Ever felt bad killing off a character?

[Edgewood]

During the last game I ran for my group, one of the characters died. This is no biggie but one thing I should note is that the character had been in the campaign I've been running for 3 years and had finally met his fate. The player was understandably upset for a short period but has now set his sights on a new character. What I was surprised at was how bad I felt killing this character. He was a really great character who had such an amazing history, and now that he has passed on, I sort of miss him. Now I know that I could simply have some cleric come along and just bring him back but when I asked the player if his character would return, he said, "No.....I think he's happy where he is now."

The other PCs in the group now speak fondly of this character; things such as "...hey, remember the time when he did this? Or, Oh yeah, he really liked dwarven ale....". So my point is, did you ever have a character die in your campaign only to realize that you sort of feel bad about it afterward?

 

[BlackMoria]

No...no regrets. Death and dying is part of the game and as DM, I haven't invested too much into PCs or NPCs. The NPCs are to provide the story and when necessary, the cannonfodder for the PCs to mow over. Can't invest too much into characters who job is to do a good show and then croak.

And for PCs....they are the for the players to run and I haven't had the players invest into their characters to any great degree that would have me feel bad that one of the characters died. I mean, if my players don't get worked up when a long running character buys it, then why would I.

 

[Wombat]

Sure, I felt bad a couple times when a particularly dynamic PC died in combat to one of my NPCs or critters. Why shouldn't people feel bad for the passing of a good character? That's why my players actually "maintain" a "graveyard" for dead PCs and interesting NPCs. Gives them a sense of history, re-invokes powerful stories, and the like.

OTOH, if the luck of the dice is against the character, their time is up and that is all there is.

Still, it sometimes feels like a really great story was cut off before the true ending.

 

[IronWolf]

I have felt bad for killing off a character. While I let the dice fall where they may I do not take great joy in killing of characters. But, to not kill them off takes away from the game in my opinion. If they think I will bend over backwards to not kill them then soon the game dulls as the uncertainty is less.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Yes. I used to make it a point to roll in front of the players, which can have some very sad consequences (like a single round kill on the wizard). They have since convinced me to leave it behind the screen so I can lie.

TPKs are worse, unless the party was really stupid.

The Auld Grump

 

[Talmun]

I would say that, most of the time, I feel a little remorse when a PC hits (and bites) the dust...not enough to change the outcome any, but still...

IMC there are penty of ways the party could have the character in question brought back, if that's what the player wants, so the twinge of guilt is pretty short lived, and followed quickly by the maniacal DM laugh (tm)

 

[Starglim]

I had some regret in declaring dead a character who had been knocked unconscious and dragged off by carnivorous primitives, really through the poor decisions of her companions rather than any fault of her own. The player had put a fair bit of thought into a background and I'd already placed future events to tie into it, as well as developing strong relationships that in some ways tied the party together.

But I agree, if the players show no regard to keeping their characters or the campaign alive there's no problem in obliging them.

 

[twofalls]

If I don't feel a bit of regret over killing a character one of two things is happening; the character is completly unestablished (which is almost impossible because I require background write ups and work with Players on creating good ones), or I'm annoyed at the player. In the second case I have to step back and figure out a better resolution for my irritation and figure out what caused it.

In all cases I feel a bit of regret when a player's character dies... particuarly ones that have suvived and are cherished by their players. That being said its part of the game, and without it the risk leaves the game as does the thrill and excitment of dangerous situations. So I kill em... ususally.

I did just post a recent thread in which I allowed a player to choose not to let his PC die and be crippled instead. That's the exception not the rule however.

 

[nopantsyet]

Oh, sure. I always feel bad about. There have been characters I wouldn't have felt bad about killing off, but those aren't the ones who have died. Mortality is random and infrequent.

 

[Bryan898]

At times. I've fudged before because I didn't feel like killing the character at that moment, or it was anti-clamatic.