DF: Still can't challenge the Swashbuckler

[Xplo]

This may be a moot point now, but...

The ultimate object of an RPG is to have fun. When you talk about your player who has to work sometimes and can't always make it, what I hear is that you've got a player who is probably okay at meeting his social obligations when he can (i.e. he's not just flaking) but has to deal with Grownup Life - so when he does make it in, he gets punished by having a less effective character to play with.

That's probably fair to the other players - their PCs earned those points! - but it's no fun for him.

If he does manage to stay in the game, consider bumping his knight up to current point totals and then giving him the same point awards that you're giving the others henceforth.

As for the rest of the party, go ahead and give them challenges they don't have the abilities or resources to beat - and when they can't beat them, they can't get the loot or quest rewards associated with them, either. It's not unfair as long as they have good advance warning or an escape route for when they realize they're woefully unequipped for a particular challenge. After a few sessions half-filled with encounters they can't win just by stabbing it with a saber 58 times, they should start to realize the value of diversity. Bonus points (for you) if one of them actually complains out loud about not having the magical weapon they need to beat X and you take the opportunity to say "well, you guys used to have magical weapons... whatever happened to those?"