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How do you handle a missing player
- Thread starter Jack99
- Start date
Lord Xtheth
First Post
The PC gets no XP or loot from the adventure, and no one mentions that character at all, like the character never existed in the first place.
I used to call it the "Bag of character holding" a metagame magical item that carried characters in the background so that when the player showed up they were just kinda there with the party.
Lately, I've had the PC just wander off with "Somthing important to do" and then they vanish for as long as the player isn't there.
The no XP/Rewards only go so far for me though. I've had players be absent because of work/school/whatever for a couple months before, but they're good people so I want to let them play. If a player came back from whatever and the party had gained a couple levels, I'd let the character become 1 level lower than the rest of the party.
I used to call it the "Bag of character holding" a metagame magical item that carried characters in the background so that when the player showed up they were just kinda there with the party.
Lately, I've had the PC just wander off with "Somthing important to do" and then they vanish for as long as the player isn't there.
The no XP/Rewards only go so far for me though. I've had players be absent because of work/school/whatever for a couple months before, but they're good people so I want to let them play. If a player came back from whatever and the party had gained a couple levels, I'd let the character become 1 level lower than the rest of the party.
weem
First Post
Mine was close to this...
But I chose other as they aren't 'elaborate' reasons. My group is very good about letting me know in advance if they can't make it. I (most of the time) can come up with a very simple explanation why they are not there (on those rare times someone can't make it to a scheduled game). One time I called the game off because I wanted them there and could not easily get around it.
But I chose other as they aren't 'elaborate' reasons. My group is very good about letting me know in advance if they can't make it. I (most of the time) can come up with a very simple explanation why they are not there (on those rare times someone can't make it to a scheduled game). One time I called the game off because I wanted them there and could not easily get around it.
JoeGKushner
First Post
I went with other.
It depends on what the style of the campaign is, what the players wnat out of it and other factors.
Back in the day I would deliberately try to set up things so that the players would always end in a 'neutral' state. It's one of the reasons why I tend to prefer city based adventurers as that generally makes it easier to explain where a missing character is.
It depends on what the style of the campaign is, what the players wnat out of it and other factors.
Back in the day I would deliberately try to set up things so that the players would always end in a 'neutral' state. It's one of the reasons why I tend to prefer city based adventurers as that generally makes it easier to explain where a missing character is.
Shroomy
Adventurer
In our campaign, our wizard's player disappeared after two sessions. After his first absence, our DM ruled that he was in a coma (this was after an airship crash) and my artificer cast tenser's floating disk (my first ritual ever) to cart him around. Our DM was kind, expecting the player to show up again, so no one every attacked him during our next encounter. At the beginning of the next session, since the player didn't show up again, we handed him off to the healing house. Haven't seen him since.
hvg3akaek
First Post
I generally have other players run him. The current campaign (still 3.5 e) is a military based one, and as such, each character usually has an underling or two to control too. Last game, two players were out, and as there are only 5 normally, I decided that this would be too many characters per person, so I divided the party in half. The present half hit from one direction, the absentees hit from another (unseen) direction.
the Jester
Legend
Hand wave with a twist of justification.
"Rob's character is there, he's just, uh, scouting ahead/down with the flu/watching the rear/taking a really long dump/etc."
This also covers the sudden arrival of late players, the sudden departures of those who have to leave early, etc. My group is about 8 players- we have a lot of in-and-out going on, and my basic philosophy is, "The game goes on!"
As long as we have 3 pcs, and sometimes with less, we play.
"Rob's character is there, he's just, uh, scouting ahead/down with the flu/watching the rear/taking a really long dump/etc."
This also covers the sudden arrival of late players, the sudden departures of those who have to leave early, etc. My group is about 8 players- we have a lot of in-and-out going on, and my basic philosophy is, "The game goes on!"
As long as we have 3 pcs, and sometimes with less, we play.
WayneLigon
Adventurer
Another player runs his PC; everyone makes sure the GM has the most current copy of their PC in case there is a last-minute bail-out for sick kid emergencies, etc.
Chaldfont
First Post
I love the elaborate explanation method. I put it to the group: Why is so-and-so not here this session?
Last week we had two players out. We said that they decided to find a way to flank the encounter and attack from the rear and got lost. We won't know what happened to them until the next session.
When our warforged fighters' player couldn't make it to the session where the heroes were leaving a wizard academy, we decided that the wizards disassembled him for study and couldn't figure out how to put him back together in time.
The best one was when the player threw his back out and couldn't make it. We said his rogue threw his back out slipping on blood while looting. The cleric couldn't heal him because his god decided that the injury was not earned in righteous battle so the party left him behind planning to come back and pick him up on the way out. But then they let a prisoner go and the rogue was captured.
Last week we had two players out. We said that they decided to find a way to flank the encounter and attack from the rear and got lost. We won't know what happened to them until the next session.
When our warforged fighters' player couldn't make it to the session where the heroes were leaving a wizard academy, we decided that the wizards disassembled him for study and couldn't figure out how to put him back together in time.
The best one was when the player threw his back out and couldn't make it. We said his rogue threw his back out slipping on blood while looting. The cleric couldn't heal him because his god decided that the injury was not earned in righteous battle so the party left him behind planning to come back and pick him up on the way out. But then they let a prisoner go and the rogue was captured.
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