How do you handle a missing player

[Jack99]

We have all tried it. It's Friday/Saturday/Tuesday night, and one (or more!) of the players can't make it.

How do you handle that? We have always hand-waved it, saying that he is there but not there. This means that he experiences what happens, but only suffer from it if there is a TPK. It also means that if said character happens to carry a vital piece of info or item, he can "pass it on" during the game, if the need arises. And I do not mean the Rod of Resurrection, but more like the key to enter the secret part of the dungeon. Or the map to the treasure, etc. The next time, when he returns, we act if he has been there the whole time. Or try to at times

We do this mostly because we feel that we used to spend way too much time coming up with plausible reasons for a player to suddenly disappear and reappear the next time.

How about you guys, and why?

 

[Treebore]

If the player calls ahead of time, or e-mails, to let me know, I allow his PC to be played by someone else, and he gains XP's and gets magic items, if any, based on the generosity of the players who do show.

If they don't call/e-mail they are out of the session, getting no XP's or loot.

 

[el-remmen]

All of the above (except the portal).

It all depends on what is happening in the game at the time.

If it is 'downtime' or an adventure taking place in a town or such, generally we will use 'bog flu' as an excuse. Otherwise, some other similar excuse (for example, once I said that a PC's mother had come to visit and that was why she was not around when the coincidental events that led to an adventure began).

'Bog flu' also works if it happens during a trip at sea.

If the party is in the middle of a long adventure or in a place where the PC leaving or staying behind would be inconvenient (or dangerous) then we usually do a mix of DM control and other player control. Generally, all decisions can be vetoed by the DM, but other players will take turns running the character in combat, or making suggestions about what the character might do.

 

[pawsplay]

In my games, we use a variety of approaches, depending on what makes sense. Usually, we try to explain the absence, but if that's impossible, the GM will just run the character. As a GM, I only let another player run someone else's character if prior arrangements were made, and I still reserve the right to control the character if I deem it necessary (out of character actions, blatant stupidity, my own secret agenda, to help the game move forward etc).

If someone is absent on short notice, we tend to have the character follow the others around and not have very many creative ideas. I usually suggest the character's actions, but if there are several plausible choices, the group can vote among them. If we have a default method, that's probably it.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Portal-fu!

I have done or would do any of those, though. If the character REALLY can't make it through no fault of his own to the point I feel bad about it (like for our online games, if he lost power in his area or for an in-person if his grandma's sick, etc...), I will ask another player to run his character or do it myself, so he doesn't fall behind on xp and treasure.

Beyond that, I like the portal (or as we like to say, "Joe fell in a plot hole.") if at all possible. I don't like the idea of the character being there but effectively a gimped dead weight. Only times I'd ever do that is if the other players rejected the plot-hole justification. That hasn't happened yet, though.

 

[krissbeth]

We actually did have a TPK when one player was absent.

I was running him too.

The guilt! The guilt!!!

 

[RefinedBean]

If it's an extended time period, we usually come up with a reason.

If it's just once or so, we have another player play them. In 3.5, whoever had a martial/full-attack character would play the other PC, so that spellcasters didn't have to (they have enough crap to worry about).

In 4E, to save everyone a head-ache, the missing PC can only use At-Wills, and aren't really RP'd except for Skill Challenges and such.

 

[malraux]

Unless its easily explained, I'll normally have another player run the character. I personally don't see the point in docking XP or loot as really the penalty for not playing is presumably not playing. That said, I dislike more than one player being absent so for me, two people being out is a reason to cancel the game.

 

[Starglim]

Another player runs the character. If we don't have a character sheet, we make up a reason for the character to avoid combat and XP - so far, they haven't been elaborate.

 

[joethelawyer]

deleted