Hey guys, just wanted to get some idea of if my new table rules seem workable or useful, and if anyone has any ideas about things I didn't add to the lists here:
1.The game starts at 7:00 pm. If 50% of the group +1 are present, the regular campaign will proceed. If fewer members of the group are present, an alternate scenario with pregenerated characters will be played, and if only one player is present, we will wait until 7:30 pm, and if no one arrives or contacts the group by this time, and only the DM and one player are present, the game will be called for the night.
2. Any cocked die on the table will be re-rolled, and any die that falls off the table will be rerolled.
3. Characters that gain a level should be leveled up the the time the game session starts at 7:00 pm, and if they aren't ready to go, the character will remain at their current level until such time as the player has time to level the character up (minor adjustments, like not knowing how many hit points were gained at a given level, don't take up a significant amount of time, but choosing feats, spending skill points, and choosing new spells at a new level do take up time).
4.Unidentified items will be handed out as Item Cards until they are identified. If the item in question is consumable (such as a wand, with a set number of charges, or a scroll or a potion), the player will keep the card until it is used up to remind them of what they have in their inventory. Once a non-consumable item is identified, or a consumable item is used up, the Item Card is turned back in to the DM.
Thanks in advance all.
I like it. A few I use already, a few more I probably should... I like the idea of having a preprepared scenario ready to go in case of low group turnout. Perhaps one of the "set pieces" from the upcoming Pathfinder issues?
I plan on using the Pathfinder pregens updated to Pathfinder RPG stats, and some of the shorter Paizo adventures from the Gamemastery line for my "fill in" adventures, and if I run out of shorter Paizo ones, using some of the Sinister indulgences for this as well.
If players don't turn up, do their characters get run as NPCs, or not. If they do get run, do they get full XP??
In my games the answer to the above is no and not appliciable. But each gaming table is different.
Thanks for bringing this up. After trying to rewrite adventures to deal with missing characters for over a year now, and then trying to reinsert said character when the player is available again, I'm thinking that I might add something like this to the table rules:
If the regular campaign progresses, and a player is not available to run their character, that character will still be present, but will be subject to the following rules.
1. They are not targeted for injury, and will not be killed or damaged during the session, unless the rest of the party meets a similar fate.
2. They will provide only passive help, such as aiding another in combat, in defense, or in making skill checks.
The character will recieve normal XP from any encounters, but not roleplaying or story awards that the party may recieve.
I'm still a little iffy on the XP thing. I don't want to give out any, but after seeing the level spread in a party go from 3rd to 5th, I kind of want to keep everything a little closer in scope.
You may not need it for your group or style of play, but how about rules on table-talk, out of character comments and off topic discussions?
Thankfully with my current group that's not too much of a problem. I've got some really good roleplayers that like to stay in character and move the story forward.
The only time I've had a problem with anything like this was when I had 6-8 players including some "guests," and the people waiting for their turns got a little bored and went off on their own tangets for a bit, but even at that, usually once I spoke to their characters "in character" it tended to snap them back into the game a bit more.
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I remember one time I wasn't able to make it on time, due to schedule conflicts with my then-girlfriend, and when I arrived my wizard had somehow broken all of his limbs because he aimlessly walked into a trap while be controlled by the DM. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased at how the DM handled the fact that I was late by lashing out at my D&D character, when I told him I would be late. So, at best avoid situations like that and you'll be fine.
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A few thoughts from a fellow DM:
1. I agree that players who aren't there probably should get XP, but if you limit their contributions, then that should affect the XP that the rest of the party gets. I would suggest counting the absent PC as 1/2 for calculating party XP, and award the absent PC 1/2 XP after calculations.
2. As something that has come up, if you get into "cocked dice", I would suggest leaving no grey area for argument about what is cocked. I used the following rule to much success (a few grumbles, and a few cheers, depending on the reroll):
If a die comes in contact with any object other than a flat surface or if a die rolls off of a flat surface and falls, that die (and each such die) shall be considered interfered with. In the case of rolls calling for multiple dice, these dice may contact eachother as part of the roll. If one or more such dice are interfered with, only the dice that are interfered shall be rerolled.
Works great. Even a simple brush with a pencil, coke can, or PHB calls for a reroll. It sure encourages players to keep the playing area clear of debris. Actually, now that I think about it, we once had a reroll due to potato chip interference.