Dilemma time! Help?

[orcmonk220]

Hiya all
Well, I'm at a dilemma. And that dilemma is: Do I kill off a character?

Here's the backstory, which may contain spoilers:

I'm running the Seeds of Sehan campaign arc. The players caught the drug-dealer, Kurasi, who decided to lure them back to the hideout to be eaten by the Lifeleech Otyugh. They fell for it, and when they heard the Otyugh snoring, Kurasi claimed it was a gnome (he'd spun them a sob-story, saying that the gnomes had forced his tribe to sell Green Welcome). Anyway, the Bard crosses to try enchant the 'gnome', taking only his lute with him. Next thing they know, the Otyugh's attacked with surprise, and Kurasi is running off in the opposite direction. Initiatives are rolled, and, surprisingly, the Otyugh wins (score of 19, only just beaten by the hidden Spriggan furthur away. The Ptyugh lashes out and grapples the Bard, starting to constrict. The Bard's down to 2hp and the Otyugh has 3 attacks left, and everyone's too far away to reach the Bard this round.

So, what do I do? Should I start fudging, or what? They were tricked, which is pretty bad, but none thought to role sense motives, and the Bard didn't bring a weapon or anything. What would other DMs do?

 

[Kaladhan]

He isn't dead yet. He might go into negatives, but that doesn't mean he will die 100% guaranteed (unless I'm wrong and Otyugh have some kind of abilities I'm not aware of).

So I say let things fall where they may.

 

[Modoc]

As a fellow DM, my players are warned their characters could die. If they do not want their characters to ever die, they should find another group. With that being said, If you decide to kill off the character, which sounds like the thing that should happen; you might try to make it as graphic and heroic as possibly. I think this will minimize the anguish of the player feels for his/her dead character.

 

[gizmo33]

So, what do I do?

Roll the dice and see what happens. Sounds like the bard is 99% likely to die. The player will then make up a new character. If you don't like characters dying in your campaign then I suggest using an action points mechanic.

 

[blargney the second]

How smart/confident is the Otyugh? If it's dumb and brash, it might just dip the bard in tainted sewage and throw him at the other PCs as a weapon. Living with humiliation can be worse than dying. Getting a highly contagious disease in the bargain is even better.

 

[orcmonk220]

He's Int 7, and told to stop all trespassers. I think I'm going to let him go out with style, but we'll see where the dice go first

 

[orcmonk220]

Yes, the dice will kill hom. However, he dropped to negatives before he dies, so he'd stop moving then. Therefore, i think the Otyugh would release him first, and not continue to try kill.

 

[gizmo33]

Yes, the dice will kill hom. However, he dropped to negatives before he dies, so he'd stop moving then. Therefore, i think the Otyugh would release him first, and not continue to try kill.

Why? Isn't the Otyugh's purpose to eat the bard? He wouldn't continue to crush his dinner with his tentacle once it's ready to be consumed. Unless the Otyugh is just trying to teach the bard a lesson, in which case he should let the bard flee and then yell "and don't come back!" at him as he leaves.

(Edit: If I were the Otyugh, I'd pop the bard's head off with my tentacle and chew on it like a jawbreaker candy while I battled the other PCs. Otyugh's probably aren't much for delayed gratification.)

 

[billd91]

Um, if they're being lied to, they shouldn't have to think about sense motive rolls. A player can always request one, but if they're being bluffed by the NPC, that NPC should be beating their sense motives. As a DM, I recommend having a list of everyone's spot, listen, and sense motive scores for just such an occasion. Then you can roll both your bluff and sense motive without making it obvious to the players that the NPC is someone they should make a sense motive roll against.

 

[Asmor]

Let the dice land where they may.

For what it's worth, I don't think sense motive is one of those skills PCs should ask to roll (just like they should never ask to roll a spot check). It's a reflex. If an NPC lies to them, they automatically get to make the roll (or you make it in secret if you don't want to burden your players with meta-knowledge).