When a player returns ...

[Olgar Shiverstone]

What would you suggest in this situation:

A player dropped out of our group a few months back. Expecting him not to return, I explained his character's absence by having the character be kidnapped by mindflayers (given where the party was at the time, he couldn't easily vanish, and this fit with the overall adventure theme). The party did rescue the character during later sessions, and return him to the surface, so the returning character is no problem.

It's his equipment. The party didn't bother to recover any of the character's equipment, as they were in a bit of a rush to depart the mindflayer prison. So said player returns to a character without property. Unfortunately, this player tends to be a bit picky about his character's possessions, having gone to the trouble (and gold and XP) of crafting a number of unique magic items.

Would you return all of the equipment, since the player wasn't around when it was lost, or maintain the continuity of the game (which provides a reasonable hook for a future adventure), or something different?

(He's lucky he came back when he did -- I'd planned to kill the character off, off camera, to provide a bit of drama and some more adventure hooks, but the party hadn't returned to find that out yet, so it's easy enough to keep him alive at this point.)

 

[reveal]

Did he tell you he wouldn't be coming back? If he did, then the stuff is gone.

If he did tell you he would be back, or didn't say whether or not he'd be back, I wouldn't give him the stuff back but give him the gold a character of his level would get as a new character.

 

[Aeson]

Let them go back for the items. Its not your fault he left nor is it when the others left without his things. You didn't know he was coming back. Don't backtrack they will expect you to do it again. Next thing you they'll ask for redos.

 

[Ed Cha]

I try to explain everything within the story. If the player wants his character's stuff back, then his character will have to persuade the rest of the party to go back into the mind flayers' realm and retrieve it. Instant adventure!

 

[yennico]

I agree with reveal.
The PC has also some other options:
- go back to the mind flayers and rescue his equipment.
- kill a thief who stole his entire (unique magical) equipment from the mind flayers.
- being kidnapped by the mind flayers a second time.

 

[RuminDange]

Interesting questions as similar things have happened in my games. Actually expecting the return of a player in a few months that had to quit a year and half ago. Lucky nothing as of yet has changed with his characters.

Now about your question. This makes me think of a question in return. I know you said they were in a hurry to leave the mindflayer prison, but can you honestly say that is this had happened to a PC who was present the first thing they would want to do is recover their items? I know my would go to get length to recover what was theirs even if it wasn't magical, it's a personal thing, and here you have items that were made special/unique by the character in question. Hurry or not I think the player had he been present would have been screaming to get his items back before moving on. However this sounds like a typical meta-game thought a few of my players have once in a while... "It's just an NPC, no big deal, move on" (I really am working to break them of that ). So if that is case, I probably figure that they could have or should have somehow recovered his items on the way out. Or if he agreed as did the other players maybe make it a side venture for them to return and get them upon his return.

RD

 

[IronWolf]

This sounds like a great opportunity for a side quest. He has to talk the others into going back to get his equipment. Of if you want to change things up they need to track down the thief who stole it from the lair (learned through rumors of course). Or maybe the mind flayers just traded the goods off for something they needed and someone else owns it. Lots of adventure hooks....

 

[JoeBlank]

If new PCs get equipment of standard or some set level, then I can see the dissapointment in having an established character stripped of all possessions due to events that happened while he was being run as an NPC.

One in-between option is a gift to the PC, perhaps from his church. The items could be a long-term loan, to be returned if he manages to get his own stuff back. This doesn't solve the problem of the player wanting to have the unique items that the PC crafted, but it at least gives him something to use in the mean time.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

It's his equipment. The party didn't bother to recover any of the character's equipment, as they were in a bit of a rush to depart the mindflayer prison. So said player returns to a character without property. Unfortunately, this player tends to be a bit picky about his character's possessions, having gone to the trouble (and gold and XP) of crafting a number of unique magic items.

Would you return all of the equipment, since the player wasn't around when it was lost, or maintain the continuity of the game (which provides a reasonable hook for a future adventure), or something different?

Well I certainly wouldn't PUNISH the player for having had to leave the campaign, have had YOU turn his character into an NPC, and then when he returns forbid the player to have a character with any equipment because he wants to play the same character.

Look, if he wants to play the same character and you have no problem with that then you have no problem with letting him have the same amount of equipment as if he'd rolled up an entirely new character. If you insist that campaign events that have actually occurred MUST stand then you have to give the player a choice - either play the old character and accept the fact that he has no equipment, or roll up a new character.

Oh, and as suggested by others there's nothing wrong with you manipulating unseen events in your campaign so that the character IS re-equipped, such as without the other PC's having been aware of it the returning PC recovered his equipment on his own or with the help of NPC's.
When a player leaves a game, unless there is a SPOKEN agreement about the fate of the character then the FORMER player of the character has no say in what will happen to the character in the meantime. Now as a player I know _I_ dislike the idea of DM's doing ANYTHING to a character that I've created without my having been there to PLAY my character even after I've left a campaign far behind. I tend want to be able to continue to think of my character being at least the same as I left it. But that's just me, and if it really matters then I'd specify to the DM that I wish to retire a character AS-IS rather than simply turn them over for the DM to violate 12 ways from Sunday. And if I do then I expect that request to be cheerfully and willingly complied with since to do otherwise would mean the DM is being a serious jackass.

(He's lucky he came back when he did -- I'd planned to kill the character off, off camera, to provide a bit of drama and some more adventure hooks, but the party hadn't returned to find that out yet, so it's easy enough to keep him alive at this point.)

And if you HAD killed him off then the player would have nothing to say about it since he hadn't asked you to preserve his character in any way/shape/form. But again, if you're going to let him play the character, then either the player accepts the limitations on picking up a "used" character because you want to maintain campaign consistency, or you accomodate the players right to having a PC that is NOT penalized for no fault of the player.

 

[howandwhy99]

I know you haven't mentioned it, but it sounds like your other players are in an awful pickle. Dropping a side-quest into a timed adventure can be difficult depending on where the campaign is. Perhaps other solutions can be made? Twisting future events to coincide with such important "unique" magic items could be one answer.

Personally, I say just give him a staff of healing and wands of Bull's strength & Bear's endurance. That should help.