D&D 5E How do I fake my character's death?

[Seramus]

Taking a break, but I definitely want to go back to play this character in the future. DM is fine with it, and we want to give the other players this "OMG, I thought he was dead!" moment when I come back.

Fair warning. At that moment, your players will probably assume you really were dead and your sudden explanation was an ass-pull. You are going to have a much easier time simply telling your players that you are taking a break from that character for (reasons), and he will be captured/missing in the meantime.

It immediately solves the "they keep looking for me" problem.

Pulling the wool over the eyes of the other players could be a negative experience for them. Seeing the clever explanation for how your character is brought back into the campaign later, knowing that you faked your death because you told them months ago, is much more likely to be a positive experience for them.

 

[Shiroiken]

We don't want to do a cut-scene, because it will immediately tip the others on the fact that it might not be real.

Sometimes cut scenes are real. I've had numerous characters die in cut scenes, because the outcome wasn't in doubt. I've diverted half a pack of lycanthropes away from the party, and 20:1 odds weren't worth rolling out. I've challenged a dragon to a duel (at 5th level), which I knew was a death sentence, so the DM didn't bother with rolls, instead narrating the death. I also attempted to double cross the party to our lord when they joined a rebellion, only to find out the lord's top aid I'd confessed to was the leader of that rebellion, so the entire House Guard came down on me (believing me to be the actual rebel). In all of those instances, we could have spent the time to roll the dice, but the outcome was inevitable, making it a waste of time.

I like the idea of the illusory lava. Maybe even better, it could be real lava. But the bad guy has a, an efreeti ready for me in the lava, when I drop into the lava I'll probably go to 0 hp in one raound, and the efreeti could planeshift me and him somewhere else. Then put me in an antimagic cell.

Still not sure if this would stop magic investigation through gods and Divine Intervention.

Because if the party believes you to be completely gone, raisable only by magic higher than they have, they're not going to bother. For all purposes, you are dead and gone. Lava is the best one, because they'll believe there is nothing left of you to raise.

 

[Immortal Sun]

Do what soap operas do: write their dramatic death scene, and don't worry about how to bring them back until the episode in which it actually occurs.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I want to remove my character from play for some time, and together with the DM we decided that he could be "apparently" dead.

This is not something that my PC will do voluntarily, so I have to create a situation where everyone else thinks I'm dead, but in reality I'm just somewhere else (like, I fell into a trap, and the villain has me prisoner).

This needs to happen during a session, I can't just up and disappear.

Now, DnD being what it is, with all the magic available to the other party members, or friendly NPCs, how can I really keep the appearance of being dead?

If my companions don't find my body, they will start trying to divinate my location with magic. We have a high-level Cleric, who could be using Divine Intervention when everything else fails.

Any suggestion is welcome, but possibly I would like to keep it "by the book" (no excessive homebriew).

One idea I had was that, after disappearing (for example, a tunnel collapses on me, and the villain "rescues" me) the villain could put me in a cell contained in an antimagic field. I suppose that would stop any sort of magical divination?

thanks in advance for the help!

Simple. Feign death spell. It makes you appear dead to physical inspection and spells. You can’t be “raised” because you’re not dead.

 

[77IM]

You are captured and replaced by a doppelgänger. The DM plays "you" as an NPC so there's no reason for the PCs to come looking for you.

 

[77IM]

If you have an evil spellcaster enemy at large, then this works: this person acquired a cubic inch of your flesh by examining the scenes of several encounters after you and your party had left and collecting little bits of your skin and blood. They used it to cast clone on you, 120 days ago. Then their minions kill you, and you revive in the clone-vat, and you are their prisoner. You escape later.

 

[77IM]

You have an encounter with an enemy mage who is wielding a staff of power, and it's going badly for them. At some point, when they are right next to you, the enemy breaks the staff over their knee, performing a Retributive Strike. You and the enemy mage both take a gazillion force damage and are seemingly blown apart; scraps of your gear and clothing are spread about the room. But in reality, the mage has a 50% chance of traveling to a random plane of existence. The DM fudges things a little and decides that you BOTH go to the random plane (for bonus story points, you both wind up on the same plane and must team up to survive and make it back to the Prime Material).

If the other players know about this possibility for Retributive Strike, they might try divining your location. Even if they think you're dead, they might try a resurrection or true resurrection. At that point, it's better to try meta-gaming. You say something like, "Hey thanks guys, but I'm going to be taking off for a few months, so it might be better to just have a little memorial and move on with the game." It still works, because when you come back, you can tell them about the random plane you were shifted to.

 

[KenNYC]

Do what soap operas do: write their dramatic death scene, and don't worry about how to bring them back until the episode in which it actually occurs.

And then make sure it makes no sense!

 

[Li Shenron]

I would actually talk with all the others about the plan, so that they are on board and can actually help with ideas, but I can understand how this wouldn't be as fun as you wish

The problem here is that you are trying to outsmart a group of people who are presumably as smart as you AND will normally assume you don't want to die thus they will go to great lengths to save you...

Edit: you probably also need to be a good actor IRL to pull this through!

 

[Henry]

Why does it have to be a fake death? Re-reading raise dead and resurrection, unlike some earlier editions, it just says the soul must be “free and willing” but doesn’t say anything about what info the soul has about who is recalling it. If the group knows you are taking a break, just get your PC into something really stupid (I’m sure the DM can help you with this) and let the obvious take it’s course. The other players, knowing you are leaving, can have a burial for you and everything! They know exactly where your body is! So it will come as all the more shock when they get a hint of your character’s disposition later (either a report that the grave was robbed, or the body-snatching was very stealthy and you just show up). Reappearances are all the more shocking when they are sure you’re dead, so why not be dead?