As a DM, how would you feel about a player wanting to play a character based on the movie Ladyhawke? Basically, they are playing two characters but never at the same time. By day a fighter/ranger with a hawk familiar. By night, a rogue with a wolf companion. It would be more work for the DM to manage time of day, but could be a unique experience for seasoned players.
Honestly it would be a fun tactic to include within a game but as you said it could be hard to do in practice. Like keeping up with the other players and trying to keep track of the time. It could be figured out with a lot of planning but a good idea nevertheless.
The idea is fun in theory but very complicated in practice as the challenge is to avoid metagame by successfully seperate player vs character knowledge, since when shapechanged, they have no memory.
I think that sounds like a really fun idea! As a DM I would be cool with it if the player took it upon themselves to remember the shifts, what they do/don't know or can/can't do in each form, and kept themselves accountable. If it seemed like the load of remembering all of that was being shifted onto me, that's where it would become cumbersome. But if you really committed to it then it seems like it could lead to some cool moments, and I personally think it would be fun to design encounters with this in mind. (Like, suddenly an encounter right as the sun is setting is going to be way more chaotic, just based on the fact that you might shift in the middle and have no idea what's going on)
I like the concept, Especially as a fan of the movie. I have toyed with the idea but would not want to put that amount of work on a DM. There would be different balancing for day and night combat and the real thing as a DM I would want to do is have combat run during the transformation giving a weakened point for both characters. I would not give the Druid wild shape ability of reviving at full health when the transformation is complete. After all it would be a curse not a benefit. Even though there are some things in stories that fit the DnD character ideas they do not always translate well into a DnD environment. Some Characters are just not a reasonable build and some effects are just so that people can have the history that they liked reading about.
In all honesty I think this would be a difficult team to pull off.
I could be wrong and have been wrong in the past so best of luck and I hope it goes well for you
So, as luck would have it one of my groups are (hopefully) going to be starting their third campaign with me soon. I've built an adventure taking into account that the players will each get to have two characters. So, while it's not exactly the same as what you're planning here's what I'm doing it, how and why.
In my adventure path the players will be part of a group of scientists, archaeologists, researchers, and explorers. They want to uncover the secrets of an old ruined settlement. To do this the adventure will have a basecamp that the party always return to regularly (in the same way they might return to Phandalin in DoIP or LMoP). The players will be able to switch out their characters at their choice once the party is back at the basecamp. This allows their passive character to be doing downtime stuff, while their active character is adventuring. The limitation I'm putting on it though is that the area is dangerous. People can't just wander off alone or a T-Rex might eat them (literally having the area be bristling with wild animals of all kinds). So the organisation they're working for mandates that adventurers can only leave in a group.
For me, I chose an anchor location (the basecamp) specifically to assist with the changeover. I considered other methods to allow players to have more than one character but I kept coming back to this single anchor location. That's how I've chosen to make it easier to manage. I guess it'll depend though on what your adventure looks like.
It's a 1-shot. Only 3-4 hrs, so basically at best there is only going to be 2-3 encounters with a boss fight. I don't make these complicated, but yes, there was work upfront to do to prep everything. It's not intended to take you through the movie. There's no time for that. But it does have a cinimatic feel in the very structured way I run my 1-shots, which is with an Opening, Main Story, and Epilogue. For 1 night of play it's everything you can muster for 3-4 hrs of play. A little bit for everyone's different style of play I hope.
As a DM, how would you feel about a player wanting to play a character based on the movie Ladyhawke? Basically, they are playing two characters but never at the same time. By day a fighter/ranger with a hawk familiar. By night, a rogue with a wolf companion. It would be more work for the DM to manage time of day, but could be a unique experience for seasoned players.
Honestly it would be a fun tactic to include within a game but as you said it could be hard to do in practice. Like keeping up with the other players and trying to keep track of the time. It could be figured out with a lot of planning but a good idea nevertheless.
The idea is fun in theory but very complicated in practice as the challenge is to avoid metagame by successfully seperate player vs character knowledge, since when shapechanged, they have no memory.
I think that sounds like a really fun idea! As a DM I would be cool with it if the player took it upon themselves to remember the shifts, what they do/don't know or can/can't do in each form, and kept themselves accountable. If it seemed like the load of remembering all of that was being shifted onto me, that's where it would become cumbersome. But if you really committed to it then it seems like it could lead to some cool moments, and I personally think it would be fun to design encounters with this in mind. (Like, suddenly an encounter right as the sun is setting is going to be way more chaotic, just based on the fact that you might shift in the middle and have no idea what's going on)
I have actually turned this into a 1-shot if anyone is interested. Hosting a few games this month.
https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmk8i8d7u000zic0469eqwk3s
I like the concept, Especially as a fan of the movie. I have toyed with the idea but would not want to put that amount of work on a DM. There would be different balancing for day and night combat and the real thing as a DM I would want to do is have combat run during the transformation giving a weakened point for both characters. I would not give the Druid wild shape ability of reviving at full health when the transformation is complete. After all it would be a curse not a benefit. Even though there are some things in stories that fit the DnD character ideas they do not always translate well into a DnD environment. Some Characters are just not a reasonable build and some effects are just so that people can have the history that they liked reading about.
In all honesty I think this would be a difficult team to pull off.
I could be wrong and have been wrong in the past so best of luck and I hope it goes well for you
So, as luck would have it one of my groups are (hopefully) going to be starting their third campaign with me soon. I've built an adventure taking into account that the players will each get to have two characters. So, while it's not exactly the same as what you're planning here's what I'm doing it, how and why.
In my adventure path the players will be part of a group of scientists, archaeologists, researchers, and explorers. They want to uncover the secrets of an old ruined settlement. To do this the adventure will have a basecamp that the party always return to regularly (in the same way they might return to Phandalin in DoIP or LMoP). The players will be able to switch out their characters at their choice once the party is back at the basecamp. This allows their passive character to be doing downtime stuff, while their active character is adventuring. The limitation I'm putting on it though is that the area is dangerous. People can't just wander off alone or a T-Rex might eat them (literally having the area be bristling with wild animals of all kinds). So the organisation they're working for mandates that adventurers can only leave in a group.
For me, I chose an anchor location (the basecamp) specifically to assist with the changeover. I considered other methods to allow players to have more than one character but I kept coming back to this single anchor location. That's how I've chosen to make it easier to manage. I guess it'll depend though on what your adventure looks like.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
It's a 1-shot. Only 3-4 hrs, so basically at best there is only going to be 2-3 encounters with a boss fight. I don't make these complicated, but yes, there was work upfront to do to prep everything. It's not intended to take you through the movie. There's no time for that. But it does have a cinimatic feel in the very structured way I run my 1-shots, which is with an Opening, Main Story, and Epilogue. For 1 night of play it's everything you can muster for 3-4 hrs of play. A little bit for everyone's different style of play I hope.
Ahh, so sorry I missed that bit. Makes sense.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.