The best advice for having a guest player in your DnD game

Although not a common feature of Dungeons & Dragons, you will occasionally introduce a guest player to your table who only plays for a few sessions at most and then leaves, rarely to be seen again in the same game. Whether it's a brand new player or an in-town friend with table experience, a guest player can be an interesting way to shake up the party dynamic.

With this comes many unexpected challenges that you wouldn't otherwise consider for the regular players at the table, regardless of their experience level. Either way, they're likely to make a lasting mark on the table that most NPCs can only hope to make.

8

Present them as early as possible

Assuming your guest players will only be playing for a handful of sessions at most, you want to make sure they play almost as soon as your main group does. This is to avoid them twiddling their thumbs at the table waiting to play in their already short time.

This can be a challenge in areas where your party happens to be mid-journey or currently wandering through frozen wilderness, but with magic and suspension of disbelief, anything is possible. Your players will also appreciate being able to bounce their roleplay onto a new player instantly.

7

Let them be unbalanced

The advantage of having a guest player at your table is that their role can be more of an NPC or dungeon master helper since they won't be around long enough to have to worry about the consequences. This can also give them more options in terms of roleplaying and combat strategy, in addition to having the exact same power level as your players.

This can swing either way, letting the guest play as a frightened child or a high-level cleric with a time-sensitive mission. Allow the guest player to choose what role they want in the session, but consider giving them more options than a class at the same level as your other players or even something outside of the player's handbook entirely.

6

Let them require the player's help

In the same way you would introduce a DM player to your party, the best way for them to accept a new party member is to ask for the players' help in some way. This process is especially smooth when they offer gold payment or some other tangible reward for the party's services.

This can also create a quick side-plot or quest-hook that allows you to create an entire encounter focused on the guest player and their goals while giving your players a reward for participating. It's also a lubricant for RPGs, as it doesn't force your players to come up with an excuse to let a stranger join their group.

Avoid making the guest player's character too wealthy, as this can backfire on you pretty quickly when they decide to abuse it.

5

Keep their character as an NPC

Memorable NPCs are hard to make and harder to keep, but what makes them even more memorable is if your players can associate a face and a voice with them that isn't just your own. Just because your guest player stops leaving your table, doesn't mean their character has to leave too.

While it's not best practice to cheat rolls, consider having your monsters avoid directly killing the guest player character, as this will stop their role as an NPC dead in its tracks or cause any negative feelings if it's their first D&D- game. Even if you decide to kill their character much later, make sure you ask the guest player for permission first.

4

Give them epic moments

Regardless of the reason the guest player joins your table, their time in the spotlight will be fairly limited compared to the rest of the party, meaning their experience will be close to an all-or-nothing takeaway. To make sure they have a good time at your table, consider leading them to epic tableside moments that will make them memorable.

This could be allowing them to get the last hit on a monster if it still had low health, or have a villain address them by name and swear revenge, or something that makes them stand out from the party. Not only will this ensure that your guest is satisfied with their short stay, but it will also give your players something to remember them by.

3

Expect a shorter background

A player's background is important for them to feel like their character is part of the world and personally affected by its dangers and rewards. This usually culminates over the course of many sessions and may even take an entire campaign to achieve a satisfactory resolution.

Your guest player simply won't have enough time to have a full character arc in the space of a handful of sessions at most, so be sure to advise them to do a short and sweet backstory. This will also temper their expectations and allow them to improvise new details about their character during role-play that were not their fault.

2

Consider an antagonistic role

If your guest player is an experienced tabletop player or plays RPGs in general, consider giving them an antagonistic role at the table. This could be the main villain's henchman in disguise or a tricksterfey who uses the party's trust and kindness towards them for his own purposes.

Whatever you decide together, make sure it's not obvious at the beginning, otherwise it can easily derail the whole session, because your players don't want to work with them. You can even plan exactly when they start the party, which will be a moment the table will never forget.

Avoid allowing guest players to kill your player characters, especially if you have session zero rules considering internal party conflict.

1

Give them information that the party does not have

One detail you may already be considering for each NPC your party encounters is how much information about the world they have. By varying this, you create a more lived-in world where not every shop owner knows which of the king's advisors means him harm or owns which castle in which city.

By leaving secret information to your guest player, they can be useful to the party in more ways than just being able to swing a sword while making them feel more like a real character to the party rather than just a guest player. This information can also be a crucial plot point that ties them to the main story in a unique way.