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Message: <blockquote data-quote="catsclaw227" data-source="post: 4044870" data-attributes="member: 14197">In our Saturday night AoW game, a PC died. And it kinda sucks.This may not seem strange to most, but I really don't like DMing a PC death.  In my style of DMing, I am not an opponent of the players. I very rarely have a PC death because it sucks for a player to become emotionally invested in a PC over many sessions, only to have the dice decide for them that they die.First, let me give you the particulars...The halfling rogue was sneaking down deep into a cavern, through narrow and treacherous passages, about 90 seconds ahead of the party.  He had Darkvision still on, and when he got down there, he saw a high priest performing a ritual with a single (Grimlock) guard next to him and two more at the entrance of the cavern.  Thinking there was a summoning going on, the rogue chucked a thunderstone to disrupt the Grimlock priest and started to run.  A nice shot with the thundestone, but a terrible initiative later, he was grappled by two guards near the entrance and dragged to the high priest.  The wizard's familiar sent empathic message back to his master with "Halfling Captured" in the subject line, and the party fighter barbarian rumbled down after him.Now, the fighter/barbarian has been known to be rash and make quick, foolish decisions in the past that created problems, and now he was moving full move 40', with a good balance check down the poor footing to save the halfling.  The party cleric and wizard were moving at 20' and the priest had poor balance checks (-6 with armor and 8 DEX).The ftr/brb rumbles down and when he gets into the cavern the high priest cast a hold person.  one terrible save later and he is held and a grimlock moves to Coup De Gras.  One full round later the PC ftr/brb is dead -- even with action point usage.Now......  As a DM I hated the scenario.  The players started arguing again about how the guy with the fighter acted all brash again, and he defended saying he was trying to save the  halfling, and I was bummed that Hold Person was so damn powerful for a low level spell. And that CDG is so... final.Eventually, the party won the battle (barely, and with a prodigious use of Action Points), but the PC death hung in the room like a dark cloud.I know a lot of DMs and players aren't as affected by PC deaths, and some are downright flippant about it, but in my game, our group game, it's a big deal.  I generally don't let dice  kill PCs, only players can kill their own PCs through bad decisions.  And in some sense a bad decision (that had happened before) was made to charge into the room without regard for consequences.  But it was totally cinematic cool, and yet the RAW says he should die.I did mismanage a part of the scenario, and though it wouldn't have effected the outcome of the HP/CDG, I want to let the player decide if his PC is truly dead, or if he is just badly wounded, maybe give him some permanent reminder of the battle.He was reluctantly stating up a Warblade (*which he DOES want to play eventually*), but he liked his PC a lot and he's become part of the growing PC story.So, for now, I have presented the player with the choice, to decide before the next session (this coming Saturday).  We'll see what happened.How do you all handle these sort of situations?  What do you think of PC Deaths,?  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?How do you handle the fact that it sucks to have a PC die when you have invested time and emotion into it?  (I am not talking about obsessive freaky emotion, we are all normal dudes with wives, GFs, families, jobs and stuff.  No one in the group would be considered a social misfit be general society.)Thanks for your feedback.</blockquote>

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