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Greetings.
One of my players who has been absent for quite some time due to some RL priorities, has indicated he will be rejoining our group.
The catch is he is 4th level, while the rest of the PCs are 6th level.
Two levels isn't all that horrible, but I am seeking ways to do this as gracefully as possible.
The current plan is to run one-offs with him on a separate game day while the party is involved in other matters. The PC is a wizard, so I will focus on various interactions, skill challenges, riddles, etc as much as possible. While some combat may take place, I am trying to avoid as much of it as possible.
Therefore, I call upon the sage wisdom of the assembled GMs out there! What sorts of neat things have you done to catch a player up to the rest of the group?
Thanks,
K
Edited because I completely misread the OP! Those are good ideas, I think. I think it's also possible to include some situations in a school setting some of some sort. I mean, a wizard would continue learning, and spending time with a teacher (or spending time teaching!) could definitely contribute some interesting ideas.
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You seem like you are on track as far as how to run solo stuff... I run a campaign of only 2 players right now, and I simply give them NPCs to run with as well. You could likely have him lead a squad (2-3)of low level warriors if there is a combat to be had, especially if it makes sense with your solo interactions. More than anything, his solos missions should be fun, affect the story in some way, and could include one or two of your other players that could make it (to run the low level allies).
Also, if time becomes an issue, there is always GM Fiat.
However, check out Cipactli's Maw
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Do away with XP entirely. Just tell the players when they level up based on when it's relevant in the story.
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I run group exp, if someone does something cool and worth exp... everyone benefits, it encourages them to support one another and not try to 'be the first' or such. Should someone miss sessions we come up with what they were doing ICly and they'll probably relate it to the rest as they rejoin but they'll all still have the same exp, missed sessions or not.
While the above are all good options, you realize that the characters sort of level themselves out anyway? When the higher level players are 7th, he will be six. They will actually all be 8 at the same time. Lower level players reap the benefit of higher exp kills when his party at a higher level than he is.
Not sure what would match your campaign story or setting. Perhaps his character was away helping with security for a caravan? Or a mystery, a mystery could be fun. My concern is that if you don't let him get some help from some NPC, you will need to tailor the adventure very closely to the character. What skills is he good at? I assume he's somewhat decent at most of the class int skills. Maybe he could realize an item has been replaced by a fake and go find it?
I love riddles, as far as that goes, but I feel that sort of thing can be hard to pick up on. You think you got a decently vague message, but then PCs guess all kinds of interpretations, that to them seem perfectly valid.
I had a wizard, and he was hired to identify objects, one of which had an extra dimensional space to explore. Still had a decent amount of combat in it, as things kept popping out of it.
As far as having fun goes, I think the most important thing is that you are both excited about what's going to happen.
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Seriously separately tracked XP is nothing but trouble.
He had RL priorities that took precedence over the game. He missed out on (quite a few, given the level gap) nights of gaming with his friends.
Consider it time served, bump him up to 6th and call it a day.
Easier on everybody.
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Just one reason I stopped using XP. If someone misses a session I figure that's punishment enough already. If the party levels up, everyone levels up.
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Yeah, what Dragon said. The point of the game is to hang out with friends doing something fun. Don't let tracking xp get in the way of that. I think tracking xp is fun because it's fun to see your character getting closer to the next level, but I much prefer it as a tool of reward than as a tool of punishment. Use it for the one, ignore it for the other.
I've always considered revolving schedules to be an opportunity to get a little extra gaming in by catching PCs up to one-another.
As some have mentioned, you could send some NPCs along with the PC to aid him in the more perilous moments. One thing I have done in the past is to ask one or two of the other players to run the NPCs, or even to make up "disposable" side characters, to help out.
Concentrating on a single character for a short time is a different dynamic that can really inspire the way you think and work as a GM.
The OP seems happy and willing to run this side thing for his player. You guys are squatting all over it like he should consider it a chore.
Ironic that your reasoning is that he should be having fun, "instead."
Seems like having fun was what he was trying to do in the first place.
Some of us like to run side adventures.
He wanted ways to "do this as gracefully as possible" ("this" meaning the level gap).
The most graceful way to do so, in my eyes, is to just ignore it. =)
That's the simplest way, yes. But "simple" does not necessarily equate to "graceful."
"Graceful" has a lot of meanings, including being generous, kind, polite, virtuous, or even providing a favor.
I've been running a large Rise of the Rune Lords campaign through work with 2 lunch sessions and one night session, so players have been coming and going but largely not of their own free will. I just say they were off doing something comparably heroic, and their xp has kept pace.
The trade off, of course, is they don't have any of the treasure, stories, or local glory that the conquering heroes have. ;)
Ultimate Campaing's gaining XP downtime option solves this problem
Just give him the XP. He's already been punished enough ... he hasn't gotten to play. Or just lose XP, make everybody the same level, and level them up simultaneously when you want to.
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I've stopped assigning (individual) XP for some time now, doing level ups when I see fit and everybody seems happy with that.
I've also more than once witnessed (as a player) how a gap of 2 levels ruins the game: the lower-level PC is on the verge of being killed by a typical (APL) encounter while the higher-level PCs are bored to death due to too easy challenges--this is especially a problem if the player of lower level is of a martial type.
On the other hand I've heard players complain about easy XP with no risk attached.
So, while I would fully agree to what people said (make him lvl 6 and move on with the fun), I'd suggest talking to the rest of your players, too, asking them what they think (and explain your thinking behind either way of dealing with the situation).
Ruyan.
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I just do group XP. RL comes before the game, so I don't want to penalize someone for being responsible. Even if they no call/no show they still get XP, BUT they may be looking for a new group if that happens too many times.
I'd have to agree on bumping him up to the same level as the rest of the party. In my experience, separately tracking XP, gold, and everything else tends to cause far more problems than it's worth.
On top of the encounter balance issues, keeping things relatively equal avoids any issues like accusations of favoritism or players feeling like they're being punished for missing game sessions due to RL obligations. To bring up an actual example I had to deal with once, some players will get seriously pissed if you tell them their character's going to be half a level behind the rest of the party because the player decided that going to his mother's funeral was more important than game night. Same thing for other obligations like work, kids, etc.
Another thing worth mentioning, when it comes to bringing back a player who's got a busy schedule and not much gaming time, telling him he'll be stuck playing a weak character is the kind of thing that makes some players consider not coming back. It'll vary substantially depending on the person/group, but a lot of people have less fun when they feel like the weak link of the party.
All that said, if the GM and Player both want to bring the character up to par with the rest of the party by doing a solo adventure rather than just saying he's equal already, I see no harm in it. Either way, the player remains on par with everyone else, and that's what matters.
Do away with XP entirely. Just tell the players when they level up based on when it's relevant in the story.
Oh God. You're a Blessed Hero! :)
I do that from my very start of DMing. Never assigned XP, so never bother with them.And, en passant, you have the same nick of someone on the midnight forum.
Back in topic (sorry for the digression, but I'm a strong supporter of XP ban - hey, pathfinder removed the xp cost, yay!), if you don't have time, and if you can't find a day to make this solitary session, I suggest that the player should describe how and what his wiz has done meanwhile, a sort of "background appendix", maybe it return with a plot hook in the game. You just need to say him where you want he is when his appendix ends, and maybe a brief summary of relevant events of the party, just to be sure that they don't overlap. What fo you think about that?
As mentioned above there is a system for catching up on XP built into the rules of the game. For every day a character is away they can earn their equivalent level in CR exp.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/downtime#TOC-Earn-XP
Calculate how much time they've been away from the party and allocate exp (in most cases it's enough to level them even anyway) then you can also work out if they have enough time to craft, work and other things.
If you and he want to run single sessions, thats fine....I would make them tie into the story and maybe meet up with his "Old adventuring friends" in an actual dungeon.
If solo sessions don't cut it, make him 6th level and run into the group in a dungeon, town, brothel....anything really.
We use the idea of party XP over individual XP. Everyone has the same regardless of the situation in game or out. It is much fairer.
I agree, catch him up by just giving him the XP. If you both have the time and inclination for solo adventures, go for it, but it might make the other players a bit jealous; they might want some solo time too. In fact, it might, almost, look a bit like you're punishing them for being at all the sessions (or favoring the other guy for missing sessions). Not really, but maybe someone could take it that way.
You really don't need to catch him up at all. He's what, about 15,000-20,000 XP behind the others? No problem. By the time the rest of the group is halfway through 9th level, he'll be, well, 9th level too. He'll pretty much catch up just by playing the game. This is because the XP is exponential-ish; a 20k gap right now seems big, but a 20k gap later in the exponential progression will be trivial.
Heck, when the rest of the group has 4,000,000 XP and this one guy has 3,980,000 XP, they'll all be 20th level anyways.
(assuming medium XP track).
Another vote for just leveling him, the penalty for missing a game is you don't get to drive the story or party actions.
On the other hand, if both have time for extra games then, game away, let others try out alts if he needs backup.
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If player and GM are up for it, and can schedule some solo games, I don't see a problem.
Whether that be solo play, with a group of GM-run NPCs, or with NPCs run by the player, it will be a different dynamic, and stretch some aspects the PC doesn't get to use in a group game.
A PC who lets the party face do all the talking will find themselves being responsible for negotiating. A character who stands back as healer, buffer or artillery, may have to lead from the front for a change.
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The OP seems happy and willing to run this side thing for his player. You guys are squatting all over it like he should consider it a chore.
Ironic that your reasoning is that he should be having fun, "instead."
Seems like having fun was what he was trying to do in the first place.
Some of us like to run side adventures.
There's been another thread recently that got heated, where the consensus of many was that it wasn't possible for anyone to have valid reasons to miss a session, and even if they did, they should take their punishment.
Maybe it's fall out from that.This GM seems to be from a different mould, they start by acknowledging the player had unavoidable issues, and ask how can they help them.
The GM taking some time to give the player some solo sessions seems a nice way to do that.
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As GM, I LOVE running side games, and my party LOVES tracking experience, even if they're behind. Part of the whole psychological "reward" aspect, methinks.
Kryptik, I think you should ask the player if he wants to play some side sessions and, if not, ask if he's okay being a few levels behind (Pathfinder's experience point system allows lower level characters to catch up easier). As GM, you can design and control encounters that are a little softer on him, especially for a wizard.
My players were cool with that when two new guys jumped in at level 2 while everyone else was levels 4-5. And I think I handled the encounters/combat effectively.
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I've been part of games that ran XP individually, some that removed XP entirely, and some that ran it as Group XP. Personally, I like the Group XP the best. Nobody is punished if they miss a session, and the party still gets to keep track and if they do something interesting, could get some bonus XP.
So to the OP, I'd recommend just bumping them up to 6th, no harm no foul. And, consider going a group XP method.
If you don't want to run a one-player round, I would simply write down a nice story what the character did during this time. You can work out something intressting together with the player, nothing to big/heroic, but maybe something which fit in your campaign or even bring them further.
Then level him up to the parties level.
Example:
The group is working for a curch against an evil cult. While the main group defended some temples the lonely character was sent to a secret mission to scout one of the evil cults main temples.
Once he's back the now reunited group is sent to this temple to bring it down.
Another vote for handwavium.
He returns to the party, hes been away handling somethign in his hometown. Orc invasion or something. He's back and the same level as everybody else.
If you really want to you could have him do a solo adventure, but I feel like it just takes up more of your time as a GM that could be better spent providing game time for everyone rather than just one person.
BAM he's 6th level now.
If you don't want to run a one-player round, I would simply write down a nice story what the character did during this time. You can work out something intressting together with the player, nothing to big/heroic, but maybe something which fit in your campaign or even bring them further.
Then level him up to the parties level.Example:
The group is working for a curch against an evil cult. While the main group defended some temples the lonely character was sent to a secret mission to scout one of the evil cults main temples.
Once he's back the now reunited group is sent to this temple to bring it down.
Something like this. If you want to get him leveled up, just give him the xp. This isnt a computer game where you HAVE to go through the motions of leveling up. If you as the DM want him at the same level as the rest of the party, poof, he is. Done and done. Coming up with a story for his absense is an excellent idea to keep things coherent in game, but unless you really want to, theres no reason to run side quests to 'catch him up'.
I started doing something more player-centric for experience in my games. I let the PLAYERS decide when they want to level up. I told them they vote at the end of each session and the majority wins out so with 6 players they need at least 4 voting for the level up.
I know some people think this might be silly, but hear me out. My players are all very mature and not power-gamers in any sense of the word so they usually level themselves up every 2-4 sessions. We game 2x/month for 6 hours each session so they level up every month to month and a half and I don't have to keep track of any experience points or tell people that they are missing xp if they miss a session.
To me it's all the same, I can run a level 1 campaign for 10 weeks or run a fast paced campaign that hits level 10 in 10 weeks, it's no more work for me other than to make sure the CR of the encounters is set up correctly for the group.
I'd probably "abuse" this a bit.
I HATE levels 1-3 so I'd probably be like "Hey let's level" every session until we hit 4th.
Which really is more of a ringing endorsement for that method than anything.
I'd probably "abuse" this a bit.
I HATE levels 1-3 so I'd probably be like "Hey let's level" every session until we hit 4th.
Which really is more of a ringing endorsement for that method than anything.
My player seem to be enjoying it. A tied vote of 3-3 fails and they stay their current level, everyone has equal voting and they will discuss whether they think they "deserve it" or not. It makes me sit back and chuckle a little bit as they argue the merits of leveling up or staying their current level for another session.
Do away with XP entirely. Just tell the players when they level up based on when it's relevant in the story.
Right. Skip Eps, level everyone at certain points where they’re or not.
My player seem to be enjoying it. A tied vote of 3-3 fails and they stay their current level, everyone has equal voting and they will discuss whether they think they "deserve it" or not. It makes me sit back and chuckle a little bit as they argue the merits of leveling up or staying their current level for another session.
Wow, I really like that :) It's sorta like... the equivalent of changing the difficulty level on a computer game to ensure you're having fun :)
Wow, I really like that :) It's sorta like... the equivalent of changing the difficulty level on a computer game to ensure you're having fun :)
My player seem to be enjoying it. A tied vote of 3-3 fails and they stay their current level, everyone has equal voting and they will discuss whether they think they "deserve it" or not. It makes me sit back and chuckle a little bit as they argue the merits of leveling up or staying their current level for another session.
It really keeps things interesting I think. It puts the ball in the players' court to decide what they want to do. All I do is tweak the encounters and treasure at that point without having to worry about how to award XP or when "I" think it's time to level them up. Really, it comes down to them having fun and if my players have fun leveling fast that's up to them or if they rather take a long leisurely stroll through a few levels, that's perfectly fine as well. Less stress for me!