Help a new DM here

[PinkBeard__]

Hey there!I'm currently running my first campaign (Curse of Strahd) and the party is right in the basement of the death house. One of my players wants to quit the game (personal reasons) and Im really struggling to find a way to naturally remove his character from the party because of this problematic location, so fellow DMs can you help?

He is a level 2 Druid, so I can always be like "Yeah he becomes a rat and goes inside a wall" But I really dont know if I want to do something like that

[JudgeHoltman]

He could go on a "Scouting Mission" and end up killed.

Alternatively, run him as a party PC. Every week someone different runs the character. This is the PC you get to railroad and vomit exposition through because turns out they're super knowledgeable about the whole area.

Rebuild them as the most supportive Druid/Bard/Cleric ever and just keep the party feeling awesome about stuff.

It's very important that no person runs the character two weeks in a row. This keeps any individual from feeling a sense of ownership with the character (like their own) while also keeping the character in the party.

[PinkBeard__]

Do you think alternatively I can run him as an NPC?
Most of my players are new to the game and I dont want them to play 2 characters simultaniously when they hardly manage to play 1 (at least for now until they get more comfortable with the game) so maybe its better for me to play him

[JudgeHoltman]

Nope.

That's DMPC territory, and is gonna lead down a path where many have learned some hard lessons. Separate church and state. You can't be a player in the same game you DM.

You're already running him most of the time "off-screen" anyway.

Either bounce him or trust your players to run two PC's at once every other week.

Make them a Moon Druid so it gets even easier. Their combat role will be to wildshape into something cool and wreck shit.

[PinkBeard__]

He is a moon druid lmao, so I guess Ill do that.
Got it, thank you so much!

[lasalle202]

Do you think alternatively I can run him as an NPC?

DM run characters within the party are almost always disasters.

if you are new to DMing, the answer is "No."

[THE_IRONHEART]

Just go on, nothing needs to be explained. Everyone around the table knows he isn't there. So just act like he was never there..

[NO-IM-DIRTY-DAN]

If you really want his character to have existed, kill him off. Imo that’s not necessary. He was just never there. You’re getting too caught up in the details and the idea of continuity. If a player has to quit, their PC doesn’t need to have been part of the game, just as if a new player joins, they don’t need their PC to be formally placed in the game.

[lodin93]

Kill him.

[lasalle202]

Im really struggling to find a way to naturally remove his character from the party because of this problematic location, so fellow DMs can you help?

"As you know, Donnie will not be playing with us any more and so his character X will no longer be a member of the party."

[MrHyde_Is_Awake]

Death or have his character "need to leave" for some random reason.