Is it O.K. for the DM to kill a character when the player isn't there?

[Vegepygmy]

If it's okay for the character to be playing in the player's absence, it's okay for the character to die in the player's absence.

I do think the DM has a responsibility to see that the absent player's PC is treated fairly, however, either by directing the character himself or just monitoring the player(s) directing him.

 

[Sejs]

Is it acceptable for the DM to kill a character in the game when the player (for that character) is not at the session?

Generally speaking, no, it is not.

Under what conditions should this be acceptable?

If and when the player has given express permission to let their character be played by someone else, and there's been an acceptance that if things turn out for the worst, that they're okay with it. Bumping off someone's character in a situation they have no imput on is pretty lame. It's sort of like getting your bike stolen or your car broken into. No fun at all.

Now if you understand and accept that okay, these things might happen that's one thing. But to have it happen out of the blue... that's something else entirely.

 

[STARP_Social_Officer]

My games have a rule: if you aren't there, your character is safe. The only exception is if you have given express permission to be proxied knowing the potential for death. I've had players try to take advantage of this by having the absent player's PC do all the dangerous stuff; I've subsequently put a stop to this.

 

[Greylock]

Absent players' characters in the game I've been in never die. But they often get married into whatever tribe or village is close at hand.

Even if they are just going to the door for pizza.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Any time one of my players misses a session, we don't include the character unless they say it's okay. If he tells us to play his character, I would remind him that death is a possibility. I don't remember an absent players character ever getting killed in my games, but they know it could happen and are generally okay with it.

 

[Knightfall]

My games have a rule: if you aren't there, your character is safe. The only exception is if you have given express permission to be proxied knowing the potential for death. I've had players try to take advantage of this by having the absent player's PC do all the dangerous stuff; I've subsequently put a stop to this.

QFT.

 

[Li Shenron]

Is it acceptable for the DM to kill a character in the game when the player (for that character) is not at the session? Under what conditions should this be acceptable? Is this fair?!?!

No.
None.
No.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, lemme relate a little story:

Recently, we had a player, who, for the sake of anonymity, we'll call... screw it, his name is "Scott".

He showed up for the first and second session, and then missed the third, fourth, and fifth. During those three sessions he missed, the group was forced to run his character, and hated doing it (it's a headache running the group's cleric when you're running a fighter).

During a session where some carnivourous creatures (I won't go into details because it was set in the Savage Tide arc, so let's just say they were critters that like to eat PCs if they have the chance) were attacking the group, all of the group was knocked to the negatives except for one character, the Dragon Shaman, who was unable to reach the rest of the group in time.

So, as the GM, I was faced with a dilemna: Do I kill a character whose player has shown up every session, or do I kill a character who was a full level behind the rest of the group, whose player had missed half the essions?

I killed the character whose player was missing.

Whoops. ;P

I would have made the same call. That said, I'd prefer not to kill absentee players' characters otherwise. That married-into-the-goblin-village thing sounds fun, though.

 

[delericho]

IMC, if the player isn't there, the character gains a full share of treasure and XP... and runs the same risk of dying as when the player is there. (That said, such characters tend to become a lot less pro-active since I'm running them as NPCs, which means they're less of a target generally.)

So, I say "Yes".

That said, I won't go out of my way to kill a character when the player isn't there.

 

[blargney the second]

We always find some reason for the PC to be absent for the session. It saves a *lot* of hassle.