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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8234406" data-attributes="member: 29398">That's my point: for reasons of in-game continuity and consistency I very much care if a character phases out without an in-game reason.I mean, if the session is all downtime then it's easy enough to just deal with the other PCs' downtime activities for that session.&nbsp; But if halfway through that session the downtime's done and it's time to get back in the field but you don't know which character the missing player is planning to bring this trip, then what?&nbsp; Stop the session?&nbsp; Not bloody likely.Most of the time, though, our sessions stop in mid-adventure and sometimes even in mid-combat.&nbsp; The PCs are already in place and are already committed to doing whatever they're doing.&nbsp; Phasing one out for a while for no valid reason just doesn't make in-game sense; therefore, it (almost) never happens.Even if a player drops out of the game, if their PC is still in the field what usually happens is it carries on as a QPC until the next downtime, whereupon it retires from adventuring.If I'm on vacation or at some other pre-planned event I'll have left instructions with the DM, and if something dire happens that my instructions don't cover or can't have foreseen then I'd be damn annoyed if I didn't get a text; even if my own situation meant I couldn't reply right away I'd still appreciate the attempt being made.&nbsp; And if I forget to leave instructions then my character is largely at the mercy of whoever does show up, and I just have to trust that they'll play it consistent with what it would do if I was there.Conversely, I don't want to run (or play in) a game where characters get a free pass when their player doesn't show up.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 8234406, member: 29398"] That's my point: for reasons of in-game continuity and consistency I very much care if a character phases out without an in-game reason. I mean, if the session is all downtime then it's easy enough to just deal with the other PCs' downtime activities for that session. But if halfway through that session the downtime's done and it's time to get back in the field but you don't know which character the missing player is planning to bring this trip, then what? Stop the session? Not bloody likely. Most of the time, though, our sessions stop in mid-adventure and sometimes even in mid-combat. The PCs are already in place and are already committed to doing whatever they're doing. Phasing one out for a while for no valid reason just doesn't make in-game sense; therefore, it (almost) never happens. Even if a player drops out of the game, if their PC is still in the field what usually happens is it carries on as a QPC until the next downtime, whereupon it retires from adventuring. If I'm on vacation or at some other pre-planned event I'll have left instructions with the DM, and if something dire happens that my instructions don't cover or can't have foreseen then I'd be damn annoyed if I didn't get a text; even if my own situation meant I couldn't reply right away I'd still appreciate the attempt being made. And if I forget to leave instructions then my character is largely at the mercy of whoever does show up, and I just have to trust that they'll play it consistent with what it would do if I was there. Conversely, I don't want to run (or play in) a game where characters get a free pass when their player doesn't show up. [/QUOTE]

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