D&D General How do you explain PC absences when a player has to miss a session?

[Lanefan]

For Point 2: I actually could only remember two of the ability scores.

Point 3:I had taken said sheet with me after my first time DMing with the groups/DM's permission because I wanted to base one of the main NPCs around my PCs stats and use that as a bases for trying to get practice on creating stats for NPCs.

Our regular DM took a week break to work on the next phase of our current Campaign and let me DM for the said week after I said I wanted to learn how to DM. So it was the start of a separate Campaign when we did that. The idea is that when he needs some prep work for the current Campaign, I Sub-DM with my Campaign.

Ah, got it.

Never occurred to me this wasn't an established character you were already familiar with.

 

[Weiley31]

Ah, got it.

Never occurred to me this wasn't an established character you were already familiar with.

It should be as this is my first PC ever! But hey at least I found my Character Sheet so it's all good.

 

[Retreater]

Player Character Bag of Holding. I stressed over this for decades, and it's just not worth it. Player Character Bag of Holding - in they go! End of story.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Oh, and my favorite:

You wake up from a long rest, and poof, they're gone. What happened? Maybe they snuck off. Or, they were kidnapped/teleported by a villain. Or, someone cast Sequester on them, making them willing with Dominate Person/Monster. Or, someone cast Geas on them and now you have to fight them under the service of your villain. Maybe they got bored, and just decided to make the party panic for a little bit. If they're a rogue, maybe they're still there, but are so well hidden that you can't hear or see them.

 

[Oofta]

There's always having some extra-planar creature casting "Summon Adventurer".

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

There's always having some extra-planar creature casting "Summon Adventurer".

So, basically Gate?

 

[Oofta]

So, basically Gate?

Exactly. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If PCs can summon celestials, celestials should be able to summon PCs.

 

[Lanefan]

Oh, and my favorite:

You wake up from a long rest, and poof, they're gone. What happened? Maybe they snuck off. Or, they were kidnapped/teleported by a villain. Or, someone cast Sequester on them, making them willing with Dominate Person/Monster. Or, someone cast Geas on them and now you have to fight them under the service of your villain. Maybe they got bored, and just decided to make the party panic for a little bit. If they're a rogue, maybe they're still there, but are so well hidden that you can't hear or see them.

Thing there is that if the party wake up and find themselves down a person, wouldn't they most likely drop whatever they're doing and search for said person, and-or try to find out what became of it?

And if the missing player's PC gets Geased to fight the party doesn't that rather defeat the idea of not putting the missing player's character at risk?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Thing there is that if the party wake up and find themselves down a person, wouldn't they most likely drop whatever they're doing and search for said person, and-or try to find out what became of it?

And if the missing player's PC gets Geased to fight the party doesn't that rather defeat the idea of not putting the missing player's character at risk?

It doesn't have to be that one, and maybe the person who geased them didn't mean harm to them. Could just be a lazy spellcasting dragon who wants to talk to someone.

 

[Marandahir]

Out of focus. The character was there, but they didn't do anything of note that session. If we get into combat, DM runs the character in good faith supporting the rest of the party, but never doing anything really spectactular (even if a nat 20 is rolled for an attack).

Ocassionally, if there's a narrative reason they might have gone off somewhere else, we explain it that way, but mostly it's just out of focus as above.