Trading Characters

[Lwaxy]

We usually run the characters of missing players along if needed, but as little as possible, meaning the GM runs them in battles or has them answer a needed question, but otherwise the PC does not get any attention.

 

[howandwhy99]

I've suggested either other players can run the PC when the owner is absent or they can drop into the background. Background means they are along with the PCs, if they aren't holed up somewhere like the PCs home. What they don't do is attack or give ideas or share in the group's actions.

When telling another player to play my PC I'll typically give them advice and let them know what his or her goals are for the session before it begins. Primarily of course is staying alive and not losing anything, but its understood that those things can happen.

 

[was]

in our group, other players run the characters of missing people but minimize their risky actions

 

[RoryN]

In my old 2E group, pretty much everyone always played their own characters. If someone was missing for one reason or another, and the party needed that particular character (or level/class), then they were pretty much out of luck unless the DM allowed them to hire an NPC somewhere.

We did try it a couple of times, but our main thing was that each of us had such different personalities in our characters it was not unusual for someone to end up doing things that were totally out of character for that the "off" character they were playing. That's when we stopped with playing anything but our own.

In my current PF group, the DM doesn't allow the playing of each other's characters at all, which I totally agree with. Definitely less heartache of something goes terribly wrong.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

In my Shackled City campaign that just finished I had 2 players leave the game as they got jobs playing in a band on a cruise ship.

The rogue PC of the first player just left the party as the replacement player had his own ranger PC he wanted to bring in.

However, at that point one of the other players switched from playing a cleric to playing a monk. This meant that the party didn't have any divine healing left in the group. We played a couple of sessions before it became apparent that a TPK was just waiting to happen with only potions for healing.

As a result I brought back a favoured soul PC that the player who left had ran before he switched to playing a rogue. Technically he was now an NPC but I let the party run him in combat as it was easier for me.

The player of the favoured soul would take back over running the character whenever he was back in town between his work contracts.

The PC of the second player who left the group remained in the party and was taken over by the replacement player (with the leaving player's blessing).

The player who left was really good about this. On the 2 occasions that he returned to the group (again, between contracts), he either played another NPC or I got him to run the monsters for me. So he never took back control of his PC.

Both of these situations worked out pretty well for my group. It helps that none of my players are overly precious.

Olaf the Stout

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Heh. My initial question actually wasn't intended to have anything to do with players being absent from the table, but pretty much every answer is about that situation. I wonder if I can conclude from that that most players will never let anyone touch their character for a reason other than absence, since that's the only situation someone else playing one's character seems to happen in for most examples...

Well at any rate, it's led to some fairly interesting stories I suppose.

 

[howandwhy99]

We've done what you suggest with both players at the table. It was through the use of Charm and other enchantments come into play this way too. Though the situation I'm thinking of was about saving the PC from being under the thrall of a mindflayer. Not quite gaining the PC back for the original player, but creating a situation for a saving throw to end the effect wasn't difficult once control was won by the PC enchanter.

 

[Jhaelen]

Or do you not let other people touch your characters no matter what?

this. We stopped allowing other players (or the DM) playing an absent player's characters several editions ago.
It was too often that bad things happened to the character because the player didn't entirely grasp (or care) how to play the character.