Does anyone else feel a sense of loss when you have finished a campaign for example and you won't play a that character anymore? Or perhaps a campaign fizzles out and you don't get to experience that characters story?
Do you ever feel guilt at leaving them behind and moving on to a new character?
Does anyone else write mini solo stories for their characters to keep them alive?
Am I too overly attached to my characters or is it "normal" to not want to say goodbye to a character?
In order, and based on both my own and my player group experiences:
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
I can’t speak to your being too attached, but I can say that after 40+ years, there are still characters — our own and each others — from within that time that we all adore. Some we turn into legends in the campaign, others we save all the notes for and set aside, still others we create the children of and carry on the family tradition.
I tend to focus heavily on creating a personality and values and background for each player’s character in my games, and often will add in side plots specific to them, so that the larger story embraces them all.
it means they are very hard to let go of, and it gives sacrifice true emotional weight if it is called for. And that’s before we start playing and adding more stuff to love!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Why say good bye? I started playing in 1979 and still have the characters from back then. As I moved (about a very 18 months) I brought them to new campaigns and worlds. As editions changed there were always update/conversion files so they simply transitioned. Yes they are epic now and have moved from going into other folk’s worlds to staying in mine as NPCs and I’ve added characters over the years but ne thing DDB is great for is keeping all those characters available for play. Your first character/campaign. L reached L5 and now you’re doing a different world but a L5-10 campaign? Bring that character back - they were camped at a (fairie) spring and while they slept the Fey transported them to a new world. Or, the god# moved them to a new world as they road along the road n a dense fog. Or some other explanation of how they got there. If your attached to characters (yes I am) why abandon them when it’s fairly easy to “World Walk” them.
That's normal with just about any activity or story you enjoy. Don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Due to abusive, gaslighting, and immoral moderation on D&D Beyond, I will NOT be participating in the forums. I will keep my eyes and ears open, a free man, and seek out individuals elsewhere. Don't let this echo chamber of a site intimidate you into submission.
No i do not have the sense of loss for the character I miss the campaign where i played the character in but the character is in a folder i still have them for use as an npc in my Game world.
I do not feel any guilt that a characters story has been told and now i am moving onto a new story.
Does typing 3 to 6 pages count as a mini story?
I never say good bye unless the character has died
Like EADorsay said we all have characters we adore we have folders full of them we don't abandon them we keep them as memories of good times with friends we don't get to see anymore. in the hopes that one day we can find a use for them
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Rule Zero: Make the game your own
Online Resources This is a small list of things that can be helpful to a DM be they new or experienced Covering everything from cartography, campaign management and virtual Tabletop environments.
I am mostly a forever DM, but I've had my chance to play in a few campaigns or one-shot over the years. I'm my current main game that I'm running, it's a Planescape-adjacent adventure that has the PCs hopping across all kinds of different planes.
I've included either direct copies, homages, or references to every ole character from games past in some capacity. A lot of them were recognized by my players that have played with me before, but some I added just for myself, as homages to characters I played in totally separate games.
My characters will never go away. I don't physically continue their story after the game ends (complete or otherwise), nor do I necessarily feel guilt for being done playing them. But that doesn't mean I don't think about them all the time.
Heck, I played a Dread one-shot one time that was so fun that I imported every PC into our main DND campaign literally the next session. I think preserving the characters that we play is something very important, and if the way you do that is through continuing to write their story, then I think that's a great thing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Does anyone else feel a sense of loss when you have finished a campaign for example and you won't play a that character anymore? Or perhaps a campaign fizzles out and you don't get to experience that characters story?
Do you ever feel guilt at leaving them behind and moving on to a new character?
Does anyone else write mini solo stories for their characters to keep them alive?
Am I too overly attached to my characters or is it "normal" to not want to say goodbye to a character?
In order, and based on both my own and my player group experiences:
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
I can’t speak to your being too attached, but I can say that after 40+ years, there are still characters — our own and each others — from within that time that we all adore. Some we turn into legends in the campaign, others we save all the notes for and set aside, still others we create the children of and carry on the family tradition.
I tend to focus heavily on creating a personality and values and background for each player’s character in my games, and often will add in side plots specific to them, so that the larger story embraces them all.
it means they are very hard to let go of, and it gives sacrifice true emotional weight if it is called for. And that’s before we start playing and adding more stuff to love!
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Why say good bye? I started playing in 1979 and still have the characters from back then. As I moved (about a very 18 months) I brought them to new campaigns and worlds. As editions changed there were always update/conversion files so they simply transitioned. Yes they are epic now and have moved from going into other folk’s worlds to staying in mine as NPCs and I’ve added characters over the years but ne thing DDB is great for is keeping all those characters available for play. Your first character/campaign. L reached L5 and now you’re doing a different world but a L5-10 campaign? Bring that character back - they were camped at a (fairie) spring and while they slept the Fey transported them to a new world. Or, the god# moved them to a new world as they road along the road n a dense fog. Or some other explanation of how they got there. If your attached to characters (yes I am) why abandon them when it’s fairly easy to “World Walk” them.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
That's normal with just about any activity or story you enjoy. Don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened?
Due to abusive, gaslighting, and immoral moderation on D&D Beyond, I will NOT be participating in the forums. I will keep my eyes and ears open, a free man, and seek out individuals elsewhere. Don't let this echo chamber of a site intimidate you into submission.
No i do not have the sense of loss for the character I miss the campaign where i played the character in but the character is in a folder i still have them for use as an npc in my Game world.
I do not feel any guilt that a characters story has been told and now i am moving onto a new story.
Does typing 3 to 6 pages count as a mini story?
I never say good bye unless the character has died
Like EADorsay said we all have characters we adore we have folders full of them we don't abandon them we keep them as memories of good times with friends we don't get to see anymore. in the hopes that one day we can find a use for them
Rule Zero: Make the game your own
Online Resources This is a small list of things that can be helpful to a DM be they new or experienced Covering everything from cartography, campaign management and virtual Tabletop environments.
I am mostly a forever DM, but I've had my chance to play in a few campaigns or one-shot over the years. I'm my current main game that I'm running, it's a Planescape-adjacent adventure that has the PCs hopping across all kinds of different planes.
I've included either direct copies, homages, or references to every ole character from games past in some capacity. A lot of them were recognized by my players that have played with me before, but some I added just for myself, as homages to characters I played in totally separate games.
My characters will never go away. I don't physically continue their story after the game ends (complete or otherwise), nor do I necessarily feel guilt for being done playing them. But that doesn't mean I don't think about them all the time.
Heck, I played a Dread one-shot one time that was so fun that I imported every PC into our main DND campaign literally the next session. I think preserving the characters that we play is something very important, and if the way you do that is through continuing to write their story, then I think that's a great thing.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
A big yes to all the questions you asked.