weapon, for one minute, releases the weapon from the rod.
This rod can also be used as both an arcane and druidic focus.
A friend of mine did 4 characters in one body, but she was playing all of them. 6 Players for one body would be special difficult.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
This feels more like an idea for a book or a tv show or a video game than an rpg. Inherent in the idea is that some people will just be sitting there watching while a couple play. (There’s only 1 bonus action a round. By the time the last person exits, the fight will be over.)
And it would take a group that really knows, trusts and respects each other to have them all control one body when 2 people want to do one thing, three want to do another thing, and the last wants to do a third thing. Just seems like it’s begging for player v player (as opposed to character v character) conflict.
And the split worlds angle will give the players too much to keep track of. Most players can barely keep one plot in their head, let alone two.
And the gimmick of springing it on the players is a non-starter. This kind of high concept idea needs player buy in from the beginning.
So, yeah, a good story to read, probably not a good one to play.
No. They would all play as normal, with their full actions every turn, but there would only be one body. There would be no more to keep track of than normal characters.
It shouldn't be that much more difficult. Each player would still just be controlling one character. That one character however would be sharing the same body. So on initiative the only real thing that changes from a normal game is that everyone is in the same square using the same token (unless they manifest themselves).
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So are the fighter and/or paladin going to be nerfed by wearing lighter armor than they otherwise could, or are the rest of the characters going to be nerfed by wearing armor that's too heavy for them -- or any armor at all, in the case of a monk and/or barbarian?
Active characters:
Edoumiaond Willegume "Eddie" Podslee, Vegetanian scholar (College of Spirits bard)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Peter "the Pied Piper" Hausler, human con artist/remover of vermin (Circle of the Shepherd druid)
PIPA - Planar Interception/Protection Aeormaton, warforged bodyguard and ex-wizard hunter (Warrior of the Elements monk/Cartographer artificer)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
There is a lot going on here, and much of it is antithetical to the general D&D experience. I think AntonSirius hit the nail on the head about some of the logistical difficulties of doing this, given gear restraints, so I will not harp on that other than to say I agree that is one problem.
Other problems I can think of:
1. DMs make the world, the encounters, the lore, and so much else about the game - one of the few things players actually get dominant agency over is the creation of their character. Your idea steps on the toes of player agency by fundamentally rewriting their character by placing an extreme limitation on that character. This is made much, much worse by dictating what species the players must play.
2. A lot of the fun of D&D comes from building relationships with your party - you are removing that, in favor of effectively telling players they have to cosplay as Moon Knight. By removing that social element of the same party, you have taken out a foundational component of D&D enjoyment in a way that likely renders the entire game unstable.
3. So much about this is a red flag of the DM ruling by order, not by storytelling - for example, you dictate "your characters will see the modern world criminals as demons." That is really problematic storytelling and DMing in a collaborative game - your goal as DM is to set the world and let them draw conclusions, not tell them what their conclusions should be.
All told, this feels a lot like one of those ideas where the DM is trying to be cute and original, and is really just removing a lot of the foundational elements that make D&D fun. There might be a hypothetical player that would enjoy this, but I do not think I have ever met that player and expect most would be against this idea.
Quick question to OP:
Is this character meant to be a system/be diagnosed w/Dissociative Identity Disorder?
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
Firstly, my comment noted that they will need to track two separate stories, nothing about character information.
Second, they will not be entirely normal. Either the wizard will take their turn after the barbarian and be in melee they don’t want to be in, or the barbarian will go after the wizard, and be too far from the melee they do want to be in.
And when it’s the ranger’s turn, does the animal companion just spring into being and then vanish again when their turn ends? What about if you target one of the others, or yourself, with fly, now does everyone get to fly? Or does the body just fall to the ground?
And if, say, the cleric is concentrating on maintaining a spell, well, someone else can just pop in with their reaction to take the damage, so said cleric never needs to even make a concentration check.
And if a power lasts until the end of my next turn, but someone hops in and takes over, does my turn actually end, or does that power just get to keep going? Or if it’s a negative effect, I can take my turn sooner to just end it quicker.
This sounds like a classic case of trying to beat D&D into a shape it's not supposed to be. You're going to make the cooperative side of the game antagonistic—if the fighter persona wants to be effective they need to be wearing armor, but this makes the spellcaster, monk, or barbarian personas ineffective. If the melee personas want to be effective, the ranged personas suffer and vice versa. I would fear rather than creating a fun puzzle to solve, it'll create frustration for the sake of a gimmick.
Also the way you frame presenting this idea hints at maybe you have an idea of how it "will" go and haven't entertained how it might go. That's a recipe for disaster also.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Something like this could be an interesting concept for a single encounter or so, but I can't see it working well for an entire game, for reasons others have already brought up.
That is a major problem. Who is this suppose to be fun for? The DM? All of the players or just a couple of them Just reading this concept, creating a sorta character then finding out it is all for naught ? Sorry but I can see how this is fun for some, but I would want to know this was happening before agreeing to play.
My 2cp worth just to throw this out into the ether but why not use the Adult Oblex?
Each player is a persona inside the Oblex, as a group they decide how the oblex will move and interact etc but they can then use the Sulferous Impersonation ability to represent one of the characters coming to the fore to do a specific task.
EDIT: you can then have the "ooze" resemble anything you want, you're just using the oblex as stat block/game mechanic.
Further edit: you could also then give the oblex an ability to generate something akin to an intellect devourer which would allow more the characters to "find a host" which would then allow them to move around as normal, gain some special abilities etc. This might create a bit more of a body horror vibe though.
I really like the creativity of the idea. This could be a really cool movie or novel.
However:
For D&D, I think the "coolness" of the idea is going to be lost on the players with what basically amounts to playing D&D with a lot of hindrances.
What will probably happen in 99% of all combats is that each player will spend their Bonus Action on their first turn to Manifest themself. There doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of reason not to do that, besides losing your bonus action on your first turn. After that, for the next 2 rounds minimum each character basically behaves as a normal D&D character without optimized armor (thinking that the armor worn will be light or medium at most so that the greatest number of characters can benefit from the armor).
If they don't manifest, that means that between the 6 players they each have about 5ft of movement if they want to split it fairly (spoiler: they won't), because it is stated the total movement for the round is based on the base movement of the one body. If they don't manifest, that means the last 2-3 characters at least will probably not be able to choose to move at all.
When outside of combat, it is going to be very unclear who is "in charge" of the body. Person A wants to go check out the arcane library. Person B wants to investigate a crime scene. Person C wants to spend time building traps. Etc. If the party is let in on the "you all share one body" thing at the beginning and buy into the idea, maybe it can work, but it will require a level of cooperation never before scene in a D&D group. Otherwise the players, not the characters, are going to start butting heads.
I don't think the bouncing back between "realities" is a bad idea. That could make for a very cool campaign! uncovering what in the fantasy world bleeds through to the "real" world,
However, it isn't clear if many of their abilities will work in the "modern" world. If one of the characters is a wizard, can they still cast fireball in the modern world? If they are stripped of magical powers as they are just a mundane human with 6 personalities, then players like a rogue or fighter are going to have a lot more fun/be more useful in half of the game than the casters.
Overall, it sounds like a cool idea for a story to hear/read/see, but less fun as a game to play.
Even if you work out all the logistical and rules issues mentioned above, if your players feel tricked by such a major twist in how the game is played and/or don't understand up front how all of the rules for this will work and/or aren't interested in this play style, they will lose interest/investment very quickly. The coolest story/campaign idea in the world won't stand up to bunch of bored, disinterested or uninvested players.
My setup still has each player play a full fledged character with all of their character's abilities and action per turn. Your idea would work if I were running a game based on The Thing with the players being The Thing. I'm not running The Thing. I already have roughly 50% of the campaign mapped out, but that's too long to go into here.
Armor is an issue, and I already partially addressed that. Since I've started playing 5e I have rarely seen anyone wear heavy, and I have been through many campaigns including two level 1 through 20+ games. I keep thinking on other ways to address armor.
Outside of combat, just like any group that last for a long time (my current has been going on for 4 and half almost 5 years.). They'll have to learn to work together. This will be a very narrative driven goal focused game, not a sandbox. The characters will have a very specific goal from the very beginning of the game.
As for magic users... this is the feedback I was looking for. I could soften the approach In the real world and have their magic becomes more... incidental. A bottle of whiskey and a lighter becomes a fireball? Lightning bolt an unexplained electrical short?
Thanks for the feedback.
I already addressed armor and shield and ranged weapons to make that not antagonistic as armor will only affect the player proficient in it. Not proficient in it then it neither benefits nor hinders you.
And the "gimmick" would be part of the whole campaign as something for the players to solve.
As for how it will or might go, I obviously have entertained that or I wouldn't have posted on here for feedback. I have played tons of different rpgs over the past forty years. MOST games involve beating the system into a shape it's not supposed to be. That's why we all have house rules. That's why the dungeon and the dragon magazines existed, That's why paizo was formed and why pathfinder exist. Heck, it's why AD&D (my first edition playing), 2nd edition, 3rd edition, 3.5, skills and powers edition (so good but everybody hated it but me), 4th edition (worst edition), 5th edition, and now 5.5e exist. These have all beat D&D into a shape it's not supposed to be.
I only have one current player that might be an issue and it's because they are constantly playing characters looking for an excuse to be evil. We even actually had to subdue and restrain his current character and are currently trying to figure out what to do with him. He'll probably be making a new character soon.
Well, to be fair, context like that you have 40 years' experience and your group has been playing together for 4-5 years was not in the OP and happens to be incredibly relevant to the feedback given. I would still agree with the others insofar as warning you that this may not go as smoothly as you have in your head, but if you've contorted the game with this group before and they are primed to trying out new and interesting ways to play, then more power to you. Just have a backup plan, or prepare to abandon the idea if it proves to have more friction in the actual play than you anticipated.
I agree with Sabin76, mentioning about the players would have been helpful. I believe a lot of the criticism is based on people trying to imagine who would be playing e.g. themselves.