Character hiatus question

[MrPoopyButtHole]

I might potentially be taking a long break from the game (due to work) and my character is in the middle of some great important plots. So I was wondering how do you usually make your character suddenly disappear for a while? What explanation do you usually give to others ICly to explain such a long absence where they can't communicate with you? I do not want the cheesy soap opera coma gimmick. Any feedback would be appreciated! :love:

[Shayrei]

I would think it's fairly easy to "fall off the grid". Just pick up and poof, though that may be construed as running away which I don't if that's something your character would likely be doing (if you're in our plot I'd say probaby not, haha). Does your character have something in his past that may be coming back to bite him in the ass and he needs to lay low until he figures out the upper hand and strikes back?

 

Or... maybe he wants to go on a deep sea fishing excursion... that can take a while right... specially if your ship goes down after an attack from a sea monster and you end up marooned on some island with a blood stained coconut named Heathcliff.

 

I mean... what?

 

[Askier]

One I've seen used very well is a forced kidnapping. This gives you a very logical reason why your character is gone and why no one can contact them. And it also adds a really nice rp hook for yourself and your friends once you are able to return to the game.

 

Course being on an island with pina coldas sounds equally as good. 

[Gwen]

Nooo Spoony... Don't leave me ;_;

 

But yeah... It's harder in your case since everyone Spoony knows seems to be an expert in tracking people *cough cough* haha... Just don't make him be kidnapped and tortured (Again ) Maybe he just goes into hiding to protect Ihire's Sarah's ass.

[FreelanceWizard]

If your character's a professional thief/tracker/assassin/etc., you could be contracted for a job that requires you go under deep cover for an extended time. The same could be done if you're affiliated with a Grand Company -- perhaps they ask you to go under deep cover to infiltrate a Castrum, a gang of thieves, or something else. Another GC option is that you're tapped to train a unit or lead an expeditionary force, and in both cases, operational security and safety require that you leave your linkpearls at home.

[Mae]

In the past and in other games, I've done long trips/vacations to places out of reach, 'covert missions', intensive training, kidnapping, illnesses, and 'family upheaval'. 

 

I personally try to avoid kidnappings. They were great when I was newer to RP, but these days... *shrugs* I find them overused I suppose, and soap-opera-esque, and do my best to avoid it. Coma (caused by illness or injury) is even moreso overused and soap-opera-esque, but if I need a reason to be out of action for a while and not put a lot of extra story behind it, I'll still use it; "hit head in accident, sleep for however long time I need to be gone".

 

My two favorites have been 'family upheaval' and long trips. The former, was for a character that was part of a large merchant family and there was politics and an internal power struggle that kept her out of action. The latter was a ruins exploration/mapping/treasure-hunting/cataloging trip for a new employer.

[Zhavi]

Could just have him go totally super undercover with Jaded where he doesn't want to communicate with anyone from his normal life in order not to trip up... or something. If it's not like more than a few months, that should work just fine.

[MrPoopyButtHole]

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions!  Turns out it'll be only a week long thing instead of the original 3 to 6 months.:bouncy:

[Gwen]

I think I speak for everyone when I say... Damnit. :cactuar: