PC Death when the player isn't there

[Arnwyn]

Has this happend to you as either a player or a DM? Any advice?

Yes, as a DM. For our group, if a player can't make it, his/her character is run by another player. We don't do anything like "fading into the background", as that would disrupt the party's capabilities and the current adventure.

This policy has been made very clear to the players, and they know how it works and what to expect (even to the point of designating a specific player to run their character when they can't make it).

No real advice, other than "make sure your players know that such a policy exists".

 

[Darkness]

if the session ends in the middle of hostile territory (like the characters are going down a hall to the next dungeon level, or they are travelling through orc infested wilderness) and the player can't make the next session, the assumption is made that the character has died do to some random event (like they tripped a trap or some orc sniper got lucky).

Say what? If the party is in hostile territory and a player can't make the next session, the character is automatically dead? That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

 

[Laurel]

Can't happen in my games as I generally let PCs of missing players fade into the background or go elsewhere, whatever's more useful.
My advice would be to do just that in the future but if you insist on your method, more power to you.

Pretty much what our DM does.
Two players said they were not coming back, just up and quit one week.... we have since re-encountered the PCs and they are now evil. Trust betrayed apparently good DM twist and confusion.

Another player sort of just disappeared for a few weeks, he had reasons each time but it was getting to be a habit.... The player stopped coming to games, but never said he wanted to quit. So on we, the other players, trudged while his PC remained saftly tucked away, but the PC did have small highlight parts and could access us easily if ever one week he showed again. Finally the player said the actual words 'I quit.' At that point the DM took over his character to do with as he pleased.

For us a big thing is PCs are never run by anyone other then thier player. If someone misses a game the DM (sometimes even us) comes up with crafty ways for that PC to not be there. No harm, no IC chatting, no decision help, no killing, no death, no XP, sometimes no share of treasure.

For your particular issue: The guy left for a very extended time. Either resurrect, discover a twin, or he rolls a new character.
Hopefully in the future he will be better about communication, and the PCs without thier players can just fade instead of still being center peices that can get killed

Have you asked him what he would want or if he cares? Is there any god/goddess that could have changed the outcome- something for the PCs to figure out the who and why and such later?

 

[el-remmen]

I had it happen once.

I never do the "fade into the background" thing b/c I think characters should never act differently than how they would normally act regardless of whether the player is there or no - to anything else ruins the consistancy of the story.

If it is between adventures, or in an adventure in town or something then I have the PC suffer from "bog flu" (having to stay at home or at the inn to recover), however, paladins being immune to disease have to suffer the tough luck of their immunity and get dragged along. . .

If it is in the middle of an adventure, whether it be wilderness trek or dungeon crawl - the PC has to be there, where else would he be?

Each player in my games designates who they want to play their character in their absence, or the default is the DM does it - but it is known that you have to accept what happens whether you are there or not, that is life. . .

 

[Insight]

In our game, if it's possible and feasible, the missing PC vanishes, has something else to do, etc. It usually works out that the PC is not there for some reason, but we have had circumstances where the PC had to be there.

Normally, we try to end sessions where PCs can be flexible in what happens next time, since we as players are not always able to make it to every session.

If a PC does have to be there when the player's not there (in other words, usually when a previous session has ended and the PCs were still in the middle of something), someone else runs that PC. This character does not earn any XP (since that is a 'reward' for showing up and participating, though this is a debate for another time), and the character can die. We have been fortunate enough not to have any PCs die while run by a surrogate.

EDIT: I should probably point out that we have a very full group, and one missing player character is not going to ruin the party's capabilities to a great extent. The size of our group may affect how we deal with this issue.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

We sometimes play with (N)PCs, but we players control them and use them a little more cautiously. In general, this is viewed as a favor to the missing player so that his PC does not lag way behind when he returns. Once in a blue moon that means a character will die. It is a more than fair deal. It is a bummer to have a character die in your absence but thems the breaks.

 

[Amaroq]

I think this is one that, as a GM, its important to discuss with your players before it comes up. Pick a rule: GM plays your character, another player plays your character, or 'fades into background'... and stick with it. Make sure everybody understands what can and cannot happen to their characters when they aren't there. Then you don't have this 'problem'.

My group plays with the 'fade into the background' style; for story purposes, the character is typically described as 'damaged' in some way: disease is okay, but as noted some people are immune; they may receive a concussion, have exhausted themselves with exertion in the previous round, or some other plausible plot-line. We've seen 'Okay, you guys go in the dungeon. I'll wait by the entrance to guard your backs'; we've even seen 'Uh guys, see that rune? It foretells death for any monk of so-and-so who ventures past it. I'll be waiting here.' On board ship, 'seasick' strikes me as both plausible and realistic: there are some people who never DO get their sea legs. Occasionally, the GM uses the absent PC as an 'NPC voice', letting him/her give the party a hint or two. For long-term absences, the PC disappears - even IF we're in the middle of hostile territory.

a player who doesn't want his PC to have any chance of dying could just not show up to the next game be assured of invulnerability.

Sure, but if absent players don't earn XP or treasure, then he is sacrificing all chance of 'gain' along with all chance of 'loss'. The player will quickly see how they are falling behind in XP, and realize that they need to appear. (Honestly, I've never seen this happen, and wouldn't want to play with a player who thought that way.)

For your particular situation, you have a number of options - new character, revive old character, etc. If the player is really chapped about it, I'd say bring him back to life, with a debt (to whichever entity raised him); if the group were between quests, its a great opportunity to lay a geas on him. Emphasize that its the last time you're going to 'rescue' a character in that way, and outline what the rule will be for the future.

 

[Ferret]

The last time a player left they got killed after a few sessions of being played by my co-DM. In that case there was no chance she was coming back. This was so the character was removed in game. I don't know what I would do if they were absent for only a while.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Thank you everyone for posting. It is really nice to see all the different ways people handle these situations. I've heard from the player and he has said he would like his character brought back and has 'promised' to come back to the game in 'about' 3 weeks. I do believe he is sincere but I think I'm just going to have his character spend some time with the people who just saved his life (after being reincarnated that is - I just rolled it and it looks like gnome! In the Scarred Lands though gnomes are almost cool - I hope he thinks so. Maybe a re-roll if he really hates the idea).

Again thanks for the help and happy gaming!

 

[Darth K'Trava]

We have the character "fade to black" as we're not too keen on letting anyone else play our character. The only difference might would be if we needed the absent cleric to cast healing spells (he gets XP for those combats he used his spells in) but only if the whole group agrees to share XP with that character. If my character's gonna die, I'd rather it's ME doing it, not someone else. I wouldn't want to do that to someone else either. Absent characters gain no XP for a fight they're not involved in. Not even the guy who gets to "watch the horses" like one player's character did when he was absent due to dealing with his ailing father.