D&D 5E Advice needed: is it ok to kill a player’s character if he is not there!

[toucanbuzz]

Never, ever, ever, do anything to a player's character when they aren't there.

 

[Klaudius Rex]

ok...so yeah, i made a mistake...or im a dick...or whatever...

...how do i fix this?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

ok...so yeah, i made a mistake...or im a dick...or whatever...

...how do i fix this?

Bring in a necromancer?
Have a cleric cast gentle repose just in time to have someone cast revivify later?
Actually just tell them you made a mistake and rewind. Say:... this is what you expected... so now lets see if it really plays out this way...
They actually did such things in TV shows...
Have the player bring in Jim II who is exactly as his other charcter...

 

[el-remmen]

Why not just ask the player?

"Hey, Bob the Fighter died in your absence but I'm not sure it should have happened that way. Do you want to collaborate on a way for him to still be alive? Have me just come up with a reason? Or just leave him dead and you make a new character?"

 

[not-so-newguy]

Have monsters strip character of all pertinent items. Perhaps this starts an argument between the ettins and goblins over his stuff, including a goblin (or two, or three) trying to sneak off with the PC's rations. Hopefully, you can pick up the adventure where the group stumbles upon the feuding monsters with the PC unconscious. The unconscious PC starts making death saving throws.

ok...so yeah, i made a mistake...or im a dick...or whatever...

...how do i fix this?

Also, use this as chance to have a discussion with the group on how to handle this type of situation in the future. I can not stress this enough. In the end, It doesn't matter what a bunch of strangers on the internet think. It's what you & the group think is fair.

 

[Charlaquin]

Is it okay? Depends on the rules laid down in session 0.

This. It isn’t intrinsically ok or not ok. Whether or not it’s acceptable is something that should be decided before gameplay starts, and that should be the expectation moving forward.

Since that doesn’t seem to have happened here, you should use this opportunity to set the precedent moving forward. Talk to your players, not to ENWorld, about whether they think it should be ok to kill a PC when the player isn’t present, and if not, what should happen to the character instead. Then whatever decision you come to as a group, that’s what you should do both in this specific instance, and moving forward.

 

[Bacon Bits]

ok...so yeah, i made a mistake...or im a dick...or whatever...

...how do i fix this?

Any way you and your table want. The key is to remember that the goal of the game is fun, not to create an immutable continuity.

IMX, it goes best if you say to the table, "Okay I messed up and I don't like what happened. What do you guys want to do?"

You're human. It's natural to make mistakes. Your players will accept that. You can retcon it in any way you want. Roll back the encounter. Pretend it never happened. Invent a way for the character to return to life. Or let them roll a new PC. The how is less important than doing it in a way that the table is happiest with.

 

[Bacon Bits]

This. It isn’t intrinsically ok or not ok. Whether or not it’s acceptable is something that should be decided before gameplay starts, and that should be the expectation moving forward.

I entirely agree that it's up to the table to decide if something is acceptable or not.

However, I entirely reject the idea that it needs to be set in stone initially, or that one decision should be made exactly once and from there it can not or should not be modified. I have no interest in the game being philosophically deterministic. I'm not going to just shrug my shoulders and say, "Sorry, I'm just the clockmaker," if it turns out there's a bad rule that is harming the campaign.

 

[Charlaquin]

I entirely agree that it's up to the table to decide if something is acceptable or not.

However, I entirely reject the idea that it needs to be set in stone initially, or that one decision should be made exactly once and from there it can not or should not be modified. I have no interest in the game being philosophically deterministic. I'm not going to just shrug my shoulders and say, "Sorry, I'm just the clockmaker," if it turns out there's a bad rule that is harming the campaign.

I mean, if the group determines that it’s appropriate to make an exception to the rule, that’s fine. I just think it’s better to know what to expect from the get-go.

 

[Reynard]

I think it is generally bad form to coup de gras a PC except in very specific circumstances. Even most predatory monsters will drag a meal off rather than eat it in a fight.

My exception is zombies: if a zombie downs you, it's going to eat you, even if there are still enemies around.