A weird predicament [Archive] - Wizards Community

A weird predicament [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nyarlathotep
09-07-05, 01:20 PM Okay, this is pretty much my own fault for not thinking in advance but I am curious as to what other DMs do in similar situations.

My group meets every Saturday (more or less ;). For the last several weeks one of my players has been unable to show up. Further, my 12 year old step-daughter has been showing and interest in the game and wanting to play. So this last week, since we were going to be a person short anyway, I let her make a character and bring it in. I intentionally designed an adventure that would take only a single night so that this upcoming week, I could switch them back out, since the regular player would be back and my step-daughter would be spending the weekend with her father.

The problem is, that my single night adventure wasn't resolved in a single night. We got a very late start that night, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, and the group found itself paralyzed by indecision for a while. So when our usual stop time rolled around (and our personal circumstances aren't really conducive to going much beyond our usual stop time most nights) the group was maybe 3/4ths of the way of the way through, and in the middle of raiding a 'Cult of Orcus' compund in some old catacombs.

Usually something like this is not a problem, I would just have them finish up this adventure, get their XP, divvy up the treasure, quickly run through some down time and start the next adventure, we've done it like that many times over the years. Except this time, one player will be leaving and another one joining in mid game. It would seem silly to me to just have my step-daughters character disappear and the regular player miraculously show up in the catacomb. However, I don't want to make the guy just sit there for an hour or so while the group finishes up either. I have considered asking him if he doesn't mind playing my step-daughter's character until the group finishes the raid, but I don't know that he would go for that. I would have had my kid just play his character except that the player in question doesn't like people playing his character, so I suspect he REALLY wouldn't appreciate his character being played by someone who is playing their first game ever.

So any sugestions on what to do?
gleep
09-07-05, 01:32 PM Some ideas: Give the absent player a choice. He can either wait for the rest of the group to finish the adventure so his PC can rejoin the group once it's resolved, or everyone can pretend that his character was always present but just "grayed out" (ie: not doing much). In the latter case, he plays his PC and the daughter's PC becomes "grayed out": she's still present but not doing much.

If the other players agree, just say "screw it" and pretend they did finish the adventure. Narrate an end, award XP, and let them meet up with the absent character.

Again, if the other players agree, pretend it never happened. Let your stepdaughter use that adventure (with character names changed) as part of her character's background if she rejoins the game regularly. (Parallel universe is also used a lot in this case.)

Lastly, ask your players for suggestions on how to resolve the dilemma. They may come up with something that'll work really well for your campaign.

:D

--gleep
KJW
09-07-05, 01:38 PM Am I correct that you don't want you daughter playing permanently with the group? I also assume you have no NPCs he can play until his PC has arrived? If those assumptions are correct then I think any of Gleep's suggestions are the way to go.
Nyarlathotep
09-07-05, 01:46 PM Am I correct that you don't want you daughter playing permanently with the group? I also assume you have no NPCs he can play until his PC has arrived? If those assumptions are correct then I think any of Gleep's suggestions are the way to go.

Well, she couldn;t permanantly join the group regardless because she spends alternate weekends out of town with her dad. But neither I nor the rest of the group have any objections to her joining in when she can.

As to NPCs, no, not in the current adventure, theya re on a good old fashioned "kick in the doors and smash the cult" type raid. They didn't bring any NPCs with them and the ones in the catacomb are hostile.
UndeadMouse
09-07-05, 01:49 PM you can:
a: if the players agree, simply switch your daughter's character with the absent player's character. give your daughter's character 3/4s of the XP she would get and the other player 1/4 of the XP he would get if he had played the entire thing. this won't work only if the two characters are completly different (like a wizard and a fighter)
b: have the absent player just play your daughter's character, and her char gets the XP.
c: like gleep said, just hand out XP and act like the group finished the adventure at the last session.
Solik
09-07-05, 02:00 PM If your daughter wants to play, and you're cool with that, but she can only play every other weekend, then you should NPC her character when she's away. Keep the character there, but run it yourself. Then, introduce the previously-absent player to the adventure as it's running now. Between sessions, update your daughter on what happened.
Nyarlathotep
09-07-05, 02:21 PM you can:
a: if the players agree, simply switch your daughter's character with the absent player's character. give your daughter's character 3/4s of the XP she would get and the other player 1/4 of the XP he would get if he had played the entire thing. this won't work only if the two characters are completly different (like a wizard and a fighter)
b: have the absent player just play your daughter's character, and her char gets the XP.
c: like gleep said, just hand out XP and act like the group finished the adventure at the last session.

I am thinking b, but the player in question can be...picky...sometimes so I am trying to think of what to do if he doesn't go for the idea. Of course I could always present it as "your alternative is to sit it out until the group at least finishes this raid", but I don't want to be a jerk. It isn't like he skipped the game because he just didn't feel like showing up, he had good reasons, and I don't want to penalize him for that.

My problem with c is that there is the climactic final encounter is one I was looking forward to running all week, I really like my BBEG :devil: and was disapointed we didn't get to it last week. Of course I suppose I COULD just cut to the chase, and rearrange things so they get right to what I hoped to be last weeks climactic fight. It's an idea I will keep in mind.
KoboldSlayer
09-07-05, 02:23 PM When I've had a player that was absent one game and so not with the party, I usually either tell them to feel free to show up late and give them a guesstimate of when their character would be rejoining...so they don't sit on their rear watching everyone else play... or think of story-way to work them back in. Your other players have to be willing to suspend disbelief for this to happen, and the player in question has to be okay with something not quite "making sense" happening to his character. By "not making sense", I mean he was sitting back at the bar in town, happily minding his business since he'd decided not to go raid the cult (to account for his previous absence) when all of a sudden BAM! some idiot wizard apprentice tries to show off for the barmaid and accidentally teleports that character to a random spot which happens to be where the other characters are.

Yeah, it's hoaky...but if everyone is okay with it and everyone has fun, then who cares? Just don't expect really serious roleplayers to settle for this cheesey stuff. :P

One tactic I use if I know someone is going to be out a game and then need to be with the party later without having to "go back" for him is to have his character come along with the party, but he gets hacking, coughing sick or falls into a coma or something. it's inconvenient for the others to haul his body around, but a miraculous "waking up" is alot easier to explain than a random appearing out of nowhere when you want him back in the story. (Usually I only use this as a really last-ditch attempt to remove and reinsert someone when they are not polite enough to tell me in advance they won't make a game. If I have advance warning, I try for something a little more original.)
KoboldSlayer
09-07-05, 02:25 PM I am thinking b, but the player in question can be...picky...sometimes so I am trying to think of what to do if he doesn't go for the idea. Of course I could always present it as "your alternative is to sit it out until the group at least finishes this raid", but I don't want to be a jerk. It isn't like he skipped the game because he just didn't feel like showing up, he had good reasons, and I don't want to penalize him for that.

This pill is easier to swallow if you take whatever XP is earned by him for the last quarter of the adventure and apply it to HIS character instead of hers...since he is the one doing the RPing. (Or arrange to give him half of it if you don't think he should get the whole things when his character was not in danger.)

When I've had people help out by playing NPCs for me before, I've given the XP to their own character since they bowed out in order to help along my story. Now if they ask to play an NPC, then I don't give them this bonus. But he would definitely be helping you out by doing this, so I'd give him the rewards to his character.
Nyarlathotep
09-07-05, 02:43 PM This pill is easier to swallow if you take whatever XP is earned by him for the last quarter of the adventure and apply it to HIS character instead of hers...since he is the one doing the RPing. (Or arrange to give him half of it if you don't think he should get the whole things when his character was not in danger.)

When I've had people help out by playing NPCs for me before, I've given the XP to their own character since they bowed out in order to help along my story. Now if they ask to play an NPC, then I don't give them this bonus. But he would definitely be helping you out by doing this, so I'd give him the rewards to his character.

It might help, and it is an idea I will use but I think he might refuse not because of the XP thing (He is coming back from an extended absence and I already had something worked out so he wouldn't be too far behind the group when he came back) but because her character is a front line fighter type and he doesn't like playing that type of character at all and as I said, he's picky. But maybe a few extra XP will sweeten the pot for him enough to do it, or he might just decide that since I am doing him a favor in the XP department already, he'll do me a favor and runt his other character for an hour or two.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nyarlathotep 09-07-05, 01:20 PM	Okay, this is pretty much my own fault for not thinking in advance but I am curious as to what other DMs do in similar situations. My group meets every Saturday (more or less ;). For the last several weeks one of my players has been unable to show up. Further, my 12 year old step-daughter has been showing and interest in the game and wanting to play. So this last week, since we were going to be a person short anyway, I let her make a character and bring it in. I intentionally designed an adventure that would take only a single night so that this upcoming week, I could switch them back out, since the regular player would be back and my step-daughter would be spending the weekend with her father. The problem is, that my single night adventure wasn't resolved in a single night. We got a very late start that night, due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, and the group found itself paralyzed by indecision for a while. So when our usual stop time rolled around (and our personal circumstances aren't really conducive to going much beyond our usual stop time most nights) the group was maybe 3/4ths of the way of the way through, and in the middle of raiding a 'Cult of Orcus' compund in some old catacombs. Usually something like this is not a problem, I would just have them finish up this adventure, get their XP, divvy up the treasure, quickly run through some down time and start the next adventure, we've done it like that many times over the years. Except this time, one player will be leaving and another one joining in mid game. It would seem silly to me to just have my step-daughters character disappear and the regular player miraculously show up in the catacomb. However, I don't want to make the guy just sit there for an hour or so while the group finishes up either. I have considered asking him if he doesn't mind playing my step-daughter's character until the group finishes the raid, but I don't know that he would go for that. I would have had my kid just play his character except that the player in question doesn't like people playing his character, so I suspect he REALLY wouldn't appreciate his character being played by someone who is playing their first game ever. So any sugestions on what to do?
gleep 09-07-05, 01:32 PM	Some ideas: Give the absent player a choice. He can either wait for the rest of the group to finish the adventure so his PC can rejoin the group once it's resolved, or everyone can pretend that his character was always present but just "grayed out" (ie: not doing much). In the latter case, he plays his PC and the daughter's PC becomes "grayed out": she's still present but not doing much. If the other players agree, just say "screw it" and pretend they did finish the adventure. Narrate an end, award XP, and let them meet up with the absent character. Again, if the other players agree, pretend it never happened. Let your stepdaughter use that adventure (with character names changed) as part of her character's background if she rejoins the game regularly. (Parallel universe is also used a lot in this case.) Lastly, ask your players for suggestions on how to resolve the dilemma. They may come up with something that'll work really well for your campaign. :D --gleep
KJW 09-07-05, 01:38 PM	Am I correct that you don't want you daughter playing permanently with the group? I also assume you have no NPCs he can play until his PC has arrived? If those assumptions are correct then I think any of Gleep's suggestions are the way to go.
Nyarlathotep 09-07-05, 01:46 PM	Am I correct that you don't want you daughter playing permanently with the group? I also assume you have no NPCs he can play until his PC has arrived? If those assumptions are correct then I think any of Gleep's suggestions are the way to go. Well, she couldn;t permanantly join the group regardless because she spends alternate weekends out of town with her dad. But neither I nor the rest of the group have any objections to her joining in when she can. As to NPCs, no, not in the current adventure, theya re on a good old fashioned "kick in the doors and smash the cult" type raid. They didn't bring any NPCs with them and the ones in the catacomb are hostile.
UndeadMouse 09-07-05, 01:49 PM	you can: a: if the players agree, simply switch your daughter's character with the absent player's character. give your daughter's character 3/4s of the XP she would get and the other player 1/4 of the XP he would get if he had played the entire thing. this won't work only if the two characters are completly different (like a wizard and a fighter) b: have the absent player just play your daughter's character, and her char gets the XP. c: like gleep said, just hand out XP and act like the group finished the adventure at the last session.
Solik 09-07-05, 02:00 PM	If your daughter wants to play, and you're cool with that, but she can only play every other weekend, then you should NPC her character when she's away. Keep the character there, but run it yourself. Then, introduce the previously-absent player to the adventure as it's running now. Between sessions, update your daughter on what happened.
Nyarlathotep 09-07-05, 02:21 PM	you can: a: if the players agree, simply switch your daughter's character with the absent player's character. give your daughter's character 3/4s of the XP she would get and the other player 1/4 of the XP he would get if he had played the entire thing. this won't work only if the two characters are completly different (like a wizard and a fighter) b: have the absent player just play your daughter's character, and her char gets the XP. c: like gleep said, just hand out XP and act like the group finished the adventure at the last session. I am thinking b, but the player in question can be...picky...sometimes so I am trying to think of what to do if he doesn't go for the idea. Of course I could always present it as "your alternative is to sit it out until the group at least finishes this raid", but I don't want to be a jerk. It isn't like he skipped the game because he just didn't feel like showing up, he had good reasons, and I don't want to penalize him for that. My problem with c is that there is the climactic final encounter is one I was looking forward to running all week, I really like my BBEG :devil: and was disapointed we didn't get to it last week. Of course I suppose I COULD just cut to the chase, and rearrange things so they get right to what I hoped to be last weeks climactic fight. It's an idea I will keep in mind.
KoboldSlayer 09-07-05, 02:23 PM	When I've had a player that was absent one game and so not with the party, I usually either tell them to feel free to show up late and give them a guesstimate of when their character would be rejoining...so they don't sit on their rear watching everyone else play... or think of story-way to work them back in. Your other players have to be willing to suspend disbelief for this to happen, and the player in question has to be okay with something not quite "making sense" happening to his character. By "not making sense", I mean he was sitting back at the bar in town, happily minding his business since he'd decided not to go raid the cult (to account for his previous absence) when all of a sudden BAM! some idiot wizard apprentice tries to show off for the barmaid and accidentally teleports that character to a random spot which happens to be where the other characters are. Yeah, it's hoaky...but if everyone is okay with it and everyone has fun, then who cares? Just don't expect really serious roleplayers to settle for this cheesey stuff. :P One tactic I use if I know someone is going to be out a game and then need to be with the party later without having to "go back" for him is to have his character come along with the party, but he gets hacking, coughing sick or falls into a coma or something. it's inconvenient for the others to haul his body around, but a miraculous "waking up" is alot easier to explain than a random appearing out of nowhere when you want him back in the story. (Usually I only use this as a really last-ditch attempt to remove and reinsert someone when they are not polite enough to tell me in advance they won't make a game. If I have advance warning, I try for something a little more original.)
KoboldSlayer 09-07-05, 02:25 PM	I am thinking b, but the player in question can be...picky...sometimes so I am trying to think of what to do if he doesn't go for the idea. Of course I could always present it as "your alternative is to sit it out until the group at least finishes this raid", but I don't want to be a jerk. It isn't like he skipped the game because he just didn't feel like showing up, he had good reasons, and I don't want to penalize him for that. This pill is easier to swallow if you take whatever XP is earned by him for the last quarter of the adventure and apply it to HIS character instead of hers...since he is the one doing the RPing. (Or arrange to give him half of it if you don't think he should get the whole things when his character was not in danger.) When I've had people help out by playing NPCs for me before, I've given the XP to their own character since they bowed out in order to help along my story. Now if they ask to play an NPC, then I don't give them this bonus. But he would definitely be helping you out by doing this, so I'd give him the rewards to his character.
Nyarlathotep 09-07-05, 02:43 PM	This pill is easier to swallow if you take whatever XP is earned by him for the last quarter of the adventure and apply it to HIS character instead of hers...since he is the one doing the RPing. (Or arrange to give him half of it if you don't think he should get the whole things when his character was not in danger.) When I've had people help out by playing NPCs for me before, I've given the XP to their own character since they bowed out in order to help along my story. Now if they ask to play an NPC, then I don't give them this bonus. But he would definitely be helping you out by doing this, so I'd give him the rewards to his character. It might help, and it is an idea I will use but I think he might refuse not because of the XP thing (He is coming back from an extended absence and I already had something worked out so he wouldn't be too far behind the group when he came back) but because her character is a front line fighter type and he doesn't like playing that type of character at all and as I said, he's picky. But maybe a few extra XP will sweeten the pot for him enough to do it, or he might just decide that since I am doing him a favor in the XP department already, he'll do me a favor and runt his other character for an hour or two.