New DM+players, how to handle death in Keep

[FireLance]

Why not have increasing consequences for death?

For the first death, go with option 1 of the poll (cleric has a scroll of the ritual).

For the second death, go with option 2 of the poll (cleric has to obtain a scroll of the ritual from a wandering merchant).

For the third death, go with option 3 of the poll (no more scrolls of the ritual are available, but there is one experienced adventurer hanging around).

Subsequent deaths can either stay at option 3, or go on to option 4 depending on the preferences of the players and DM.

 

[VannATLC]

I'm running with Gold being an inherently magical substance, literally used to power magical rituals.

For that reason, I won't be discounting rituals, and, in fact, will be tacking on a service charge to most of the ritual prices.

In any case, as mentioned, Sister Linora does know Raise Dead.

I would suggest that you have the players forfeit any monetary reward from Lord whats-his-face, in return for the Lord fronting the fee for a single raise-dead.

In addition, they would now owe him.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I'm running with Gold being an inherently magical substance, literally used to power magical rituals.

For that reason, I won't be discounting rituals, and, in fact, will be tacking on a service charge to most of the ritual prices.

In any case, as mentioned, Sister Linora does know Raise Dead.

I would suggest that you have the players forfeit any monetary reward from Lord whats-his-face, in return for the Lord fronting the fee for a single raise-dead.

In addition, they would now owe him.

This is the best suggestion I've seen so far.

 

[AtomicPope]

Time to bring out the Holy Roller Barbecue Sauce! With 666 delicious herbs and spices to bring out the best of that divine flavor. Whether you're a minion or a solo, you deserve the best. The next time you roast someone with a divine power source, don't settle for anything less!

Now that's good eats

 

[wildoxmoan]

I no get

You must meet two requirements to master a ritual.
You must have the Ritual Caster feat (clerics and
wizards get this feat at 1st level), and your level must​

equal or exceed the ritual’s level.

Thats a quote right out of the PHB (please forgive the copyright infringement) so how is it that 0 level Sister Linora can cast a lvl 8 ritual?

 

[Smeelbo]

The most common option I see is not listed. New characters, whether from new players or old characters dying, start with XP a few encounters less than the median XP for the party. Starting gear only, and maybe a healing potion if the party is approaching 2nd level.

I have found this quite playable.

Smeelbo

 

[evilbob]

Why not have increasing consequences for death?

For the first death, go with option 1 of the poll (cleric has a scroll of the ritual).

For the second death, go with option 2 of the poll (cleric has to obtain a scroll of the ritual from a wandering merchant).

For the third death, go with option 3 of the poll (no more scrolls of the ritual are available, but there is one experienced adventurer hanging around).

Subsequent deaths can either stay at option 3, or go on to option 4 depending on the preferences of the players and DM.

Seconded. Except personally I wouldn't go with option 4 ever; sometimes people are just unlucky and it's rough to be two levels behind.

Also, just a fair warning: the encounter at the waterfall has a good chance of being a TPK if your PCs just jump right in.

 

[hafrogman]

You must meet two requirements to master a ritual.
You must have the Ritual Caster feat (clerics and
wizards get this feat at 1st level), and your level must​

equal or exceed the ritual’s level.

Thats a quote right out of the PHB (please forgive the copyright infringement) so how is it that 0 level Sister Linora can cast a lvl 8 ritual?

The adventure in question was simply put forth as a play test to familiarize people with the game. They weren't going to fully stat out a level 8 npc, so they just gave her what she needed to do her job. There's no such thing as level 0 for PCs, so there's not really any rules governing her abilities.

For future reference, it's usually better to start a new thread with a question like this instead of digging up older posts from a year ago.

 

[wildoxmoan]

I posted my question here after doing a search on the topic and found this thread meshed with my question. I still can post the question under it's own thread and may. As for 0 level NPC fine, I think she's referred to as a "non heroic" priestess so I stand corrected. Thank you. Now the question stands, is there some rationalization to a non-heroic NPC being able to cast/have access to, high level rituals or is it assumed they're scrolls?

 

[hafrogman]

And my answer remains the same. She can cast it because the adventure writers needed her to. She is not a PC and doesn't need to follow their rules, thus no rationalization need be given.

It's up to the DM to decide if she is casting from a scroll, but I wouldn't expect it to be the default decision.