When the player's not there..

[garhkal]

Kind of linked in a manner, to This thread

How do YOU handle things when a player (or more than one) is not there?
Do you have the character of said player get ran by another player (with the missing player's consent ahead of time)?
Does it get run by the DM?
Can they die if they are being ran by the DM/another player?

Do they just 'go poof' like a player's avatar in MMOLRPG's avatar disappears cause the player logged off?
Do they go into some 'bubble of suspension' to where nothing happens to them/get shunted off to NPC land?
Do they wander back to the party's basecamp and watch the horses?
Does it matter where they are at??

At what point in # of missing players, do you say "ok guys, we don't have enough to run today's game, lets do something else"?
Do you cancel if there's too few?

[Halaster-Blackcloak]

This has always been an issue. But I could swear we had this exact conversation in a different thread (not the one you linked to). Or am I thinking of something else?

Do you have the character of said player get ran by another player (with the missing player's consent ahead of time)?

I prefer this method. Usually the player designates who he trusts to play his character, and that's who gets to do so.

Does it get run by the DM?

I don't want to play a PC in addition to all the NPCs, plus I don't like being a DM responsible for someone else's PC. So I tend to avoid this method.

Do they just 'go poof' like a player's avatar in MMOLRPG's avatar disappears cause the player logged off?

I despise that method because it destroys all aspects of internal logic and suspension of disbelief. It's just totally goofy and illogical.

Do they go into some 'bubble of suspension' to where nothing happens to them/get shunted off to NPC land?

I hate that as well. Just not realistic (in game terms).

Do they wander back to the party's basecamp and watch the horses?

I've seen it done, and it can be made to make sense - sometimes! But this one is really, really iffy. I can't see the logic of an uninjured paladin, barbarian, cleric, etc suddenly deciding he's going to leave the dungeon to "go watch the horses". In an in-game logic sense. Then there's also the problem of how a single PC can make his way out safely in many dungeons. Like Undermountain for example. I can't see Joe the Cleric saying...

"I can't show up the next few weeks due to overtime at work. My cleric goes to the surface to tend the horses."

...when they're on Level 3 of Undermountain and the entire party would end up having a dangerous journey out.

At what point in # of missing players, do you say "ok guys, we don't have enough to run today's game, lets do something else"?
Do you cancel if there's too few?

One player missing is generally workable. But when it come down to 2 or more missing from a group of 4-6 players (my average), then we cancel. It's just too much.

[garhkal]

This has always been an issue. But I could swear we had this exact conversation in a different thread (not the one you linked to). Or am I thinking of something else?

Maybe it was tangental...

[Halaster-Blackcloak]

Might have been the thread you referenced, because I clicked back on it but didn't re-read it all. Just a weird deja-vu when I saw this one. That's happened on a few other topics now and then.

[Cole]

Nope, I'm positive I seen this thread already too maybe we are all getting old I just turned 43 ... bah!

[garhkal]

You are only 1 yr behind me! Turned 44 back in Feb.

[Halaster-Blackcloak]

Cole wrote:

Nope, I'm positive I seen this thread already too maybe we are all getting old I just turned 43 ... bah!

Glad you remember it too! I've got a decade on both you and Garhkal, and it was making me worry that I was imagining it!