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Forbiddenwar
2009-08-09, 04:14 PM
This question is for the DMs who help so much on this thread.

I know sometimes we players don't work out, due to playing differences scheduleing, changes in life or moving. What happens to their characters, How do you as DM fade away their chacters, esspecially if there is an even odds chance of the player returning (due to scheduling)

I ask because I have lost one of my best roleplayers due to scheduling, but there is a chance of returning. The game is right in the middle of a dungeon, limiting my abilities to just have him kidnapped, and killed seems both too temporary and too dues Ex machana. Also difficult because the purpose of the party being in the dungeon is this character convinced the others to come and claim an artifact. With the death of the character, realistically, they might just walk away or carry the body out to be rezzed. How have you gently removed characters from an indepth story?

jmbrown
2009-08-09, 04:21 PM
Play his character?

I'm really against the "disappearing character" thing whenever a player isn't at the table. As DM you NPC other characters so either play the character or hand the sheet to someone else if you're too busy. Tell your players up front that you reserve the right to play their guys in their absence based on the actions/personality they've presented at the table. If the PC is a kick-down-the-door-face-everything-up-front warrior then he has no right to complain when the DM has him charge through the door and take on the dragon head first.

Everyone who agrees to play in your game signs the unwritten contract that is the DM's Law. It's a much better option than having the PC stand off to the side or have a conveniently placed incurable knock-out gas trap that wears off after a week in real time go off right in front of him.

quick_comment
2009-08-09, 04:30 PM
Kill him.

If he comes back, arrange for the party to have some diamonds in their next haul.

Thrawn183
2009-08-09, 04:34 PM
Chop or disintegrate his limbs off. The only person willing to cast regenerate wants all his money and magic items in return.

At a time for his return, a mysterious benefactor can re-outfit him for adventuring (but with dark and mysterious consequences...woOOOooo).

ZeroNumerous
2009-08-09, 04:37 PM
Possession. When the ghost's done, it lets him go.

Mavian
2009-08-09, 04:40 PM
Well, this post somehow ended up in completely the wrong place.

Forbiddenwar
2009-08-09, 05:04 PM
Play his character?

Snipped

This isn't a case of a missed session but a missed 6 months or never. I was curious if there were other creative ways. ghost possession is something I never thought of, so is the spell quest.


Well, this post somehow ended up in completely the wrong place.

Huh? why is that? we're discussing actions taken during a roleplaying game, and this is the role playing section of the forum.

Kiren
2009-08-09, 05:13 PM
A pitfall trap separates the character from the party, the character is afflicted with amnesia, the main villain planned it all and has plans to use him/her as an apprentice to destroy the party, the character will naturally keep on leveling as he/she is trained by the villain, one day or never, he/she sees the main villain scrying on the party, comes back to their senses and returns to the party with information of the main enemies hideout.

Alternatively: It would be much more dramatic if the character and the main villain are in combat with the party and comes to their senses during the fight and rejoins mid-fight, with knowledge of the enemies main weakness.

Indon
2009-08-09, 07:47 PM
TV TROPES LINK WARNING!

You might want to put the character 'on a bus' (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PutOnABus).

I did that with one character in an Exalted campaign I play - he was questing with a motivation of finding the scarlet empress, so when the player left, I just gave the character a lead heading off in some other direction - he's still out questing as far as the rest of the party knows.

rokar4life
2009-08-10, 02:27 AM
Everyone who agrees to play in your game signs the unwritten contract that is the DM's Law.

i had a written one, it said i am right, if you diagree, you will be on the bitey end of a tarrasque

Rhiannon87
2009-08-10, 08:02 AM
Have you asked the player how they might like to have their character removed? Every time we've had a player leave or a character switched out, the player has determined how the PC made their exit. Usually, they've just headed off on their on on some other adventure (which leaves the possibility of returning wide open), although in one case where the player knew she wasn't coming back, her character committed suicide (the druid character was slowly turning into a ghast, so it made sense).

But yeah. As the player how they think their character should be removed... that way, if they come back, they won't be annoyed that you did something crazy with his character that he didn't approve of. If he's your best roleplayer, as you said, he's probably pretty attached to his character.

Triaxx
2009-08-10, 09:31 AM
I've always been a fan of petrification. Preserves the character, and when it's time, have them show up having been de-petrified by divine intervention. Perhaps the trap is on a necessary switch to continue and being petrified there is the only thing to keep the room from collapsing once the switch is released. Only divine intervention can get them out of the room without everyone dying. D-Anchor the room so the wizard doesn't try to teleport them out.

Cyrion
2009-08-10, 09:44 AM
It's harder to pull off in the middle of a dungeon crawl, but do ask the player how the character should be disposed of. If there's no chance of return, then going out in a blaze of glory in the next combat is a good option. Something permanent but inspiring so the party finishes the quest. If you don't want permanent, then you could make the disappearance a plot point. Have the other party members notice that the character is missing and in his place is something random and baffling (a blue feather, the smell of frankincense, a small monkey chewing on a playing card...) that can become a recurring source of adventure hooks later. If the player never returns, it's just One Of Those Mysteries, but if the player returns and wants to bring the character back, then the mystery can be solved.

valadil
2009-08-10, 10:07 AM
I like the idea of letting the player have some say in how he gets written off. That'll probably help motivate him to return later, schedule permitting.

If there's no chance of him returning, I say kill 'em. I'm a firm believer in building up and establishing BBEGs. There's no better way to do this than to feed him a PC. It works best if your BBEG can somehow best the PC in his specialty.

Three games ago I had a player leave for college. He was the main tank. An enemy who later became the BBEG bested him in a duel. Now the players hate that enemy for killing their friend but they also have to fear/respect his abilities. They knew that that PC was a better tank than the rest of them and this BBEG just one upped him!

Fixer
2009-08-10, 10:29 AM
I always have the PC killed in the next battle/trap, then say (if they return) "No, that was a doppleganger that had imprisoned me/turned me to stone/whatever."

Contrived, but it works.

PLUN
2009-08-10, 12:57 PM
If you have a game with a regular rotation, you might want to take a few tips from high lethality gaming. Where would the acolyte group be without PFC Rosencrantz, or CoC players without Prof. Reginald Guildenstern to get them through the adventure while they roll someone new?

Base camps are a good one. I mean parties, as much as I hate it, need rest. Amateurs nap right there. Pros have a little improv stockade in a concealable position so they don't have to hike to town, or a nearby bolthole. Wizards rope trick. Yeah, if you want to sleep in creepy white space every night, you go ahead and be my guest. Basically, have a bus, as another poster put it, to put them on. These things need guarded, and a sidekick and a bunch of level 1 mercs specialising in spotting and listening doesn't always cut it.

The rearguard is a mobile base camp. The two or three guys who stay in the back, keep all those monsters from constantly exploiting general player ignorance about the concept of 'enemy movement'. For bonus points, trouble in the rearguard is an excellent returning hook. The Van is another remix of this - it literally is the mobile base camp.

I guess with D&D you've got a lot of magic going on. Weird traps, shrinking, curses, diseases... lots of ways to keep the guy in the aprty, but functionally useless. The problem is bringing them back without shaking the tree too hard.

Telonius
2009-08-10, 01:39 PM
Depends on the dungeon. My preferred method: liberate a room full of child slaves. "Hey guys, we just found enough scrolls of Gate to get one of us and the kids away to safety. I'm the weakest member of the team as is. I'll catch up to you when I can."

Altima
2009-08-10, 01:51 PM
Two words: Heroic Sacrifice.

There's all sorts of things you can do with a dead PC. Or NPC, as the case may be. OotS does it, so it has to be okay!