XP for Missing Players

[Djeta Thernadier]

I have one couple in my game who have a 1 year old. If the child is sick, only one of them can come. The one that shows up runs both characters, and I award experience to the missing player's character at the same rate as for those who are present. And right now, one of my players is in Guatemala for a month. We'll be playing once or twice while she's gone. Someone else will run her character, and I'll award her full xp. Now, if I had a player who was just blowing off game sessions, that would be different. But I'm not going to penalize someone just because their infant has tonsilitis, or they're going on the (real) adventure of a lifetime.

I agree. If there is a good reason why they can't show up, then they should get full. It's when they start just blowing off games that it needs to be addressed.

 

[andargor]

No XP for missing players in our group. There is actually a campaign hook that makes characters disappear for a while, and it's a convenient way to handle missing players.

We decided this as a group from the onset, and everybody agreed. Of course, we've been playing a looong time, so we're over the "I've got more XP than you" ego trip.

Andargor

 

[Veander]

In case anyone thinks so, don't think I am saying that character death removal is a bad thing. Also don't think that the connection to Godmode in video games is some way of making a point for me. I was just curious as the few games I did cheat on (Postal 2 - what a horrible game I didn't even finish it), I understood the feeling of not being able to die. For me it took 90% the challenge out for that game, though it was a stupid game so possibly it's not a good comparison.

As a story telling DM I appreciate an epic story. Sometimes players don't (I have one player who wants me to run just single modules loosely connected), but my style has always been to replicate the drama of any fantasy literature. Those stories have characters that die off but never the main character(s). It's not quite as unbelievable as an action movie, but it's still epic in the sense of their longevity of mortality. Here's the way I look at it though. Look at the Fellowship of the Ring. Those 9 individuals - follow me here - thought they could die. I know the reader is fairly comfortable some of them won't, but when playing DnD we are the readers. We are the characters. So for me to feel like I am in that book or having experiences epic and wonderful like those books, I have to throw in death. As someone pointed out above the real threat of death is not knowing when to run. So, IMO, a good DM should be able to accurately and successfully allude when a battle is beyond hope of victory for the PCs. I have played in campaigns this way all my life and when you are through, even if the DM hid the fact that he really didn't want to kill the PCs, the accomplishments of the campaign feel incredible. Players feel so close to their characters because of the reasons you have been stating AND the fact that they survived.

Now the only other issue that needs dealt with is resurrection. In some campaigns I have done different things with this: having an evil copy of the resurrected appear in exchange for coming back but the PCs don't know about it for a while (or ever if the rolls are good); taking them to something like that Dungeon World from Fast Forward games (a solo-adventure in the afterlife to get them back - wouldn't work as well in current group due to schedule); etc. Having the spells to do this task is not a problem but IMO it has to be worked into the mythology. I haven't done this so well for the current FR campaign, but I didn't intend to... it's Faerun for goodness sakes. LOL There is more to this topic but I have rambled far enough...

Sincerely,

V

 

[Veander]

ehem. If you can't imagine playing that way, you really don't have a good standard to say what its silimar to, nicht wahr? Personally, I don't play video games.

A equivelent question could be, did you not bother to go see the LotR films because you knew which characters were and weren't going to die? Did you walk out of Attack of the Clones once you knew all the major players in the film would survive because they all have to for the future plot? If you catch an older episode of a sci fi series that you missed the first time, do you not watch it since you know from later episodes that none of the major characters die? Can you even watch tv serieses? This could be seen as "similar" to not wanting to play a game where you don't fear death on a random die roll.

But really, we just have different play styles.

Kahuna burger

I really don't think my entertainment requirements for movies, TV, or reading have anything to do with my needs at a game table. I don't want those characters to die, but I do appreciate writers who sometimes let that happen. I am actually not very opinionated with TV and movies. They are what they are and I just relax and watch them. The reason I feel DnD at the tabletop needs this feeling of "death around the corner" is because we aren't just watching a story made up by someone else. We are the story. So if we are to produce a good piece of literature by the virtues of our play, then maybe the characters should feel like they are going to die. Sure all these movies and TV shows may not have the characters dies but the characters don't know that. I think we need a new topic as we have strayed. Or does this happen often on these forums?

I realize we have different styles and this is really just fun to discuss for me.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I really don't think my entertainment requirements for movies, TV, or reading have anything to do with my needs at a game table.

And yet mine do. Similarly, my entertainment requirements for video games and other games of skill and chance have pretty much nothing to do with my needs in roleplaying, but obviously overlap for you...

Even as a player, I perfer to think of myself as telling the story than merely participating in it. The best games I've been in have always been very interactive. If there needs to be fear and uncertainty for the story, I introduce that into my character. But too much uncertainty about whether the character will live through the dungeon dressing, and I am too apathetic to put any role playing in.

Hmmm.... thinking back on it, the games I've played in where the DM liked to kill off characters, mine became universally fatalistic. I didn't care about the game, because I knew how arbitrary it was, so my characters didn't show much interest in living. When I have a long term plan for my characters story and know theres a better than even chance of her living to explore and fulfill it, my characters care very much about their lives and are much more likely to respond to the threat of death...

This is showing strong parrallels to the sci fi and fantasy board discussion of Ice and Fire...

Kahuna Burger

 

[bekkilyn_rpg]

I don't want death to be *removed* as there is lots of good roleplaying fun which can revolve around death, such as the big, heroic sacrifices, etc. It's the hardlined *permanance* of death approach of some which doesn't sit well with me. If a player really, really wishes to continue playing a character, I would see what I could do to make it happen so that everyone's happy and still having fun. Yes, there might be penalties and such (and perhaps even further story/RP opportunities such as a geas or a long quest) involved, but I'm not going to trade away the fun for the idea that death should be permanent and players should be literally terrified of playing each week because I insist that death should "mean something" or be "realistic." There's such a thing as being *too* realistic. (As an example, I remember when playing the Everquest mmorpg, I always seemed to stick to doing whatever was most safe and least heroic simply because the death penalties were so harsh. I *like* being able to do fun stuff without feeling like I'm going to be punished for it at every step along the way.)

On the XP thing, Buttercup has provided a very good example for special circumstances where awarding experience even though someone couldn't make a game is completely appropriate. I just don't think it should be the normal thing for everyone no matter what, though.

 

[Veander]

Interesting. Hmm, the things that people on this thread are saying to support their need for "no character death" are the very same things my gamer friends say about having the fear of death. Strange how that works.

Sincerely,

V

 

[fusangite]

For me, what matters in D&D is that people feel that their characters' actions matter and that their choices really have an effect on the course of the game. I feel that the fear of death adds to this sense; the more people feel that the outcome of a session is up in the air and determined by their own choices, the more fun they have.

If my players feel that the storyline is determined and they are simply along for the narrative ride, I feel I haven't done my job.

 

[Veander]

For me, what matters in D&D is that people feel that their characters' actions matter and that their choices really have an effect on the course of the game. I feel that the fear of death adds to this sense; the more people feel that the outcome of a session is up in the air and determined by their own choices, the more fun they have.

If my players feel that the storyline is determined and they are simply along for the narrative ride, I feel I haven't done my job.

I don't think they have campaigns where that's the case. Most likely it's all still up in the air but the fear of recreating a character is gone. I do understand that fear of recreating a 10-page history for another character. Which is why I try to not hammer my PCs with tough combat after tough combat. I think in my games it's all about balance more than any kind of punishment or having characters being resurrected like some bad Crucifixion.

V

 

[jmucchiello]

I don't give players experience points. They go to the characters. If the character was present in the battle. The character gets the rewards. If a player cannot come to game, someone else runs the character.

As someone else said, we are all adults with real lives and real responsibilities. As long as you call to say you cannot make it, we don't get upset.

And all resurrection is penalty free. Basically True Res is a 5th level spell in our game. We prefer not to lose character story just because of little thing like death. Now, the monetary cost is still a pain but at our level it's a major setback, but still doable. (We haven't decided it we are going to switch to 3.5 costs yet.)