A topic surfaced from our recent session where the few players in attendance all ALMOST died. We have more than the average player number in our group and we have a blanket rule that the session continues if less then half the players can't make it. How would you handle the situation of a TPK involving the PCs in attendance if there were players/PCs away? This is just for interest's sake.

Edit for exact clarity: 7 players, 4 are present for a TPK, 3 are not present and therefore still alive. We've discussed it as a group regarding the what if and come to a conclusion/decision, Im wondering how YOU would handle it.

I would ask them about it, not the forums. We can't decide what they're fine with.

Quote from WoobyDoobyDoo >>

I would ask them about it, not the forums. We can't decide what they're fine with.

 I already have. Im curious how others would handle it.

Can you clarify what it is you’re asking? I’m not sure what there is to handle. Either the absent players’ characters were there and also died, or they weren’t and they didn’t.

Quote from SagaTympana >>

Can you clarify what it is you’re asking? I’m not sure what there is to handle. Either the absent players’ characters were there and also died, or they weren’t and they didn’t.

 Not there so they don't die.

I will said that the player didn't attend today will not join the adventure, the character might when to do some personal things and left the party temporary. I only TPK current in-game party member only.

If they were not present I don't see why their characters would have died.

Again - it all depends on what you've negotiated with your Players has to how absent Players' Characters are run. If you haven't negotiated that out, do so.

In my case it differed from Player to Player. Some Characters just wandered off camera when their Players are not there. Some were run as "henchmen" by close friends or family members who were present.

I don't have any qualms about killing off a Character that is "in play", but it is absolutely critical that the Players know and accept that risk when they decide to keep their Character in the game when they are not present. If that's an unacceptable risk, we walk the Characters out of the scene when the Player isn't there.

I believe that Matt Colville talks about a situation like that in one of his videos where he got one of this friend's Paladin killed - but since the Paladin died doing exactly what he would have done if Matt's friend had been running him, his friend had no issues with that.

Quote from Vedexent >>

Again - it all depends on what you've negotiated with your Players has to how absent Players' Characters are run. If you haven't negotiated that out, do so.

In my case it differed from Player to Player. Some Characters just wandered off camera when their Players are not there. Some were run as "henchmen" by close friends or family members who were present.

I don't have any qualms about killing off a Character that is "in play", but it is absolutely critical that the Players know and accept that risk when they decide to keep their Character in the game when they are not present. If that's an unacceptable risk, we walk the Characters out of the scene when the Player isn't there.

I believe that Matt Colville talks about a situation like that in one of his videos where he got one of this friend's Paladin killed - but since the Paladin died doing exactly what he would have done if Matt's friend had been running him, his friend had no issues with that.

 This is what I was talking about! Excellent.

That sounds clean and clear for sure. I like it, thanks! We have put in place something similar.

It definitely does get a little sticky if the PC is there but being run by someone other than the PC's player. Matt got lucky in the quoted example that he did what his friend thought was the right thing. But that's not always the case and so we need to make sure these things are discussed ahead of time. We don't want player A thinking "my character is dead because Player B did something dumb that I wouldn't have done in that situation."

However, for a TPK, it's hard to see how someone could realistically object. I mean you could maybe reason that if you had been there the TPK would not have happened but that... is highly unlikely in most circumstances.

That is indeed a risk. So much so, that if I were a Player who was being asked to run someone else's Character for them, I'd have to give that a bit of careful thought.

In case of a TPK where the PC of the absent player is either away or controled by someone else, i would try to spin it in a way to make that PC survive. Like he could have been away collecting berries or he was in the fight got beaten down and „successfully“ made his death saves. Now he is alone in prison or injured in the wilderness and he becomes the tie in for the new PCs into the storry.

For me, it would really depend on the circumstances.  The survivors may need to go on a quick quest to bring them back (find themselves a local “Miracle Max”).  Or the players whose PCs died make new characters one level higher than those who survived.

TPK: Total Party Kill

I don't think there will be any survivor 

Quote from Spikepit >>

A topic surfaced from our recent session where the few players in attendance all ALMOST died. We have more than the average player number in our group and we have a blanket rule that the session continues if less then half the players can't make it. How would you handle the situation of a TPK involving the PCs in attendance if there were players/PCs away? This is just for interest's sake.

Edit for exact clarity: 7 players, 4 are present for a TPK, 3 are not present and therefore still alive. We've discussed it as a group regarding the what if and come to a conclusion/decision, Im wondering how YOU would handle it.

 The same thing happened to me, I killed them and told them how they died and said that they could continue or leave

Quote from Bhuraelea >>

In case of a TPK where the PC of the absent player is either away or controled by someone else, i would try to spin it in a way to make that PC survive. Like he could have been away collecting berries or he was in the fight got beaten down and „successfully“ made his death saves. Now he is alone in prison or injured in the wilderness and he becomes the tie in for the new PCs into the storry.

 Yes thats the avenue we've gone with. Just for even further context into my/our personal situation, if a player is not there then the PC is not there (they get written out of that particular session with some loose narrative deus ex machina that every on accepts regardless of how ridiculous it is haha). If the PCs present die, the next session will be a jail break, soul salvage or high level cleric/druid search when they find the bodies. The PCless players control NPC hirelings to still be involved with the retrieval of their own PCs...

... THEN I'll TPK them properly lol 

As others have said,  think unless they were being played by you (DM) or another player, they’re still good. Plus maybe they begin by recruiting new members to recover the bodies of their companions before perhaps continuing on with previous assignment/quest.....

Quote from callmeLothar >>

... maybe they begin by recruiting new members to recover the bodies of their companions before perhaps continuing on with previous assignment/quest.....

 Word. This is essentially what we've decided.