Here's some background information. I'm actually Staff at a LARP. I joined up a few years back as a way to reconnect with some old friends and get back into boffer. Now I have way too many NPCs I play. But they've all started off the same way... player character doesn't have a teacher for [insert class/magic/craft], higher ups see me throwing some kit together, "hey can you run out and teach [player name] some [skill school], I say sure, and next thing you know I have yet another wacky combination of teaching skills on my NPC. (an aside: my favorite being an NPC Cleric to the god of wine and revelry who got stuck with Necromancy as a second class.)
Now, a couple years back I got randomly assigned to portray a cleric teacher for the goddess of love, life, and beauty because the player's old teacher stepped back and didn't have an ETA on when they'd be back. This actually blossomed into a lot of fun and in-jokes and a small community thing as this NPC. And this weekend, her character is getting retired.
After filling in last second, and helping this player finally complete their cleric school list and become a high cleric, I will be helping them officiate an in-game wedding that ties up a big part of their backstory, and then they are off to their final plot mod. The player in question needs to step back from game because of wonderful life opportunities. But they've been playing this character for about a decade. Sure, I've only been there for the latter third of their existence but this is the first long-term PC student of mine that will be moving on. The character will be retired, the player won't be back for a year or more, and a decade of story will be coming to a fitting end in a way that ties together so much of the work their character has done in that time.
So how do people feel about character retirement? In many ways, its a necessity. Big sheets being big sheets for years makes certain things tough for newer players. But Big Sheets also bring their years of experience and knowledge. And then also having to give up a character you have played for years can feel almost like losing a part of yourself. There's an obvious emotional impact to letting go of something like that. But having it end in an amazing way must feel better than the character fizzling out.
We've had our fair share of player characters over the years that needed to retire and had amazing send-offs, epic final battles, and somber farewells. This will just be the first time that its been a PC that I have been so intrinsically tied to as one of my NPCs for a number of years.
So, whether from the staff-side or from player-side, how do you handle the emotional release of character retirement, the closure of an entire story arc of personal plot, having to move on from something you have poured time and energy into? I'm expecting this weekend's game to be amazing, impactful, and bittersweet... I can't wait to see how the plot comes to a close, I can't wait to help facilitate these big moments for her character, but I'm also dreading the loss of those years of cleric lessons over tea and finger sandwiches as we talked about the church and philosophy while using her friends and compatriots as our test dummies for new spells in sometimes hilarious ways.
