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A player left the group at a moment's notice, and I am at a loss for what to do with his character
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I had a player message me a few hours before our 5e session, "Hey I'm quitting the group, would it be too much of a hassle to kill off my character tonight?" I said that's fine, thinking I would fudge some combat rolls near the end of the night to kill the character. I was under the impression that he would play one last session; we waited for him to arrive later that evening. but after a while and a text message, I realised he wasn't coming at all.
I panicked and did the unimaginative "Bob falls over unconscious on the ground".
The party were just after entering a dungeon which they will take a number of sessions to complete. We have since had two sessions with the remaining party of four level 3 characters, dragging Bob around doing their best to RP why their comrade is catatonic. They are now well into the dungeon.
Bob is a tiefling warlock with a fiend pact. I've added some intrigue with Bob muttering under his breath and his horns glowing with runes as the party journeys further into the dungeon, linking the runes in a small way to another character's backstory.
I am however at a complete loss on how to resolve this. I have no one who could step in to play Bob any time soon, and as a very new DM, I'm creatively stumped on a good way to write off the character without just having him killed by an enemy.
How can I write out this player character?
dnd-5e gm-techniques absent-players
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
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Sam
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I had a player message me a few hours before our 5e session, "Hey I'm quitting the group, would it be too much of a hassle to kill off my character tonight?" I said that's fine, thinking I would fudge some combat rolls near the end of the night to kill the character. I was under the impression that he would play one last session; we waited for him to arrive later that evening. but after a while and a text message, I realised he wasn't coming at all.
I panicked and did the unimaginative "Bob falls over unconscious on the ground".
The party were just after entering a dungeon which they will take a number of sessions to complete. We have since had two sessions with the remaining party of four level 3 characters, dragging Bob around doing their best to RP why their comrade is catatonic. They are now well into the dungeon.
Bob is a tiefling warlock with a fiend pact. I've added some intrigue with Bob muttering under his breath and his horns glowing with runes as the party journeys further into the dungeon, linking the runes in a small way to another character's backstory.
I am however at a complete loss on how to resolve this. I have no one who could step in to play Bob any time soon, and as a very new DM, I'm creatively stumped on a good way to write off the character without just having him killed by an enemy.
How can I write out this player character?
dnd-5e gm-techniques absent-players
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
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Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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1
Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago
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up vote
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up vote
5
down vote
favorite
I had a player message me a few hours before our 5e session, "Hey I'm quitting the group, would it be too much of a hassle to kill off my character tonight?" I said that's fine, thinking I would fudge some combat rolls near the end of the night to kill the character. I was under the impression that he would play one last session; we waited for him to arrive later that evening. but after a while and a text message, I realised he wasn't coming at all.
I panicked and did the unimaginative "Bob falls over unconscious on the ground".
The party were just after entering a dungeon which they will take a number of sessions to complete. We have since had two sessions with the remaining party of four level 3 characters, dragging Bob around doing their best to RP why their comrade is catatonic. They are now well into the dungeon.
Bob is a tiefling warlock with a fiend pact. I've added some intrigue with Bob muttering under his breath and his horns glowing with runes as the party journeys further into the dungeon, linking the runes in a small way to another character's backstory.
I am however at a complete loss on how to resolve this. I have no one who could step in to play Bob any time soon, and as a very new DM, I'm creatively stumped on a good way to write off the character without just having him killed by an enemy.
How can I write out this player character?
dnd-5e gm-techniques absent-players
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I had a player message me a few hours before our 5e session, "Hey I'm quitting the group, would it be too much of a hassle to kill off my character tonight?" I said that's fine, thinking I would fudge some combat rolls near the end of the night to kill the character. I was under the impression that he would play one last session; we waited for him to arrive later that evening. but after a while and a text message, I realised he wasn't coming at all.
I panicked and did the unimaginative "Bob falls over unconscious on the ground".
The party were just after entering a dungeon which they will take a number of sessions to complete. We have since had two sessions with the remaining party of four level 3 characters, dragging Bob around doing their best to RP why their comrade is catatonic. They are now well into the dungeon.
Bob is a tiefling warlock with a fiend pact. I've added some intrigue with Bob muttering under his breath and his horns glowing with runes as the party journeys further into the dungeon, linking the runes in a small way to another character's backstory.
I am however at a complete loss on how to resolve this. I have no one who could step in to play Bob any time soon, and as a very new DM, I'm creatively stumped on a good way to write off the character without just having him killed by an enemy.
How can I write out this player character?
dnd-5e gm-techniques absent-players
dnd-5e gm-techniques absent-players
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
edited 10 mins ago
V2Blast
14.3k23594
14.3k23594
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
asked 1 hour ago
Sam
261
261
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Sam is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1
Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago
1
1
Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago
add a comment |Â
4 Answers
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Well, their PC has just become an NPC, so your choices are limitless.
If there is any chance that the player will return to the campaign at some point, you may not want to "kill them off" - they can just leave for any of the thousand reasons someone IRL leaves a job or hobby or whatnot.
If they're certainly not returning, then you can freely maim and kill them as well.
So what "should" you do when you have unlimited options? Well, it's up to you. But as a DM, you should always be looking to use everything in your game to further your campaign, its plot, tone, and character development.
This is an opportunity to think like a screenwriter. What does your game need? Does it need him to be murdered so they have something to avenge? Does it need someone to be kidnapped so they have something to go after? Does it need someone to declare they're pregnant with another PC's child but they never want to see them again? Does it need them to go out with a bang or stay around? It's all up to you and there is no right answer.
In my campaigns, ex-PCs have settled down and been a source of advice and guidance, they've decided they hate the PCs and plot their demise, they've gone to jail and sacrificed themselves and no end of dramatic turns.
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
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up vote
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The moment your player opted out that character became an NPC. He's at your disposal. The player asked you to do something but he's also not in your game anymore.
The fact that this character is a warlock makes this incredibly easy. His patron claims him for some transgression. Wake him up, think back to something stupid your player did and have his patron kill him for it. Send an assassin, have the patron appear as a spectral image and choke him out Darth Vader style or just have him start spurting blood from every oriface and give a long soliloquy about the price of his unholy bargain with a fiend.
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
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up vote
1
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The 0th rule applies here: "You are the game master what you say goes." At this point I could suggest a few good ways.
He becomes an antagonist for the party by dying, becoming undead, and trying to use parts of them to "Get back to life". Much like "The Mummy".
He is stolen away by the "Enemy" and the party will now search for him till level 20. Leave a trail and the party can follow and "Save him".
The now NPC, was the way the fiend was trying to get to the players as it needed a way to escape its lonely/painful/boring existence. The other fiends are trying to stop the being he had a pact with from fleeing their realm, so they destroy the warlock so he can't communicate with them. Leave enough clues for the party to try and save the fiend.
Let him "wake up" when they get back to town and have him leave, "Quitting adventuring" as it was not for him, that's why he was "comatose".
Make him an NPC and have him do less and less story line stuff till they do not see him as important and then just "Write him out of the show".
Sit the team down say you are taking the character out of the game as that player is not going to play with you anymore. (I like this one as it lets the team know what's going on, however it breaks immersion.)
Sit everyone down and ask them what they want to do, involve everyone. Take in ideas and finally vote on it.
I hope these gave you some idea as to what you could do, not what you should do. Make an elaborate plan or just use what you need off the cuff to make it work.
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
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Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
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You Are Under No Obligations
First and foremost, you're under no obligations to honor your former players' request as to his character's demise. A fair number of players think that you are (your player may or may not be one of them) but it isn't so. You may, at your discretion, honor any requests they make, but you certainly don't have to.
In particular, if their character fulfills a critical mechanical need, you're perfectly entitled to keep that character around as an NPC (or even to rotate him through the other players to reduce your burden) until you have time to figure out something longer term and/or more satisfying.
For Longer Term Solutions....
...You do have a range of general options, including but not limited to:
- A dramatic, motivating death. Whether this will work is something you have to judge yourself in the context of your gaming group. If your characters have bonded, and you think they will role-play his death as a serious loss, then you can make this work. If your group is more combat and les role-playing, or if they just haven't been together long, then maybe not.
- The NPC becomes a long term but infrequently seen ally. Think in terms of a TV show where an actor leaves the main cast but returns for guest appearances every once in a while.
- The NPC becomes a long term adversary for some reason. This, again, depends on your campaign and group, and it should really flow (mostly) organically from what's already happened (although you may need to retcon some things that happened behind the scenes.)
There are others-- this is your chance to be creative. Bottom line is, never burn a major NPC without getting something in return.
As for how to recover from "he fell over unconscious for no reason," well. Sometimes the best thing to do is face your remaining players, say, "I didn't handle that very well. Can we not think too hard about that while we try this other approach instead?"
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
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4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
Well, their PC has just become an NPC, so your choices are limitless.
If there is any chance that the player will return to the campaign at some point, you may not want to "kill them off" - they can just leave for any of the thousand reasons someone IRL leaves a job or hobby or whatnot.
If they're certainly not returning, then you can freely maim and kill them as well.
So what "should" you do when you have unlimited options? Well, it's up to you. But as a DM, you should always be looking to use everything in your game to further your campaign, its plot, tone, and character development.
This is an opportunity to think like a screenwriter. What does your game need? Does it need him to be murdered so they have something to avenge? Does it need someone to be kidnapped so they have something to go after? Does it need someone to declare they're pregnant with another PC's child but they never want to see them again? Does it need them to go out with a bang or stay around? It's all up to you and there is no right answer.
In my campaigns, ex-PCs have settled down and been a source of advice and guidance, they've decided they hate the PCs and plot their demise, they've gone to jail and sacrificed themselves and no end of dramatic turns.
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
Well, their PC has just become an NPC, so your choices are limitless.
If there is any chance that the player will return to the campaign at some point, you may not want to "kill them off" - they can just leave for any of the thousand reasons someone IRL leaves a job or hobby or whatnot.
If they're certainly not returning, then you can freely maim and kill them as well.
So what "should" you do when you have unlimited options? Well, it's up to you. But as a DM, you should always be looking to use everything in your game to further your campaign, its plot, tone, and character development.
This is an opportunity to think like a screenwriter. What does your game need? Does it need him to be murdered so they have something to avenge? Does it need someone to be kidnapped so they have something to go after? Does it need someone to declare they're pregnant with another PC's child but they never want to see them again? Does it need them to go out with a bang or stay around? It's all up to you and there is no right answer.
In my campaigns, ex-PCs have settled down and been a source of advice and guidance, they've decided they hate the PCs and plot their demise, they've gone to jail and sacrificed themselves and no end of dramatic turns.
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
Well, their PC has just become an NPC, so your choices are limitless.
If there is any chance that the player will return to the campaign at some point, you may not want to "kill them off" - they can just leave for any of the thousand reasons someone IRL leaves a job or hobby or whatnot.
If they're certainly not returning, then you can freely maim and kill them as well.
So what "should" you do when you have unlimited options? Well, it's up to you. But as a DM, you should always be looking to use everything in your game to further your campaign, its plot, tone, and character development.
This is an opportunity to think like a screenwriter. What does your game need? Does it need him to be murdered so they have something to avenge? Does it need someone to be kidnapped so they have something to go after? Does it need someone to declare they're pregnant with another PC's child but they never want to see them again? Does it need them to go out with a bang or stay around? It's all up to you and there is no right answer.
In my campaigns, ex-PCs have settled down and been a source of advice and guidance, they've decided they hate the PCs and plot their demise, they've gone to jail and sacrificed themselves and no end of dramatic turns.
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
Well, their PC has just become an NPC, so your choices are limitless.
If there is any chance that the player will return to the campaign at some point, you may not want to "kill them off" - they can just leave for any of the thousand reasons someone IRL leaves a job or hobby or whatnot.
If they're certainly not returning, then you can freely maim and kill them as well.
So what "should" you do when you have unlimited options? Well, it's up to you. But as a DM, you should always be looking to use everything in your game to further your campaign, its plot, tone, and character development.
This is an opportunity to think like a screenwriter. What does your game need? Does it need him to be murdered so they have something to avenge? Does it need someone to be kidnapped so they have something to go after? Does it need someone to declare they're pregnant with another PC's child but they never want to see them again? Does it need them to go out with a bang or stay around? It's all up to you and there is no right answer.
In my campaigns, ex-PCs have settled down and been a source of advice and guidance, they've decided they hate the PCs and plot their demise, they've gone to jail and sacrificed themselves and no end of dramatic turns.
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
answered 1 hour ago
mxyzplk♦
146k21359585
146k21359585
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The moment your player opted out that character became an NPC. He's at your disposal. The player asked you to do something but he's also not in your game anymore.
The fact that this character is a warlock makes this incredibly easy. His patron claims him for some transgression. Wake him up, think back to something stupid your player did and have his patron kill him for it. Send an assassin, have the patron appear as a spectral image and choke him out Darth Vader style or just have him start spurting blood from every oriface and give a long soliloquy about the price of his unholy bargain with a fiend.
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The moment your player opted out that character became an NPC. He's at your disposal. The player asked you to do something but he's also not in your game anymore.
The fact that this character is a warlock makes this incredibly easy. His patron claims him for some transgression. Wake him up, think back to something stupid your player did and have his patron kill him for it. Send an assassin, have the patron appear as a spectral image and choke him out Darth Vader style or just have him start spurting blood from every oriface and give a long soliloquy about the price of his unholy bargain with a fiend.
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The moment your player opted out that character became an NPC. He's at your disposal. The player asked you to do something but he's also not in your game anymore.
The fact that this character is a warlock makes this incredibly easy. His patron claims him for some transgression. Wake him up, think back to something stupid your player did and have his patron kill him for it. Send an assassin, have the patron appear as a spectral image and choke him out Darth Vader style or just have him start spurting blood from every oriface and give a long soliloquy about the price of his unholy bargain with a fiend.
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
The moment your player opted out that character became an NPC. He's at your disposal. The player asked you to do something but he's also not in your game anymore.
The fact that this character is a warlock makes this incredibly easy. His patron claims him for some transgression. Wake him up, think back to something stupid your player did and have his patron kill him for it. Send an assassin, have the patron appear as a spectral image and choke him out Darth Vader style or just have him start spurting blood from every oriface and give a long soliloquy about the price of his unholy bargain with a fiend.
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
answered 1 hour ago
Marlond
624220
624220
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
The 0th rule applies here: "You are the game master what you say goes." At this point I could suggest a few good ways.
He becomes an antagonist for the party by dying, becoming undead, and trying to use parts of them to "Get back to life". Much like "The Mummy".
He is stolen away by the "Enemy" and the party will now search for him till level 20. Leave a trail and the party can follow and "Save him".
The now NPC, was the way the fiend was trying to get to the players as it needed a way to escape its lonely/painful/boring existence. The other fiends are trying to stop the being he had a pact with from fleeing their realm, so they destroy the warlock so he can't communicate with them. Leave enough clues for the party to try and save the fiend.
Let him "wake up" when they get back to town and have him leave, "Quitting adventuring" as it was not for him, that's why he was "comatose".
Make him an NPC and have him do less and less story line stuff till they do not see him as important and then just "Write him out of the show".
Sit the team down say you are taking the character out of the game as that player is not going to play with you anymore. (I like this one as it lets the team know what's going on, however it breaks immersion.)
Sit everyone down and ask them what they want to do, involve everyone. Take in ideas and finally vote on it.
I hope these gave you some idea as to what you could do, not what you should do. Make an elaborate plan or just use what you need off the cuff to make it work.
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
The 0th rule applies here: "You are the game master what you say goes." At this point I could suggest a few good ways.
He becomes an antagonist for the party by dying, becoming undead, and trying to use parts of them to "Get back to life". Much like "The Mummy".
He is stolen away by the "Enemy" and the party will now search for him till level 20. Leave a trail and the party can follow and "Save him".
The now NPC, was the way the fiend was trying to get to the players as it needed a way to escape its lonely/painful/boring existence. The other fiends are trying to stop the being he had a pact with from fleeing their realm, so they destroy the warlock so he can't communicate with them. Leave enough clues for the party to try and save the fiend.
Let him "wake up" when they get back to town and have him leave, "Quitting adventuring" as it was not for him, that's why he was "comatose".
Make him an NPC and have him do less and less story line stuff till they do not see him as important and then just "Write him out of the show".
Sit the team down say you are taking the character out of the game as that player is not going to play with you anymore. (I like this one as it lets the team know what's going on, however it breaks immersion.)
Sit everyone down and ask them what they want to do, involve everyone. Take in ideas and finally vote on it.
I hope these gave you some idea as to what you could do, not what you should do. Make an elaborate plan or just use what you need off the cuff to make it work.
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
The 0th rule applies here: "You are the game master what you say goes." At this point I could suggest a few good ways.
He becomes an antagonist for the party by dying, becoming undead, and trying to use parts of them to "Get back to life". Much like "The Mummy".
He is stolen away by the "Enemy" and the party will now search for him till level 20. Leave a trail and the party can follow and "Save him".
The now NPC, was the way the fiend was trying to get to the players as it needed a way to escape its lonely/painful/boring existence. The other fiends are trying to stop the being he had a pact with from fleeing their realm, so they destroy the warlock so he can't communicate with them. Leave enough clues for the party to try and save the fiend.
Let him "wake up" when they get back to town and have him leave, "Quitting adventuring" as it was not for him, that's why he was "comatose".
Make him an NPC and have him do less and less story line stuff till they do not see him as important and then just "Write him out of the show".
Sit the team down say you are taking the character out of the game as that player is not going to play with you anymore. (I like this one as it lets the team know what's going on, however it breaks immersion.)
Sit everyone down and ask them what they want to do, involve everyone. Take in ideas and finally vote on it.
I hope these gave you some idea as to what you could do, not what you should do. Make an elaborate plan or just use what you need off the cuff to make it work.
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
The 0th rule applies here: "You are the game master what you say goes." At this point I could suggest a few good ways.
He becomes an antagonist for the party by dying, becoming undead, and trying to use parts of them to "Get back to life". Much like "The Mummy".
He is stolen away by the "Enemy" and the party will now search for him till level 20. Leave a trail and the party can follow and "Save him".
The now NPC, was the way the fiend was trying to get to the players as it needed a way to escape its lonely/painful/boring existence. The other fiends are trying to stop the being he had a pact with from fleeing their realm, so they destroy the warlock so he can't communicate with them. Leave enough clues for the party to try and save the fiend.
Let him "wake up" when they get back to town and have him leave, "Quitting adventuring" as it was not for him, that's why he was "comatose".
Make him an NPC and have him do less and less story line stuff till they do not see him as important and then just "Write him out of the show".
Sit the team down say you are taking the character out of the game as that player is not going to play with you anymore. (I like this one as it lets the team know what's going on, however it breaks immersion.)
Sit everyone down and ask them what they want to do, involve everyone. Take in ideas and finally vote on it.
I hope these gave you some idea as to what you could do, not what you should do. Make an elaborate plan or just use what you need off the cuff to make it work.
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
edited 46 mins ago
SevenSidedDie♦
199k25632913
199k25632913
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
answered 50 mins ago
Vethor
1,078718
1,078718
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
add a comment |Â
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
Thanks SevenSidedDie.
– Vethor
40 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
You Are Under No Obligations
First and foremost, you're under no obligations to honor your former players' request as to his character's demise. A fair number of players think that you are (your player may or may not be one of them) but it isn't so. You may, at your discretion, honor any requests they make, but you certainly don't have to.
In particular, if their character fulfills a critical mechanical need, you're perfectly entitled to keep that character around as an NPC (or even to rotate him through the other players to reduce your burden) until you have time to figure out something longer term and/or more satisfying.
For Longer Term Solutions....
...You do have a range of general options, including but not limited to:
- A dramatic, motivating death. Whether this will work is something you have to judge yourself in the context of your gaming group. If your characters have bonded, and you think they will role-play his death as a serious loss, then you can make this work. If your group is more combat and les role-playing, or if they just haven't been together long, then maybe not.
- The NPC becomes a long term but infrequently seen ally. Think in terms of a TV show where an actor leaves the main cast but returns for guest appearances every once in a while.
- The NPC becomes a long term adversary for some reason. This, again, depends on your campaign and group, and it should really flow (mostly) organically from what's already happened (although you may need to retcon some things that happened behind the scenes.)
There are others-- this is your chance to be creative. Bottom line is, never burn a major NPC without getting something in return.
As for how to recover from "he fell over unconscious for no reason," well. Sometimes the best thing to do is face your remaining players, say, "I didn't handle that very well. Can we not think too hard about that while we try this other approach instead?"
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
You Are Under No Obligations
First and foremost, you're under no obligations to honor your former players' request as to his character's demise. A fair number of players think that you are (your player may or may not be one of them) but it isn't so. You may, at your discretion, honor any requests they make, but you certainly don't have to.
In particular, if their character fulfills a critical mechanical need, you're perfectly entitled to keep that character around as an NPC (or even to rotate him through the other players to reduce your burden) until you have time to figure out something longer term and/or more satisfying.
For Longer Term Solutions....
...You do have a range of general options, including but not limited to:
- A dramatic, motivating death. Whether this will work is something you have to judge yourself in the context of your gaming group. If your characters have bonded, and you think they will role-play his death as a serious loss, then you can make this work. If your group is more combat and les role-playing, or if they just haven't been together long, then maybe not.
- The NPC becomes a long term but infrequently seen ally. Think in terms of a TV show where an actor leaves the main cast but returns for guest appearances every once in a while.
- The NPC becomes a long term adversary for some reason. This, again, depends on your campaign and group, and it should really flow (mostly) organically from what's already happened (although you may need to retcon some things that happened behind the scenes.)
There are others-- this is your chance to be creative. Bottom line is, never burn a major NPC without getting something in return.
As for how to recover from "he fell over unconscious for no reason," well. Sometimes the best thing to do is face your remaining players, say, "I didn't handle that very well. Can we not think too hard about that while we try this other approach instead?"
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
You Are Under No Obligations
First and foremost, you're under no obligations to honor your former players' request as to his character's demise. A fair number of players think that you are (your player may or may not be one of them) but it isn't so. You may, at your discretion, honor any requests they make, but you certainly don't have to.
In particular, if their character fulfills a critical mechanical need, you're perfectly entitled to keep that character around as an NPC (or even to rotate him through the other players to reduce your burden) until you have time to figure out something longer term and/or more satisfying.
For Longer Term Solutions....
...You do have a range of general options, including but not limited to:
- A dramatic, motivating death. Whether this will work is something you have to judge yourself in the context of your gaming group. If your characters have bonded, and you think they will role-play his death as a serious loss, then you can make this work. If your group is more combat and les role-playing, or if they just haven't been together long, then maybe not.
- The NPC becomes a long term but infrequently seen ally. Think in terms of a TV show where an actor leaves the main cast but returns for guest appearances every once in a while.
- The NPC becomes a long term adversary for some reason. This, again, depends on your campaign and group, and it should really flow (mostly) organically from what's already happened (although you may need to retcon some things that happened behind the scenes.)
There are others-- this is your chance to be creative. Bottom line is, never burn a major NPC without getting something in return.
As for how to recover from "he fell over unconscious for no reason," well. Sometimes the best thing to do is face your remaining players, say, "I didn't handle that very well. Can we not think too hard about that while we try this other approach instead?"
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
You Are Under No Obligations
First and foremost, you're under no obligations to honor your former players' request as to his character's demise. A fair number of players think that you are (your player may or may not be one of them) but it isn't so. You may, at your discretion, honor any requests they make, but you certainly don't have to.
In particular, if their character fulfills a critical mechanical need, you're perfectly entitled to keep that character around as an NPC (or even to rotate him through the other players to reduce your burden) until you have time to figure out something longer term and/or more satisfying.
For Longer Term Solutions....
...You do have a range of general options, including but not limited to:
- A dramatic, motivating death. Whether this will work is something you have to judge yourself in the context of your gaming group. If your characters have bonded, and you think they will role-play his death as a serious loss, then you can make this work. If your group is more combat and les role-playing, or if they just haven't been together long, then maybe not.
- The NPC becomes a long term but infrequently seen ally. Think in terms of a TV show where an actor leaves the main cast but returns for guest appearances every once in a while.
- The NPC becomes a long term adversary for some reason. This, again, depends on your campaign and group, and it should really flow (mostly) organically from what's already happened (although you may need to retcon some things that happened behind the scenes.)
There are others-- this is your chance to be creative. Bottom line is, never burn a major NPC without getting something in return.
As for how to recover from "he fell over unconscious for no reason," well. Sometimes the best thing to do is face your remaining players, say, "I didn't handle that very well. Can we not think too hard about that while we try this other approach instead?"
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
answered 52 mins ago
Novak
13.2k32363
13.2k32363
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Sam is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Hi, @Sam, welcome to the site. If you haven't already, please take the site tour to get a better feel for how this site operates. In particular, this site can't really help with open-ended brainstorming questions (which are more suitable to a forum) but can help solve specific problems (which I think I can interpret this question as.)
– Novak
1 hour ago
As Novak said, idea generation questions aren't really suited to RPG.SE, and are more suitable for a forum. However, I think it's possible to edit this question to be appropriate here; the important thing is to clarify the goal you're trying to accomplish (e.g. write out the character without ruining immersion), and possibly anything you don't want to do. Then people can suggest the best way to do so.
– V2Blast
8 mins ago