Out of Commision - Now What?

[Michael Silverbane]

Discussion is the Best Way to Dispute DM thread got me to thinking about those times when a character is sidelined during a session.

So, when your character is killed, shunted off to another plane, turned to stone, or otherwise put out of commission, what do you do for the rest of the session?

DMs, what sort of activities / duties do you have for players that find their characters unable to participate in the action?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As a player, I:

1. May ask to help the DM run monsters
2. May start rolling up a new PC
3. definitely WILL heckle other players

As a DM, I:

1. May ask for help running monsters
2. May suggest the player roll up a new PC

 

[fba827]

Depends on if it's just for an encounter (i.e. unconcious, etc) or the rest of the session (dead, etc).
If it's just for an encounter, i watch from the side lines.

If it's for the rest of the session, I watch what goes on with an ear open specifically for what the party is about to do because that might help me introduce my next PC. And depending on my mood and time left I may offer to run an NPC.

I don't normally start rolling up my next PC because I like to put thought into the story first and mechanics second. So if I don't have a story for the PC already in mind then any mechanics I write up would just get scraped anyway.

 

[Lanefan]

So, when your character is killed, shunted off to another plane, turned to stone, or otherwise put out of commission, what do you do for the rest of the session?

I play the second character that for just this reason I have in the party. And if they both get hosed I can always find something...roll for an NPC, start rolling up a new PC, or just become the audience and media coverage for the remaining party.

DMs, what sort of activities / duties do you have for players that find their characters unable to participate in the action?

Not much, as my crew have become remarkably adept at rolling up new ones. If it's a short-term hosing e.g. Hold Person it's not that big a deal as our combats are usually reasonably short. But they're always welcome to take over an NPC.

Lanefan

 

[Dross]

As a player, I:

1. May ask to help the DM run monsters
2. May start rolling up a new PC
3. definitely WILL heckle other players

As a DM, I:

1. May ask for help running monsters
2. May suggest the player roll up a new PC

Absolutely agree with making yourself useful in some form, even if it is to keep the next person inline inform that it is almost their go can be helpful. Look up rulings or spells when required. Keep track of timed effects, AC of foes, run henchmen, mounts, animal companions etc can allow others more time to think through their actions to finish the battle quicker.

If needing to replace a PC I'll come up with some vague concept so that at the appropriate time I can broach it with the DM & others to see if that fits needs & storyline then work from there.

 

[Crothian]

I become Waldorf and Stadler

 

[Saeviomagy]

Options for the DM

Get the player to play as their ghost? (can't interact, can heckle, probably tie them to the physical location of their corpse so they can't just solve the entire dungeon).

Get the player to help with monsters (the problem is that some monsters get tricky with how they're used).

Change the next monster into a henchman-style character (ala DMG2) and then let the player run them as they see fit.

Let the player run an existing henchman/companion.

Let the player run themselves in the afterlife, looking down upon their former adventuring buddies and being able to contribute in some appropriate manner based on which afterlife they go to.

Let the player play some evil NPC that the characters previously let free who is actively hunting down the PCs. Is he a friend or a foe (totally depends on whether the player wants to keep the character).

At one stage one of my players lost a character while on another plane and in a dungeon (although at the end of a session), and I wrote up the following possibilities for him to continue:
1. A mad clay golem (the golem had been given a directive which became impossible, so the golem went nuts for a bit, and then sat about contemplating it's existence for a few hundred years)

2. His familiar (fairy obvious)

3. Himself as a shadow or ghost (he had previously been drained to death by shadows already once, and this time he died by being flung into a powerful source of negative energy)

4. A paladin/ranger who was tracking the group because one of the group members had murdered their patron coatl in cold blood.

Unfortunately the holidays happened and when the hiatus ended we'd lost contact with him. Shame, I'd have liked to see which character he picked.

 

[kitsune9]

Discussion is the Best Way to Dispute DM thread got me to thinking about those times when a character is sidelined during a session.

So, when your character is killed, shunted off to another plane, turned to stone, or otherwise put out of commission, what do you do for the rest of the session?

DMs, what sort of activities / duties do you have for players that find their characters unable to participate in the action?

The players have a good deal of cohorts so if one of my players loses his primary character, he'll play their cohort or an NPC party member. I had one player whose hobgoblin two-weapon fighter got crunched in a near TPK fight. So he decided to play one of the mercenaries that the party hired. He liked the write up of the character so much that he took the NPC as his own character and played it all the way until the campaign conclusion.

 

[Falkus]

It hasn't been an issue yet, but in my campaign, if it happened, I'll echo Kitsune9. Let 'em play one of the cohorts or tag alongs in the party until their main character is restored.

 

[Aegeri]

I usually allow the player to play as the monsters - only fair after all! The only time I do not permit this is if the combat is very tight, which is sometimes why a PC is dead in the first place and so I will continue controlling the monsters. The reason for that is sometimes I want to press a certain feel or I want to make the benefit of "tactical" mistakes in the PCs aid (or whatever else is on my mind). I also don't tend to allow a PC to run a certain solo or similar with complicated mechanics (I know how it works, expecting someone else to pick that up in 5 minutes is a big ask).

Otherwise I encourage them to heckle the others and make a new character while the others battle for their lives.