The adventuring company (multiple characters and XP)

[Saeviomagy]

The only thing I don't like about leveling up even if you're not in attendance is the chance of getting killed is not there for the player that doesn't show up. Our campign uses half exp for pc's not present so assuming each player misses one session every 6-10 sessions they all remain pretty close to even.

Yeah, but the not-present character is harming their fellows chance of success. That's plenty of incentive. Not to mention the biggest incentive to show up...

playing the game!!!

 

[CapnZapp]

I would also give all characters the same XP and have them at the same level.

After all, the reason of having a "stable" of characters is to encourage players to select whichever character they think is the most fun to play for any given assignment.

 

[Aran Thule]

Easiest way is to keep the XP the same, one thing you could try would be that instead of 'auto' level up they have to train.
You could end up with two linked parties (therefore both would be balanced) one which trains and guards the base while the other adventures.
Several openings for plot twists, group 1 captured, or new news arrives which means group 2 has to get ahead of them to warn them ect ect

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I can easily imagine setting up a campaign where adventuring parties regularly go out via tele-circles and gates, etc. on missions. The characters left back at base can have all sorts of opportunities to do stuff if the main party has some way of making contact, like a stone phone. If one of the adventuring party PCs gets killed, phone in for a replacement! hehe. Between that and side stuff going on at home base in the same time frame and it shouldn't be too hard to keep most of the PCs close to the same level. If a few fall behind they can always go out together as a B team once in a while and catch up. If a character is so uninteresting it falls by the wayside, then the fact that it is no longer keeping up in levels really doesn't matter.

And of course the DM still has the option to provide some catch up XP when it seems convenient and fluff it as training sessions.

As for the equipment of the stay-at-homes, just give out a bit of extra treasure during an adventure. It isn't going to unbalance the main party because they can only use so much stuff anyway. Their cast-offs or extra stuff they find can go to the group armoury and be available for the less well equipped to pick from when they shift to the A team.

 

[DDogwood]

The only thing I don't like about leveling up even if you're not in attendance is the chance of getting killed is not there for the player that doesn't show up.

There can be other 'penalties' to balance the risk of being killed, though. For example, absent characters get last shot at magic items, might get cut out of the treasure split, etc.

In my campaigns, the absent player is also, by default, the character who got kidnapped, knocked unconscious, arrested, etc., which works well from a plot-hook perspective and also gives the other players an opportunity to tease the absentee player when he/she comes back.