rpg

In session 0 we set a quorum. "We play if there are at least 2 of 4 players here," for example.

During a session, if some players don't make it, we'll decide on the spot what to do. This is typically either "They take care of some of their own business" or "we play them by committee". Rarely, it's "the GM plays them."

In a recent game of mine, one of the PCs bailed. His character backstory said he owned a small business, and since the session started in a low tension scene, we said he had to go take care of that.

In a game where we picked up in the middle of a fight, we decided to play the wizard by committee. It was a little slower than normal, but it worked. After the fight was over, they didn't do much other than a few committee approved skill checks. I wouldn't typically make big story decisions or put the character in serious danger when the player was absent.

It's also important to set attendance rules. Are you okay with people showing up whenever? Or do you want to set an expectation that people will be there every week barring emergencies? Those are two different, valid, modes. For a game that's trying to have an arc, and not just monster of the week or a dungeon crawl, having players frequently missing can be disruptive. I typically bring that up in session 0, and say that if someone repeatedly misses sessions it might not be the game for them at this time.

These days we have been going by the rule:

• If you are here you have always been here
• If you are not here you have never existed

The people I play with are far too inconsistent and we have to take what we can get. Complicating things too much is just another barrier that we don't need. We do have a decent sized group with a couple of reliable players, so this is probably easier to do with this group than with a smaller one.

Note: We are all pushing 50 and are pretty busy with work and family, which is a big contribution to the flakiness.

There's no easy way out of this, and the older your playerbase gets, the more often it'll happen.

Having more players can give you leeway - I prefer to get a minimum of 4 in possible campaigns to be able to both split tasks and coordinate in case of missing people.

But the key aspect, and the one that will be harder to manage, is to not have a main character; Its easier said than done, as in theory all your players should be main characters, but if you find that a plot point hinges too much on a single person - your example of the King demanding an Orb that's carried by a PC sounds like a key example - then it might be time to reevaluate how you're treating everyone else.

If all your players have spinning plates, someone missing a session will be a lesser deal - all you have to do is go balance another event of the story with the others. But, again, like I've said - easier in theory.

I don't plan for every character to have their personal arc advance every short session. Sometimes it's only main story with perhaps a minor recall/reminder of an earlier point.

I draft the next few plot points for each character by: knowing the What; have a couple of ideas for How; maybe put in a loose relative chronology, but not deciding When.

So I can always throw in another characters What and semi-improvise with their most suitable How. The missed character plot point can happen next time.

Depending on the players and the story: The king wouldn't demand the Orb if the player was unavailable, or another player would magically have had the Orb the whole time, or the king would get upset and the adventures would now be wanted criminals at risk if beheading for refusing to give up the Orb, or the kingdom would fall and the Orb would implode and warp everyone to a separate dimension made of goo.

All my groups are very good at showing up. Sometimes they can only show up online for an irl-table, or half the session, but we make it work.

If I had one be a no-show a lot I would probably suggest they DM a mini-adventure. It might make them more engaged if they're the omniscient role and have to do the planning, or they'll quit, or they'll learn to appreciate the DMs time. Depending on their reason for being unreliable I would perhaps ask them to pause and return when they can prioritize the group more. And I would definitely make their arc detached from the main story and the other characters.

I've only invited people who have enthusiastically agreed to take the time for the campaign, and are proactive in creating their character ahead of time. The players who left so far told us several sessions in advance, so I could weave their personal finale into the story.

Not every group or player is able to do a set schedule, some tables can only book one session at a time. We make that work too.

I am new to running a group but generally i've picked up a couple things:

• One is having a loose schedule, and just scheduling games for days when everyone agrees that they can make it. Don't try to force a weekly schedule or whatever. I'm sure that works for some groups of dedicated nerds, but for most of us this is just one hobby in an array of other hobbies and interests. Better to treat it like a rolling game night, than to treat it like weekly band practice.
• The other is dividing your crew into "core cast" and "guest roles". Some players are just more flaky or less dedicated than others. Your "guest roles" need to have a good narrative reason why they are in-and-out. I think i'm having an easier time with this because my game is Blades in the Dark, where the party is a gang of scoundrels. Scores usually start and end within a single session, so it is easy to write around a scoundrel or two that is only available for some missions. When they are gone, they are off on other solo missions, or they are indulging their vice or whatever. I understand that this is more challenging if you are playing an RPG with multi-session dungeon crawls. Maybe the character chose to take an alternate route through the dungeon, or they were knocked out or something?

Do you just ignore the fact that the PC carrying the magical Orb of Whatsit is off on holiday when the king demands the Orb to save the kingdom?

I think a key part of this is not giving key items to guest role characters.

In my most recent game, we started joking about all of the players inadvertently having come under a curse where they randomly become cardboard cutouts of themselves. It's created some really funny moments -- "Oh! It's raining! Kolton is going to get wet!" Or opens the trunk "holy hells! I forgot Laios was folded up back here. Hey buddy, don't mind these potions." Closes the trunk

But in other games, yeah, we don't usually name where the player has gone. It's just a moment of them being sorta there but quiet.

Overbook the session with like 5 players so even if 2 are missing, they're still 3.

Accept that character may disappear, sometimes you'll find role-play reason Being stuck with paperwork, family, duty sometimes you don't (But there is a kind of acceptance in not challenging why suddenly a PC disappeared in the middle of a dungeon when they're player isn't here)