OK - last session we had to park the action in the middle of combat. Not ideal, but the Paladin had an early morning to get to work.

One of the characters was in a really bad way - surrounded by creatures that are really strong compared to the party, and down to 11HP, when the creatures are dishing out 2D6+5 on a successful attack. 

It's not at all hard to believe that the character is toast.

BUT - I know that the BBEG is unsure as to who is attacking ( there are a lot of options in the current story ), so it was his plan to take a prisoner for interrogation. So, it seemed reasonable that the character would be taken down with non-lethal damage. I've even got a parallel interrogation/rescue by the other party members scene tucked away for them if I need it.

The player, however doesn't know any of that, and they've been working on a replacement character if their current one dies in our session tonight; a sensible precaution.

However, the player is so excited about their new character, and they've put a lot of work into it.

I'm starting to feel guilty about my plan to keep their current character alive ( how messed up is that?! ).

So ... as a DM, what would you do here? Play out the scene as the dice roll? Take the current character prisoner? Kill the current character to make way for the new one?

I've never been worried about my player reaction to not killing their character before.

Perhaps the player would be happy to "give up control" of the previous character in the event of a capture if they're that excited about the chance to play their new one?  One factor is that it does make it easier to play around with the rescue mission and interrogation over sessions as all players are in the same location. They could meet the new character and drag them into the party in their effort to try and rescue their old friend, unfortunately they're too late and all they can find are a few scribbled notes letting them know what the BBEG has been able to find out about them.

Normally I'd think a player would be pretty annoyed with me if I gave the impression a character was dead but they were just unconscious but I think that with the enthusiasm for the new character that won't be such a bad problem as they're looking at a new direction to go in anyway so it's not one of those situations were you "killed" their character and made them roll a new one. Perhaps take them to one side before the session and let them know you might have plans for their character and give them the choice to see how it goes with the current one or if they're that excited about the new one ask if they want to bring them in and let go of the current one or want to see how this story goes. Just don't go turning the captured character into a brainwashed minion working for the BBEG they meet later on as a boss and acting in a way the player might be offended by!

Yeah - If I had pulled a "you're dead ... wait you're not!" bait and switch, that is a jerk move.

Right now, it's just probable that they'll die in the next few rounds of the paused combat.

I like the idea of just moving them to NPC if the player really does want to move on.

I have asked the player about it, and they say they're OK with it falling out either way - but he just seems so excited about this new character; more so than he was with his current one.

My first rule as DM: I don't kill characters, players kill characters.

If the player is excited about a new character, good for them, however they should still play to the best of their ability. If you, as DM know that they are excited about their new character, keep that in mind. It's still your role to play out the scenes as they should, if the creatures would normally kill rather than capture, don't change it to appease a player. If there's a mechanic in the fight that makes it so the players can't/won't die, then don't omit it because the player has a new shiny. In the end, just play normally, the fact that the player has a new toy they want to play with is not important. What is important is that the character is about to die...that should be a more pressing matter, and if it's not, then learn from my experience, they'll probably have a new shiny later down the road that they'll be super excited for.

Good advice DMThac0 - thanks.

I guess not killing the character for reasons that aren't "in game" is meta-gaming ( not that meta-gaming is always a bad thing ).

Whichever makes for the best story. The character dies and the party now needs to gain vengeance, or he is captured and they must save him. Whatever is the best story and helps the overall plot ya know? 

Lol or swerve them and make the character as NPC then when they come to save him it is a trap and he has succumbed to the dark side, but I'm a dick lol

Quote from csheets416 >>

Whichever makes for the best story. The character dies and the party now needs to gain vengeance ...

This party seems to need a lot of vengeance :p

They're currently on a mission to rescue a former player-character.

I don't wish to come off condescending to the player or you, and if I did I apologize. 

The reason for that last statement is from many, many....many games over the past 30 some years. More often than not a player who approaches me with "I have a new character idea that I'm really in love with." sends up red flags. The reasons players give for it is as varied as you can get, but the core of it is generally simple. One common reason is because they feel their character is under-powered, due to whatever reason they have convinced themselves to believe. Another one I have heard is that they have found a new thread, story, write up, about a new type of character that seems so cool, powerful, or whatever, and they need to try it. I could go on, but in the end the core of it comes down to the fact that they're bored, what they're bored of is the crux of the problem.

Talking with this player, asking what's going on, why they want this new character, what they're missing from their current character, and all of that digging will help the most. There are the occasions where it truly is just a matter of knowing your character is doomed so you've come up with the next one. Assuming that is not the case the questions you ask will help you, as DM, start to alter the game to make it impact the player.

I had to spend weeks talking with my fiancee to figure out why she was bored with her character, asking different questions, and trying different approaches. Once I finally figured out what the issue was, which turned out to be simply a misunderstanding of game mechanics, the next session was a complete turnaround on how she played.

One other player I had kept trying to make his character into these strange, convoluted creations that required breaking the D&D system in places. After a while, trying new characters, adapting things in game to be similar to his ideas, it all came to a head. Watching his character practically dive head first into a pool of lava to die, I took him aside and we hashed it out, it was ugly. When all was said and done, I realized he was the type of player who preferred playing games that started at level 10+ because the first half of character development were that boring to him.

tl;dr: Figure out what the player is missing from the game, from there you should be able to get them more invested in the character they're playing.

Quote from DMThac0 >>

I don't wish to come off condescending to the player or you, and if I did I apologize. 

Not at all. I took it as straight-up honest opinion/advice.

Quote from DMThac0 >>

 

tl;dr: Figure out what the player is missing from the game, from there you should be able to get them more invested in the character they're playing.

Good call!

I had a brief instant messenger exchange with my player during my lunch break, and what came out of it was this: His current character is what he thought the party needed, his replacement character is the kind of character that he wants to play.

So - if his current character dies, no dilemma. If it survives, they'll end up going NPC.

Problem solved.

He could have the PC leave because something urgent came up if he survives the encounter. There are tons of options, I agree that you should just play it out normal and adjust as needed, it's your game.

I would take the current character out of his hands- Either it is captured and he is no longer able to use it and can switch, or the character dies. Either one seems fine, and it's really up to what the Big Bad would probably do.

If you DO go for a capture, you could either say he was interrogated / killed, or alternatively have the former character be captured, and then CONVERTED in some way to the Big Bad's side. If you want to go this route, you can later re-introduce a morphed, twisted, etc. character as a servant of the big bad as a mini boss or something, and that can end up as something players can really get into.

One of my first really good campaigns ended this way, with all but two member of our party getting surrounded and captured / killed, and then the DM asking us if he could use our character sheets in a different campaign in the same setting. Super cool- everyone seemed to really like the idea of that. 

This was resolved.

It turned out that the party refused to let him die, or be captured. They really went above and beyond to save him - I was really quite proud of them :)

However, the character will end up getting swapped out after the current adventure arc is completed.

I'm one of those players who finds it extremely hard to stay engaged with one PC long term, so I can sympathise with the player's urge to run a new PC.

When I'm DM'ing, this leads me to allow my players to introduce new PCs *when they can provide a reasonable in-game explanation* for the swap. The last time this happened, after returning from the party's latest adventure the existing wizards PC took personal time to return to his academy and conduct some research while a "colleague" filled in for him in the party. Player got to try something new, didn't play as expected. swapped back soon after.

Point being, some of us a fickle. Occasional indulgence allows experimenting with new PCs which can (in some cases, granted) add to the fun over all.

I suggest confirm with the player they whether they're hoping for a permanent change or a trial, and work from that. Have they lost so much love for the old PC they're willing to hand it over into NPC land? Be ruthless. They're not sure? Continue as if the change hadn't been suggested, but if the old PC is captured they suffer injuries (psychological or lingering like those in the DMG optional rules) that put them out of play for a while but allow the option to return later if it suits preferences and story.