the Jester
Legend
I believe that it is regrettable to kill a pc when the player isn't there. However, it can happen. I'll go to far greater lengths to save a pc whose player isn't present than I will to save a pc whose player is present.
Is it O.K. for the DM to kill a character when the player isn't there?
- Thread starter Pendragon67
- Start date
Well I look at it this way. If the player can be there they will be there if not, then they are not. I don't like to kill characters off because a player can't make it to a game, it's rather rude in my opinion. Of course we are all late 20's early 30's gamers in my group who have other commitments to work and family and we all understand that and so none of get hung up on the issue of attendance. That being said rarely if ever does anyone not make it to the game.
MonkeyDragon
Explorer
It depends, and there are several ways my groups handle this. This is the officialness for my game:
If your character sheet is not there (either you choose to have your character be absent, or you didn't get your sheet to the game when you could not be) the character is not there. They are lost in the woods, back in town, watching the horses, or, if all else fails, just standing there in the corner looking at the wall. The character gets immunity. They also get no XP.
If your character sheet is present and being run in the hands of another player, you get half xp for the session and participate in the adventure. It is understood that the person with your PC will play conservatively and do their utmost to keep the character healthy. In fact, if I'M in a situation where I'm running someone else's PC, I'll take more care that the other guy lives than with my own character. As a DM I will choose all other reasonable targets before choosing the absent player's PC. There is no immunity, however, and if the PC is in harm's way, they might come to harm. If they're really unfortuantel, it might be death. But I'm going to try to not have that happen, since death is a big enough bummer as it is.
If your character sheet is not there (either you choose to have your character be absent, or you didn't get your sheet to the game when you could not be) the character is not there. They are lost in the woods, back in town, watching the horses, or, if all else fails, just standing there in the corner looking at the wall. The character gets immunity. They also get no XP.
If your character sheet is present and being run in the hands of another player, you get half xp for the session and participate in the adventure. It is understood that the person with your PC will play conservatively and do their utmost to keep the character healthy. In fact, if I'M in a situation where I'm running someone else's PC, I'll take more care that the other guy lives than with my own character. As a DM I will choose all other reasonable targets before choosing the absent player's PC. There is no immunity, however, and if the PC is in harm's way, they might come to harm. If they're really unfortuantel, it might be death. But I'm going to try to not have that happen, since death is a big enough bummer as it is.
Dragonbait
Explorer
If the player wishes, his character may be played by someone else. The character faces all the same dangers as the other players. He can take damage, and his character may even die. He gets XP for the challenges, but not role-playing XP, and he is entitled to any treasure found as if he was there.
Because of this, your character sheet should have all your feats, abilities, and equipment listed. We've had people own X item or have Y ability, but it was written down on a paper at home rather than on their sheet. They miss a session, and the group could have used said item or ability.
Also, you need to have your character sheet be legible, for similar reasons
example:
Player trying to read another's character sheet: His character sheet says Garlvisn 69? What the hell is that?
The DM, after studying the sheet: That's his cursive handwriting, and he mispelled it.. It's supposed to be Darkvision 60'
Because of this, your character sheet should have all your feats, abilities, and equipment listed. We've had people own X item or have Y ability, but it was written down on a paper at home rather than on their sheet. They miss a session, and the group could have used said item or ability.
Also, you need to have your character sheet be legible, for similar reasons
example:
Player trying to read another's character sheet: His character sheet says Garlvisn 69? What the hell is that?
The DM, after studying the sheet: That's his cursive handwriting, and he mispelled it.. It's supposed to be Darkvision 60'
ditto for usMonkeyDragon said:
Characters of players not there get 1/2 xp like the NPCs in the party (keeps group cohesive).
Only die when it's a TPK.
This is for people not abusing missing sessions, the friends that had something come up, not the habitual skippers. They tend to fall into pits.
I mean, we are all playing with friends right?
Only die when it's a TPK.
This is for people not abusing missing sessions, the friends that had something come up, not the habitual skippers. They tend to fall into pits.
I mean, we are all playing with friends right?
Nebulous
Legend
Ruined said:If you drop out of my campaign though without plans of return, your PC is meat for the story.
Oh, now that i HAVE done for great results. A player in a CoC moved away, and i used his character as a grotesque murder for the intro of the next adventure. I told him my plan ahead of time and he loved it. As i told another player: "I said So-and-So would die this adventure.
Player: "Yeah, but you didn't have to make me watch it! That was horrible."
Well, it was CoC so i had to make him watch...
Maybe.
This is one of the things that ought to be covered in the DM/Player agreements at the start of the camapign. If there's mutual agreement about how you might die, then it's all cool. If there is not agreement, then it'd be pretty shabby to kill the PC, in my opinion.
This is one of the things that ought to be covered in the DM/Player agreements at the start of the camapign. If there's mutual agreement about how you might die, then it's all cool. If there is not agreement, then it'd be pretty shabby to kill the PC, in my opinion.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
JoeGKushner said:
I award pretty much uniform XP to PCs whether the players are there or not. I don't want to have to deal with the hassle of figuring out whose got what for XPs. If the player is usually there and participating, even if they miss a session or two because of work or other issues, their character is keeping right up.
PCs who joined the campaign late probably do have different XP totals but their awards are still uniform.
I also don't generally kill PCs whose players aren't there. But I do kill PCs from time to time. It just hasn't happened very often.
And even if the PC is safer yet still gaining XPs while the playing doesn't show up, that player doesn't get the fun of playing so there's no real incentive to stay away. Also, with one missing player, some challenges may be too hard for the rest of the party. So, a significant absence at a dangerous time in the adventure usually means we punt the game and play Munchkin or Settlers of Catan for the evening.
Ruined
Explorer
gizmo33 said:
PCs die in my games. It's not frequent by any means, but I do all of my rolls in the open. But I believe there's a stark difference between being willing to kill a PC and killing a PC when the player couldn't attend the session.
And to the other question about what do PCs receive if they don't attend? Previously they received no XP, but would get dragged along the XP curve if they miss too many sessions. I'm with Shilsen though - missing out on the fun of playing is the biggest loss.
