Ever shown "mercy" to a PC due to RL reasons?

[garhkal]

Say you get your group together for their reg scheduled game, but as they are all gathering you find out why one is being a little "Down".. Maybe he found out one of his relatives is mortally sick, or died recently (etc)..

Do you go easy on his character, so you don't make his obvious 'down in the dumps" feelings worse?>?

If so, why?

If so, what is the limit of "down in the dumps" reasons you would accept to show said mercy?
EG only for death in family or immediate family member sick?
Any family member death/sick?
Broke up with GF/BF??

I am bringing this here as it was brought up on an ADND related forum i visit (Dragonsfoot) and that thread got locked for some "heated aspects of it i was party to"..
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Rerun941]

[Guardian_A]

I dont know what "Going easy" on the character is the right way to put it in my case. If I have subject matter "In game" that is similar to the player's sensitive real life issues, then I'll usually send the characters off on an unexpected side quest for a week or two. If not, then we play like we usually do. After all, for a lot of our players, gaming is a way to get away from real life for a little while, so allowing real life issues to affect the game just makes the gaming experience seem hollow.

Rerun941 has a good point. Its always nice when you can find ways to make your player's characters shine. But if one player is having a particularly bad week, there isnt anything wrong with giving that persons character a little extra time in the spotlight.

[Bren]

[garhkal]

Like would baddies ignore him, shoot more on stun instead of kill. Fudge dice so he won't die..
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Guardian_A]

[Bren]

[MacRauri]

I wound up backing off and going easy on a player recently, but not for anything that was happening outside of the game. I got my D&D group to give d6 a try starting in the summer (they love it) but they still need to get used to some things.

Basically what happened was that this player decided his character was going to end his business arrangement cordially with the other players and walk away. When he did so the villain’s agent caught up with him and starting asking questions about the Jedi on this ship. The player decided to talk. Given what he had said the villain had everything he needed to stop the Jedi--an NPC, but teacher to one of the players...actually the player in question’s daughter.

So the session ended and I was left trying to figure out where in the world the next one would start up. Normally I would absolutely punish such behavior by allowing it to occur and having the other players deal with the consequences of the rogue player’s actions (I understand not all people enjoy playing this way). About a week later I asked the father what he wanted to do with his character and he said there were two paths and he actually does need to keep playing with the others in the future so he would do a 180 and try to warn/rescue the group. Except he had already told the Empire everything they needed. I would have been perfectly happy to have the ship interdicted, force the PCs to space the Jedi and then invite them to the villain’s palace for tea and krumpits. Except this isn’t the end of our campaign and the daughter needs to advance her character and I’m not going to invent more force sensitive people in my campaign setting simply because her father killed the last one.

So I beat my villains over the head with the idiot-stick so the players could all get back together and have a reason to stick together in the future. I guess I’m ok with the outcome, but if it cycles back to me running a 2nd campaign things will be different.

[mdlake]

I don't. Not because it would be wrong, but because my players--and, I think, most players--wouldn't find it a morale booster. If the gaming table is our escape from the buffeting of life, they're going to want to immerse themselves for a few hours in a game that's just like every other night, only moreso.

In principle, I embrace the idea of making that PC shine for the night, but in practice, I'm already doing that as best I can. We might get lucky and inspiration might strike, but shifting gears like that on the fly in a way that's more dramatically satisfying than the standing plan is tough, especially with a set of players (such as mine) who demand a loose leash.

What I will do is cut some slack for a player who's physically or emotionally under the weather to the extent that he isn't going to play well that night anyway, but who shows up out of a sense of duty. Not that the bad guys shoot at -1d, but the camera tends to mercifully glide past him when possible. Hard to feel like a hero when you're fumbling for ideas, forgetting the password, zoning out in exposition scenes, and otherwise not on your A-game.

[Bren]

[Urban Spaceman]

One of my players recently got the all-clear after her cancer treatment. We play at her house, and she's really enjoyed the gathering together and gaming, as it helped take her mind off everything she's been through for the last year or so.

I didn't take things easy on her, but I also made sure I didn't put her under any undue pressure, or punish her too hard for lapses in concentration. "Secret rolls" for her remembering information, or thinking of a potential solution/problem seemed to work fine.

When it comes to combat, for example, that's trickier to deal with. A really bad roll on the players part is difficult (but not impossible) to deal with. I usually make my combat rolls secretly, but wouldn't want to give someone a break too often. However, I did try to ensure that I wasn't overly harsh with Wild Die Complications (it's easy to do something for the amusement of the group, but if someone is having a tough time in real life, they might not see the funny side).

Really, I guess you need to use your own judgement and give thought to it. Good luck.
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"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

[ZzaphodD]

Some players take hardships better, or might even get a good time out of it. Some are focused on how 'good' their PCs are doing, and only have a good time while things are more or less going their way... Perhaps it might have influenced my choices as a GM..
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My Biggest Beard Retard award goes to: The Admiral of course..

[Volar the Healer]

The purpose of the game is to have fun. If one of my players is down, I see to it he's the hero for that game. As his friend, I want to help. When he's grinning from ear to ear at the end of the night, I know I did it right. Isn't that why most of us play...to escape the drearyness of everyday life for a little while?

At the very least, I'll keep him so busy, he'll forget all about his problem. Wake up soldier! The stormtroopers are here, now! Bring those spare power packs! Get that wounded man to the med droid! Man that heavy repeater! Don't talk back to me soldier, do it! There will be extra blaster shots and explosions going off all around him all game. Lots and lots of stuff being blasted apart all around him.

Just another service provided by your friendly Director. I see no problem with this as long as no one realizes that's what the Director's doing. But, letting everyone take turns being the center of attention for the night is my normal way of directing.
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