Something about this whole "punishment" meme really gets my goat. 'Punishment' would be docking XP, removing magic items, inflicting curses etc. Not giving stuff away for free is not 'punishment' and I don't have a high opinion of those who claim it is.
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Strategies for Missing Players?
- Thread starter hcubed_
- Start date
Something about this whole "punishment" meme really gets my goat. 'Punishment' would be docking XP, removing magic items, inflicting curses etc. Not giving stuff away for free is not 'punishment' and I don't have a high opinion of those who claim it is.
Thanks a bunch guys and/ or gals! Some good suggestions in there.
So far we have tried a few different things. But it's gotten to the point where we don't think he is interested in playing with us at all. Mainly because he doesn't really know me that well. And while he is friends with others in the group he isn't BEST friends with them. So therefore feels no obligation.
The 4 other players are quite keen and turn up pretty much every time. Some will turn up even if only for an hour before having to leave. In that case we assume their character is there and continue on playing.
Other strategies we've tried are:
-Allowing someone else to play as his character. Which is a big no-no in some circles I guess but the person taking over hadn't played before and it made for a good introduction.
-Not there, character's not there. No play No XP. Only just tried this after my mini-tantrum. Caved after a week though.
-Assuming the character IS there, but is feeling ill. Fight their own monsters but we have to use our imaginations!
-Once I made up a seperate encounter so the missing player (who joined us later) could make up the XP the rest of the crew gained. This was good as the player felt like his character was badass taking out a 10 man squad of minions solo. It was well and truly one sided but he gets +9 to his attacks. One hit, one kill. Halfing rogues FTW I guess!
The gang can handle the encounters without him. They did so with only 3 of 5 players last session with no adjustment to monsters. So we'll continue on. I guess I will let the problem player know that if he wants to rejoin the party at any time he can. He just needs to get his
sorted.
We are all of us new to the game as well. So I guess it may not have been to his liking. Most of us seem to enjoy it (or say so at least) and come across quite keen. Just a shame really as his character had some great potential.
I could try and be a better DM. But that will come with time, hopefully.
You guys are great btw. Helping out newbie DMs like me! Without your collective knowledge I'd be absolutely useless running a game.
Cheers!
So far we have tried a few different things. But it's gotten to the point where we don't think he is interested in playing with us at all. Mainly because he doesn't really know me that well. And while he is friends with others in the group he isn't BEST friends with them. So therefore feels no obligation.
The 4 other players are quite keen and turn up pretty much every time. Some will turn up even if only for an hour before having to leave. In that case we assume their character is there and continue on playing.
Other strategies we've tried are:
-Allowing someone else to play as his character. Which is a big no-no in some circles I guess but the person taking over hadn't played before and it made for a good introduction.
-Not there, character's not there. No play No XP. Only just tried this after my mini-tantrum. Caved after a week though.
-Assuming the character IS there, but is feeling ill. Fight their own monsters but we have to use our imaginations!
-Once I made up a seperate encounter so the missing player (who joined us later) could make up the XP the rest of the crew gained. This was good as the player felt like his character was badass taking out a 10 man squad of minions solo. It was well and truly one sided but he gets +9 to his attacks. One hit, one kill. Halfing rogues FTW I guess!
The gang can handle the encounters without him. They did so with only 3 of 5 players last session with no adjustment to monsters. So we'll continue on. I guess I will let the problem player know that if he wants to rejoin the party at any time he can. He just needs to get his
sorted.We are all of us new to the game as well. So I guess it may not have been to his liking. Most of us seem to enjoy it (or say so at least) and come across quite keen. Just a shame really as his character had some great potential.
I could try and be a better DM. But that will come with time, hopefully.
You guys are great btw. Helping out newbie DMs like me! Without your collective knowledge I'd be absolutely useless running a game.
Cheers!
GMing at the Meetup I often have a naturally variable player base, so rules that accommodate both occasional & regular players work best. Booting a player from the game for not turning up enough actually IS a punishment, unlike not-giving-free-XP (or free wealth/magic items). If you have the kind of campaign where every player needs to make every session, and/or every PC needs to be the same level, then you should set attendance expectations and award XP (or ad hoc levels) accordingly.
I have a group of six players and me as the DM. As long as at least two of them are present, we'll play, but I usually won't run my planned session unless I have at least four of them.
I made sure on the first session to state that if players were going to have a hard time showing up constantly (and mind you I run my game at 6PM on a Sunday), then they should just tell me so and depart from the game so someone else can play. As of right now, I've not had that issue yet.
I made sure on the first session to state that if players were going to have a hard time showing up constantly (and mind you I run my game at 6PM on a Sunday), then they should just tell me so and depart from the game so someone else can play. As of right now, I've not had that issue yet.
hcubed - glad you have a solution! You might like to consider having a Companion Character NPC (from DMG2) accompany your 3-PC party, to fill in a missing role. Companions are played in combat by one of the other players, but roleplayed by the GM, it can be very useful having a 'voice' in the party but be careful not to treat them as a 'GMPC' If you get a 4th player again the Companion can eventually be retired.
Both DMG2 & DMG have useful advice for smaller groups - for 3 PCs in general it's often good to use monsters of 1-2 levels below party level as the default, rather than reduce monster group size. If running a published adventure you can run one for PCs 1-2 levels below your party.
Both DMG2 & DMG have useful advice for smaller groups - for 3 PCs in general it's often good to use monsters of 1-2 levels below party level as the default, rather than reduce monster group size. If running a published adventure you can run one for PCs 1-2 levels below your party.
jbear
First Post
To be honest, in this case, sounds like the player is not interested in playing.
I doubt throwing any kind of tantrum involving the deliberate anhialation of your PCs to alleviate the sense of frustration at player absence is going to be very inspiring for him either.
"What? Hacked to death by rabid goats that could shoot flames out their arse? Fantastic! Hey, where are we meeting next week? We've gotta do that again!"
Really all you do is punish the players that do faithfully turn up and are the only ones close enough at hand to vent on.
So, I'd say it's fairly safe to say, best try not let that happen again. The DM can kill his PCs whenever the whim takes them. Its easy.
"While you are taking a short rest, but before you can benefit from it, a deep voice from the distance is heard saying ' Kill the intruders, show no mercy and make sure you don't listen to anything they say'. This door, this door, oh, and this door open and in walks a giant, a dragon and a beholder. You also realise the corridor you came through is now blocked by a massive Gelatinous Cube. Oh, and the roof rolls back and hundreds of gleaming arrow heads point down at you from above. The floor, by the way begins to rumble as it slowly opens in two revealing a pit of several hissing hydras below. And unfortunately they get a surprise round."
But your players have to be able to trust in the fact that you won't do that. It's not fun for anyone. So invest your time and energies in the players that do show. Forget about this one guy that doesn't.
As S'mon mentioned, introduce a NPC Companion character. I have different companions come and go into the story to introduce new adventure arcs, drop story hooks and to give the impression they are meeting a variety of people, making friends, establishing roots in the world they play in. It can also reflect more acutely the consequences of some of their decisions. My players last companion left them when he became aware that they had dealings with followers of Zehir. They have received a lot of benefits from this association, but making deals with evil gods of poison needs to have some downsides.
If you have 4 other players you'll be fine. The Companion will make things a lot smoother, especially the night you only have 3 players, and you can rotate who operates the companion in combat.
Whatever conclusion you come to and decide to run with with regard to absence just make sure you are
a) consistent
b) fair
c) explicit (make sure you let your players know what your decision is, why you are making it, and how it is going to work)
I doubt throwing any kind of tantrum involving the deliberate anhialation of your PCs to alleviate the sense of frustration at player absence is going to be very inspiring for him either.
"What? Hacked to death by rabid goats that could shoot flames out their arse? Fantastic! Hey, where are we meeting next week? We've gotta do that again!"
Really all you do is punish the players that do faithfully turn up and are the only ones close enough at hand to vent on.
So, I'd say it's fairly safe to say, best try not let that happen again. The DM can kill his PCs whenever the whim takes them. Its easy.
"While you are taking a short rest, but before you can benefit from it, a deep voice from the distance is heard saying ' Kill the intruders, show no mercy and make sure you don't listen to anything they say'. This door, this door, oh, and this door open and in walks a giant, a dragon and a beholder. You also realise the corridor you came through is now blocked by a massive Gelatinous Cube. Oh, and the roof rolls back and hundreds of gleaming arrow heads point down at you from above. The floor, by the way begins to rumble as it slowly opens in two revealing a pit of several hissing hydras below. And unfortunately they get a surprise round."
But your players have to be able to trust in the fact that you won't do that. It's not fun for anyone. So invest your time and energies in the players that do show. Forget about this one guy that doesn't.
As S'mon mentioned, introduce a NPC Companion character. I have different companions come and go into the story to introduce new adventure arcs, drop story hooks and to give the impression they are meeting a variety of people, making friends, establishing roots in the world they play in. It can also reflect more acutely the consequences of some of their decisions. My players last companion left them when he became aware that they had dealings with followers of Zehir. They have received a lot of benefits from this association, but making deals with evil gods of poison needs to have some downsides.
If you have 4 other players you'll be fine. The Companion will make things a lot smoother, especially the night you only have 3 players, and you can rotate who operates the companion in combat.
Whatever conclusion you come to and decide to run with with regard to absence just make sure you are
a) consistent
b) fair
c) explicit (make sure you let your players know what your decision is, why you are making it, and how it is going to work)
Ours is a 6 man party. Of the 7 (including myself as DM), 5 are now fathers! (you KNOW you have been playing a long time when you have kids) We all have careers, families and most have children.
Under these pressures, its simply a reality of our game that people just cant reasonably be expected to turn up to every session. I have had to accept that as has everyone else and we play as long as we have half (i.e. 3 players). Most of the time we will manage 4-5, sometimes 3 or 6.
I used to get real angry about non-attendance, but years teach you patience. Real life is a greater concern than the game, and I like to believe that understanding this is one of the key factors underpinning why our group is still playing this game 20 years on.
Under these pressures, its simply a reality of our game that people just cant reasonably be expected to turn up to every session. I have had to accept that as has everyone else and we play as long as we have half (i.e. 3 players). Most of the time we will manage 4-5, sometimes 3 or 6.
I used to get real angry about non-attendance, but years teach you patience. Real life is a greater concern than the game, and I like to believe that understanding this is one of the key factors underpinning why our group is still playing this game 20 years on.
Jan van Leyden
Adventurer
I'm running a group for five players. We have a regular schedule with time slots the players "book" a long time in advance.
When a player can't make it, we usually hear about it at least several days in advance. The game takes place as planned, with the encounters scaled back to accommodate the weakened group. The missing character gets his XP nevertheless, as I don't want to explore 4e with a mix of different levels.
When more than one players cancels, I propose playing some boardgames instead or just meet and talk a bit.
Critical situations arise when one player cancels in advance and another one calls in sick at the game of the day or has another unforeseen event sabotaging him participating. Depending on my mood I either try to implement the solution of the preceding paragraph or just cancel the game. This happens rarely, though.
If I had to deal with an unreliable player, I would talk to him to gauge his interest in the game and ask him for a clear statement. A player not dedicated enough will kindly be asked to leave the game.
When a player can't make it, we usually hear about it at least several days in advance. The game takes place as planned, with the encounters scaled back to accommodate the weakened group. The missing character gets his XP nevertheless, as I don't want to explore 4e with a mix of different levels.
When more than one players cancels, I propose playing some boardgames instead or just meet and talk a bit.
Critical situations arise when one player cancels in advance and another one calls in sick at the game of the day or has another unforeseen event sabotaging him participating. Depending on my mood I either try to implement the solution of the preceding paragraph or just cancel the game. This happens rarely, though.
If I had to deal with an unreliable player, I would talk to him to gauge his interest in the game and ask him for a clear statement. A player not dedicated enough will kindly be asked to leave the game.
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