The Game Must Go On
One of the biggest obstacles for any long-running RPG campaign is scheduling. I’ve written before about the importance of scheduling even if we’re not sure what we’re actually going to run. But there’s another issue which can stop us from playing: absent players. If we wait for every player to be available, we’ll play far less often. Instead, I run the game as long as at least three players can make it. To support this, we can also introduce on-call players who only step in when others are absent.
What to Do with Absent Player Characters?
The simplest, default solution is to let the character fade into the background. We don’t explain it; we just don’t worry about it. This keeps things flexible and avoids convoluted justifications when the player returns.
But sometimes, we might want to integrate a story-driven reason for the character’s disappearance and reappearance. Here are ten fun, in-game explanations for a suddenly absent character:
- Taken by a god
- Caught between planes of existence
- Teleported to the Ethereal Plane
- Locked inside an oil lamp
- Turned into radiant light
- Transformed into shadows
- Transmutes into a small beast
- Absorbed by a tree
- Summoned by a fiend
- Sucked through a portal into the Far Realm
We can even use one of these in-game explanations to establish a consistent explanation for the infrequent appearances of the characters of on-call players. Maybe an entity beyond mortal understanding keeps pulling them away or a magical artifact randomly shifts them between planes of existence.
The Best Option? Make It an Adventure Hook!
The coolest approach is turning a missing PC into an adventure hook. Maybe the party needs to rescue them, solve the mystery of their disappearance, or retrieve them from a prison dimension. This keeps the absent player’s character relevant and adds excitement for when they return.
Final Thoughts
The game must go on—don’t cancel just because someone is missing. Don’t stress over absent PCs. Their player isn’t there to care, so focus on making the session great for those who are present. If it fits, use an in-world story reason for their absence and return. Keep the momentum going, and keep the game alive!
