How to believably deal with missing players??

[Frilf]

I'd say as a general rule to NEVER, ever, ever, ever, let the DM or another player run someone else's PC (unless your group are incredibly understanding or else you'd like a particular someone to leave). Whatever else you do outside of this one cardinal sin of RPGing is up to you. We generally use the "portable hole" method when in the middle of a dungeon crawl (no good "stopping point") or have that PC off running menial errands (when there is a good "stopping point"). Dungeon fever sounds intriguing to me, though. Our group might try that sometime

Cheers!

 

[Deadguy]

Just my two (What do they call cents in the new Euro?)

Actually cents!

Or sometimes 'eurocents'.

Still shoulda called the base unit Credits though! They'd've sold billions to Sci-Fi fans worldwide!

 

[Len]

Whatever else you do outside of this one cardinal sin of RPGing is up to you.

Actually, anything we do is up to us, not you.

There are two players in my group who can't make every game, and we have someone else play the missing PC when necessary. We know enough about the characters to make them act appropriately. It would be too disruptive to do otherwise, since it's a small party and one of the sometimes-missing characters is the party's tank.

 

[Ahzad]

Utilize the mystic wheelbarrow. It's an invisible, silent incorporeal wheelbarrow with a permanent stasis field that follows the party around. When a player isn't htere, their character gets tossed into the wheelbarrow. When the player comes back, someone drags them out of the wheelbarrow.


Seriously.


(It's just a thought device that basically means, "continuity is over-rated").



jtb

This is the method we subscribe to most as well, sometimes the missing pc will get ran by another player, but most often than not, we just tend to ignore that the pc is missing, and have fun playing.

 

[Haradim]

Our current method is to use the sudden disappearance/mysterious portable hole/bizarre comical 'death' to explain missing PCs.

I've never been much of a fan of that, though, and for my own games, I will likely either give the PC to another player, or just run it myself. Usually, there is no particularly good reason for a character to not be in the party and functioning to some degree.

 

[milotha]

So let's say you have a party of six, and you game a few times a month with a fairly consistent continuous storyline. But if your six players, typically only five can make any given session, and who happens to be the one that can't changes almost every time.

In general, you can still have a consistent story and the missing man can easily get up to speed the next time. But, how do you explain the character's absence in game? Is there any way to make it semi-believable so that it doesn't seem so cheesy that during this important mission the Bard has to study at his college and when the party is summoned by the King, the Cleric has to tend to temple duties rather than come with?

Anyone discovered any creative solutions?

We've done the following, in addition to just having the character disappear for a bit.

1) Have another player NPC the character.
2) Have the GM NPC the character.
3) Have the character summoned away by another NPC in the game for a special mission (and the GM solos them on this before the next game.)

1 and 2 have the drawback that if something bad happens to the character, the player can respond badly. If you are going to do this, you need to inform the player that they will not be exempt from bad things happening to them while they are gone. I once came back to find my player had been hit by a staff of withering.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have used the "let another player play the PC" only when extreme levels of trust permit.

Ditto running the PC as an NPC.

I have used the "depression/food poisoning" excuse for absent PCs, as well as "running an errand of mercy" excuse.

One of the best ways I have ever dealt with it is in campaign structure. Run a caravan-based campaign and that way, if the player is absent, the PC is on duty somewhere else in the caravan. He could be on kitchen detail, hunting, camp setup, or even being an outrider.

However, when I have someone who can't make it in the middle of an adventure encounter, I sometimes resort to the "attack by the assassin" or "knocked out from behind by the Big Bad Evil Guy" as he enters the room.

 

[The Lemon Merchant]

One word - Dysentery. Sometimes Dire Dysentery or maybe even Legendary Dysentery, haven't yet seen a case of Axiomatic Dysentery.

 

[Deadguy]

One of my GMs, getting tired of dealing with the question in his homebrew campaign, started up a new game wherein the PCs are sworn servants of one the world's Powers, the (fey) Lady of the Forest. As such they all bear a minor magic ring, which grants attribute boosts. But it also serves as a conduit for the Lady's powers - and she is prone to borrowing a character from time-to-time to perform a mission for her. So when someone doesn't turn up, their rings glows brightly and they vanish! Afterwards, people have few memories of exactly what it is they did - though they do gain clues as to their handiwork.

Interestingly, it also means he has a built-in way to assist the party if things get out of control on any missions that we perform for the Lady. A mysterious 'ally' can suddenly be teleported in! It wouldn't work for all games, but it has proven handy over the course of the last couple of years, with busy people who work shifts and overtime.

 

[orchid blossom]

In our DM's last campaign, the party was carrying an evil artifact that solved this problem for them. The artifact would randomly suck PC's in or spit them out. Whenever someone couldn't make it, the artifact sucked them in. It also allowed for guest players to make entrances and exits.

In our current campaign we often have people who can't make it. The group is a noble family based in a large manor house. If possible, the PC's absence is just because they are staying home to mind the manor. If we're in the middle of something the DM tries to work it in. Another family needs that PC's particular talent, or they need to take care of something personal. Once or twice the PC just came down with a minor illness that prevented them from continuing.

A couple sessions ago we were missing three people. We were about to fight a magic user, so the DM said they cast this wierd spell and only the missing PC's failed the save, knocking them out for the session. If there's no other option we just assume they're there, but not active. We never give our characters to someone else to play. It just never occured to any of us.