Note that I didn't say just pairs, but I disagree. if half of a pair drops, a writer can write him/herself out of the scene and go on to seek out another to join, a small party to pass by or any number of things if you're a little creative. The pair issue only realy becomes an issue in games of small numbers of players. But, I was only offering suggestions on ways to help the game through the drops when you have half a dozen players waiting on a single response.