getting rid of a DMPC

[Desmond Tiny]

I made a DMPC then realized my mistake so I want to know how I should get rid of him.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Mention to the players that you're willing to have him die next session. He will.

[arguskos]

Say that between sessions, he was eaten by a Grue. Old school gamers will giggle a little.

[vanyell]

give the players the joy of killing him themselves.

make him turn coat, but not very well, so that they all see it coming and off him.

[Dienekes]

Turncoat idea is good if your players recognized and hated the DMPC (hell it's fun even if they haven't). In front of the mounting hatred of the PCs it may be best to let them kill him, with fire.

If they haven't grown to hate the character have him leave the party for moral reasons, maybe to be a recurring character later. Or drop a line as an eventual quest giver. Or have him become in trouble with the law and ask the PCs to help rescue him. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination (and what would fit in the setting)

Hell you can even turn him into the big bad if you want to.

Do not however, have him be killed off only to come back cloned or something if you have an idea how to use him and not make him a DMPC. It won't work, it only makes things worse [warning I give after running afoul of this thanks to insane GM]

[FoE]

He gets pissy about something (maybe the PCs won't compliment him on his new shoes, or whatever bull**** you deign to make up) and leaves. Simple as that.

Before you do that, however, I wonder: why did you create the character and why do you want to get rid of him? GMPCs are frequently run poorly, but a GMPC does not have to be "bad" if there was a good reason to create the character (such as to fill a hole in the party, like if they desperately need a healer).

It's true that the majority of GMPCs are badly run or unnecessary, but that isn't true of ALL of them.

[PhoenixRivers]

Well, why does anyone leave?

Difference of opinion/ideal
Job requirement
Entertainment
Disillusionment

Basically, have his goals differ from the party, or an urgent task call him away.

Bonus points if you can use it to effectively foreshadow the future.

[drengnikrafe]

Next time they burn down a village, make sure the DMPC is still sleeping while they... Or maybe that's just me.

One of the more clever obvious ways is to have preset goals for the character. Then, have him/her accomplish one of those goals. He/she now feels accomplished, and may leave the party without too much of a negative twist to it.

[BobVosh]

Have him Gandalf a Balor. Its the best way to get rid of a DMPC you don't know what to do with. Tolkien Approved.

[PhoenixRivers]

Have him Gandalf a Balor. Its the best way to get rid of a DMPC you don't know what to do with. Tolkien Approved.

Tends to make the players feel less like they're playing a game, and more like they're listening to a Books on Tape.

[FoE]

You could have the Balor or some other suitably strong creature stomp the DMPC flat with one hit. It takes exactly one line of dialogue, and there's no better way to announce "THIS IS A BOSS FIGHT!"

[Asheram]

Have him Gandalf a Balor. Its the best way to get rid of a DMPC you don't know what to do with. Tolkien Approved.

You know, a DMPC that you intend to kill off is worth gold when it comes to the campaign plot. Retcon his backstory a little bit and send the PC's out to find... whomever. (A younger brother that should have his family heirloom sword. A ring to his sister or father to show that he've died... You can do whatever you want. ;) )

[Longcat]

Let him explode in a blaze of glory Disjunction.

[Serpentine]

Depends on the character, the party and their present situation.

Alternatively, you could just have an embodiment-of-Chaos Trickster god turn up and whisk them away... but that kinda feels like cheating.

Lets see... I've also had characters (not just DMPCs):
- Run off into the jungle on her own.
- Get called back home for some emergency.
- Take a llama back to a village.
- Die (obviously).
- Wander off for no apparent reason.

[Zeta Kai]

There's nothing wrong with having a DMPC, if it is used well & doesn't step on the PCs' toes. That said, if you don't feel like running on in a responsible, respectful manner, then having them step on a landmine is a great way to kill them off while warning the players as to the danger of their current path.

[pffh]

Over the next couple of sessions he becomes more and more distant and at times he acts like he doesn't care about the quest anymore. At night the players taking watch can hear him silently sobbing into his bedroll. Then one night after his watch they find him hanging in a tree, the poor man couldn't handle the pressure of the fate of *world/town/country/universe* resting on his shoulders.

Do not use this method if one of the players knew someone that commited suicide.

[TheFallenOne]

Announce that you will try using critical fumbles in the next session.
In the first combat, roll a d20 behind your sheet, look surprised. Roll another one, then look dismayed. Finally, roll one last d20 and then look genuinely shocked.
Then explain that with a triple natural one the DMPC managed to behead himself in some outlandish way(bonus points if his weapon is absolutely unsuited for beheading anyone, least of all yourself). Never use critical fumbles again

[SpikeFightwicky]

Say that between sessions, he was eaten by a Grue. Old school gamers will giggle a little.

Good ol' Zork

Have him Gandalf a Balor. Its the best way to get rid of a DMPC you don't know what to do with. Tolkien Approved.

Not a foolproof solution. He's back in the next book, and even stronger.


Some solutions:
- Figure out a way to make him the BBEG's lackey and have him leave at a critical point (bonus points if he says: "Looks like there's not way out of here... for YOU! *teleports out*).

- Have him go nuts one night when the PCs are in a town. The reason? He's infected by a new more powerful strain of werewolfism (up to you to figure out how... did he take any loot that 'might' have been cursed?). For more fun: spreads infection to the living, but those he kills return as infected zombies/ghouls. Could be fun in a crowded town.

- Have the PCs go to a town/country/kingdom where the DMPC's a wanted man (woman?). All this time, he was with the PCs to hide from his destructively violent and murderous past. Maybe throw in some amnesia to make it more likely. DMPC is eventually caught and executed for the good of the world.

- He falls into a pit trap. But not just any pit trap. The bottom of this pit trap is a gate to the negative energy plane. Make sure the PCs don't fall in.

[KurtKatze]

At the moment i also have a DMPC he will accompany the players into the woods, help em a little, guide them to an important (none of them has track....) spot and will then be killed by dire-wolfs ^^

But it would be good to know why you brought that character into the game in the first place. Did he/she have any purpose?

[MickJay]

Make him turn against the party. Details depend on the relationship it had with the PCs (spy? thief? traitor? doppelganger who just replaced the "real" DMPC?).

[dsmiles]

Say that between sessions, he was eaten by a Grue. Old school gamers will giggle a little.

*giggle*

+1 to this.

[Tyndmyr]

I made a DMPC then realized my mistake so I want to know how I should get rid of him.

With fire, of course. Everything's better with fire.

In seriousness, it depends on the situation. With details, we can give you better ideas that are more likely to fit into your campaign.

[dsmiles]

With fire, of course. Everything's better with fire.

No, like this:

Spoiler

Show

[AslanCross]

You could have the Balor or some other suitably strong creature stomp the DMPC flat with one hit. It takes exactly one line of dialogue, and there's no better way to announce "THIS IS A BOSS FIGHT!"

I am Aslan Cross and I approve of this post. I've done this before. The DMPC was actually a PC on her way out due to the player quitting.

[Malbordeus]

other options include the DMPC having a near death experiance and going into retirement. or have them start suffering mental health issues due to the stresses of being a dmpc. or start them having nam-esq flashbacks...

[Ellye]

Whatever you do, just don't do this:

Have him Gandalf a Balor. Its the best way to get rid of a DMPC you don't know what to do with. Tolkien Approved.

This is the perfect example of how a DMPC can be bad for a game, being the star of the show.


I believe the best course of action depends on how the players feel about him:

If the players like him, either make him leave for some reason that will be a foreshadowing, or make him die in the hands of an important enemy that you want the players to hate. Or he might be kidnapped.

If the players don't like him, simply make sure he dies during some random encounter. Make an enemy party ambush the PCs and concentrate fire on the DMPC first, killing him.

[Serpentine]

I dunno... It could be kinda funny for the DMPC to do the whole epic self-sacrifice tear-jerking drama martyrdom thing, only for the other characters to go "Huh. So, about that Local Sporting Team..."

[Tiki Snakes]

My Take on how to get rid of your DM-PC;

Piece by piece.

Have them start taking particularly nasty wounds, lose a hand or a limb, maybe an eye. Spread it out over a couple of sessions. You either finish the process off with a good disembowling, drop them from a staggering height (preferably in such a way that they can't check the body, because it leaves you with options), or simply have them retire.

Depending on the campaign and the DMPC, there are many reasons and methods. Perhaps the DMPC refuses to help a little old lady and she curses him (literally just speaks one, no explicite magic should be invoked). Perhaps he does something that traditionally suggests that bad luck will follow, or takes the name of a certain God in vain.

It's particularly a good option because it's so visceral. I prefer the idea that magical healing heals the spirit well, but the body imperfectly. It does not remove scar-tissue or regenerate lost body parts. (Unless if there's magic kicking around that explicitly does just that, obviously.)

It's also good because it allows for several types of PC reactions. Those who don't mind the DMPC have the time to feel pity, or even to suggest to him that he's in beyond his depth and effectively save him, and those who don't like the DMPC or perhaps DMPC's in general can enjoy his slow and torturous fate.

[Ormur]

Every time my PC's have met an NPC that looks like he could take up to much space he or the PC's suddenly have very pressing business somewhere else. In the second session a captain of the count's guard was interrogating another NPC leading to lots of me talking to myself. Then he remembered that the count's castle was under attack by goblins and placed the PC's in charge of the investigation. Later the count sent them to borrow a spy from an allied duke and escort him back but nope the duke desperately needed the PC's help while the spy went back alone.

[Nate the Snake]

or start them having nam-esq flashbacks...

There's an Eberron splatbook that actually has rules for this.

From what I hear, the proper method of getting rid of a DMPC is "with extreme prejudice" and/or "at the hands of the players." Tell your players that you want to get rid of him in an amusing and over-the-top fashion, and let them handle the rest.