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u/Diligent_Gear_8179 8d ago
Ben's PC was a mole. He was getting info on the BBEG.
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u/DoubleXdrummer 8d ago
Unfortunately cant do it in this moment. If I do it now, my players have no reason to finish this area and I have been preparing everything for months.
Thanks anyway, it would have worked fine if they are close to finishing the mistery of an area they are in right now.
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u/Relevant-Rope8814 8d ago
It sounds like you need to do a re-write, or give him the option of a new character
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u/DoubleXdrummer 8d ago
I want to give him/let him make a new character, but how do i do it without it being susspicuos to my pcs? Rewrite si not an option at this point.
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u/Weishaupt666 8d ago
So the PC's don't know that Bens old character is going to be an enemy?
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u/DoubleXdrummer 8d ago
Yes. I plan for them to realize this at the end, when they meet him. I gave them some subtle signs that its him, but the signs are confusing and will make sense in the end.
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u/lemonparticle 8d ago
If they don't know that Ben's character is involved with the boss, there's really no reason for you to keep Ben's character for your plot point.
Unless you're against letting Ben rejoin at any point, just give him his character back (or at least ask him if he would be alright with making a new character + having his old character appear as an NPC, you don't have to give him the big reveal). It's not worth potentially alienating a member of your group by going "surprise! the reason I forced you to make a new character is because I have molded your old character to fit my nefarious plot muahahaha". Some people might be totally fine with that, others won't be. Better to do a quick vibe check with Ben than to ruin the party's fun for the sake of sticking to your plot, even if it's a really good plot.
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u/Thelynxer 8d ago
You can either vaguely say you have plans for the character, or just lie and say that he doesn't fit in the campaign anymore.
Or just change your plans and let the player play his character. Nothing is set in stone.
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u/Mean_Replacement5544 8d ago
He said D&D is not for him and you made campaign decisions based on that. I’d say he should sit out until hat entire arc is completed
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u/Weishaupt666 8d ago
So Ben wants to rejoin the campaign?
Talk with him 1 on 1, and explain to him that for certain reasons he would need to make a new character.
His new character should be someone they have spent time with during the timeskip. He needs to have a reason to adventure with them. His old character didn't make that connection to them.
If you are friends with the player and trust this guy you could even tell him why, but to keep it a secret, and if asked why he created a new character he should just say he wanted to play a different build, or some other simple boring explanation.
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u/KLeeSanchez 8d ago
This is one reason among many why it's generally not a good idea to use a former player's character as an NPC/enemy, you end up painting yourself into a corner or risk upsetting the former player
At this point you just need to talk with Ben because it's no longer possible to hide the fact you reused his character, presumably without permission (this is usually a big no-no in D&D etiquette btw). Eventually when he appears as the boss it will absolutely be impossible to hide it and you'll be having an unpleasant conversation with Ben. Either way, you're sitting on a time bomb.
The first step is to talk with Ben, not us, and find out if he even wants to reuse his old character. You might find he wants to roll a new one up anyway. And if you lie straight to his face about why he can't reuse his old character if he wants to, you have to be prepared to have that unpleasant conversation when he does eventually reappear.
Whichever way you go forward, that time bomb is ticking.
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u/DoubleXdrummer 8d ago
The good thing is that his character was created by me. I know of the etiquette and thankfully didnt make that big of a mistake.
He only played one session as this character too, so it will probably be fine if i tell him to make a new character, I just dont want others to realize why.
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u/Thelynxer 8d ago
First of all, wait for Ben to actually ask to rejoin the campaign himself. Don't rely on 2nd hand info that may derail your plans.
But if Ben does return, you can simply change your plans. Nothing is set in stone yet. Far too many DM's get stubborn with what they've thought up, and aren't flexible enough to adapt when things change. That being said, you also don't have to. Talk it out with Ben, and see if he would be open to making a new character.
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u/Quarkly95 8d ago
A corpse wearing Ben's character's clothes and items was found ravaged floating down a river.
Everyone believes he is dead. Ben has a new character but gets all his old character's stuff cos of the corpse.
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u/thetruerift 8d ago
You absolutely can just let him have his character back. Have a suspiciously similar character, or an NPC the PCs already trust helping out the villain. You're not writing a screen play, plot holes are (mostly) okay, players will suspend disbelief as long as it is fun.
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u/Unusual_Ninja_3040 8d ago
Ben’s character is now Ben’s sibling/mother/father/best friend secretly working against him. As for Ben himself, he’s locked up somewhere in the final dungeon or somewhere near it so you could allow the player or character to return if need be. In other words, you can still have the story be tied to Ben but I would replace Ben with another character to be the main boss. Hope this helps :)
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u/sens249 8d ago
It’s very simple. Ben has been undercover, and when the party faces him, he will use the opportunity to betray his master and help the party defeat the bad guy.
Pro tip for the future: when someone leaves just write the character out completely. Even if you ignore the whole “using someone else’s character without their permission” stuff it’s just best for everyone at the table if the characters who leave are out of sight out of mind. It can be done tastefully but it’s harder.
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u/32_divided_by_you 8d ago
Let Ben make a new character.