tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post7502864612635854442..comments2024-03-02T00:34:38.701-08:00Comments on The Keep on the Gaming Lands: The Curse of the Missing Player!Mike Mearlshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338840534913321057noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-17130375588421444182009-04-04T09:10:00.000-07:002009-04-04T09:10:00.000-07:00I don't think you need to archive older versions o...I don't think you need to archive older versions of the characters... The character builder keeps track of every choice you make and, importantly, at which level (including retraining). So just make a backup of the character (so you don't accidentally mess it up) and level it down.Asmorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04490296832589429855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-11206625480527734322009-03-15T22:45:00.000-07:002009-03-15T22:45:00.000-07:00Really great idea. A play on the idea of running a...Really great idea. A play on the idea of running an alternate concomitant campaign located elsewhere on the map in order to flesh out the world for the players.<BR/><BR/>I've heard of that as an invention for what to do when only some of the players show up.davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02095342572848900592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-87534522255811991422009-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:002009-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00"If you're using the DDI character builder, have t..."If you're using the DDI character builder, have the players archive versions of their PCs for each level they have gained."<BR/><BR/>Either that or just levelling down your characters sounds like a hassle, but probably much easier in 4E than in the versions where you roll for hit points (or roll for anything, really - more variables to track).Anders Hällzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14034180481043534390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-10372236650416740182009-03-15T06:38:00.000-07:002009-03-15T06:38:00.000-07:00Hi Mike!I have a similar solution that I've us...Hi Mike!<BR/><BR/>I have a similar solution that I've used before. When only three players show up, I run a bit of backstory in "show don't tell" mode. Instead of just giving a bit of history, the players get to pick some historically significant NPCs and run through a bit of adventure from long ago.<BR/><BR/>For example, in my campaign last year, the party was hunting down an artifact of great power (a Solar trapped in a prison and driven insane) that was held by Dark Elves. One night I ran an adventure where the party played the Dark Elves who were stealing this artifact from a noble house who held it deep in their vaults.<BR/><BR/>The great fun came when the party started turning on each other (being dark elves) just as the artifact was in their grasp.<BR/><BR/>With the character builder and the Dungeon Delve book, its pretty easy to build a quick bit of back story for an ongoing campaign and have the players you have on hand play through it.<BR/><BR/>I do wish D&D 4e had a better way to handle small groups of three, two, or even one player.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09965578075821087407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-23129692842547924252009-03-15T05:57:00.000-07:002009-03-15T05:57:00.000-07:00Damn, I wish you could edit posts on this.One solu...Damn, I wish you could edit posts on this.<BR/><BR/>One solution to the "death" problem is to borrow a page from Toon -- the "dead" character is out of play, but either not really dead, or is raised offstage after the mini-arc. For cool items, it can be fun to ask players to come up with what happened to that a +5 sword, and then work that into the future stories. ("Ah, here it is!") You can even use this as a framing sequence... you open with the characters finding a magic item, and a PC (prompted by you) says, "By the gods! This is naught other than the blade I won from those trolls! I remember it as if it were yesterday..." Then the screen gets all wavy and you begin the prequel story.<BR/><BR/>Great concept, Mike, and a great way to bring storytelling ideas from other media in D&D!Lizardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612692415592670468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-58217398979025370092009-03-15T05:52:00.000-07:002009-03-15T05:52:00.000-07:00This is a cool idea. When I was running a superher...This is a cool idea. When I was running a superhero game and a few players couldn't make it, I did a "Year One" type flashback story.Lizardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11612692415592670468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-17740671954267228582009-03-14T23:26:00.000-07:002009-03-14T23:26:00.000-07:00This is really neat. Like filling in Lost Tales wi...This is really neat. Like filling in Lost Tales with Tolkien's notes ...<BR/><BR/><BR/>-- <A HREF="http://www.enworld.org/forum/members/irda-ranger.html" REL="nofollow">Irda Ranger</A>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17698562397742719005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-21124486872710063292009-03-14T23:08:00.000-07:002009-03-14T23:08:00.000-07:00I do this for my White Wolf games. I keep the Mort...I do this for my White Wolf games. I keep the Mortal & Supernatural versions of the characters, even though there may be differences between the characters. Then the players that show up get additional XP, the players that couldn't get a reduced amount to show they were busy, but not there.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885405967830457488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6963408603037048958.post-23161398279382115942009-03-14T22:13:00.000-07:002009-03-14T22:13:00.000-07:00Thats a really good idea! I recently got a couple ...Thats a really good idea! I recently got a couple of new people to join my group who have a baby. needless to say they are gonna miss a session every once in a while, so I need to come up with something... The characters are still really low level so maybe a back story on how they got to where they are...<BR/><BR/>Too bad I didn't back up their original characters...MacGuffenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13765042859547483538noreply@blogger.com