"Is There Anyway You Can Work Me Into the New Campaign?" [Archive] - Wizards Community

"Is There Anyway You Can Work Me Into the New Campaign?" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ImmortalBlueMage
07-16-04, 03:01 AM So, my Halfling Rogue quit the game last week. Apparently (and I'm not making this up) he has a problem with my "You're not allowed to show up to the game drunk" policy (which I had to adopt specifically because of him).

I was dissapointed, but decided the party could labor on without him. In many ways, it was easier on me, because his character was rather annoying anyway.

Naturally, this week he calls me up telling me he's "reconsidered". He knows we're two games into the new story, but asks if I can "work his character in somewhere". Since my group tends to be a bit flighty at times, I'm usually good at adding or dropping characters on the fly, but this time, it's a heck of a thing. The party is currenly exploring Nightfang Spire, which, if you're never read the mod, is an ancient Necropolis positively boiling over with Undead.

Now, last game I "worked in" the Elf Fighter (he had to miss the first session cuz of family reasons) by having him be sent as a messenger to the party from a big-wig NPC with an important item they'd need to complete their quest. It would have been SO much easier of the Rogue had decided to come back THEN, cuz I could have just sent out a messenging party of two. Now though, I have to come up with something entirely different.

Frankly, I'm stumped. This place is WAY far out of the way from any form of civlization, with the exception of one small village (which, thanks to the PCs, just got completely destroyed by Bullettes, see subsequent thread next page over). It's a ridiculously dangerous place to adventure, so no one would go there if they didn't have very pressing business. The Rogue really has no way to track down his old comrades even if he wanted to, and I refuse to just have him show up by coincidence (I've had to do that before and it never ever ever feels right).

Ideas?
Insancipitory By Nature
07-16-04, 03:28 AM First off, dude thanks for the laugh. I know it might not seem awesome now, but amusing stories are worth their weight in gold.

I for one would love to see that in an episode of Cops.

Anyhoo. You've actually provided yourself with a good out. The rogue does have a way to track them down. Gather information, and likely some sort of by reputation relationship with the NPC big wig. It's even a pretty good reason for him to be a day behind the fighter. There's a good chance the fighter said something to someone which might have been overheard by who knows, to say nothing of the people doing the sending. Your lucky coincidence in this instance can be the rogues arrival in a period of relative calm (before the storm of course).
Ruke
07-16-04, 03:49 AM Does he want to be the same character that he was before he quit? That would make it slightly more difficult. Are the people in the party in a location where the locals are willing to take prisoners? Perhaps he decided to go in all gung-ho and catch up to the group all by himself (or with a small party) and wound up getting captured. The rest of the party hears of this, and decides that they should rescue him.

Perhaps his character has ****** off a powerful wizard, who figures the best way to punish him is to Teleport him to the middle of a Necropolis full of undead.

Perhaps the rogue has decided to join another party journing through the Necropolis (if his character had previous knowledge of it, he'd be a valuable asset), and the sounds of a pitched battle draw the attention of your party.

I know that these all reek of the just happen to run into him, but there's really no good reason why two parties, after splitting up, apperantly for good, should meet up again so soon.
ck2001wendt
07-16-04, 06:25 AM Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems?

Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle.

Then your party finds the new PC...his chest heaving in and out as he´s surrounded by his dead companions and a group of dead monsters. He´s at half HP, and bleeding profusely. Let the dead adventurers have equipment, but make it stuff you would have found in other parts of the Spire.

And, if the player can´t come to a D&D game without getting drunk, boot his ass out of the party and give him the number for AA.

Things won´t get better until you hit rock bottom...
Mythmere
07-16-04, 12:49 PM Originally posted by ck2001wendt
Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems?

Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle.

Then your party finds the new PC...his chest heaving in and out as he´s surrounded by his dead companions and a group of dead monsters. He´s at half HP, and bleeding profusely. Let the dead adventurers have equipment, but make it stuff you would have found in other parts of the Spire.

And, if the player can´t come to a D&D game without getting drunk, boot his ass out of the party and give him the number for AA.

Things won´t get better until you hit rock bottom...

It's easy. He's there as a prisoner. How'd he get there? He was captured by someone because he was too drunk to resist. Might as well use humor to re-emphasize your original point.
PSchirf
07-16-04, 01:09 PM This one involves a little pre-game agreement between the DM and one of the players, but it is good for a laugh.

-+-

Faced with a locked door someone could offhandedly remark “Gee, I wish <insert character name> was here.”

DM: As you finish the statement your magic <insert magic item here> begins to glow. Suddenly, rays of golden light issue forth from the <insert magic item here>, projecting an image of a Djinni on the wall. With the voice of a lion he speaks “Ah! I, Gee A'mala Zabaum, have been trapped in that <insert magic item here> for a century. My service is finally complete. Here is your wish… and because you have made this one easy I’ll bring him to you fully prepared to help in your endeavor!” With that the image of the Djinni disappears, but your friend <insert character name>, looking quite bewildered, appears in his place.
jasper
07-16-04, 02:10 PM How about remembering it just a game and have just appear. It is not that you trying to write a screenplay to win an Oscar.
PSchirf
07-16-04, 02:19 PM Originally posted by jasper
How about remembering it just a game and have just appear. It is not that you trying to write a screenplay to win an Oscar. How much more lazy can a DM get? Having the person "just appear" spoils the mood for many players, including me. Even the hokiest excuse for having the player appear is better than an "it's just a game" explanation. It's my free time... and it's how I've spent some of my free time since the 70s. I'd walk away from a game where the character "just appears", knowing the DM doesn’t care about the game in any way beyond having it act as a fantasy combat simulation. That's not a game I'd want to play in. Do it right (by presenting some in-story explanation, even if silly), or don't call me to play at your table.
ImmortalBlueMage
07-16-04, 06:23 PM I could very easily devise a subplot which gets this character to follow the rest of the group, not much challenge there, but I'd need at least two hours of one-on-one roleplaying to pull it off. As it stands, I'll have about fifteen minutes to get his character squared away at the begining of the game before the other guys start getting ansy as to just what's happening with them this week. Little bit tougher.

Thanks for the suggestions though, most all good ideas (laughed my ass off at the Genie thing, just might have to use that in a pinch...), I've got 24 more hours to think it over.
DrMorganes
07-17-04, 12:48 AM Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle.
I vote for this option. You said it yourself, the Spire is a horribly dangerous place to adventure...

Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems?
I have to second this as well. While you don't have to rehabilitate him yourself, it is reasonable to tell him that he must be sober (and preferably not hung over) when gaming with you. Be very clear that he must agree to this and that there will be no second chances. If he shows up drunk, you get his keys, call him a cab, send him home, and don't invite him back.
Edymnion
07-17-04, 11:29 AM Originally posted by ImmortalBlueMage
Thanks for the suggestions though, most all good ideas (laughed my ass off at the Genie thing, just might have to use that in a pinch...), I've got 24 more hours to think it over. Buy yourself some more time. Tell him that he can't play with you until he brings you one of those AA meeting token things. As in, he can't play until he brings you evidence that he's off the sauce.

Your reasoning? You had to institute a special rule just because of his drinking, and he's already gotten in a huff over it once and stormed out. Why should you believe he won't just do it again and disrupt your game a second time? Tell him to make a choice, the booze, or the game, that you're not going to let him get away with both.

Of course, I think you're being generous. If it had come to the point I had to make up a rule like that, I would have just kicked his beer swilling butt out of my house and told him that he's no longer welcome in my home, don't come back.
PSchirf
07-17-04, 01:13 PM If you desire a “no alcohol” rule prior to and during your game then that’s all fine and good, but people here seem extremely ready to cast the alcoholic label on your friend without a lot of knowledge of the situation. Showing up drunk at someone’s house before D&D sessions doesn’t automatically make you an alcoholic. The desire to drink ones self into drunkenness on occasion isn’t necessarily alcoholism. For all we know there may be no true dependence or even habit.

Note: In case you’re thinking that my post is projecting self-dentinal, I’ll let you know about my experiences.

When I was younger (high-school/college) my friends and I drank beer; a lot of it. Why? We enjoyed it. We enjoyed getting drunk with our friends, usually once or twice a week. To my knowledge none of us suffer from alcoholism today. We were kids. We had alcohol.

I now only drink heavily at wedding receptions and family reunions, and with my family that usually means that many members of my family, myself include, are drunk well before the party is over. How often does this occur? Once or twice a year. Other than that… During football season I sometimes walk to the small town neighborhood bar and have one or two (tops) beers during Monday night games. I'd say I do this three times a month during football season. Sometimes my wife and I will have a single glass of mead (http://www.meadery.com/ ) or wine with dinner, but this is usually a bottle per month thing. We’ve not done this in over two years, since my wife is pregnant and before that was breast-feeding our youngest, but I’m sure we’ll return to the practice in about a year.

If this sounds like alcoholism to you then talk to a doctor or an AA member and learn more about the disease.

Note: I included a link to Earl Estates Meadery (http://www.meadery.com/ ) because they're local to my location and a good source of information about a beverage that should be present in most D&D games.
DrMorganes
07-17-04, 01:33 PM If you desire a “no alcohol” rule prior to and during your game then that’s all fine and good, but people here seem extremely ready to cast the alcoholic label on your friend without a lot of knowledge of the situation. Showing up drunk at someone’s house before D&D sessions doesn’t automatically make you an alcoholic. The desire to drink ones self into drunkenness on occasion isn’t necessarily alcoholism. For all we know there may be no true dependence or even habit.

Valid points, all. However, the second sentence of the initial post goes quite a long way to helping us form the opinion. To wit, Apparently (and I'm not making this up) he has a problem with my "You're not allowed to show up to the game drunk" policy (which I had to adopt specifically because of him). Perhaps an AA token is out of line. Perhaps the problem is not alcohol. Perhaps the player is not an alcoholic. Honestly, the root cause of the problem strikes me as absolutely immaterial. What matters is the player consistently came drunk to the game, and this was deemed by ImmortalBlueMage to be unacceptable for his game and his home. The fact that IBM was forced to create a "no drunkenness" policy because of this player's behavior says to me that the player has a problem of some sort somewhere.

If the player agrees to be sober, the troupe may well be the anchor he needs to help him resolve whatever issue is leading to his frequent drunkenness.
ImmortalBlueMage
07-18-04, 06:04 AM Well, I appreciate everyone trying to help, but in the end it was all for naught, the ******* didn't even bother to show up, despite prior assurances he would. Oh well, game is easier without him anyway...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ImmortalBlueMage 07-16-04, 03:01 AM	So, my Halfling Rogue quit the game last week. Apparently (and I'm not making this up) he has a problem with my "You're not allowed to show up to the game drunk" policy (which I had to adopt specifically because of him). I was dissapointed, but decided the party could labor on without him. In many ways, it was easier on me, because his character was rather annoying anyway. Naturally, this week he calls me up telling me he's "reconsidered". He knows we're two games into the new story, but asks if I can "work his character in somewhere". Since my group tends to be a bit flighty at times, I'm usually good at adding or dropping characters on the fly, but this time, it's a heck of a thing. The party is currenly exploring Nightfang Spire, which, if you're never read the mod, is an ancient Necropolis positively boiling over with Undead. Now, last game I "worked in" the Elf Fighter (he had to miss the first session cuz of family reasons) by having him be sent as a messenger to the party from a big-wig NPC with an important item they'd need to complete their quest. It would have been SO much easier of the Rogue had decided to come back THEN, cuz I could have just sent out a messenging party of two. Now though, I have to come up with something entirely different. Frankly, I'm stumped. This place is WAY far out of the way from any form of civlization, with the exception of one small village (which, thanks to the PCs, just got completely destroyed by Bullettes, see subsequent thread next page over). It's a ridiculously dangerous place to adventure, so no one would go there if they didn't have very pressing business. The Rogue really has no way to track down his old comrades even if he wanted to, and I refuse to just have him show up by coincidence (I've had to do that before and it never ever ever feels right). Ideas?
Insancipitory By Nature 07-16-04, 03:28 AM	First off, dude thanks for the laugh. I know it might not seem awesome now, but amusing stories are worth their weight in gold. I for one would love to see that in an episode of Cops. Anyhoo. You've actually provided yourself with a good out. The rogue does have a way to track them down. Gather information, and likely some sort of by reputation relationship with the NPC big wig. It's even a pretty good reason for him to be a day behind the fighter. There's a good chance the fighter said something to someone which might have been overheard by who knows, to say nothing of the people doing the sending. Your lucky coincidence in this instance can be the rogues arrival in a period of relative calm (before the storm of course).
Ruke 07-16-04, 03:49 AM	Does he want to be the same character that he was before he quit? That would make it slightly more difficult. Are the people in the party in a location where the locals are willing to take prisoners? Perhaps he decided to go in all gung-ho and catch up to the group all by himself (or with a small party) and wound up getting captured. The rest of the party hears of this, and decides that they should rescue him. Perhaps his character has ****** off a powerful wizard, who figures the best way to punish him is to Teleport him to the middle of a Necropolis full of undead. Perhaps the rogue has decided to join another party journing through the Necropolis (if his character had previous knowledge of it, he'd be a valuable asset), and the sounds of a pitched battle draw the attention of your party. I know that these all reek of the just happen to run into him, but there's really no good reason why two parties, after splitting up, apperantly for good, should meet up again so soon.
ck2001wendt 07-16-04, 06:25 AM	Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems? Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle. Then your party finds the new PC...his chest heaving in and out as he´s surrounded by his dead companions and a group of dead monsters. He´s at half HP, and bleeding profusely. Let the dead adventurers have equipment, but make it stuff you would have found in other parts of the Spire. And, if the player can´t come to a D&D game without getting drunk, boot his ass out of the party and give him the number for AA. Things won´t get better until you hit rock bottom...
Mythmere 07-16-04, 12:49 PM	Originally posted by ck2001wendt Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems? Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle. Then your party finds the new PC...his chest heaving in and out as he´s surrounded by his dead companions and a group of dead monsters. He´s at half HP, and bleeding profusely. Let the dead adventurers have equipment, but make it stuff you would have found in other parts of the Spire. And, if the player can´t come to a D&D game without getting drunk, boot his ass out of the party and give him the number for AA. Things won´t get better until you hit rock bottom... It's easy. He's there as a prisoner. How'd he get there? He was captured by someone because he was too drunk to resist. Might as well use humor to re-emphasize your original point.
PSchirf 07-16-04, 01:09 PM	This one involves a little pre-game agreement between the DM and one of the players, but it is good for a laugh. -+- Faced with a locked door someone could offhandedly remark “Gee, I wish <insert character name> was here.” DM: As you finish the statement your magic <insert magic item here> begins to glow. Suddenly, rays of golden light issue forth from the <insert magic item here>, projecting an image of a Djinni on the wall. With the voice of a lion he speaks “Ah! I, Gee A'mala Zabaum, have been trapped in that <insert magic item here> for a century. My service is finally complete. Here is your wish… and because you have made this one easy I’ll bring him to you fully prepared to help in your endeavor!” With that the image of the Djinni disappears, but your friend <insert character name>, looking quite bewildered, appears in his place.
jasper 07-16-04, 02:10 PM	How about remembering it just a game and have just appear. It is not that you trying to write a screenplay to win an Oscar.
PSchirf 07-16-04, 02:19 PM	Originally posted by jasper How about remembering it just a game and have just appear. It is not that you trying to write a screenplay to win an Oscar. How much more lazy can a DM get? Having the person "just appear" spoils the mood for many players, including me. Even the hokiest excuse for having the player appear is better than an "it's just a game" explanation. It's my free time... and it's how I've spent some of my free time since the 70s. I'd walk away from a game where the character "just appears", knowing the DM doesn’t care about the game in any way beyond having it act as a fantasy combat simulation. That's not a game I'd want to play in. Do it right (by presenting some in-story explanation, even if silly), or don't call me to play at your table.
ImmortalBlueMage 07-16-04, 06:23 PM	I could very easily devise a subplot which gets this character to follow the rest of the group, not much challenge there, but I'd need at least two hours of one-on-one roleplaying to pull it off. As it stands, I'll have about fifteen minutes to get his character squared away at the begining of the game before the other guys start getting ansy as to just what's happening with them this week. Little bit tougher. Thanks for the suggestions though, most all good ideas (laughed my ass off at the Genie thing, just might have to use that in a pinch...), I've got 24 more hours to think it over.
DrMorganes 07-17-04, 12:48 AM	Let him come in as a new character...a questing PC who´s just had the rest of his party slaughtered by Gulthias and his minions. Throw in a couple of clues, like a rope that´s already been set to let you climb down a ledge, a trap that´s been set off, or a roomful of monsters (on top of what´s normally in the Spire) that´s been slaughtered after what looks like a pitched battle. I vote for this option. You said it yourself, the Spire is a horribly dangerous place to adventure... Why don´t you try and deal with your player´s alcohol problem before you try and deal with your campaign problems? I have to second this as well. While you don't have to rehabilitate him yourself, it is reasonable to tell him that he must be sober (and preferably not hung over) when gaming with you. Be very clear that he must agree to this and that there will be no second chances. If he shows up drunk, you get his keys, call him a cab, send him home, and don't invite him back.
Edymnion 07-17-04, 11:29 AM	Originally posted by ImmortalBlueMage Thanks for the suggestions though, most all good ideas (laughed my ass off at the Genie thing, just might have to use that in a pinch...), I've got 24 more hours to think it over. Buy yourself some more time. Tell him that he can't play with you until he brings you one of those AA meeting token things. As in, he can't play until he brings you evidence that he's off the sauce. Your reasoning? You had to institute a special rule just because of his drinking, and he's already gotten in a huff over it once and stormed out. Why should you believe he won't just do it again and disrupt your game a second time? Tell him to make a choice, the booze, or the game, that you're not going to let him get away with both. Of course, I think you're being generous. If it had come to the point I had to make up a rule like that, I would have just kicked his beer swilling butt out of my house and told him that he's no longer welcome in my home, don't come back.
PSchirf 07-17-04, 01:13 PM	If you desire a “no alcohol” rule prior to and during your game then that’s all fine and good, but people here seem extremely ready to cast the alcoholic label on your friend without a lot of knowledge of the situation. Showing up drunk at someone’s house before D&D sessions doesn’t automatically make you an alcoholic. The desire to drink ones self into drunkenness on occasion isn’t necessarily alcoholism. For all we know there may be no true dependence or even habit. Note: In case you’re thinking that my post is projecting self-dentinal, I’ll let you know about my experiences. When I was younger (high-school/college) my friends and I drank beer; a lot of it. Why? We enjoyed it. We enjoyed getting drunk with our friends, usually once or twice a week. To my knowledge none of us suffer from alcoholism today. We were kids. We had alcohol. I now only drink heavily at wedding receptions and family reunions, and with my family that usually means that many members of my family, myself include, are drunk well before the party is over. How often does this occur? Once or twice a year. Other than that… During football season I sometimes walk to the small town neighborhood bar and have one or two (tops) beers during Monday night games. I'd say I do this three times a month during football season. Sometimes my wife and I will have a single glass of mead (http://www.meadery.com/ ) or wine with dinner, but this is usually a bottle per month thing. We’ve not done this in over two years, since my wife is pregnant and before that was breast-feeding our youngest, but I’m sure we’ll return to the practice in about a year. If this sounds like alcoholism to you then talk to a doctor or an AA member and learn more about the disease. Note: I included a link to Earl Estates Meadery (http://www.meadery.com/ ) because they're local to my location and a good source of information about a beverage that should be present in most D&D games.
DrMorganes 07-17-04, 01:33 PM	If you desire a “no alcohol” rule prior to and during your game then that’s all fine and good, but people here seem extremely ready to cast the alcoholic label on your friend without a lot of knowledge of the situation. Showing up drunk at someone’s house before D&D sessions doesn’t automatically make you an alcoholic. The desire to drink ones self into drunkenness on occasion isn’t necessarily alcoholism. For all we know there may be no true dependence or even habit. Valid points, all. However, the second sentence of the initial post goes quite a long way to helping us form the opinion. To wit, Apparently (and I'm not making this up) he has a problem with my "You're not allowed to show up to the game drunk" policy (which I had to adopt specifically because of him). Perhaps an AA token is out of line. Perhaps the problem is not alcohol. Perhaps the player is not an alcoholic. Honestly, the root cause of the problem strikes me as absolutely immaterial. What matters is the player consistently came drunk to the game, and this was deemed by ImmortalBlueMage to be unacceptable for his game and his home. The fact that IBM was forced to create a "no drunkenness" policy because of this player's behavior says to me that the player has a problem of some sort somewhere. If the player agrees to be sober, the troupe may well be the anchor he needs to help him resolve whatever issue is leading to his frequent drunkenness.
ImmortalBlueMage 07-18-04, 06:04 AM	Well, I appreciate everyone trying to help, but in the end it was all for naught, the ******* didn't even bother to show up, despite prior assurances he would. Oh well, game is easier without him anyway...