PC Death when the player isn't there

[Algolei]

Hey, there are plenty of ways and plenty of reasons to treat missing PCs in different ways: Have them fade into the background, have them played as second PCs by other players, having them played as NPCs by the DM. Each method has its charms.

But if the player knew his character was still in play, and knew he was still gaining XP, he can't really complain if the character dies! That's something that can happen. It's no one's fault.

In campaign terms, this can be a great opportunity: If the player doesn't want to make a new character (hey! you're at sea! how about a sea elf or something! or a member of the ship's crew! or a captured pirate! or a flying creature like a kenku [wait can they fly?] or a half-celestial!), the DM can put together a side adventure to bring him back to life (find someone who can cast the appropriate spell, or seek out a scroll or magic device to do it). The player could even make a temporary character to play until his original is raised.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I'd rule the character is dead. After all, he is. I might have a different opinion if it was a wishy-washy death but you stated the P made heroic efforts to save him so c'est la vie. Really, the player is in no position to argue as he wasn't there so he just has to accept whatever happens in his absence. If he truly and deeply cared about his character he would have broached the subject of possible character death with you early on in his absence.

I have much less sympathy for players who are gone longterm with no commitment to return than I am for players who miss a session here and there.

Don't pander. The character is dead. Let the player roll up a new one if he really wants to come back. "Miraculously" bringing the character back from the dead looks cheap and will have a longterm impact on the quality of your campaign.

p.s. now would be a good time to discuss an absence policy with your players so future events and implications will be understood by all.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

So would removing the option of reincarnation be a good or a bad thing?

Algolei - a new player coming in next week has taken over one of crew as her PC. I hadn't fleshed her out any more than "Female 1/2 Orc, first mate". The new player has opted for a Ranger with a shark as an animal companion.

 

[Li Shenron]

In general I'd say that letting the PC of a missing player die is a bad DM mistake. It's arbitrary most of the time, and largely unfair.

However I see that in your case it was an accident, you had the PC stay in the encounter and wasn't expecting it to die. If you were expecting the player not to come back, you had all your rights to "use" his PC like it was an NPC, including killing him.

Now that it happened that the players joined again, you have two options: agree with the player about making a new PC, or find an in-game reason why the PC is back.

IMO you should just check with the player what he prefers. If he really wants the same character, I think you really should "revive" him. In some campaigns this could be bad, for example if usually resurrection isn't available. How much time has passed since the death? Was there an incontrovertible proof of the death? If the battle is just over, you could have the party open the belly of the monster and find the PC barely alive, only unconscious and in great need of healing. If the monster escaped the battle, you could imagine that it wasn't really a monster, but a shapechanged-something who exactly intended to kidnap the PC. Or the monster wasn't a regular Remorhaz, but a planar creature whose stomach is a portal to somewhere else (and that's why it is always hungry ).

Hmm. I could see how this could abused (not killing characters if the player isn't there). Just before a major confrontation a player who doesn't want his PC to have any chance of dying could just not show up to the next game be assured of invulnerability. Heck just leave saying you have an 'important' meeting.

I can't believe you're really afraid of this! How can a player NOT play the best part of the game because he's afraid of dying? It's like someone who chooses not to play a sport match because he's afraid of losing... I doubt such player would start playing at all.

 

[Ruined]

Having had this happen to me in the past, I can say that it's no fun. In my case, it was only one session missed. I had went out of state to see my girlfriend. I come back, and bang, they tell me that my character in the Warhammer campaign is dead. Soured me on the whole experience.

That being said, I think it really depends on the situation with the player. Did they have reasons to be away from the game? Was he courteous and let you know that he was dropping out for a while? Or did he act disinterested and just stop showing up to sessions? That would factor in heavily on how I'd handle their character. For me, if someone drops out of the game for an extended period, their character becomes a plot device. Sometimes zey live, sometimes zey die...

 

[Darkness]

Oooo that would just be mean as he was a Ranger who not only had undead as a favoured enemy but had it written in his backstory about how much he hated them (undead, vampires to be percise) for killing most of his family.

Mean, but funny!

One of the other players told him about his characters death. Apparently it went along the lines of "Hands up who here has a healthy D&D character - not so fast there Dan". My players are a cruel bunch it seems.

Hahaha. Nice players.

And I concur that it would be mean but funny to do this to him.

By the way, I fixed the broken link in my post above.

 

[Darkness]

Just before a major confrontation a player who doesn't want his PC to have any chance of dying could just not show up to the next game be assured of invulnerability. Heck just leave saying you have an 'important' meeting.

He wouldn't gain XP (at least IMC) and, often more importantly, loot. Also, glory. When the other PCs are treated as heroes for their deeds, he'll likely be viewed as just some lackey of theirs. A cool dude, maybe, but not as cool as the heroes.

Plus, if the other PCs die or fail, he'll often be next, depending on the villains and what they know about the PCs.
Or he just dies anyway because the BBEG just blew up the kingdom - or the world.

Besides, I've never played with someone who would sacrifice exciting adventures just to preserve the life of his character.
Such a player would kind of miss the point of adventuring.

 

[jester47]

I have toyed with the following method in my mind:

If the session ends in a place where the characters have a reason for coming and going from the party in relative safety (a town, a secure dwelling in the forest, a keep, or some such place) then the character is not used if that person can't be at the next session. However, if the session ends in the middle of hostile territory (like the characters are going down a hall to the next dungeon level, or they are travelling through orc infested wilderness) and the player can't make the next session, the assumption is made that the character has died do to some random event (like they tripped a trap or some orc sniper got lucky).

Actually the more I think about it the more I like it. The problem is adding people in the middle of hostile territory.

Oh well somthing to mull over. I think if you are good enough of a DM you can explain the absense of most any character. The only exception is that of being in a hostile environment for an extended period of time.

Aaron.

 

[KB9JMQ]

If one of our players misses a session, another person plays his character. If he ends up dying during the game, it's an accepted loss. Players who don't show up for months, however, have their pc's removed from play. It's just what we do.

This is exactly what we do. Everyone knows it up front and it works for everyone.

 

[Chimera]

I seriously dislike the Vanishing PC gambit.

PCs of players who are absent are played by the group. Well, mostly by one appointed person, but with input from other players and GM advice and veto. They get full experience and suffer full consequences. The only boon I'll grant is in making Raise Dead slightly easier to obtain in such cases.

The GM veto is a part of my policy since a PC was very nearly killed in an extremely stupid manner and abandoned (so as not to be found and raised) by the complete and utter twit that was playing him in the other player's absence. The player's actions were completely unacceptable and irresponsible and I wasn't going to let him do that to someone else's character.

If you're going to be away from the game for a while, you can let me know that you'd like to have your character leave the group at the first convenient opportunity (ie, the next time they hit town and not in the middle of the Temple of Bad Guys), but this means that they gain no experience in the mean time and may not have a convenient re-entry point if you return to play when the rest of the group is right in the middle of the Temple of Mean People. (Although you can always RP something else via e-mail for that separation time!)

On my own end, I always tell my fellow players that they're free to play my PC in my absence and that I accept full consequences for this. If they're killed and cannot be raised, oh gee darn....new character concept!