Character Death - what do you do?

[Mark CMG]

Most players wont worry about the consequences and just do stupid stuff that gets them killed, along with others.

I think that is a separate issue.

 

[Keith Robinson]

If they are not rezzed, they come in at one level lower than the rest of the party. The lower level simulates the effect of being rezzed IMC.

Yep, that's what we do, mostly, otherwise all too often characters will choose not to be raised. I juggle the starting xp according to the xp the dead character had (ie, if he was near to levelling up, the new character will have slightly higher xp, etc), but also include other factors (did they die bravely, etc). They get wealth according to the wealth table in the dmg.

Sometimes I allow players to come back at the same level (for specific reasons), but they still only get the wealth of a character one level lower.

It's not a precise science...

 

[shilsen]

Most players wont worry about the consequences and just do stupid stuff...

With no risk of dying the game loses its thrill.

I think you're mixing up two very different things. I would say that without consequences the game is likely to lose its thrill. But dying is only one among a large number of possible consequences, and arguably the least long-term one of all. After all, once a PC is irrevocably dead, he's not being affected in any way.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I've been running a game for nigh on 2 years (and, partly concurrently, ran one of the same duration earlier) where the use of action pts effectively takes death out of the equation. That has not made the campaign or combat in it any the less thrilling, mainly because there are still a very large number of consequences for defeat. And the regular presence of death wouldn't make things the least bit more thrilling, IMNSHO.

Remember - when a PC is permanently dead, that means you're not hurting him any more

 

[Mark CMG]

Remember - when a PC is permanently dead, that means you're not hurting him any more

Smells like sig fodder.

 

[rgard]

Another thread got me thinking about this:

So a character has died in a game that's already underway, what do you do now?


I've seen a fair range. Depending on the game and GM, IME new characters generally fall into the range:

Same level as old one through to a level below party minimum.

Somewhere between Full > Half gear. Or inherit the old PCs stuff.

Take the player out back and shoot them. (joke answer - consume at your own risk).


Now, up until reading 'that thread', I'd considered this to be a fairly inclusive range of options. I was clearly wrong.

What happens in your game(s)?

We've done it lots of different ways over the years. The funniest is having to start over again at 1st level.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Darklone]

IMC player can be raised or resurrected if the players find someone who can do it and can afford the resources.

If not: New char with half of groups average XPs. Since XPs are distributed according to level, lower level PCs catch up.

 

[wjptcs]

shilsen

I agree that once a PC is irrevocably dead, he is not being effected.

My point is that just becuase he died during the adventure and the party has no way to bring him back at that point, why bring him back at 1 level lower other than to simply allow him to keep playing, and not mess up your gaming session. I can understand why some players allow this, but why use this as standard procedure.

Low level characters do catch up rather quickly. I understand that you don't want a L1 character jumping in on a 15th level group, and thats up to the DM to allow this or not.

The players could complete the adventure one man short, or simply abandon the adventure and go look for a way to revive that fallen member. Maybe a side adventure that will tie in with the main one somehow, but until that character is irrevocably dead they should at least try.

Again this is just my point of view and the beauty of this game is that the DM can do whatever they want.

 

[sniffles]

Its not a matter of penalizing a player for his character dying, its a matter of how the game is being played. If you can just bring back in a character at 1 level lower, where is the adventure in that. Most players wont worry about the consequences and just do stupid stuff that gets them killed, along with others. They will just say " oh well, I can just bring him back". If the party is such a low level that they dont have access to a ressurection of some sort, than thats unfortunate. So draw up a new character, and start again. Thats what the game is about. With no risk of dying the game loses its thrill. If your players can not handle the concept of their characters possible dying (because its gonna happen) then maybe they should stick to a game that has a SAVE and RELOAD feature.

Sorry, I don't know anyone who plays that way. Fear of death is not the only thrill in the game. There are plenty of others: exploration, problem-solving, discovery, roleplaying a personality, accumulating skills, feats, and magic items... All of those are just as satisfying to me and the other players in my group as trying to survive. We do our damndest to avoid death, even in games in which the GM will bend over backward to avoid killing a character. Our PCs are not throwaway cyphers.

Rather than assuming that we are using a 'video game' mentality, I would say that someone who considers character death the only thrill is thinking that way, because he knows that he can save and reload whenever he dies.

I've never understood the rationale for bringing in new PCs at a lower level, either. Unless the player was incredibly reckless, penalizing someone for losing a character seems the wrong way to respond. And I doubt that penalizing a player for recklessness will get him to stop being reckless if he has that kind of mind-set, anyway.

 

[Lanefan]

Sorry, I don't know anyone who plays that way. Fear of death is not the only thrill in the game.....

True; there's also fear of petrification, fear of disintegration, fear of becoming a living vegetable (Str or Int reduced to less than 2), fear of permanent level loss, fear of item disenchantment or equipment loss, fear of becoming possessed/dominated/quested, etc., etc.

A good DM plays on all these fears, and throws fear of death in for good measure.

And all of them can happen to a character whether it has a player currently attached or not.

Lanefan

 

[wjptcs]

sniffles

I was not implying that fear of death is the only thrill, the question was, what to do with character death. There are lots of thrills in the game when played properly. I was only giving my thoughts on what I do if a character dies. He would either start over at L1, or the party can take a side adventure to get him rezzed as soon as they get the chance.