Character dies mid-adventure

[DiFier]

What happens if you use the new pc is a prisoner that the party releases approach? A prisoner wold not have any gear. he may get found stuff but he would be far behind the rest of the party. Gear is very important in D&D and even if he got hand outs from the rest of the party he wouldn't have the kind of stuff that the group has. Perhaps a person starting out as a prisoner should have a higher level than a starting player who just walks up to the party with all his gear.

What do you think.

 

[Stone D. Mason]

If it is in the middle of a dungeon or other unaccessable place I would do a prisoner type scenario.

I once had this happen and I felt bad, as the person who died was really just a hit point battery for all the cowardly mages. They were in a tomb of an ancient mage.

I had the guy who died roll up a new character; a fighter. I had him placed in suspended animation (supposidly for over 1000 years) with all his gear where the mage was entombed. I told him that he had once been the son and a guard in training of the very powerful ex-mage, and that he was sent into discovery so that he could spred the word of the mage's victories.

Also, the very powerful curse that the mage had placed on him was slow to wear off, once the spell was triggered by a contingency to fall when discovered. This had some odd effects, due to the age of the spell. While I started the character off at a higher level (about 2 levels higher) he was rather "slow" to begin with, and was therefor unable to "learn" as quickly as the spell began to sputter out.

Yet, the character began with a great background, had initial purpose, it made the other characters actually do something, and explained his initiation... Granted I had to do some fancy leg working, but it is a fantasy world..

Use you imagination.

 

[Silver Moon]

We always got around that problem by bringing along one NPC on each adventure, so that there was a fall back in case of a lost character, and also for that there would be something for the occassional guest to play. It also helps to balance out the party if a main character class isn't represented, rather than making somebody play their 2nd character choice. We have a core group of around 10 NPC's to draw from, some being characters of players who left the group, others that have always been NPC's but have particpated in enough modules to be in the same level range as most of the PC's.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'd suggest with using one level below the last character that player had. Exactly the same as if he'd been raised.

Also, I'd make some sort of effort to place the new PC in the same sort of situation as the old one - if the old one's gear has been destroyed, then the new one should have some form of impairment, or the decision to swap characters is made far too easily (Hmm - old character with no gear, or new character with full gear? Gee, I wonder...)

 

[Iced Tea]

i would say one level lower than the highest leveld character. ahh that prisoner scenario reminds me of my first character death 10 years ago when my mom, dming, killed my dwarf (we started when my mom bought us the dnd boxed set, and she dmed!) with a snake, and i was found in the next room chained to the wall.

jake, aka moleculo, subversivly using his little brothers enworld account

 

[Sixchan]

i would say one level lower than the highest leveld character. ahh that prisoner scenario reminds me of my first character death 10 years ago when my mom, dming, killed my dwarf (we started when my mom bought us the dnd boxed set, and she dmed!) with a snake, and i was found in the next room chained to the wall.

jake, aka moleculo, subversivly using his little brothers enworld account

So when the 5th level Wizard dies, he comes in one level behind the 7th level fighter?
That sounds like the best damn deal ever.

 

[Tabarnak Smokeblower]

What happens if you use the new pc is a prisoner that the party releases approach? A prisoner wold not have any gear. he may get found stuff but he would be far behind the rest of the party. Gear is very important in D&D and even if he got hand outs from the rest of the party he wouldn't have the kind of stuff that the group has. Perhaps a person starting out as a prisoner should have a higher level than a starting player who just walks up to the party with all his gear.

What do you think.

Well, the living PC's probably still have the dead PC's stuff, so they can arrange it so they can outfit the new-found PC pretty well...

You shouldn't be REWARDED by dying...

TS

 

[David Argall]

newbie

Back in 2e, I always demanded the new PC be 1st level, and it's still a valid position. As said, death should be a penalty.
Moreover, replacing dead PC with newcomers of fairly close level pretty much means the campaign will come to an end. The party is nearly guaranteed to reach 20th, or whatever level the dm just can't manage a decent challenge. A game where the PCs are replaced with 1st levels as they die is potentially immortal.


However, in 2e, by the time the party had gained a level or so, the newbie was just a level behind. The 3e rules grant levels much faster, so the new PC stays the party wimp much longer. Start a new PC when the party is 6th level and they are about 15th before you are pretty equal with them.
[This is a flaw of the new system and slower advancement would be an improvement.]

replacing the dead guy, and his equipment, is routine. Having him in 1 cell, and his goods in the next, may be a chiche, but it keeps the game flowing. And for a little variety, the newbie was wandering this dungeon and found this magic mirror...of random teleport..