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Reshy
2014-04-15, 09:05 AM
Our DM has been having difficulties with people not showing up, usually only one or two people and she doesn't know what to do. Usually she just cancels the game so no one feels left out, but it's causing problems with the story stalling out big time. Any suggestions on how to better handle this?

The_Werebear
2014-04-15, 09:15 AM
Most group's I've played with have a quorum. If 75% of the players can make it, session goes forward. Otherwise, it's cancelled for the week or postponed. If the same few players keep missing over and over again, set their characters to semi-npc status and have them doing other things while the player is away.

Rhynn
2014-04-15, 09:24 AM
Ha, our minimum is exactly 75%. :smallbiggrin: That's out of 4 people total; we play if we've got the GM and 2 players, anything over that is just a happy extra. Careers, families, etc. A session isn't even scheduled unless that 75% have committed to showing up.

When someone is absent, one of the following is done (they're all really obvious):
1. Their PC sits out and stays home or whatever.
2. The GM runs the PC.
3. Another player runs the PC.
4. 2. otherwise, 3. in combat.

Also, the other players are basically obligated by tradition to make the missing player's PC pay for everything.

BWR
2014-04-15, 09:24 AM
Most group's I've played with have a quorum. If 75% of the players can make it, session goes forward. Otherwise, it's cancelled for the week or postponed. If the same few players keep missing over and over again, set their characters to semi-npc status and have them doing other things while the player is away.

Pretty much this. If we were to cancel every time we had a no show we wouldn't get much playing done. When you're younger, middle school or so, it's a lot easier to find time to game. Get older, start having more work to do, finding SOs, children (children are the big game killer), you can't expect everyone to show up every time. If you're lucky, you have friends who come back after a few years, once their children are old enough to not require constant attention.

So we just let another player run the characters of the absentees, and move on with the game. For the most part everyone knows the other PCs and players well enough to play them. We'll usually let present players bring their PCs to the fore, but it's not a big deal of the one who plays the party face is gone because someone else will just run the PC, making the necessary calls and rolls.

Yora
2014-04-15, 09:30 AM
I'll play when a significant amount of players can make it. 2/3 or 3/4 seems like a good general guideline. Even with just 3 players it takes forever to get everyone together, and with 5 or more it's rarely going to happen at all.

When that happens, it depends on the current in-game situation what I do. If it's going to be just one mostly self-contained scenario, then the characters of the absent players simply don't take part in it. They stayed back in the village, or the camp, or whatever.
If it's an important part of a longer storyline in which the characters would be involved, I treat the characters as being present, but not having any lines in this scene. Sometimes it's a character who would have said a lot in a given encounter if the player were present, and it always raises the question why the party could not make use of that characters special abilities in that scene, but this is just something everyone needs to play along with.
In practice, this never caused any problems or players complaining. In TV shows, you often don't have all the major characters appearing in every single episode because that character didn't do anything interesting or contributing that day or week. He was there, but didn't get any screen time. Same thing with characters of players who can't make it to the game.

Airk
2014-04-15, 09:33 AM
An important point that no one has mentioned yet is that whatever policy you pick, it needs to be clearly communicated to people with advance warning.

Send out an Email or something.

"Hey, guys, we've had a lot of problems with no shows lately, and we'd all like to play more often, so starting next month, anytime we have X people present, we're going to play. Characters of players not present will fade into the background. Please respond to let me know you've seen this, and if you have any problems, let me know."

Important components here are:

A) Communication
B) Setting a date in the future for this to start
C) Setting a DEFINITE date for this to start.
D) Defining how many people need to be present to play
E) Defining what happens with characters not present.

Really, the most important thing in no show policy is to HAVE a no show policy, communicate it, and adhere to it.

Jay R
2014-04-15, 10:50 AM
My rule is that the game is canceled if two players can't make it, but not for one.

If you can't be there, and have made no arrangements, then your character is out of the adventure, and gets no experience points, treasure, or magic items - and won't die.

If you arrange for somebody else to have your character sheet and play the character, then the character is a full partner in the enterprise, sharing all risks and rewards.

If we stopped in the middle, and you're not there and have made no arrangements, then your character gets a flu or something, and is too sick to fight or take part.

[Note that since each character has unique skills, it is to the party's benefit to have all character's there, so the player who can't make it isn't the only one motivated to arrange for somebody to play the character.]

hymer
2014-04-15, 10:56 AM
We play if three players and the DM make it, unless there are specific reasons not to. These would usually be things like entering a dangerous place without full strength, or the session was supposed to be a side quest for a PC whose player is missing. In the latter case, it may be possible to do something else, depending on what the DM is ready to do.

Reshy
2014-04-15, 12:13 PM
The DM of our current game thinks that by making set times or whatever will make the game too serious and less fun and because of that we're maybe playing once a month.

obryn
2014-04-15, 12:15 PM
I have a group of 5-6 and play when we can have at least 4.

Usually someone picks up the missing player's character, but sometimes we just pretend they're not there for the night and fit them back in next session.

Jay R
2014-04-15, 12:18 PM
The DM of our current game thinks that by making set times or whatever will make the game too serious and less fun and because of that we're maybe playing once a month.

Less fun than playing less seriously, or less fun than not playing?

I'm asking because he isn't trading off serious gaming vs. non-serious gaming. He's trading off committing to play the game vs. not playing the game.

Airk
2014-04-15, 12:42 PM
The DM of our current game thinks that by making set times or whatever will make the game too serious and less fun and because of that we're maybe playing once a month.

I don't understand the connection. You don't have to pick set times. You just have to let people know when you are playing in advance, and have a policy for that.

Seriously, it might be time for the softball analogy or something. "If you all sign up for a softball league, yeah, it's for fun, but it's still expected that everyone show up to avoid wasting everyone else's time, because if you didn't play whenever one person couldn't come, you'd never play."

Also, I think there's a SERIOUS misconception that playing something "seriously" makes it "less fun." In most cases, playing something "seriously" - as in, devoting a bit of actual effort, care, and concern to it - makes it MORE fun, because you're just better at it, things go more smoothly, you waste less time doing nothing and trying to get things in order, etc.

Slipperychicken
2014-04-15, 02:00 PM
You could follow a procedure like this one:


Send out an email/text asking people to specify when/if they're down to game this weekend.
Find a common time among them.
If just one or two peoples' schedules are incompatible, ask him/her if he's cool with his character being written out of the session.
If too many people cannot make it, think about something else you want to do (one-shot? Movie? Video games?).
Notify all players of the place/time you selected, as well as any modifications (if some people can't make it, or you aren't playing the original game) ideally a few days prior to said time.
If still playing the original game, Contrive some reason for the absent players' PCs to not need adjudication. There are countless ways to do this*.


*The PC might have been struck by a curse/disease and is lying down in a safe area until healed. Or might have been kidnapped in the night. Or fell down an unforeseen pit trap. Or was seduced/dragged-off by some attractive lady/man and is preoccupied with sexytime. Or is doing some all-consuming research. Or inexplicably ran away saying he had urgent business and would be back soon. Everyone knows the reason is contrived, so it's not like it needs to be perfect.

obryn
2014-04-15, 02:21 PM
I have a set time and day of the week where we play.

I don't think I'd ever game if we had to juggle my group's schedules to find unique times every once in a while. This way, everyone knows Wednesday is game night and can schedule around it.

Fayd
2014-04-15, 02:30 PM
In one game I was running, I had specialized sessions built for each PC, and in one session, the Witch, whose specialized session it was, was unable to make it physically, and I'd known that for a while. But they said they were going to attend digitally, and so I decided not to delay the rest of the group... then 15 minutes before we begin the player backs out.

So I dropped a house on her. (The character, by the way)

(Resurrection was simple and easy but I needed a way to write her out of the session, and it was Oz themed, so....)

CombatOwl
2014-04-15, 02:39 PM
Our DM has been having difficulties with people not showing up, usually only one or two people and she doesn't know what to do. Usually she just cancels the game so no one feels left out, but it's causing problems with the story stalling out big time. Any suggestions on how to better handle this?

I just start running whenever I have 4 players (or 3 if I'm running a 4 person game) after the stated start time. Folks who come in late or don't show up just lose play time. Its actually why I don't mind padding the group with a few infrequent players.

sktarq
2014-04-15, 03:58 PM
Like many people here I have a basic rule 1 no show => play, 2 no shows => we play muchkin, cards, boardgames etc. I always have a pregame meeting (as in before the first session) when we cover themes, what type of party, some houserules, moods, themes, touchy topics (sex, religion, how graphic are things)...and bring this up then.

russdm
2014-04-15, 06:11 PM
Just play with the people who show up and send out emails to the ones that aren't making it. Make sure players send emails or contact the DM to let them know if they can't show. Always keep this contact available. If a player doesn't show, then their PC doesn't appear during game at all. Don't give it to another player to run, just simply have them absent until the player shows up. Yes, its cruel, but the game should continue anyway. Some players have significant real life issues that gives them only that day or time to play and if you have too many none sessions, its always easier for them to find other games or just go with not playing instead. Or playing stuff like WoW or Oblivion, which can more fun than playing and you don't need to worry about anyone else's attendance.

A player who has a habit of missing many games ought to be spoken with regarding the matter. Unless you live next door to everyone, time is usually being spent to get to the game and if it requires a drive, then those players are spending gas and money to arrive. If the group doesn't contact people before they show up to let them know it won't happen, then that's wasted money/time/gas. If the absents get too much or happen too much, I would say that you should spoke with the player about whether they are actually committed to being there. Set a limit though and say that after these many absences in a row, let the player go. The others are trying to be there and play; they shouldn't have to suffer because one player cannot get their act together.

Amphetryon
2014-04-16, 10:58 AM
The DM of our current game thinks that by making set times or whatever will make the game too serious and less fun and because of that we're maybe playing once a month.

How do you schedule, without set times? Does the DM just randomly email folks and say "Hey, I'll be running the game at [time]; show up if you can"?

Rhynn
2014-04-16, 11:59 AM
How do you schedule, without set times? Does the DM just randomly email folks and say "Hey, I'll be running the game at [time]; show up if you can"?

My group uses a group Skype chat (always the same one since Skype remembers specific group chats); someone sends a message "hey, let's play on [day]," there's some negotiation, and if 3 out of 4 of us agree on the day and time, we play.

CarpeGuitarrem
2014-04-16, 12:08 PM
The DM of our current game thinks that by making set times or whatever will make the game too serious and less fun and because of that we're maybe playing once a month.
In my mind, this may be a sort of root of the problem. It's a bit of a tautology, really: if you don't take an RPG campaign seriously, then you won't take it seriously.

The DM seems to be operating under the notion that your RPG campaign should be super casual, and I mean super. Here's why I say that: by nature, the commitment to an RPG campaign already carries some gravity. You're agreeing to meet up with other people for multiple multi-hour sessions of an activity that exist in continuity with one another. This is more commitment than saying "Yeah, we want to meet up and play different lengthy boardgames together" or "Yeah, we want to meet up and have movie marathons every so often". An RPG campaign requires you to keep a regular group coming back to move it forward.

So, there is a measure of seriousness to the campaign aspect. You can be serious about the campaign and not serious about the sessions themselves, too. But really, this is just a base-level commitment to a hobby. It's like agreeing to meet up with a wargaming club or a boardgame club or what have you.

I definitely also agree with "run if a certain percentage are there". It works really well if the game itself is episodic somewhat: you can pick up the new session, handwaving that the absent characters are off doing something else. When they return for the next session, the GM can work out with them what they were doing in the meantime.

Loxagn
2014-04-16, 04:18 PM
I guess I'm more generous than others. I have always used group xp. It's just easier to keep track of, and it doesn't overly penalize players for having to miss a session here and there. Of course, XP division is also based on how many characters are present, which I think is fair given as fewer characters will expend more effort.

Treasure, on the other hand, is left to the group to divide. After all, I cannot force my players to take equal shares of everything and exclude their compatriots. If they would prefer to share the loot with their absent allies, that's no skin off my nose.

Amphetryon
2014-04-16, 04:32 PM
My group uses a group Skype chat (always the same one since Skype remembers specific group chats); someone sends a message "hey, let's play on [day]," there's some negotiation, and if 3 out of 4 of us agree on the day and time, we play.

My read of the OP is that she's talking about a face-to-face game, rather than Skyping.

Rhynn
2014-04-16, 04:52 PM
My read of the OP is that she's talking about a face-to-face game, rather than Skyping.

Buh?

I was talking about scheduling a game. We play by sitting around a table and throwing dice and Monty Python references at each other, like most people.

Amphetryon
2014-04-16, 05:44 PM
Buh?

I was talking about scheduling a game. We play by sitting around a table and throwing dice and Monty Python references at each other, like most people.

So, you (or the DM) do just randomly email (Skype) folks out of the blue and say "Game on at [date]; who's up for it?"

Congratulations on getting that to work for you.

Mr Beer
2014-04-16, 05:59 PM
I run the game unless so many people can't make it that it can't happen. No shows: either their character isn't there, gets no XP and can't be hurt or is there, takes the risks and gets 50% XP.

Rhynn
2014-04-16, 06:49 PM
So, you (or the DM) do just randomly email (Skype) folks out of the blue and say "Game on at [date]; who's up for it?"

Like I said: it's one (continuous) Skype text chat between the group members. Someone sends a message suggesting a date and time (usually early in the week suggesting that weekend), and we wrangle over it, maybe move the day, maybe schedule it for the next week, whatever, and then we play.

If there's a better way, I'd like to hear about it, given that there's no way to schedule e.g. weekly games or games for a given weekday - people often work Saturdays or Sundays, and kids and families always come first, so games are scheduled whenever everyone happens to have no work or other engagements, can get their SO to take care of the kids, doesn't need to spend time with family or their SO, etc.

LokiRagnarok
2014-04-18, 03:41 PM
There are plenty of tools online which allow a creator of an event to specify available timeslots, and others then pick whether they can make it/can not make it/can maybe make it.
http://doodle.com comes to mind.

mephnick
2014-04-19, 09:54 PM
I highly suggest setting up a little personal wiki (like pbworks) for your group.

I have a little calender in there and people edit in what days they're free that week. Then we message each other on facebook and finalize the date. Had a weekly game going with hardly any no-shows.

If someone doesn't show, we just say the character took off for the night, either pursuing interests in town, or off to gather/scout in the wild. We'll use the character if the player insists, but that's dangerous.

Terazul
2014-04-19, 10:08 PM
Yeah, we typically have a little calendar (or messages in the topic for IRC sessions). Depending on the party size, one or two absences won't interrupt gameplay. If known in advance, usually they'll give all the relevant combat information to another player to cover for them, and they'll otherwise just hang out in the background. In the case of chronic absentees, it's best to talk to them about the issue (games are a time and effort commitment for everyone involved), and if it's continuing to interrupt the game too much afterwards, phase them out of the campaign (or find a day that fits everyone better).

Setting up a wikispace/wikidot/etc. for whatever campaign is also really useful if you want all the information in one place: Keep up to date sheets for everyone to see (and have a record of edits/changes if you're worried about that kind of thing), and a place to put messages/alerts that everyone can easily check.

Amphetryon
2014-04-20, 06:50 AM
Like I said: it's one (continuous) Skype text chat between the group members. Someone sends a message suggesting a date and time (usually early in the week suggesting that weekend), and we wrangle over it, maybe move the day, maybe schedule it for the next week, whatever, and then we play.

If there's a better way, I'd like to hear about it, given that there's no way to schedule e.g. weekly games or games for a given weekday - people often work Saturdays or Sundays, and kids and families always come first, so games are scheduled whenever everyone happens to have no work or other engagements, can get their SO to take care of the kids, doesn't need to spend time with family or their SO, etc.

I've honestly never seen a group that didn't think setting a standard time - like most folks did for classes, for work, for exercise, etc - was easier or more intuitive than having a continually in-flux gmae time that nobody could plan other parts of their lives around.

As I said, I'm glad your method works for you.

mephnick
2014-04-20, 01:26 PM
Some people are too busy for 'Tuesday at 7pm' to always be free for gaming.

Especially once you have a family, RPGs become the least important thing on your weekly schedule IME.

But if you can figure out "ok this week...wednesday works for 5/6 of us, game's set" then great.

Krazzman
2014-04-22, 03:56 AM
We use Whatsapp to plan it. For example asking if everyone can make it on Monday/Wednesday etc.
Currently we play only SWSE anyway due to our other players having a baby (it's been 5 months so far with minimal gaming with them due to this).

Before that we basically had different campaigns for different combinations.
One where only the dm's wife, my wife, a friend and I could show up. One with one extra player, then another the other extra player and one with both of them.

We tried to manage it around every wednesday from x to y. But due to shifting plans/classes/shifts we now do it more flexible while trying to get a 1/week session ratio.

Mastikator
2014-04-22, 07:51 AM
I've honestly never seen a group that didn't think setting a standard time - like most folks did for classes, for work, for exercise, etc - was easier or more intuitive than having a continually in-flux gmae time that nobody could plan other parts of their lives around.

As I said, I'm glad your method works for you.

I've never played in a group where everyone could consistently follow an unchanging schedule, people have birthday parties, jobs, funerals, and other stuff that takes priority over game night.

Amphetryon
2014-04-22, 02:56 PM
I've never played in a group where everyone could consistently follow an unchanging schedule, people have birthday parties, jobs, funerals, and other stuff that takes priority over game night.

No-shows happen regardless; the groups I've known have found it easier to have a planned game night and - if necessary - notify the others if they cannot make it than to sporadically and randomly decide 'oh, hey, we're gaming tonight, so you should try to come.'

If it works for you, great.

Airk
2014-04-22, 04:19 PM
I've never played in a group where everyone could consistently follow an unchanging schedule, people have birthday parties, jobs, funerals, and other stuff that takes priority over game night.

Yeah. There's a big difference between "Well, we'll just make it up on the fly with regard to scheduling!" and "We'll try for Wednesday evenings."

The former results in massive ugly email chains as everyone says "I'm free Saturday, but not Sunday, and only on alternate tuesdays!" "Oh, I can't do Saturday this week, what about Friday?" "I can't do Friday this week, but next week...." whereas the latter just results in "Hey guys, it's our anniversary on Wednesday, so I'm not going to be there. See everyone next Wednesday."