Weekly game happened last night (hooray, see below for “spoilers”) and I had a new player and a missing player. Traditionally when this happens I’ll let the new player take control of the missing players PC. There are a lot of circumstantial issues around this; are the PCs in a spot were it’s OK to introduce a new character? Is this just a one-time thing, friend visiting, guest of current player, etc. How important or central is the PC to the campaign? How “hard” is the PC to play (this was a 5e Monk – not an easy class to just jump into – but it was the only real option).
In this case, I had the son of a current player who may be joining us over the summer, and the missing player is often gone because of work travel. Both folks know each other, and I didn’t see any issues. Besides I can count on the group to regulate any actions outside the norm.
As long as nothing goes too sideways during play, I always enjoy seeing how a different player interprets an existing PC. In this case some of the standard monk features drive you to play a certain way. Having great speed and dexterity led to chasing down of monsters. Ki powers relating to the environment were used in a little more creative manner, but that could have been circumstantial. There was a definite change in tactics, and exploration. I tossed out a hook to explore on his own and it was immediately taken. Next week will be interesting when he finds himself “out of position”.
OK, notes from the last gaming session – Searching for Maccath – Spoilers!
Wait – shameless plug. One of my players has a Kickstarter – Analog Gaming
It’s a documentary about Game Design and Kickstarter projects. If you like either or both, consider backing – I did.
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My “wander off on his own” player was missing this session, so the focus was on the group in the treasure/trophy chamber with the ship. The chamber is so big that the party divided into three groups. Thief and cleric (pirate) went directly to the ship. Dwarf wizard was in-between ship and entrance. Barbarian and monk were at the door. Started with initiative because the monk made a great perception check and noticed the sound of heavy footsteps coming their way. In the meantime, the thief and cleric were filling their pockets from the treasure on the ship. As soon as they realized trolls were on the way, they thought about firing the cannons on the ship (of course they work – awesome), but thought better about the noise and damage (darn it). Battle ensued with one troll running away after a round, and the other standing its ground. The monk chased the runner (see above – hah!) and some awesome hilarious ice capades happened. The other troll eventually tried to get away, but too late and was killed by the barbarian and the wizard/burninator.
As the rest of the party noticed that the monk was gone they went after him. I almost got the barbarian to go back after the goblins that were trapped in ice last session, but the rest of the party talked him out of it. Following the monk, they found the chamber of Maccath, who didn’t really seem that pleased to see them. Maybe it was the troll that ambushed the barbarian or the pair of goblins that refuse to leave her side.
In the meantime, the monk found an Ice Toad that was taking notes and followed him to a group of toads. Since he didn’t speak toad, or draconic, or giant, and the toads didn’t speak common or elven some hilarity ensued before the toads convinced him to follow them. Just as they started moving a pair of trolls came down the hall. The toads gathered around their new “friend” and the trolls ignored the monk and kept going to take care of some “intruders”.
Next week should be fun.
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