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

[gizmo33]

Among those who said "no", I wonder how many have ever killed a PC anyway, or would kill a PC under any circumstances at all. There are some that will only kill PCs when they "do something stupid" (ie. DM kills PCs he doesn't like). Clearly, not showing up to the game prevents the player from doing something stupid so I'd expect the answer to be "no" for those folks also.

Among those who do kill PCs, I would imagine that most people follow the "no risk of death = no XP" formula (like me). I don't know what kind of barbarian kills a PC that is staying at home to go fishing instead of going on the adventure.

So my guess is that "do you kill PCs at all" would be a good predictor of the answer to the OP.

 

[drothgery]

Well, lemme relate a little story:

...

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?

That's not killing a PC. That's killing a character whose player has quit the game and neglected to tell you about it (which is perfectly acceptable after three absenses with little/no warning).

 

[Templetroll]

In my homebrew I had an NPC set up that was using a summoning spell that called PCs to him from time to time. OOC, it was the PCs of absent players. However, I had a reason for the NPC to be doing this and a couple of players were trying to figure out what it was. It worked for that game. Currently, I am running something for my wife and daughter so the odds are I won't be running if one of them can't be at the game!

 

[Cedric]

I think it's ok in two circumstances....

1. TPK

2. The player has already worked something out with the GM about their character dying and being replaced.

 

[JoeGKushner]

To those who won't kill a character whose player isn't there....

is the character still getting full shares of gold, magic, and xp?

And if so, what's the motivation to always show up? You're actually 'safer' not showing up since you're character is still getting everything but now has script immunity.

 

[gizmo33]

And if so, what's the motivation to always show up? You're actually 'safer' not showing up since you're character is still getting everything but now has script immunity.

Seems like this would be obvious to anyone who actually kills PCs from time to time, which led me to start suspecting that the issue is really whether or not the DM is willing to kill characters at all.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

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.

That is pretty much my feeling except I won't play a PC, but I'll make sure they other players don't hose him by having him do something he wouldn't do.

If you get into my game and you know you are going to be missing sessions you should be prepared for bad thing possibly happening to your character if a bad roll or something happens in the game. Not punishment but just the way the game works. Maybe the other player who is rolling for him fails a save and he dies. I dislike the idea of magical teleportation taking the PC out of the deep pit or the Abyss or wherever the game is taking place, then coming back the next session.

 

[3catcircus]

Again, I ask...
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? I know it's the DM's game and they can do what they want and they are the final arbiter, BUT! Is this fair?!?! It seems to take the joy out of it. This recently happened to me with my character. I'm not sure what to think. Is he taking advantage of his role as the DM? Any thoughts? Thank you.

Depends - are you routinely extremely late (i.e. arrive 30 minutes before the game ends) to the game, or routinely fail to show up for the game? If so, yes it is appropriate.

 

[Psion]

No.

I've come down on the "suck it up" side of most of these recent "isn't my PC entitled to X?" polls. This is one where I come down on the side of PC entitlement.

I consider players living or dying by their own actions a fundamental PC entitlement. If the player is not there, I, as a DM, feel it is totally inappropriate to slay them in their absence.

I typically "write" absent characters out of the action, so the scenario of "what if there is a TPK" is a non-issue for me.

 

[Squire James]

The thread-starter seems to suggest that, if a character gets killed, it's always the DM's fault. However, I will try to think of the question a little more neutrally, like "Is it OK for a character to die when the player isn't there?"

Essentially, the DM has to analyze his players a bit. If the players generally tend to be... easily upset... then it's probably best to contrive a way for those characters not to die. In a normal gaming situation, though, I'd run them as slightly more cautious versions of themselves and let the dice fall where they may.

I recall a circumstance where a player missed one session, and my working assumption was that his character would follow along as an NPC (it was not a logical time for characters to leave the party, in the middle of a tough adventure and all). I ran that character in a manner consistent with his class, probably more cautiously than would ever occur to the player. The party progressed to the end of the adventure, where a beholder awaited them as the final encounter. The NPC's caution was serving him too well, and he was inflicting quite a bit of damage with arrows. I think you see where this one's going... it's not like the beholder's just going to let this guy kill it!

The player was upset that his character died, but accepted that this kind of thing sometimes happens to adventurers. At least he went out heroically, because he was doing so well he became a priority target! He still plays today (other players left for what I considered poorer reasons).