Very well said Unholy. I tell Gump, just like I did in real life as well, that he needs a mean voice once in a while. Him sitting out also isn't just a matter of him being better than some others for whatever reasons mechanically, it's also a matter of moral. Here's a short story about a guild named Dude it's a Game, which is now completely dead, gone and ridiculed.
The GM never showed up for progression. No matter how good or bad a player he was, it upset people. I was part of their officer group and I heard it ALL the time about how it upset people. The GM *needs* to be present to complete the team. It slowly brought the entire guild down.
Of course it'll never happen to ATR in such a way, but it's an illustration on how important he CAN, and IS to the group. Also, I make flip comments like that all the time. I'm sorry that it was taken the wrong way, but I was accustomed to people knowing I'm a smart ass about things I'm passionate about. It's a way of bringing up the subject that I was still irritated that he wasn't there.