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Who “owns” a PC after the player stops using them?
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 9278885" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>The only thing the departing player gets to dictate is their vision of their own left-behind character(s), along with provide general instructions as to what their now-retired characters will do for the foreseeable future. And yes, the general expectation is that ex-player's characters will retire to non-adventuring pursuits.</p><p></p><p>I should, I guess, bring up one glaring exception to all this; and that's if-when a player leaves while the party is in mid-adventure. There, the now-QPC remains in the party until the next reasonable opportunity for it to retire, which is usually the next time the party's in town. In other words, we just treat it as if the player's missing those sessions.</p><p></p><p>Yikes - now that's a jump.</p><p></p><p>If I've played Lanefan as a surly s-of-a-b for his whole career, and then I retire him and leave the game, the rest of the table doesn't get to turn him into a happy-go-lucky fluffy-bunny type the next time they meet him. Also, if my final instructions for the character are that he is to retire, I think I've every reason to expect those instructions to be honoured.</p><p></p><p>In short: as far as possible treat those characters as if their player is still at the table.</p><p></p><p>Well, that'd be pretty deceitful of the remaining table IMO.</p><p></p><p>Sorry, but that's bollocks.</p><p></p><p>If my character Lanefan has become the party's indispensable number-one Fighter and I decide to retire him because I'm concerned he's starting to overshadow others in the party, that retirement should be just as valid if I'm no longer at the table as it would be if I was still there.</p><p></p><p>Now if I-as-Lanefan's-player have given permission to another player or the DM to take him over, that's different; as after I do so he's no longer mine to either own or control until-unless that permission is given back to me.</p><p></p><p>The other factor here is that in the sort of long-running campaigns I'm used to there's no such thing as forever. I've had players (and been one myself) leave a game for months or even years and then come back to it, picking up the same characters as before (maybe with some updating to explain what those characters have been doing for the intervening in-game time) and carrying on from there.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 9278885, member: 29398"] The only thing the departing player gets to dictate is their vision of their own left-behind character(s), along with provide general instructions as to what their now-retired characters will do for the foreseeable future. And yes, the general expectation is that ex-player's characters will retire to non-adventuring pursuits. I should, I guess, bring up one glaring exception to all this; and that's if-when a player leaves while the party is in mid-adventure. There, the now-QPC remains in the party until the next reasonable opportunity for it to retire, which is usually the next time the party's in town. In other words, we just treat it as if the player's missing those sessions. Yikes - now that's a jump. If I've played Lanefan as a surly s-of-a-b for his whole career, and then I retire him and leave the game, the rest of the table doesn't get to turn him into a happy-go-lucky fluffy-bunny type the next time they meet him. Also, if my final instructions for the character are that he is to retire, I think I've every reason to expect those instructions to be honoured. In short: as far as possible treat those characters as if their player is still at the table. Well, that'd be pretty deceitful of the remaining table IMO. Sorry, but that's bollocks. If my character Lanefan has become the party's indispensable number-one Fighter and I decide to retire him because I'm concerned he's starting to overshadow others in the party, that retirement should be just as valid if I'm no longer at the table as it would be if I was still there. Now if I-as-Lanefan's-player have given permission to another player or the DM to take him over, that's different; as after I do so he's no longer mine to either own or control until-unless that permission is given back to me. The other factor here is that in the sort of long-running campaigns I'm used to there's no such thing as forever. I've had players (and been one myself) leave a game for months or even years and then come back to it, picking up the same characters as before (maybe with some updating to explain what those characters have been doing for the intervening in-game time) and carrying on from there. [/QUOTE]
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Who “owns” a PC after the player stops using them?
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