Try A Sheet-Switch Event For Better Roleplay
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0869
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Loooong-time Roleplaying Tips GM Lord Skudley replied to my recent musing of blank character sheet campaigns with this neat idea about PC swaps:
I did a game where already established characters awoke with amnesia. The twist was that they had also switched bodies. So, in essence, they were learning a new character.
Each character had their same mental skills, but all their physical/magical skills were that of the other character. The mechanic suddenly found herself in the body of the wild mage. Having no idea how to channel the magic she became a loose cannon.
It was fun watching as the players realized what was going on.
My youngest son was the first to figure it out, but his character didn’t. Fortunately, he is a great player and kept it to himself until such a time his character could do a big reveal.
Another tip for these types of games is having a confidant — a great player who can pull this off and slowly nudge the others along the way.
Lord Skudley reminded me of the times I’ve run sheet-switch events in my games.
One was in university. The other was with my North Vancouver group.
In uni, the players switched bodies. The other time they switched entire characters.
Both times worked well. Players got to try a different character’s powers for a bit.
And they got to learn more about each other’s characters.
When faced with roleplaying another’s character, it really makes you think about who that character is, how they behave, and what drives them.
You might try this out sometime.
Perhaps a magic item causes a sheet-switch for a session. Or mind flayers. Or a pool.
Boon or curse, it’s sure to liven up your gaming for a bit.