Campaign gone horribly wrong

[Tala Taproot]

They were killed in a tomb huh?

So this tomb they all died in was that of a group of legendary brothers?

Were these legendary brothers religious? If so, you could have them "awaken" into whatever afterlife the brothers went to after they died. They can meet the dead heroes (and have a small adventure in a strange and wondrous place) who want them to return and avenge their bloodline. The dead brothers (perhaps with the assistance of their patron deity) resurrect the PCs and off you go.

Now - where were the PCs’ bodies? Did the hired muscle leave them in the tomb? Did they take the bodies to the Mayor? What would the Mayor do with such bodies (clearly he shouldn’t have destroyed the bodies)?

Some things you might consider: Resurrecting PCs isn’t done lightly – perhaps the players are mistaken for undead when they return (the Mayor hung them in the town square for all to see)? Maybe the patron deity of the brothers (assuming there was one) wants a service (or services) in return for their lives. Maybe a long dead enemy of the brothers laid a curse on their tomb and it attaches to the souls of the players when they die there. Maybe all of the above.

 

[rln]

Revenants

Have the party rise as a kind of revenants. Tell them that they are dead, but cannot rest until they've found their murderers. Their quest will be to find rest - to actually die and get closure. First they'll have to trace down their killers and slay them. When this doesn't help, they'll have to find the true culprit. On the way, they will be harassed by villagers who doesn't appreciate undead running around in their village. Perhaps the mayor hires (good-aligned!) adventurers to track down the evil undead pests! What moral problems!

I would probably introduce it by talking to the cleric character, telling him that he awakens, watching a floating symbol. From the symbol [the insignia of a god of revenge] he feels power emanating... power that strengthens him. He drags himself to his feet, and finds he has the power to cast an unknown spell of some sort. When he does, the rest of the party will start to move.

Initially, they may think they've been resurrected by divine intervention - but after some time, it should be apparent that something else has happened to them... gradually I would introduce them to what REALLY is going in on

If they were really attached to their characters, I'd give them a chance to actually turn back into living beings again - though that would NOT be divine intervention-related. They went and got themselves killed, they'll have to work to become living again. Of course, I'd personally enjoy playing the epic moment when the revenants actually go back to their tombs and die.

Ooh, I'm feeling evil today! I must use this in my campaign the next time there's a party wipe!

 

[rln]

So... how did it go?

 

[Celebrim]

Basically, unrecoverable situation.

I think the only thing you did wrong was have the PC's be totally outclassed by the hired muscle. They are heroes. They should never be outclassed by goons, unless the plan is to capture them and have the villian reveal his true identity and all his secret nefarious plans.

That is the way heroic stories work.

DM's always need back up plans. Every time you have a situation where the plot depends on a PC choice, you need to have a backup plan for railroading the PC's back onto the plot. The quality of the DM is shown by how easily he can cope with things like that without the PC's ever knowing that they did something 'they weren't supposed to do'. In this case, you left the PC's only one path to victory. They had to act perfectly or fail.

The 'oops' the PC's made was not nearly so foolish as to warrant a TPK, realistic or not.

What should have happen is the PC's went back to the tomb, found the evidence missing, and got into a sharp fight with some goons. But, being heroes they overcome, and then face the paradyme shift. "OH NO! THE VILLIAN IS REALLY..."

That's a great plot, and you almost nailed it perfectly. The only problem is in your story, the PC's weren't the heroes. They were the victims. You really want to avoid ever scripting it that way.