Dm Suicide!!!

[Brother Laszlo]

This is why I always avoid "scarring" the characters. The game should first and foremost be about fun, and if you "ruin" someone's character, its just not fun.

I agree that a cursed character CAN be more fun than a new character, not because the new character is less powerful, but because curses can be interesting. Curses that are simply "you are -4 to hit" aren't very interesting, and just make the player feel useless. A traditional curse like "plants wither at your approach" can create even more grief for the party than a straight -4 BAB, but adds something to the character and story.

The point is, you can have your cake and eat it too by punishing the characters in interesting ways that don't just sap them of their strengths. That way the players maintain interest in their characters, but no one feels like they're getting a free ride.

 

[mmadsen]

If the player wants the character to die, agree to kill her character -- but keep the agreement secret from the rest of the party. That way she can be a very dramatic "red shirt" in your next adventure. The first sign of the assassin is his blade coming out of her chest from behind, or the first sign of the brontosaur is a big foot crushing her, or...

You get the idea. Then start her out a few levels behind everyone else.

 

[EOL]

I get the impression and I may be wrong that both of these curses could be removed at some point. That being the case I would bring in the new character with some weakness, something thats as debilitating as the curses, but make sure it's something the player can have some fun playing and make sure the character is aware that at some point it will go away. This allows you to appeas the other players, keep the main player happy and not feel like a chump.

 

[KnightSavant]

The best solution to this problem would be to subtely provide ways for her to lift these restrictions from her character. Then she will once again be satisfied with her character and won't need to roll another. Don't be too obvious though otherwise you're in the same boat as a reroll. Good luck.

 

[mac1504]

Let her roll up a character one level below the group's lowest level member, limit her treasure (say 60-75% of what everyone else has), and use her "cursed" character against the group.

Maybe her old character becomes drawn to the evil that is her curse, and without "guidance" has accepted the voices in her head and now has gained power by inviting the powers to her.

Could make a good plot twist.

Just some thoughts,

-mac1504

 

[Particle_Man]

by the way...

Maybe change the title of this thread? I thought it was some sort of copycat deal on the everquest suicide. Glad it wasn't, of course. But maybe "Dming suicide" or "character suicide" would be more accurate.

 

[AstroGnome]

would it not be safe to assume that her character would stop adventuring?

If there is no means for removing the curse, then why should she continue. Instead have her settle down, buy an inn or invest in something else.
If her goal is to have the curses removed, and following the party is in no way helping, then why should she continue?

There is no need to take drastic meassures. Retire the old one and bring a new one in (possible sponsored by the first char). If the new character dies, lift a curse from the old char and bring her back.

Sometimes character sober up and goes: "why the h... am i putting myself through this every day?", and then goes home instead.
Happens all the time in litterature.

/AG

 

[Mark]

Welcome!

I'm approaching this thread with the assumption that the other players do not find the level of challenge you are bringing to the game as out of line. That said...

I think that the more immediate problem isn't that the player is trying to circumvent the curses by rolling a new character, but rather that the player is changing the current character's nature to accomplish this goal. Be sure that you make the point that this is not an acceptable way to approach the game.

At the same time, be sure to point out that there are remedies within the game for the character (if you haven't already). On the one hand, you want the player to have fun but on the other hand you want to be able to present challenges and have them handled in-character.

My suggestion is to take the player aside and give them the option to continue playing the character and seek in-game remedies for the curses *or* allow them to roll another character to play with a reduction in current level by one level for each curse being avoided. You can't force someone to play a character, but you do set the parameters of play and you don't want people to give up everytime you throw something at them for which they can't envision an immediate solution.

I agree that you should be making the game fun for the players, all of them (including yourself). What this one player is doing is taking the fun of the game away from you and the other players by playing the character in such a way as to force an out of game decision. I would also present fewer challenges to this particular player in the future and focus on other characters until this one has matured a bit as a player.

Down the road... If this one player objects to their involvement in the game being relagated to a cursory role (no pun intended), remind them of this incident and ask if they are ready to accept the full level of challenges you are presenting in the game and ask if they will be willing to seek in-character solutions (that aren't disruptive to the game) to in-game challenges. Be honest with them as to how you feel about their response.

There's no sense making your job tougher than it has to be. Whatever you decide to do, find a speedy decision and move onward. Don't let this situation reduce the fun of the game any further.

Again, welcome to (posting to) the boards!

 

[S'mon]

I'd say let them retire (not suicide) the PC, and start a new one.

In my group new PCs typically start with half the XP of the previous PC, though starting them at level 1 is ok. If you start them at close to the previous PC's level they will generally be more powerful than the previous PC due to the way 3e works.

Likewise if you use the recommended wealth by level and let them have free purchase they will be better equipped than a PC who has worked up through the ranks. You could allow the, just standard 1st-level starting wealth, or wealth by encounter level (DMG pg 170) or if you're generous, wealth as per elite NPCs (DMG pg 58).

 

[eXodus]

raises hand

well i have had a thing like this happen.

in the game i am currently running there was a session that left a few characters in doubts of their survival. so to make my life easier i had everyone make replacement characters who thoughts their current hero might die.

once particular player seemed to like his new character a lot better so he had his older character sacrifice himself for the 'good' of the party. the character could have survived with the rest of the party, but this player felt it would make sense to have him take on the slower dwarven fighter that was chasing them.