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Post by mao on Feb 9, 2018 9:52:23 GMT -5
I wave hand the whole thing, the game goes on with out you and you can come back in when you feel like it, I've done it this way since the very early days.
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Post by Mighty Darci on Feb 9, 2018 10:27:00 GMT -5
I wave hand the whole thing, the game goes on with out you and you can come back in when you feel like it, I've done it this way since the very early days. Dad always had player agreement that if you were absent the other players ran your character with the ref having veto power if he didn't thing the player would do that action.
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Post by mao on Feb 9, 2018 12:10:40 GMT -5
I wave hand the whole thing, the game goes on with out you and you can come back in when you feel like it, I've done it this way since the very early days. Dad always had player agreement that if you were absent the other players ran your character with the ref having veto power if he didn't thing the player would do that action. That seems like a good way to do this
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Post by Mighty Darci on Feb 9, 2018 12:21:39 GMT -5
Dad always had player agreement that if you were absent the other players ran your character with the ref having veto power if he didn't thing the player would do that action. That seems like a good way to do this You don't have to worry about continuity or where someone went in the middle of an adventure. Players like it because they don't entirely miss out on experience, Dad gave 1/3 normal experience if you were not there. If you died, you died and the ref made sure it was not because you were being taken advantage of. George isn't here, let him check out the trap, not.
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Feb 9, 2018 15:12:43 GMT -5
When the No D&D Gamers (Yes, that was our name) existed, they/we had branches at various military bases across the world. Since most of us could be and were called to duty at any given moment, any remaining would brainstorm a reason for the pc's (or pcs') sudden absence. They'd then decide who would take over gamesmastering, without knowing what the GM's plans were.
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Post by ripx187 on Feb 9, 2018 19:14:29 GMT -5
There are 10+ members in the club, but they all can't make it every game; which works for me as I hate it when they all show up. I prefer to DM for groups of 6, which is usually what I get. I have a stable of 4 players who are die-hards and will more often than not be there every game, I've got others who fight their bosses and spouses to come in and usually make it, while others come in whenever they can. It's not a bad deal! If you don't make it back after a year, your character is no longer traveling with the party.
We try our best to keep everything episodic. We finish ideas and don't like to leave games in the middle of something if we can help it. Sometimes a player will make it to one game which ends still in the dungeon but doesn't make it to the next game. Their characters are still there but I figure out something for them to do: Guarding a hall, minding prisoners, keeping a barrel of beer company. When a major player can't come in I do sometimes run them as an NPC, but they aren't really all that active.
I think that the last time I had to do this, the NPC sheriff had been poisoned by the enemy and a player had assumed the duties of law enforcement until he could return to duty. I had her PC managing the local office, the party could interact with her but she was busy keeping the peace.
My favorite trick to pull when a player comes back from a long absence is to have had them researching topics. I'll write down some leads or scraps of new information, things that they learned while the others were out doing the hard stuff. Wizards go over libraries, Thieves spy, Fighters patrol wide areas or simply guarding the base of operations, and clerics do a bit of all three. This helps bring them up to speed in the game and eases them back into play fairly quickly.
We do a lot of globetrotting, so when we move to a new location all members of the club must move with the party which is expensive. Living expenses are still deducted for that character, and I am a strict timekeeper. We've settled on a kitty system, one member of the club is the treasurer, they grant petty cash and control the inventory. Monthly expenses are simply taken from the kitty so nobody come back to the game broke or feeling in debt. It's kind of a business and it is something that we do no matter what setting or game we are playing.
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Post by The Master on Feb 11, 2018 21:26:06 GMT -5
IMC the characters are always there whether the players are or not. But if only one or two people show they I give them an option of a little side adventure without the rest of the party. How this works varies with the situation they are in.
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Feb 20, 2018 2:27:37 GMT -5
I'd give a pass the first few times, but seek to find out if it'll be a regular thing & if they cannot commit I'd suggest that they exist the game but let them know if the situation does change they are welcome back. But if they do it again, they are gone for good.
I had a issue with my brother, his work caused him to leave the group. I asked if I could use his character as a NPC, but he never got back to me. Then he threw a fit when he found out I did so. When you say you have to quit the group, then not respond to messages; don't witch if your character loses a important item in the campaign.If he said it was temporary & wanted to play his character in solo sessions I'd have considered it but he got butthurt & chose to not game with us again over it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2018 12:58:22 GMT -5
Gary always made sure that we were at SOME sort of resting space at the end of the evening, so people came and went. "Tom's character got called back to his temple."
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Post by sixdemonbag on Feb 28, 2018 16:01:07 GMT -5
If the PC is vital to the next session for whatever reason, I'll play it as an NPC. Otherwise, I try to come up with an in-universe excuse for the absense. Usually, it's not a problem at all.
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