HELP! My gaming group is in trouble!

[jmucchiello]

Previously, when a player has been away (only happened once or twice), the rest of the group plays the character and they gain full xp and treasure as if they had been there. That was the plan this time, as well.

So the DM is going back on his word. How about pointing him at this thread where a group people agree he letting his personal anamosity possibly cause two people to leave the game over an in-game situation that the players should have dealt with?

If he won't, when the guy comes back and is mad at the DM and decides to leave the group, point him at this thread and show him that you really went to bat for him and you'd like him to stay in the game.

 

[jmucchiello]

IMC, my players divide the treasure however they see fit. I don't interfere. In another campaign, in which I am a player, I always suggest that all treasure goes into a communal pile, and then items are doled out on a "best fit" basis.

In both cases, if one person gets too little, the other players think of ways to make it up to the one with the least.

Don't both with this step. When the next set of loot is doled out the players who got shorted the last time, will be the most likely candidates for the good stuff in the next pile. "Who needs a ring of protection?" "I got so much stuff last time, I don't have room for another ring." "I got nothing last couple times, so my fingers are empty."

 

[Hjorimir]

If the rule about not gaining xp when you are gone and have not left your character sheet was known then the DM is in his right to adhere to the rule as stated.

It is hard enough to DM and control a game while providing enjoyment to the players (it takes a lot of work to be a good DM). To bend rules just because some player gets his (or her) undies tied in a knot is poor form (and in the long run will only undermine your ability to run the game).

Yes, this entire issue should have been handled in character (i.e. role-playing). Issues between characters should never be hashed out between players. It is part of the game to interact via role-playing.

As a DM, I give partial xp for characters (when the player is absent) along with the understanding that the character can be killed in their absence (it does happen from time to time).

Enjoy yourselves and enjoy the hobby (sorry...role-playing is more than a mere game...way too much work involved to put side-by-side with Monopoly or Battleship).

 

[bubbalin]

Alternatively, I have seen in some tips book or e-zine, but a way to settle all these problems is to have an agreement beforehand about how treasure wil be divided, what happens when players are away etc. This is a meta-game agreement (since XP's don't happen IC) that you work out before the atart of the campaign.
While this is mroe work, it might save problems later. You could also suggest this retro-actively, and it may save your group. Just have everybody agree that the problem was because you hadn't thought about it beforehand, and as such you need to do something about it in the future so nobody gets shorted or feel shorted because they knew in advance what would be happening.
THink of it as your gaming table constitution.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

In my campaign the rule is that if you are not present the character will be played by another player (usually chosen by the absent player ahead of time). If the player has not left his character sheet, as DM I can put one together with the most relevant parts since I have all the characters input into DM's Familiar. I won't have a full listing of equipment (I don't bother inputing that a character has a ball of twine or a bag of salt), but I will have the combat info, the weapons, the stats, skills feats, etc.

The missing player's character receives full XP for the session, but treasure is split up by those present. Typically coinage is split evenly among the entire party but magic items are claimed individually. If an item is something that is really well suited to the missing player's character, the rest of the group will usually give it to that character, but more general stuff, the missing player will miss out on.

As for mending the group back together, just try and talk it out now. You could even direct your group to this thread and have them read it, maybe they'll get a different perspective on what happened.

For the missing player for whom you didn't have his sheet, perhaps the DM can explain that you could not use the character without the sheet and so you could not give him the XP, then maybe the DM can offer to do a side solo adventure at some point for that character - an encounter or two he had while he was away from the party - to make up for the missing XP.

Do your best to keep the group together if you are enjoying playing with them. I've had one group shatter because we could not get past a couple of personality issues, it can get really uncomfortable. Also remember that sometimes people have bad days and be forgiving of those times (last time I played I was tired and was pretty short with the DM and a couple of players on occasion).

 

[Arnwyn]

It is hard enough to DM and control a game while providing enjoyment to the players (it takes a lot of work to be a good DM). To bend rules just because some player gets his (or her) undies tied in a knot is poor form (and in the long run will only undermine your ability to run the game).

I totally agree with this. The player was the one who got upset (with the other players) and left - that's his problem. (IMO, he seems a little oversensitive to me. Something like that would never happen in my group. Get up and leave? It's a game - get over it.)

IMO, it seems the DM is getting shoved into something that is clearly between the players (the division of treasure) - the reason why the player ran out in the first place. I can see a problem between the DM and player if the player who left didn't know that he should have left the character sheet, but beyond that...

How do you handle missing players/character? Especially if you're trying to keep some semblance of cohesion to the plot?

First of all, all players leave their character sheets with the DM - no exceptions. A missing player's character is still played (he/she doesn't just "disappear") by another player (of the missing player's choice, if previously stated). The DM keeps an eye on the missing player's PC just to make sure nothing suicidal is attempted.

The missing player's PC, though, gets 0 XP. If you want XP, then show up - we play on a set schedule, so it isn't hard. (And if something has come up that you have to go to, then clearly that is more important than some "fake numbers" in some game, no?) Of course, I'm a "you can't have your cake and eat it too" kind of guy. All the players know about this and have accepted it with no problems... they all feel the same way about tardiness.

It probably seems harsh to some, but this it what works for our group. I have no illusions that it might work for other groups.

 

[swrushing]

First things first... IMO and IMX the Gm should keep his nose out of the issue of party treasure division. if you had been divvying loot and fine with it, then there should be no "the Gm said..."

Second, my game of three years just concluded and they divvied loot all the time and they never, not once, calculated the value of the loot before dividing. They gave out loot based on whoi wanted it and who could use it and then sold the rest. often items would be passed around several times to whoever needed them at the moment. In the event that more than one person wanted an item and no easy decisions was made, they would vote.

That was pretty much it. AFAIK there was never any "well so-n-so got this much more than me last time, so..." type of accounting EXCEPT that on occasion when there were two people wanting the same object one would say on his own accord "well we both could use it but since I already have this... you take it."

There is nothing intrinsically good about going to the trouble of trying to match up GP amounts on a haul by haul basis. You will likely find that it is not uncommon for the mass of one haul is tied up in one item.

 

[swrushing]

For my games, missing players are handled easily.

Everyone designates a second from the other players. If you miss a session the second will run your guy. Its your job to keep him updated on character stuff. If something gets flubbed, we use the best sheet we have.

As for Xp et al, there is no Xp penalty or any of that silliness. You are playing the game because you enjoy it and if you miss missing out on the fun is punishment enough. There is no point in getting into all sorts of accounting nonsense for us.

If you miss so many games it becomes an issue, the i talk with you about it outside of the game and it may be time for you to drop the game.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

As for Xp et al, there is no Xp penalty or any of that silliness. You are playing the game because you enjoy it and if you miss missing out on the fun is punishment enough. There is no point in getting into all sorts of accounting nonsense for us.

Good point, that's the way my group feels. I just missed a game this week because the family was stricken with the flu. I don't have it, but I was home taking care of my wife and kids and I didn't want to pass it on to the rest of the group, but it was torture knowing that I COULD be playing (In the end another player had to bail for similar reasons so the group played board games instead). It's not about the treasure or the XP, its about the fun and playing experience for us. Yes, we love to get loot and we love to get levels, but we play for the fun part.