So I might be a bit ahead of myself here, but my crew of 3 PC's are still using the pre-gen characters from the beginner game (BG) and we are just starting The Long Arm of the Hutt (TLAOTH). Since everyone is earning both XP & money in these adventures I was thinking it would be nice if we could do a character transition during LAOTH but let the new characters the players create keep the money and XP that was given to their pre-gen.

So far, I have the adventure Debts to Pay from the GM Screen pack, and I will have whatever adventure is included in the CRB (which I will receive this Friday). I didn't want everyone in my group to lose the XP and money they are earning after investing so much time and energy into the pre-gens, because when they create new characters they will want to change everything and not stick with the same career/race/etc.

I was wondering if anyone else did a "hot-swap" mid-game and brought in different characters to fulfill the same roles that the previous characters had (in this case pre-gens). If we went forward with it, we would have full characters with in-depth backgrounds, personalities, and so forth which would create a more rewarding player experiencing since they are working on something they built themselves.

Is this a good idea? Or should I just end the campaign after LAOTH with the pre-gens and then have them create new characters at that point to start the CRB adventure & Debts to Pay?

Any ideas, opinions, or experience with this issue would be appreciated greatly since I am still very new to the GM role! Thanks!

this was a trainers tool for your and your players. they went into that's knowing that. the game is much better and has more meaning and fun when you play character you built and have invested into, rather than just ones handed to you. make the break.

You know I see no problem with this. Finish Escape from Mos Shuta, let them build characters stock out of the book, then give them 10 or 15 points more (whatever you would have handed out at the end of the beginners box) and some cash or weapons and the Fang for their ship. Then go "Okay, you know all that stuff you just did? lets assume that it was these guys that did it" and go on from there.

Yeah, should be just fine!

I'm with both, you could go either way. If the players want to have a different background run with that, or use the back-of-the-book game can build them one, as the adventure could even give them a (not-entire-legal) ship if you adjust it right. (Just make Bandon Doba's ship salvageable and the model the players want.)

Or, along with what Desslok said, you can take the new characters and ret-con them into the existing game. In that case I'd start the post-creation game with a session of 'remember when' as the players narrate how their (new) characters got through the last two adventures. You could even award them destany for a particularly good rendition.

Ask the players which way they want to go - see if they're attached to the ship, story or enemies in any way.

Yeah I'd just put it to the players. They should have the option of keeping, modifying, rebuilding, or replacing their pre-gen PCs.

For my group, I'm planning on running multiple smaller sessions with the Beginner Game (2-3 players max). Some players might even play two different pre-gens through the same adventure. After that, we'll go into a very detailed character creation, where I'll be working one-on-one with background and Obligation so that it doesn't feel so much like the characters are "new" when we start. After all, at the beginning of A New Hope everyone has a bit of history; Han has been a smuggler for a long time, Leia is a Senator, Luke... well, Luke seems like your typical new character.

But it is mostly up to your players. I'd hold off on suggesting extra starting xp when you bring up the question though... 'cause what players would say no to that?

We used the pregens for Escape from Mos Schuuta and Long Arm of the Hutt.

Then we started a new campaign with a session zero where we made up new characters, came up with a theme we'd all enjoy and started fresh.

We ran the Pre-Gens for Escape then built new PCs before starting the LAotH, base plus EXP earned. One of the PCs was a Twi'lek and kept a modified version of what's-her-name's background for continuity. It worked out great.

My group is about to start LAOTH, and my plan is to have them transition afterwards. The old pre-gens will go away, and new characters will be born.

Some of them want to keep the pre-gens, which I plan on allowing, but they don't know the full options available yet, so we'll see what they decide to do. Eventually though, the Pre-Gen group (Group 1) will meet the new player group (Group 2).

Group 1 will sell the Fang to Group 2 and split up, since they've escaped slavery and they all want to do something else. If Group 2 has any legacy members from Group 1, I can work it as a trade or a transfer instead of a sale. Then, since my group wants a different ship that's not a YT-1300, I'm going to let them take it to Freets Ship and Salvage for a trade-in. I'll pick one of each of the starters that look cool, give them some dings and dents and issues from http://fav.me/d8eq3jw thanks to the marvelous Admiral Terghon, and we'll roll from there straight into an adventure or two.

I think it will give them a nice sense of continuity, while letting them close the door on old characters and decide to do something new with their next ones. Should be a lot of fun.

I run an open game at my FLGS. Some players come in for a session to see how it is. The group of regular attendees is growing.

When new players come, I usually have them start with a pre-gen character to learn the system. If they decide to continue, they are then free to create their own character. Since the group has been going for a while, I actually give them a boost of XP after creation, plus the XP and cash from the previous session. They can usually pick up some better gear from the team's supplies.

If a player seems to understand the game and has created their own character already, all the better.