Overdone Independent Action (CSC)

__TOC__
: "OK, Gary, the three fighters Hank around to the left, Sherimar the thief works her way across the wall above the door, and the wizard, Lychor, walks up the middle as if he suspected nothing. "
: "Fine. Except that Lychor doesn't seem to be here anymore. "
: "What?"
: "Where'd he go?"
: "Grrrrr!"
: "I'm going to get that sneak."
: "Quit snickering Dave, where's that mage of yours gotten off to?"
: "Waitaminit guys. Change of plans, Gary. We're gonna leave the ogres for later. Let's go nuke us a wizard!"
Successful adventuring parties survive and thrive because of teamwork. Yet not every player feels that his character's best interests are served by continually going along with the group's actions. More often than n04 these are the players whose characters are not the leader types. Their characters hang near the back while the party's movers and shakers plot the team's next action. Notes passed to the DM from these players describe activities to be performed (secretly if possible) by the player's character. When the group goes one way, the independent PC goes the other.
Such independent ventures are risky, since the DM has often designed his world to accommodate a group, and can easily result in a swift doom for the character. However, because the character often relies on guile and stealth, he may succeed at something where the full party might otherwise fail. Should he succeed, he has his pick of rewards, ones that he may wish to keep to himself and not share with his fenows.
Needless to say, other players become upset when one of their own disappears, probably to get the choice pick of a treasure that should rightfully be shared among all. Yet, unfair treasure division should be the least of their worries.
A character prone to selfish activities may decide to change sides, to go to work for the foe (particulary if he has been captured and offered his life in return for betrayal). Worse yet, a lone character is an easy mark for creatures who can shapechange or use illusions to assume new identities. That wizard who disappears and then returns may not be the person who left the group, but may instead be a doppleganger.
Independent action can be fun for both the DM and the player willing to risk his character, but when it happens too frequently, it leads to the problem of the split group. In such cases, the DM is forced to run two (or more) separate groups at the same time. Still worse, it can lead to both intra-party treachery and player feuds.