ccs
41st lv DM
On characters not being played when their player is absent;
Not really, we simply recap the events for the missing the next week & play on.
Although in the current 5e game? There's actually an in-game reason for why the characters can phase in/out.
The current LV3+arc (based on Out of the Abyss) is the drunken fever dream of the groups Paladin.
In the 1st adventure the PCs (who didn't already know each other) were all in attendance at a wild all night party. {Imagine the wildest frat party you can conjure up, + Mardi Gras, add whatever you want to imagine from the internet, throw in magic, and then try & present this with at most a PG13 rating as it's being played at the local shop....} I'd aimed the party to take two sessions. But the players were having much fun RPing & it wound up taking three.
Well, the paladins player couldn't make the 3rd session. We knew this date prior to the game starting. So HIS suggestion as to why the paladin would be absent in the 3rd week was that he'd passed out in a corner. Oh. OK. What I'd envisioned was to simply focus on the characters whose players were present & he'd just fade into the crowd, no explanation needed. But this is sooo much better. Do not pass out at such a party....
So on the week the paladins player wasn't present, I pitched the idea to the other players that the adventure to follow is 100% in his head as he lies there unconscious. They loved this idea. The catch is that no-one is to tell the Paladins player this. The dream will end, and the campaign reset to the morning after the party, when either his character dies, OOTA concludes, OOTA stops being fun, or the Paladins player catches on that he's dreaming.
And so session 4 started with the characters & several other party goers being captured by the drow & drug off into the underdark. I did it that way, once again because of the paladin. During session 2 he'd remarked how there were no guards & anything might attack during the night.
So, just like in any dream, things might shift in/out, not quite fit logically. In this case it's characters who's players have to miss a session.
Also the Paladin player hasn't yet picked up on that language has not ever been an issue. Despite none of the PCs speaking any underdark language & none of the underdark NPCs speaking any of the PCs tounges.
On players not participating/contributing while at the game;
That doesn't happen in games I run.
1st, you're there. You're BSing right along with the rest of us. The game isn't only about killing monsters. It's discussing the latest Avengers movie, tales from GenCon, venting about school/work/etc, going on about some other game you've played, etc.
2nd, I'm the DM. I'll make sure your character is actively involved.
What doesn't happen is your character being played & xp earned if your not there.
Doesn't that kind of blow up continuity in your game, though, to have characters stop functioning mid-dungeon for no obvious reason, and then re-boot for again no obvious reason?
Not really, we simply recap the events for the missing the next week & play on.
Although in the current 5e game? There's actually an in-game reason for why the characters can phase in/out.
The current LV3+arc (based on Out of the Abyss) is the drunken fever dream of the groups Paladin.
In the 1st adventure the PCs (who didn't already know each other) were all in attendance at a wild all night party. {Imagine the wildest frat party you can conjure up, + Mardi Gras, add whatever you want to imagine from the internet, throw in magic, and then try & present this with at most a PG13 rating as it's being played at the local shop....} I'd aimed the party to take two sessions. But the players were having much fun RPing & it wound up taking three.
Well, the paladins player couldn't make the 3rd session. We knew this date prior to the game starting. So HIS suggestion as to why the paladin would be absent in the 3rd week was that he'd passed out in a corner. Oh. OK. What I'd envisioned was to simply focus on the characters whose players were present & he'd just fade into the crowd, no explanation needed. But this is sooo much better. Do not pass out at such a party....
So on the week the paladins player wasn't present, I pitched the idea to the other players that the adventure to follow is 100% in his head as he lies there unconscious. They loved this idea. The catch is that no-one is to tell the Paladins player this. The dream will end, and the campaign reset to the morning after the party, when either his character dies, OOTA concludes, OOTA stops being fun, or the Paladins player catches on that he's dreaming.
And so session 4 started with the characters & several other party goers being captured by the drow & drug off into the underdark. I did it that way, once again because of the paladin. During session 2 he'd remarked how there were no guards & anything might attack during the night.
So, just like in any dream, things might shift in/out, not quite fit logically. In this case it's characters who's players have to miss a session.
Also the Paladin player hasn't yet picked up on that language has not ever been an issue. Despite none of the PCs speaking any underdark language & none of the underdark NPCs speaking any of the PCs tounges.
On players not participating/contributing while at the game;
As opposed to your character's participation and contribution to the party? This can happen just the same with or without a player attached.
That doesn't happen in games I run.
1st, you're there. You're BSing right along with the rest of us. The game isn't only about killing monsters. It's discussing the latest Avengers movie, tales from GenCon, venting about school/work/etc, going on about some other game you've played, etc.
2nd, I'm the DM. I'll make sure your character is actively involved.
What doesn't happen is your character being played & xp earned if your not there.