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If I know in advance that not everyone can make it, I also just don't run, and we reschedule.

A few time, however, someone has come down sick on the day of, or something like that, and I don't like cancelling on everyone else at the last minute, so I have run without the player. In those circumstances, we generally run the missing character as a group, making decisions about what they do based on how the player generally plays the character, and other folks rolling for them when necessary. We also look for logical places that the missing player's character can step out of the action--"watching the ponies" as someone else mentioned up-thread. During those sessions I have not awarded APs when other people roll for the character, but I do give the character the same XPs as everyone else gets.

I came up with a compromise, giving them a slightly reduced number of XP (and, obviously, no AP). I also gave them the chance to pick another Fellowship undertaking to represent what they were up to while the other companions were enjoying the pleasures of the Great Goblin's company. Seemed to work out well!

Waiting's not an option in my group - we have me + 5 players and we play if any 4 can make it on any given night. If we waited, we'd never have left the Gathering of Five Armies!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

Sounds like you came up with a nice solution. Canceling for me is also not an option for the same reason as you. Anyway, the other players would be bummed if I canceled!

To add to the topic, I don't think I've ever given XP for absent characters. Usually, we come up with a reason why the character had to abandon the adventure or not go at all. None of my players have ever wanted someone else to control their character. Wonderfully, The One Ring works really well with varying experience among player-heroes anyway.

That being said, I really like the idea of giving missing members of the company an opportunity to earn XP or even AP prior to their next big adventure. It could be as simple as the Loremaster awarding a set amount of points along with a short narration of what the character did while absent (beyond a Fellowship Phase), or it could be coming up with a way to tie narrative and die rolls together in order to determine the amounts earned and any negative impact as well. I mean if absent player-heroes want XP and AP to keep up, then maybe they should also risk Hope loss, Shadow gain, and Wounds like the other player-heroes. It doesn't have to be too complicated - maybe a simple series of rolls and a table of tiered results...

jamesrbrown wrote:Canceling for me is also not an option for the same reason as you. Anyway, the other players would be bummed if I canceled...

... Although cancelled doesn't necessarily mean not playing - it can be an excuse to dig out something else which is just as much fun.

Rich H wrote:... Although cancelled doesn't necessarily mean not playing - it can be an excuse to dig out something else which is just as much fun.

What?!?! There is NOTHING else as fun as The One Ring!

jamesrbrown wrote:

Rich H wrote:... Although cancelled doesn't necessarily mean not playing - it can be an excuse to dig out something else which is just as much fun.

What?!?! There is NOTHING else as fun as The One Ring!

<GULP> I've been rumbled!



... Although you could be right.