The only thing I don’t like about DMíng is the fact that I am not playing a character anymore. I’ve always loved playing my Dwarf: Barundar, Son of Dorn. There’s been so many versions of him through the years that it’s been hard to not include him in the campaign I’m running. I didn’t because players would immediately see it as cheesy, they’ve all met him before!
Then there’s been 2 electronic Barundar’s, one in Everquest. I couldn’t call him son of Dorn due to the fact that a major NPC in the game is called Dorn, and a dwarven son of a dark elf would make zero sense. The other was in Warcraft. I got him up to 40-something, then I stopped playing the game last year when my 2nd kid was born. It was just taking too much of my time.
I’m thinking of making Barundar a powerful NPC king in my campaign, I’m just weary of the reaction at the table… Should I be?
What I’ve never been though is emotionally attached to the point that I see the guy as family. But I know people do. Have any of you ever seen a player cry at the table when their favorite PC has been killed? How attached have you gotten to your characters? Who are some of your favorite PC’s that you’ve played?
www. Newbie DM .com 
Todd
June 26, 2009
It is totally cool to throw in a cameo now and again. Just think what the reaction would be if the group found one of Barundar’ items, ran a history check on it and discovered it was his. Or, a group of dwarves see one of your PC’c with the item, get pissed off that a non-dwarf or a dwarf from another clan has it, and decides to get it back.
It is also fun to make references to other’s old characters and make them part of, or at least mention them in the current campaign world. As part of a skill challenge, you could ask about the outcome of a particularly memorable battle the former heroes had.A dungeon could hold a drow mosaic of the dark skinned defenders battling perverted versions of the old heroed. A tomb could even hold their bones and some old equipment.
The characters that your group plays become ledgends that are unique only to you five, six, or seven. Thise stories, memories, and images are special. Especially if it was a particularly good game or some really bad-ass, crazy, or off the wall events happened.
As for character death, I have never had a character I loved killed, but I have seen the end of my players’ favorite characters while DMing more than once. People sometimes throw stuff, cuss me, cuss each other, or get quiet and go home. I have never seen anyone cry though.
One of my favorite characters was a 17th level 2E Bard who used the Blade kit out of the Complete Bard’s Handbook. He could catch daggers and throw them back at the attacker, tear people apart just defending:
“Defensive Spin: A defensive spin is a specialized form of parrying (see Chapter 9 of the PHB ) in which the Blade whirls his weapon to create a deadly shell about his body. A Blade may not attack during any round in which he is performing a defensive spin. The Blade’s Armor Class is lowered by half the Blade’s level (round fractions up) during this maneuver. In addition, any creature that makes a melee attack on the Blade must roll a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation or suffer damage equal to half the Blade’s level (round fractions up; the damage is limited to the weapon’s maximum damage, including any bonuses of the weapon). A defensive spin may be used only once per combat; it lasts for a maximum number of rounds equal to the Blade’s Constitution. A successful hit upon the Blade disrupts his concentration and ends the defensive spin.”
But combat wasn’t the only thing this character could do. By 10th level he could play almost any instrument, I had written a large body of poetry for him to perform, songs that he could play, and skits that he and the other PC’s would perform at opportune or humorous times.
By the time he retired he had two or three strongholds, a spelljammer with a bardic helm, a intergallactic traveling roadshow, a vorpal claymore, a vast hoard of treasure, and best of all, a lot of stories about his adventures.
Shadowdancer21b
November 23, 2009
My favorite characters are the ones who had the most emotional impact. Khargas Riverdog, priest of Ishtar made my wife cry when he died. He was actually given a eulogy in-game. Tsitishai “Pon Pon” Ritiphon was a sapper in D20 modern with a backstory so rich and understood by the other players that they could usually predict his actions. Frozen Tears the weretiger was another favorite. Also in the top rankings are Weigoh the Assamite Ghoul and Brick/Jack the mulitiple personality Malkavian mediator/medium. I love alitterations.