I had a level 6 character die. Since then the player made a new character and the party is now level 10.
We've come up with a way to bring the dead character back retconning the character having been kidnapped by the BB and the BB's henchman being true polymorphed as the character and inserted as a spy in the party.
The kidnapped character has been held and tortured. When they get rescued, what level should they be? I know the "proper" way would be to boost them to the party's level but, in-game, how does that make sense?
You could have the BB have somehow boosted their abilities with experimentation so that, if the person was discovered they could take a party member or two with them.
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He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
First questions: if the player made a new character four levels ago, why are you reintroducing this character? Is the player going to play two characters? Get rid of the new character? Is one of them going to be an NPC now? Given the story and its introduction of one impersonator already, will the party really trust this character?
I'm not at all sure this is going to be a good thing for the narrative, but I shall assume it works at the table.
If they're going to be an NPC, then leveling them up doesn't matter.
Assuming they'll be a PC, though:
Multiple escape attempts
A period of time between separation from the party and capture
No explanation -- metagame version -- tell the players that the character is boosted up to match the party, and there will explicitly be no explanation in-game, since it's just for play balance
No explanation -- in-game version -- "Bob didn't have fifth level spells before!" "That's true. Bob claims he has no memory of learning them"/"Bob says he did"/"Bob says he learned how while a captive". Let them wonder, and play into the suspicion aspect. (You should have an explanation, and it is likely sinister.)
The player's new character was a wizard and it was becoming too difficult for them. Instead of another new character we came up with a way to bring back their original.
The kidnapped character has been held and tortured. When they get rescued, what level should they be? I know the "proper" way would be to boost them to the party's level but, in-game, how does that make sense?
I'd have the returning character level 10, favoring balance over versimilitude. It could have leveled up from event it experienced during or prior to kidnapping. At the end i'd try to accomiodate the player wishing to play his previous character instead of the current Wizard without penalizing him power-wise as much as i can.
Class and such would probably need to be known for the character coming back to give you a story that makes sense.
Then you also have to find the way to dispose of the wizard that he is abandoning.
The way to bring the other character back could be to have had him die and brought back by someone with a tinge of evil that wanted him to be the hero they needed, or the antihero to the party imo. Sets you up with the basis for a fight down the road, when the PC shuns the one that brought him back because of his own morals the wizard that gets cast aside for the group slides in.
Gives you a chance to give the outbound character the chance to fight the party and gives you a nice boss encounter of sorts, or a party vs npc party encounter. Gives you a reason why the player character that he's returning to gained experience. and in a roleplay heavy group, gives the player who is returning to his old character a chance to kinda play on the abandonment by the rest of the PC's assuming that he got left behind somehow in that death without being brought back or properly put to rest.
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Hi.
I had a level 6 character die. Since then the player made a new character and the party is now level 10.
We've come up with a way to bring the dead character back retconning the character having been kidnapped by the BB and the BB's henchman being true polymorphed as the character and inserted as a spy in the party.
The kidnapped character has been held and tortured. When they get rescued, what level should they be? I know the "proper" way would be to boost them to the party's level but, in-game, how does that make sense?
You could have the BB have somehow boosted their abilities with experimentation so that, if the person was discovered they could take a party member or two with them.
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"
First questions: if the player made a new character four levels ago, why are you reintroducing this character? Is the player going to play two characters? Get rid of the new character? Is one of them going to be an NPC now? Given the story and its introduction of one impersonator already, will the party really trust this character?
I'm not at all sure this is going to be a good thing for the narrative, but I shall assume it works at the table.
If they're going to be an NPC, then leveling them up doesn't matter.
Assuming they'll be a PC, though:
Thanks, guys!
The player's new character was a wizard and it was becoming too difficult for them. Instead of another new character we came up with a way to bring back their original.
I'd have the returning character level 10, favoring balance over versimilitude. It could have leveled up from event it experienced during or prior to kidnapping. At the end i'd try to accomiodate the player wishing to play his previous character instead of the current Wizard without penalizing him power-wise as much as i can.
Class and such would probably need to be known for the character coming back to give you a story that makes sense.
Then you also have to find the way to dispose of the wizard that he is abandoning.
The way to bring the other character back could be to have had him die and brought back by someone with a tinge of evil that wanted him to be the hero they needed, or the antihero to the party imo. Sets you up with the basis for a fight down the road, when the PC shuns the one that brought him back because of his own morals the wizard that gets cast aside for the group slides in.
Gives you a chance to give the outbound character the chance to fight the party and gives you a nice boss encounter of sorts, or a party vs npc party encounter. Gives you a reason why the player character that he's returning to gained experience. and in a roleplay heavy group, gives the player who is returning to his old character a chance to kinda play on the abandonment by the rest of the PC's assuming that he got left behind somehow in that death without being brought back or properly put to rest.