When players don't show up to the session

[Rashak Mani]

Since most of our groups arent large we tend to

1. Play another game...
2. If we do play we tend to leave them out of the game
3. If they are essential carry them as NPCs

(4.) NPC-PCs for some reason have very high chances of survival even if the group gets bashed. Somehow they are DM protected ... its in bad taste kill an absent players PC for some reason.

(5) Whenever possible we ask a reserve player to take the PC along.

PLAYERS NOT SHOWING UP SUCKS ...

 

[Steven McRownt]

P.S. Steven, what is Roleplaying in Italian?

You know, we have lots of people here, people who should decide how translate foreign words to italian, who probably doesn't know how to work. Role Play is one of the worst translated words ever in Italian. In fact, most of the players here prefers to use the english wordings.

Role Play is translated in a plain way: Gioco (means play, but i will explain later where the problem is) di Ruolo [/R] (stands for role).

To make things short we use the word play in our vocabolary just for playing games (football or playstation, the fact is just something for fun) and THEY doesnìt realized that an english speaker can play a guitar, play an actor's script, play....

Sorry for the rant guys!

Steven McRownt

 

[Steven McRownt]

PLAYERS NOT SHOWING UP SUCKS ...

Yeah, you're right. They should pay the toll to have their PC protected by DM, or runned by some other PC (or the DM again), to know that they can be safe....

We should do something, like torture them, or torture their loved sheets!!!!!!

Steven McRownt

 

[DWARF]

We usually do a "what do we figure he's doing" thing. It's mostly a DM-run character, but if most of the players dissagree that it's way out of character and suggest something better, then that works. We don't take the games SO seriously. Characters die, but things are not all lost. Now a brother, sister, son, daughter, etc. might join to avenge, etc...

 

[Zappo]

Ciao Steven!!!

I have five less or more regular players and two which show up less often than not. If the campaign is serious, heavy-roleplaying, and a player doesn't show up, I'll do what I can to explain the character's absence and if there is no way, I'll have another player play the character. If noone is willing, I'll play him.

If the campaign is less serious and more kick-in-the-door, I'll just happily ignore the fact that a character has vanished or appeared from nowhere and go along.

 

[Gospog]

I agree with Zappo on this one.

Most of our games are far from serious, so the excuse for a missing character can even be something silly.

If you're worried about Suspension of Disbelief, a more serious explanation would, of course, be in order.

Incidentally, we had two players missing last night. But it was the first game of the campaign, so we started anyway, with threee players, and will worry about the no-shows later.

Good luck.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Hrmmm...well...

This is how we do it in my group (in case your curious, the group tends to go from 3 to 7 people on a weekly basis depending on how wrapped up everyone is in life and all that crud).

First, I try to come up with something that the missing character(s) is doing. Of course, they get no XP for it.

Barring that, and if I have their sheets (my group has been together long enough that I can trust them and not have to have a copy of their sheets, so it's rare that I do), I'll run 'em as an NPC. Of course, they get no XP for the session (yep, that's the penalty).

Barring even that, I use what's known as the "poof" method. Realistic? Does it make sense? No. But it's easier.

Of course, the best advice I can give to ANYONE for ANY DMing situation: Learn to Improvise. This will save you lots of time, trouble and headache. That way, if someone isn't there, you can just adjust the # of creatures and/or the EL on the fly. Treasure's a little harder to improvise easily, but can still be done.

 

[Oracular Vision]

Missing player characters have spotted fever, and are in the nearest town or village recovering. Disease was rampant in the old times, and not all of them will respond to healing right away. So, spotted fever for those not there. This helps encourage people to come, as they get nothing for non-participation. If all the clerics are gone, they are more cautious...

 

[Leopold]

we have come up with a system called Elvis.

What Elvis is is the ability for a PC to be there and not be there at the same time. If a PC is present and accounted for and the player is there than all is well. If the PC is present and the player is absent the charactered is Elvis'd out. By this he is temporarily phased out of existance until the player returns. He can been seen, but never heard. He is everywhere the pc's go but they can't do anything with him. He is simply there but not there. When the player returns he is Elvis'd back in like he never left.


This prevents:
1. Seperatation from party members by great distances
2. The agony and headache of uniting everyone.
3. Allows instantaneous party solution.
4. Ease of roleplaying
5. Less headache for the DM.

on NO instance will i EVER roleplay a PC nor allow another player to roleplay another players PC. I don't want to be responsible for that PC nor make another person either. I state quite bluntly "if your hear you get xp, loot, and have fun. Your not hear you miss on all the above, both you and your PC." It's mean, it's cruel, but it saves time, headache, and heartache if anything were to happen to the PC.

so until then..exit..stage right!

 

[saduff]

The missings player's character is there, but cannot take part in battle and does not take damage either. The only way the character dies is if the whole party dies. The character doesn't gain experience for anything. The only thing the character can do is use abilities that the other players cannot. Such as a player that runs a thief and the other characters need some thief skills then the character my use those skills to further the party's goals.