A PC died in my campaign on Saturday

[Festivus]

Almost every game session someone in the group goes into negatives or close to it. I have killed a few, but not too many, characters. Yeah it sucks when one dies but I never look at it as a me versus them. I don't pull punches if it's something meaningful, eg fighting the BBEG (or one of them as it sounds like this was Grallak Kur) So in this case, it was Grallak or one of his guards whom the characters should be mad at, not you.

Also, if they don't taste death early in Age of Worms, they will soon get used to it. Spire of Long Shadows, aka TPK and total campaign kill, will take care of that.

 

[Bagpuss]

I'm curious as to how the rogue lived when the barbarian was just executed without a second thought by the villain. Surely they would have gutted the rogue as well before the rest of the party arrived?

Still the barbarian's player has learned a truth about D&D*. It just doesn't reward heroism. You rush in to save the day you'll probably end up dead. No you need to plan buff up, and ideally scry then teleport in and stab the villain in his sleep if you want to stay alive.



*At least if played RAW.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

Still the barbarian's player has learned a truth about D&D*. It just doesn't reward heroism. You rush in to save the day you'll probably end up dead. No you need to plan buff up, and ideally scry then teleport in and stab the villain in his sleep if you want to stay alive.

Yaay!

 

[Gort]

To be honest, I think you and your player both need to just get over this first PC death. What you really MUST NOT DO at this point is have the barbarian "miraculously survive" or get raised in some contrived manner. (passing High Priest of Pelor decides to help out for free, divine intervention, even "you can come back, but AT A PRICE moohahahaha" demonic stuff counts as contrived in my book)

Death happens in D&D. It doesn't make you a bad GM, or even necessarily mean the player was bad. At the end of the day, you can play like a complete idiot and win or play ultra-conservatively and lose, depending on how lucky you were.

The player will have had a week (or however long you spend between games) to come to terms with the character being gone, and may even have learned to like his new Warblade. Your players will accept that they can actually die in your games, which will make every victory taste that much sweeter, and put a lot more tension into your games.

I bet the Warblade doesn't go rumbling off on foolhardy one-man rescue missions - some would call it heroic, but it didn't work, so that makes it foolhardy! (See the Charge of the Light Brigade for further distinction)

 

[catsclaw227]

Almost every game session someone in the group goes into negatives or close to it. I have killed a few, but not too many, characters. Yeah it sucks when one dies but I never look at it as a me versus them. I don't pull punches if it's something meaningful, eg fighting the BBEG (or one of them as it sounds like this was Grallak Kur) So in this case, it was Grallak or one of his guards whom the characters should be mad at, not you.

Also, if they don't taste death early in Age of Worms, they will soon get used to it. Spire of Long Shadows, aka TPK and total campaign kill, will take care of that.

It was Grallak Kur and the encounter with he and his guards at the bottom of the Temple of Erythnul. Two of the Grimlocks in another encounter area had escaped down there, so the PCs knew there was something up.

I'm curious as to how the rogue lived when the barbarian was just executed without a second thought by the villain. Surely they would have gutted the rogue as well before the rest of the party arrived?

They were going to sacrifice the rogue to their God, and even though he was grappled, he was squirming around pretty good. It took two of them to hold on as long as they did (his Escape Artist was +9) and when the fighter came rumbling down, the priest basically said "Enough with it, kill them both". The next round, the rogue broke free from his handlers with a consecutive 19 and 20.

He and I talked about it this evening, and even though he has some attachment to the character, he understands the consequences, but it still pretty much sucks. He will likely play the Warblade and see how it goes. I think he'll like the new character as well, and I hope he develops the same kind of attachment as before.

 

[kinem]

I agree with Gort. It's important to let the death stick. Otherwise, the challenge of the game is lost; the players will know you will always bail them out.

A hero who believes he can never lose is no true hero; he makes no sacrifice by fighting for his cause.

Also, anyone who wins a nearly endless string of fights is bound to believe he can never lose.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

This just seems to me to be a case of the dice not falling the way of the PC's. No-one did anything wrong. Personally I think the game isn't as fun without the risk of death. Obviously you think differently (and it is your game) so you need to think about what you might do to reduce the risk of death in the future. Shilsen's action point suggestion sounds like one rule that may fit in with your game.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Gort]

I wouldn't go altering any rules over it, but privately (IE: Don't tell your players) deciding to be a little more conservative in how you play your enemies for a period after a character death is not a poor idea.

 

[Fifth Element]

I wouldn't go altering any rules over it, but privately (IE: Don't tell your players) deciding to be a little more conservative in how you play your enemies for a period after a character death is not a poor idea.

Agreed. If a PC death concerns you, my first thought would be "why the coup de grace then?" Couldn't the barbarian have been taken prisoner as the halfling was?

 

[danzig138]

In my style of DMing, I am not an opponent of the players.

Like the other guy said, being an opponent of the players has nothing to do with PCs dying. One is not dependant on the other.

Now...... As a DM I hated the scenario. . . And that CDG is so... final.

If you all know the one character likes to charge in, and the rogue scouts, then you had to know something like this was a possibility. And being final is what makes it a CDG. If you don't want it to be final, don't CDG someone.

How do you all handle these sort of situations?

What sorts of situations? The kind where characters die? I usually end up shaking my head saying "Seriously, how did you expect that to work?"

What do you think of PC Deaths,?

It happens. Sometimes the dice are against you, and sometimes, you do stupid things. As a DM, I don't really give it much thought - I keep going with the game. The last time I played a character that died (as a result of a failed Climb checked), I laughed at the "How the hell did I miss that?" of it.

DO you feel that the RAW can be so lethal at times, or do you play, "Let the dice fall where they may..." and be done with it?

Sure the RAW can be lethal. Did you mean "too lethal"? Even so, I don't see what the RAW being to lethal has to do with letting the dice fall where they will. And yes, I firmly believe that if you don't want the dice to dictate the restuls, you shouldn't roll them. If you don't want a roll of the dice to kill a PC, then you shouldn't be rolling dice for combat - IMO, etc.

How do you handle the fact that it sucks to have a PC die when you have invested time and emotion into it?

What is there to handle? He's dead. In some games, he'll get reincarnated or resurrected and keep on keeping on. In others, he'll stay dead, in which case, it's handled by getting to work on the next character who will hopefully have better luck.