Special ideas for player's birthday?

[Morph Bark]

So roughly one week from now one of my best friends will be turning another year older. Since on his birthday I'll be attending two other birthday parties (including my father's 50th), I was thinking of organizing a little something around our next DnD session. So I was wondering... has anyone else ever done this? What have you done for the birthdays of players during gaming sessions (not necessarily DnD)?

[Yora]

Maybe do a RISUS one-shot. It's easy to learn, character generation takes no time at all, and this game is made for just having fun and doesn't suffer from people getting distracted by other things.

[Incorrect]

Its his characters birthday!
Have a great party for him, with fancy guests, fancy dinner and fancy assassins (vulnerable to his specific fighting style).
Talk to the other players, give them X amount of gold to buy a present for his character.
Perhaps you can even come up with, or expand on, a specific piece of his background and having it revealed at the party. It turns out that he is really special!


Other idea:
1 Someone bakes a cake.
2 Everyone eats it.

[Eldan]

If you have a long-standing campaign, maybe think about fulfilling a goal his character has been working towards in a particularly satisfying way? Alternatively, run a one-shot of his favourite system/setting/adventure type.

[NikitaDarkstar]

A one-shot with some other system. I'd avoid any major advantages in a long-running campaign, unless you plan on doing the same for the rest of the party in a foreseeable future.

Short term/temporary things however? Go for it.

[Morph Bark]

If you have a long-standing campaign, maybe think about fulfilling a goal his character has been working towards in a particularly satisfying way? Alternatively, run a one-shot of his favourite system/setting/adventure type.

While most of our campaigns went on for decent lengths of time, our current one will only have its fourth session on Friday (when this will be happening). Only two of the PCs have long-term goals, so that won't float. (Well, he has a long-term goal too, longer than the others even, but mechanically it prettymuch amounts to "level up". This is because he plays a high-tech homebrew class and the technology is prettymuch experimental, and his job is to test it out.)

This is also partially why I don't really want to run a one-shot. We did a one-shot just before this campaign that I DM'd, and while humourous out of all players he enjoyed it the least (though the humourous angle likely had a lot to do with it at the time, since some of the players went a little crazier with it than normal). Furthermore, the only system we're familiar with as a group is DnD (both 3.5 and 4E), though me, him and another player are familiar with Exalted. The rest aren't though, and character creation takes so long in Exalted (not to mention combat rounds) that I'd rather not do that.


In case it's relevant to anyone, we're playing in my newest campaign setting and the player is a Urii Angel of the Chozo Warrior class.

Also, the last session ended with the PCs having defeated a dragon terrorizing a small village (of which another PC is the mayor/count/whatever of) in Old Allondell, a region resembling Siberia.

Other than doing something in-game, I thought of doing something with a cake and getting a candle in the shape of Princess Peach or Zelda (he's a major video game fan) so that he could blow it out to "save the princess" or something like that, but I dunno now. Does that seem to silly or childish? Though the bigger problem would be acquiring such a thing. Having scoured Amazon, eBay and Etsy and other sites, I haven't come across it yet.

Other idea:
1 Someone bakes a cake.
2 Everyone eats it.

This, of course, is a wonderful idea. The only problem is that everyone lives halfway across the country during the week and only comes back for the weekends, except for me, so it'd have to be up to me. And the last time I baked a cake was over 10 years ago.

[Radar]

Other than doing something in-game, I thought of doing something with a cake and getting a candle in the shape of Princess Peach or Zelda (he's a major video game fan) so that he could blow it out to "save the princess" or something like that, but I dunno now. Does that seem to silly or childish? Though the bigger problem would be acquiring such a thing. Having scoured Amazon, eBay and Etsy and other sites, I haven't come across it yet.

A simplier variation: find someone, who makes cake decorations and ask them for one shaped like you want (if they make those figures for wedding cakes, then Peach or Zelda should be doable as well). You can then surround the princess figure with candles, as if she was behind prison bars or something. Custom cake frosting is also an option.

Silly doesn't mean, it's a bad idea. The only relevant question is: would your friend like it?

Other then that you could congratulate him on a level up in life instead of birthday.

[Delvin Darkwood]

For our DM's birthday last year, we made a small mini adventure for him to go through in order to win his gift, a giant d20. it was pretty swell really

[Jay R]

Don't forget that you're setting a precedent. You need to find out the birthdays of every other player and do the same thing, or it will look like you are playing favorites, which always makes a DM look bad.

[Morph Bark]

For our DM's birthday last year, we made a small mini adventure for him to go through in order to win his gift, a giant d20. it was pretty swell really

Hmmm, that's quite a nice idea. I'll keep that in mind for a later date!

Don't forget that you're setting a precedent. You need to find out the birthdays of every other player and do the same thing, or it will look like you are playing favorites, which always makes a DM look bad.

I'm not trying to set a precedent though. This is mainly because we won't be able to be around on his actual birthday that I'm doing this, plus the fact that he's been one of my best friends for the better part of nine years. I'm definitely not doing this based on his merits as a player, and frankly overall he's had the least chances to shine in-game (except this one time he got a post-mortem kill on a dragon four times his CR). But I digress.

[Nyes the Dark]

One idea might be to send him on a side-quest themed to his likings (i.e. a murder mystery, a tournament, an assassination, etc) with a useful reward (such as a powerful weapon) as a reward. Or you could just say, "You found *Useful item* in a chest! Happy Birthday!"

[The Glyphstone]

Can't you just take him out for a beer or something, rather than use up game time?

[Man on Fire]

Make birthday party for his character. And actually tell other players to get along with it. Let them bring some snack and drinks and have out of cintinuity non-adventure, where his character is having birthday and everybody else throws a party. Let every character give him some sort of a present to him, the best alongside gifts you guys give the player, and make their wishes.

then the fun part starts - you bring up NPCs. Every NPC he liked, every character he saved, befriended, redeemed, helped solve a dilemma, join the party with their gift, one after another. It doesn't need to make sense in story, it doesn't need to fit the continuity. Who cares if barmaid he was flirting with would have to travel through half of the continent to give him a barrel of his favorite beer, or that ghost he helped find peace shouldn't just pop in to give him a blessing? It doesn't matter. You may even bring up some bad guys - like old-time rival visiting to challenge him for a duel, or old enemies coming back to sritke the party down. it would be fun game, a little break from ongoing adventures and something new to try, plus it would bring a lot of memories.

[Morph Bark]

Can't you just take him out for a beer or something, rather than use up game time?

I'd do that, if more than half of us were the type to go out and if he actually liked alcohol. He's strictly anti-bars, they make him feel uncomfortable. Plus, I've talked this through beforehand with all the other players, and they are okay with it. If that wasn't the case, I simply would've looked for something else to do.

I'm actually not looking for just in-game ideas, but out-of-game as well.

[Heart]

Figure out what he wished for when he blew out his candles, then make it happen in game.

Or give him a free wish, fits with the birthday theme.

[Seerow]

Buy a set of weighted dice, make them the designated birthday dice. You get to use them only on the D&D session closest to your birthday.

[dascarletm]

Do a one-shot campaign called "The Many-Shot Campaign."
have em' pre-roll characters

1. Everyone starts in an arena with no way to escape.
2. Players can start at any level they choose, point buy up to you.
3. Every ECL you have over one you chug a beer before you start.
4. Multiclassing nets you one shot for every class you add.
5. The Tier of your highest class makes you take shots based off this equation(S=shots to take, and T=Tier of highest class: S = 5-T
6. Instead of HP you have SP (shot points), and everyone has 10 SP/HP their character would have normally.
7. Every time you lose 10 SP you tell someone to take a drink
8. When you die you take a shot
9. When you cast a spell you take a drink for every level it is cast.
10. When you take someone out you yell, "DASCARLETM IS THE SHOTIEST!" (only if you are an orc or... ork.)
11. Every drink you take in game (Standard action and makes you act according to confusion next round) gives you immunity to taking a drink.
12. Birthday boy/girl gets to make one rule of his/her own.
13. CHEESE, as determined by the group as a whole, forces you to take PENGAL THE COMMONER for your character and the worst quality alcohol as your drinks for the night.

*Subject to additional rules if I think of them*

PENGAL THE COMMONER
lvl 20 Human Commoner
HD: 20d4+0 (90) SP (900)
AC: (+8 Full Plate (of shirts), +0 Dex)
Attacks: Shirt Cutting Dagger +11 melee (1d4)
Ability Scores: Str (10) Dex (10) Con (10) Int (10) Wis (10) Cha (30)
Skills: Profession (shirt ripper) +31, Craft (ripped shirts) +31, Climb +24
Feats: Skill Focus Profession (shirt ripper), Skill Focus Craft (ripped shirts), Weapon Finesse, Magical Aptitude, Endurance, Cold Endurance, Heat Endurance, Weapon Focus (Dagger)
Special Powers: Blinding white belly, The ripper of Shirts

Statistics:
Pengal starts the game wearing 100 shirts and nothing else.
Shirt Cutting Dagger This is considered a masterwork tool for both Profession (shirt ripper) and Craft (ripped shirts). In addition any character struck by the Shirt Cutting Dagger, besides Pengal, must take of his/her shirt. unless of course you are uncomfortable with that then you can hop on one foot and sing happy birthday to ward off this effect.
The taker of shirts Pengal can as a full round action, that provokes attacks of opportunity inversely (you make one on one adjacent enemy), can begin to rip off his shirts. This is the only way to take off the shirts. He makes either a Profession (shirt ripper) or Craft (ripped shirts), DC:10, and removes 1 shirt plus one extra shirt for every five points this exceeds 10.
Blinding white belly When Pengal's shirts are all removed through ripping them all other players are blinded, and their heads explode. Pengal wins.




(If ya'll are under 21, then I never said this....)

[karkus]

I instantly thought that you should have a birthday-themed adventure.

Maybe have a Mimic look like the cake or something.

[falloutimperial]

Honestly, I'd just make that particular session your friend-centered, a la LOST.

[eulmanis12]

Here goes crazy plan

Step 1
Determine the player's favorite flavor of cake.
Step 2
aquire said cake
Step 3
Brink cake to D&D session
Step 4
Sing happy birthday
Step 5
Eat cake with players
Step 6
Small sidequest of the player's favorite type

[Slipperychicken]

Don't mention the birthday at all. Let everyone think you forgot it.

...until someone in-game touches a specific chest wrapped up in red ribbon with a bow on top, which explodes with confetti and party favors, shouting "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" at him. Anyone within 80ft (including opponents) who fails a Reflex save (DC 25) has a harmless, cone-shaped party-hat attached to his head for 2d4 hours. The treasure chest leaves behind a minor item with a red bow on it, with a card that reads "For [birthday PC's name]" (the item is well-suited for the character, and will probably fit into his WBL nicely). For maximum silliness, it also triggers a few birthday-zombies (with little cones on their heads) to walk out of some hidden passageways and harmlessly dance 10ft from the Birthday Boy's character.

Everyone will think it was a fireball or something (dreading their failed Reflex saves) until they see it's really confetti instead.

[Fitz10019]

Something weird (a curse?) happens that makes his character 50(?) years older, visually and physically. Apply the stat penalties & benefits.

It should be fun to bust his chops about his new-found age all evening.