Who Kills Your PCs?

[KarinsDad]

We had a PC "accidently" kill another PC yesterday. They were fighting a Dragon, a slightly lower level Cleric, and some pesky Gargoyles.

The PC Wizard cast a Fireball at the NPCs and the PC Rogue who was fighting toe to toe with the Dragon and Gargoyles. The Rogue made his save and took no damage. So next round, the PC Wizard cast a second Fireball at the NPCs and the PC Rogue. This time, the Wizard rolled real high damage, the Rogue was more damaged than the previous round, and he rolled a 1 on his save and went to -19 hit points. The second Fireball, btw, also killed all of the NPCs there as well (who all missed their saves the second time too).

Regardless of why it happened, I was wondering how often PCs kill other PCs in other people's games. In the last year, we have had 3 PCs deaths and 2 of them were directly due to the actions of other PCs.


So, the question is: Since playing 3E/3.5, what percentage of PC deaths were directly caused by other PCs?

This could include terrible decisions which caused PC deaths or TPKs as well, not just direct damage.

 

[Crothian]

I can recall once or twice in the past two years.

 

[frankthedm]

The other PCs are to blame because they fail to remain a cohesive unit. Many deaths happen because someone else was not paying attention or because one persons actions set into motion situations that are decidedly fatal.

Like when one player yells "hello" when it was obvious to those paying attention a big hungy monster was nearby to thier hiding place. Or when the best tank in the group was nowhere near the sarcophagus the majority of the party expeted correctly to have an undead in it, twice.

 

[Artoomis]

I would've like to have had a choice of "me" .. . as in stupid decisions.

 

[KarinsDad]

I would've like to have had a choice of "me" .. . as in stupid decisions.

That would fall into a percentage of "not killed by other PCs".

 

[Nadaka]

0, Its rule number 3. There will be no infighting.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

We have the occasional accident, and/or mind-controlled PC taking out the other. But it's pretty rare.

Brad

 

[gnfnrf]

In my 3rd edition DMing experience, I have killed 38 PCs.

Four of these were killed in an early playtest by another PC, but technically, he was a mature adult red dragon and co-DM. By the way, the version in the back of the PHB is printed with a CR that's 3 too low. Ooops.

Then there were 28 deaths in Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, but only one of them was friendly fire. Two PCs were both confused by an umber hulk, standing next to each other, and the half-orc tempest killed the gnome wizard.

There have been four more deaths in my other campaigns, none of which were due to party influence, and two deaths in a high level oneshot.

So, of 38 deaths, somewhere between 1 and 5 were other PCs.

--
gnfnrf

 

[Nonlethal Force]

0, Its rule number 3. There will be no infighting.

Yeah, but in the OP's example, it wasn't due to infighting. It was due to a calculated chance that the party rogue would make the save from the party wizard. Things like this happen sometimes even if the rogue and wizard are best of friends!

Personally, I would have preferred the option: more often than killed by characters controlled by the DM.

 

[Ciaran]

The vast majority of PC deaths in my games have been deliberate PC-on-PC killings, but the games I've run with PC fatalities have all been Amber DRPG.