Just tonight I had the second adventure in our campaign all mapped out. I had the NPCs, their ideals, the monsters, the cities, the maps, etc. I had fleshed out every conceivable option the PCs could think of.
Then one of my players cancelled last minute. Not his fault at all, priorities beckoned. Keep in mind, I'm running a very small game with 3 people brand new to RPGs and D&D.
So what was I do to?
I could've run the adventure without him, but then it's two PCs who are level 1 by the way and haven't gotten the full swing of it yet. The encounters I had planned would completely have to be shifted in order to accommodate their missing barbarian. We just have a rogue and a bard, it's not looking good for our heroes.
So instead, I looked up a couple of fun monsters with some sort of theme between them, made a quick 5 room dungeon with a trap and puzzle or two, and designed a "boss" for them to fight. I then added an NPC to fight alongside them which turned out to be super helpful because this dungeon and world weren't as fleshed out. When they asked to roll perception, I didn't have a DC in mind or really what the room's details were. The NPC could answer the questions the players were asking me, the DM. I made this "mission" a prequel to the current campaign. This worked out great because these particular two characters knew each other from a prior adventure. So I just made this the adventure so I didn't have to stretch their imaginations too far... at least yet. I love tweaking monsters and villains, so I took a chuul, a cloaker, and a flesh golem... degraded them down to a level 1 type difficulty level and we went at it. It was pretty lowbrow dungeon crawling, but we had a great time. And the two players who came had a great time. They're learning quickly how to interact with the made-up world. I rewarded them with very simple magical items and some gold. They loved that. The rogue who ran over to the treasure first actually kept a little extra for himself. I loved that he was getting in his character. The person playing the rogue is such a good guy, he'd never dream of that.
What are other ideas and things you'd do as the DM when a player or two can't make your game last minute?
(In this scenario, my other two friends were at my house ready to go when we got the dreaded text, "I'm sorry but....")
This situation sucks, but one thing you can do to make life a little easier on yourself is to always have a one-shot adventure on standby. I guarantee you'll use it sooner or later.
One of the things I do, especially since I run a group of 6, is to keep in mind character motivations and random encounters with NPCs or Plot characters. I'll have weekends where 2-3 of my players are out due to various life events. Usually I'll know ahead of time, but there are the occasional last minute times.
The group is in the capitol, and they are currently waiting to do a group challenge and I get the phone call/text saying I'm down a few players. Well the group challenge needs to go on the back burner since I'll tpk the 3 players who are present. I have the Bard who's looking for a lost friend, the Monk/Warlock who's trying to figure out why her lineage has been erased from every document, and the Druid who seems to be the only Tiefling on the entire continent and has heard rumors of a sister continent. I have a recurring villain they've met, and they hate him. I have a brother and sister duo that is nothing short of accident prone nuisances. Lastly I have a strange black cloaked figure who seems to have tried to assassinate the Bard.
So I just pick one of those and make it the theme for the night. It takes the world into account, it's still moving even with 3 people missing. It takes the characters and their actions into account, each of those things happened because of, or to them. It also gives a personal shout out to the people who made it, giving them a chance to play out something that would otherwise be in limbo until the current group event is completed.
If, however, the current goal of the party would not prove very challenging, I'll just keep moving the story forward. The missing player(s) can be brought up to speed. Their character is managed by the whole table in a "what do we want him/her to do?" manner. It keeps the game smooth, and doesn't drag everything to a halt if we're only down 1 or 2 people.
I like that very much. I have a sheet of notes regarding my characters' backstories and accompanying factions and NPCs. I want to weave them in and make it more interesting. I like it because two of my players, a kenku rogue and a tiefling bard, were fairly upfront about their backstories because its their first time. They didn't take into account that this is a long game and they aren't obligated to reveal anything. The firbolg barbarian just straight up gives his appearance and his name and that was it. The other players' reactions were priceless, their jaws dropped.
So I can't wait to weave their pasts into the story. I feel it makes the game more personal to them and more 'real' to their characters as well. How do you do it though?
I enjoy the idea of maybe a fear or past trauma can give the character a brief and sudden flashback, nightmare, or something of the like. Perhaps an NPC from their prior faction or family comes into the picture. They can be friendly or villainous. You could do it in front of the other players, or as we've seen on Critical Role, you could make that information privy to only the character in question.
With new players, even something as basic as a "white room" combat can be a helpful learning tool for when plans fall through like this. It sounds like things turned out for the best!
So I can't wait to weave their pasts into the story. I feel it makes the game more personal to them and more 'real' to their characters as well. How do you do it though?
I'll give you an example from my home game:
One of my players learned that even though she was raised in an orphanage, she is not an orphan. Her parents were actually cartographers who were out mapping the continent. At the same time she started having memories of a terrible accident her brother had. She had witnessed, as a very young child, her brother being killed by a demon he had tried to summon in a ritual circle.
Fast forward to about a month's worth of game play: She finds her mother. She is dead, in a town run by a thieves guild lead by a were-rat. They found her in a mansion that was housing a lone child, his mother which was possessed by a shadow demon, and a handful of undead critters. Entering the mansion, they were met by a dark shadow which taunted her, even calling her by name. When they cleared the town and had time to investigate her mother's body, they found a scroll case which had the eastern coast mapped out. On it's back was the family name, and both her mother's and father's name. She took the necklace off her mother, and they hunted for her father, but found nothing, and no indication of where he may have gone.
It's been close to a year of actual game play since that happened, and she (the player) still brings up trying to find her father. The group talks about going back to visit the child and his mother (they saved her). As well one of my other players started a personal journey (based on back story) as they were half way done clearing the city, and completely changed how she plays her character.
---
That bit of game play took close to 12 sessions to play out in full, I had other players do things which prompted me to do things that involved their characters as well. However, doing that nod to my player made her so much more invested in both her character and the game. Hopefully it comes as inspiration to you, otherwise, feel free to pm me and I can help you weave a story or two.
That's a very cool backstory and I love how you tied it in. I'm also a fan of were-anythings, so the were-rat is awesome. I have a kenku rogue who because of a heist gone wrong is considered a traitor by most thieves. But his main goal is obtaining either a magic spell or item to grant him flight so he may return to his former glory. I have the tiefling bard with the background of a pirate. Her father was murdered by the captain wizard of the crew to prevent the bard from leaving. But when he confessed this to the bard, she killed him and hasn't returned to the coastlines, moving from farming town to farming town. And finally, a firbolg barbarian who comes from a line of clergymen until some undead killed his family. He raged and vowed to hunt and destroy anything that represents a perversion of nature. He's like a nature loving Van Helsing.
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Just tonight I had the second adventure in our campaign all mapped out. I had the NPCs, their ideals, the monsters, the cities, the maps, etc. I had fleshed out every conceivable option the PCs could think of.
Then one of my players cancelled last minute. Not his fault at all, priorities beckoned. Keep in mind, I'm running a very small game with 3 people brand new to RPGs and D&D.
So what was I do to?
I could've run the adventure without him, but then it's two PCs who are level 1 by the way and haven't gotten the full swing of it yet. The encounters I had planned would completely have to be shifted in order to accommodate their missing barbarian. We just have a rogue and a bard, it's not looking good for our heroes.
So instead, I looked up a couple of fun monsters with some sort of theme between them, made a quick 5 room dungeon with a trap and puzzle or two, and designed a "boss" for them to fight. I then added an NPC to fight alongside them which turned out to be super helpful because this dungeon and world weren't as fleshed out. When they asked to roll perception, I didn't have a DC in mind or really what the room's details were. The NPC could answer the questions the players were asking me, the DM. I made this "mission" a prequel to the current campaign. This worked out great because these particular two characters knew each other from a prior adventure. So I just made this the adventure so I didn't have to stretch their imaginations too far... at least yet. I love tweaking monsters and villains, so I took a chuul, a cloaker, and a flesh golem... degraded them down to a level 1 type difficulty level and we went at it. It was pretty lowbrow dungeon crawling, but we had a great time. And the two players who came had a great time. They're learning quickly how to interact with the made-up world. I rewarded them with very simple magical items and some gold. They loved that. The rogue who ran over to the treasure first actually kept a little extra for himself. I loved that he was getting in his character. The person playing the rogue is such a good guy, he'd never dream of that.
What are other ideas and things you'd do as the DM when a player or two can't make your game last minute?
(In this scenario, my other two friends were at my house ready to go when we got the dreaded text, "I'm sorry but....")
This situation sucks, but one thing you can do to make life a little easier on yourself is to always have a one-shot adventure on standby. I guarantee you'll use it sooner or later.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
That's a really good idea. I need to make up some one-shots. Thanks TexasDevin :)
You're both geniuses, thank you lots. I'll definitely use these tips :D
One of the things I do, especially since I run a group of 6, is to keep in mind character motivations and random encounters with NPCs or Plot characters. I'll have weekends where 2-3 of my players are out due to various life events. Usually I'll know ahead of time, but there are the occasional last minute times.
The group is in the capitol, and they are currently waiting to do a group challenge and I get the phone call/text saying I'm down a few players. Well the group challenge needs to go on the back burner since I'll tpk the 3 players who are present. I have the Bard who's looking for a lost friend, the Monk/Warlock who's trying to figure out why her lineage has been erased from every document, and the Druid who seems to be the only Tiefling on the entire continent and has heard rumors of a sister continent. I have a recurring villain they've met, and they hate him. I have a brother and sister duo that is nothing short of accident prone nuisances. Lastly I have a strange black cloaked figure who seems to have tried to assassinate the Bard.
So I just pick one of those and make it the theme for the night. It takes the world into account, it's still moving even with 3 people missing. It takes the characters and their actions into account, each of those things happened because of, or to them. It also gives a personal shout out to the people who made it, giving them a chance to play out something that would otherwise be in limbo until the current group event is completed.
If, however, the current goal of the party would not prove very challenging, I'll just keep moving the story forward. The missing player(s) can be brought up to speed. Their character is managed by the whole table in a "what do we want him/her to do?" manner. It keeps the game smooth, and doesn't drag everything to a halt if we're only down 1 or 2 people.
I like that very much. I have a sheet of notes regarding my characters' backstories and accompanying factions and NPCs. I want to weave them in and make it more interesting. I like it because two of my players, a kenku rogue and a tiefling bard, were fairly upfront about their backstories because its their first time. They didn't take into account that this is a long game and they aren't obligated to reveal anything. The firbolg barbarian just straight up gives his appearance and his name and that was it. The other players' reactions were priceless, their jaws dropped.
So I can't wait to weave their pasts into the story. I feel it makes the game more personal to them and more 'real' to their characters as well. How do you do it though?
I enjoy the idea of maybe a fear or past trauma can give the character a brief and sudden flashback, nightmare, or something of the like. Perhaps an NPC from their prior faction or family comes into the picture. They can be friendly or villainous. You could do it in front of the other players, or as we've seen on Critical Role, you could make that information privy to only the character in question.
With new players, even something as basic as a "white room" combat can be a helpful learning tool for when plans fall through like this. It sounds like things turned out for the best!
That's a very cool backstory and I love how you tied it in. I'm also a fan of were-anythings, so the were-rat is awesome. I have a kenku rogue who because of a heist gone wrong is considered a traitor by most thieves. But his main goal is obtaining either a magic spell or item to grant him flight so he may return to his former glory. I have the tiefling bard with the background of a pirate. Her father was murdered by the captain wizard of the crew to prevent the bard from leaving. But when he confessed this to the bard, she killed him and hasn't returned to the coastlines, moving from farming town to farming town. And finally, a firbolg barbarian who comes from a line of clergymen until some undead killed his family. He raged and vowed to hunt and destroy anything that represents a perversion of nature. He's like a nature loving Van Helsing.