I am a new DM and am about to start my first campaign. The party is comprised of mostly new players and several, as well as myself, manage chronic illnesses. As such, I want to be welcoming and understanding when it comes to eventual scheduling conflicts. At the same time I want the player's to feel the satisfaction of having earned their levels and experience their characters as much as possible. I fail to see how I could avoid party members leveling up unevenly. Would that be bad? If not, what are things I need to know or take in consideration moving forward once that starts happening?
Do any of you have experience dealing with a similar scenario? Any pointers?
Uneven leveling is prone to a death spiral effect, where someone misses some sessions, winds up behind, and then when they return they have trouble having fun in the game, because they're underpowered for the challenges. This makes them less likely to want to come to game, and thus they wind up even further behind, until eventually they just drop out.
That is what I was thinking as well but though I could mitigate that by running a one on one session with the player to get them up to speed. I know this would mean a bigger time commitment on my part and the player in question may not want or be able to.
As much as I would like every one to level together, it does also feel a bit unfair for those who did the work. It's the balancing act of being fair and, also understanding of events outside of their control.
As much as I would like every one to level together, it does also feel a bit unfair for those who did the work. It's the balancing act of being fair and, also understanding of events outside of their control.
The way I handle this is to ask for players to suspend disbelief a little as we all assume that the character went off and did their own thing. In some cases it's even sparked inspiration in my players. One player came back to the table with the idea that in the woodland they'd seen what looked like an Owlbear nest. They explained that it was a danger to a nearby encampment and with the encampment's help they'd tamed the Owlbear. A lovely little story, but it's a bit like TV and film. We don't always see what the characters are up to 24/7. So, when a player is absent we can assume the player's character is off doing their own thing.
At least that's how I 'explain' the even XP across the party.
Like Plague I don't like level disparities as either a player or DM. As a player I feel like I'm being punished for missing sessions (which would feel even worse if it was due to health reasons) and as a DM it makes planning encounters harder because what is a reasonable challenge for one person might end up deadly for someone who missed a couple. That's why I use milestone levelling and if someone can't make it we all pretend their character just stood at the back and didn't say anything.
Running side sessions for players who missed out is a nice idea but it'll be a bigger work load for you as DM and as you said you've also got a chronic illness it's worth looking realistically at what you can manage and manage consistently
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi
I am a new DM and am about to start my first campaign. The party is comprised of mostly new players and several, as well as myself, manage chronic illnesses. As such, I want to be welcoming and understanding when it comes to eventual scheduling conflicts. At the same time I want the player's to feel the satisfaction of having earned their levels and experience their characters as much as possible. I fail to see how I could avoid party members leveling up unevenly. Would that be bad? If not, what are things I need to know or take in consideration moving forward once that starts happening?
Do any of you have experience dealing with a similar scenario? Any pointers?
Both as player and DM i'm not fond of level disparity among party and much prefer when milestone is used to level up everyone together.
IMHO someone often missing a session or performing action on its own isn't enought to seperate from the group power-wise for better or worse.
Uneven leveling is prone to a death spiral effect, where someone misses some sessions, winds up behind, and then when they return they have trouble having fun in the game, because they're underpowered for the challenges. This makes them less likely to want to come to game, and thus they wind up even further behind, until eventually they just drop out.
That is what I was thinking as well but though I could mitigate that by running a one on one session with the player to get them up to speed. I know this would mean a bigger time commitment on my part and the player in question may not want or be able to.
As much as I would like every one to level together, it does also feel a bit unfair for those who did the work. It's the balancing act of being fair and, also understanding of events outside of their control.
The way I handle this is to ask for players to suspend disbelief a little as we all assume that the character went off and did their own thing. In some cases it's even sparked inspiration in my players. One player came back to the table with the idea that in the woodland they'd seen what looked like an Owlbear nest. They explained that it was a danger to a nearby encampment and with the encampment's help they'd tamed the Owlbear. A lovely little story, but it's a bit like TV and film. We don't always see what the characters are up to 24/7. So, when a player is absent we can assume the player's character is off doing their own thing.
At least that's how I 'explain' the even XP across the party.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
That makes a whole lot of sense, actually. Thanks!
Like Plague I don't like level disparities as either a player or DM. As a player I feel like I'm being punished for missing sessions (which would feel even worse if it was due to health reasons) and as a DM it makes planning encounters harder because what is a reasonable challenge for one person might end up deadly for someone who missed a couple. That's why I use milestone levelling and if someone can't make it we all pretend their character just stood at the back and didn't say anything.
Running side sessions for players who missed out is a nice idea but it'll be a bigger work load for you as DM and as you said you've also got a chronic illness it's worth looking realistically at what you can manage and manage consistently