D&D 5E When a PC is dead and gone, what options do the players have at your table(s)?

[Swarmkeeper]

This may skew to the "same level" answer as I know many like to maintain parties with everyone at the same level, but thought I'd ask anyway.

If you need a better visual... Imagine a party of four PCs: a fifth level fighter, a sixth level rogue, a sixth level cleric, and a seventh level wizard. The rogue dies trying to disarm a devious trap with no hope of being raised/resurrected/reincarnated/etc. Where does that player get to start their new character? 1st level? 4th level? 5th level? 6th level? Wait, I missed one... oh yeah, or is that player out since they "lost" at D&D?

Ok, go...

 

[iserith]

Since I'm primarily concerned with the player's continued participation in the game which is impacted greatly by character death, I encourage the players to make backup characters that can be tapped in after their other PC dies as quickly as the player wants it to happen. This way, nobody is sitting around waiting to play any longer than they want to. "Main" PCs and backup PCs are created at the campaign's inception and the player is welcome to play either one in a given session to level up. Typically the players level up their backup PC to 3rd level and then carry on with their main. This way, they don't have to start all the way back at 1st level if their main dies.

So my policy: Death happens. Prepare for it early.

 

[S'mon]

I normally have a fixed start level for all new PCs. Eg in my Stonehell Dungeon games PCs start at 5th level, bottom of Tier 2. If your example group was in Stonehell the Rogue's player would restart at 5th, so down one. There are PCs of level 5-8 currently, and when PCs start hitting Tier 3 (11th level) I will raise the start level, probably to 8th which I find works well as maximum start level in sandbox campaigns.

If I were running a tight AP type game, 2 or 3 below the highest living PC level works well. So if there are 18th level PCs, new PC starts at 15th.

I try to avoid creating any impression or notion that XP & levels go with the player rather than the PC, so new PC start level is the same for all. I don't want players thinking they are guaranteed
XP/levels through 'time served' or that levels are a pacing mechanism rather than an
earned achievement. But I also want new PCs to be able to contribute.

 

[TallIan]

Since I tend to do milestone leveling, all my PC's are usually the same level

 

[Nagol]

What? No Blackleaf option?

 

[DM Howard]

Level 1 baby! It makes character death mean something. To be honest though, much like 4E, I haven't had a character die yet.

 

[Shiroiken]

It really depends on the game. In my last campaign (and the way our other DMs do it), everyone is the same level, with the group having an XP total. This is really useful when doing an epic game, or anything with a specific storyline. In such a case, new PCs are going to be the same level.

In my current game, it's a West Marches style, with players owning several characters. They can have any number of characters, but can't make any until all their current ones play at least 1 session. In this case, every new character starts fresh (at level 3, not 1), even after a prior character death.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Our group has 4 players and 8 PCs. They’re encouraged to swap characters from time to time just for fun, but mostly it’s a case of each player having a primary PC and then an extra PC or an NPC that’s a permanent party member. If anyone dies, we already have replacements built in.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

With how quick one levels between 1 and 3, my house rule is that ta new PC is rolled up...: "Of no greater level than the average party level, -2, maximum of 3rd level". So if the party is average 5th or higher, a new PC can be between level 1 and level 3. It is worth noting that the 5th level average has ONLY been achieved ONCE in all the time we've been playing 5e. So, usually, a new PC is level 1, rarely level 2, and only once has been up to level 3.

With the way 5e works, a 3rd level PC could survive in a group with level 7 characters (or 10 or whatever)...and getting a couple levels after that probably would come rather soon. I've had the PC's be from level 1 to 7; iirc, one 7th, one 5th, one 4th, and one 1st (his 3rd level PC died). Worked perfectly fine. In fact, it added a really interesting dynamic to the 5e group...kinda reminded me of my 1e/Hackmaster campaign.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[ccs]

All of those. It just depends upon the exact situation atm. Sometimes the player even chooses something less than = lv.