Variable Cast Size?

[Jason Morningstar]

So I just got PTA (Thanks, Matt) and after my initial reading, my first thought was, "Oh, man, you need a stable group to make this work."

I don't have a stable group.  

I've got a group that has four, maybe five core members and anywhere from none to four who show up erratically.  In the past we've always found ways to work around this by tailoring the premise and setting of our games.  

So my question is - how would you handle this?  Can the game acommodate this sort of fluctuation in cast size?  I'm interested in ideas for managing a group like this.

Oh, and "kick out the slackers" is not a viable option.  

Thanks,

Jason

[Matt Wilson]

Here's one suggestion:

If they can't commit to regular attendance, then they can't commit to exclusive control of a protagonist.

Have the players make up all the protagonists as a group, and whoever shows up gets to play one of them.

If you were there the previous week, you have seniority over which protagonist you get to play, but somebody's gotta step up and play the spotlight character for that week.

[Jason Morningstar]

That's a good idea.  We've done something similar in the past with "community PCs".  It isn't super popular with the players, but it would work.

[apparition13]

How about recurring guest stars, like Faith, Lilah, Joyce etc. on Buffy/Angel;  or supporting roles like the Star Trek crew other than Kirk, Spock and McCoy?  Sometimes they aren't there at all, sometimes the episode centers around them.  That way players could still have "their" PC while not having to commit to showing up for every session.

[Jason Morningstar]

Actually, "recurring cast" would work pretty well.  They wouldn't get a spotlight episode, but that's the price you pay for having a baby/job/etc.