How do I deal with a player that kills his character on purpose?

[Committed Hero]

I'd let him make a new character, and have the old one exit, only to return and betray/haunt the party at a later date.

Ten levels higher than he was when he left.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I would find out why he wants a new character so bad. If it is because he feels underpowered and you start him at a lower level, then you will still have an unhappy player. IMO, a PC should never start 2 levels below the rest of the party, there is way too much discrepancy in power and the player becomes more of an NPC. Starting at 1/2 your current level is the worst solution I have ever heard. Most likely that player will die over and over again and never feel an equal part of the team, and for good reason, because he is not even close to being even.

IMO, the game is about fun. Find out what the character dislikes, maybe a tweak to his existing character (swapping feats or skill point etc) or a new character. I personally would start the PC at the same level as the last character, but at the lowest XP for that level. If he and or the rest of the party had just raised a level, I would start him at one lvl lower than the rest, but with 1/4-1/2 of the XP needed to get to the next level.

 

[Gundark]

I offered to let him retire the character, but he said no, he would finish out the campaign they party was in, and 30 minutes later the character was dead and they were a long way from home.

As a standard rule for my players, when a character dies, the new one is created at half the level of the old one. They get whatever basic equipment they want and 1 minor magic item of their choice that fits with the character.

I just want to avoid the player thinking his character isn't strong enough and wanting a new one to build up. It doesn't seem fair to the other players who have evolved their characters as members of a group that have developed a dynamic that has to change just because one player isn't happy that his character doesn't kick (what he feels as enough) butt. The character that died, was the only brother to another party member, so not only did he have another party memeber die, but his brother.

Well it sounds like that you have done everything that you can, if the player complains then too bad. It's been my experience that when a player character jumps like that it may be that he isn't enjoying the whole campaign. Maybe he finds it boring and he's looking for an interesting character to make up for what he perceives to be a boring campaign. I'm not saying your boring, but find out what the other players think. I've had the whole groups except for one player who enjoyed the game, and the one player would jump from character to character

 

[jcfiala]

I've kind of done this before - I had a Paladin I'd gotten tired of, so I got maybe a little reckless with him in battle. When he died (not entirely his fault), I declined him being back to life and brought in a character one level lower.

Half character level seems an extreme penalty. Do you want people who die to leave the campaign? Because against a rule like that, it's probably what I'd do.

It's a game. If someone isn't enjoying it, then there should be ways for him to change character or leave.

 

[Evilhalfling]

at half level ? - Ow.
harsh, one of the players I game with has died 5-6 times in as many games. we raised his first char 3 times - and finally he retired him as he was 3 lvls below party average and headed downward. IC he was just tired of dieing and retired from adventuring. Playing at 1/2 party level would really annoy me and seems unplayable unless your campaign is heavily slanted away from combat. In 3.x catching up is so much slower than previous versions.
okay I take it back after cruching numbers its not that bad until you are only a level behind.
in two cases 10th & 5 /6th & 3rd its a 2:1 level gain until you get right below party level.

still I agree with the other posters, retiring should be possible, but not without some cost, at least a level. With no penalties some players would retire after one death, instead of being raised.

 

[IronWolf]

It sounds like there was another issue going on. Is there a reason the player wanted to kill his character? Bored with his character concept? Feeling underpowered? Not liking how his character fit in with the campaign story arc? Or maybe just craving attention? I think trying to find the answers to these questions will help.

If the player was not happy playing the same character then retirement is a decent option (though it sounds like you offered him that option). As others have said, the game is supposed to be, maybe a character concept just didn't work as planned or prove to be as fun as initially thought.

And finally I wouldn't start new characters more than a level below the party average. There starts to be a wider gap in power and now even more possibility of the person becoming board with what their character can or cannot do.

 

[Turanil]

<...>He was glad to be able to roll up a new character<...>

Any input would be great, we play again tonight.

If you want to penalize him, just have him begin any new character at 0 XPs while all other PCs accumulate XPs and level over the course of the campaign. This should make him twice about re-rolling every time. (because half-level if everybody is still level 1...)

Why the player was dissatisfied with his character? Maybe he hadn't created a PC that finally wasn't to his taste (don't enjoy the class or concept). Or is it that he considered he hadn't high enough ability scores? If such ability scores are rolled, it's up to you to determine if it was justified or not. Myself I use the point-buy system, so there cannot be whining about bad dice rolls.

 

[LadyDM]

Find out what the character dislikes, maybe a tweak to his existing character (swapping feats or skill point etc) or a new character.

The character was working on being like a Zen master and as part of the story line, was studying with a master to attain a hghr level of concentration and abilities. The player and I talked about how he could get the abilities he wanted and he agreed that the charater would be servant to a master for 10 years to learn wha the could to be a master himself. A few weeks later, he didn't want to be a servant for very long, (it was too boring, not enough action) but wanted the abilities. So I had the character study books to do the same thing. the character would have to spend a certain number of hours reading then roll to be sure he gained the knowledge. He was able to concentrate for a full round and the next round, he would gain a +1 to anything he rolled for. My thought was that as he progressed in his studies, he would get higher bonuses to his rolls and that the time would also increase. I advised the player that this was the plan for the character to progress and he agreed. I placed libraries around in major cities that had the books needed and also as part of the storyline, he could check out the books for a limited time. The player never went to the libraries and didn't want to spend the time reading, he just wanted the ability.

I feel I was more than accomodating to the player and the character to meet his expectations and make it fun for him as well as the rest of the players.

 

[Turanil]

A few weeks later, he didn't want to be a servant for very long, (it was too boring, not enough action) but wanted the abilities. <...> The player never went to the libraries and didn't want to spend the time reading, he just wanted the ability.

Okay so it's a munchkin / powergamer (and maybe a whiner?). It would be me, gaining any kind of Zen abiities or what not would be done through the game mechanics. That is: gaining appropriate but regular feats and skills, at the relevant levels, if possible in conjunction with an appropriate regular prestige class. In any case, I can but hardly suggest to have him begin anew at 0 XPs (or half level if other PCs are above 3rd level), and use a point-buy system!

 

[taliesin15]

lady DM writes:
The character was working on being like a Zen master and as part of the story line, was studying with a master to attain a hghr level of concentration and abilities. The player and I talked about how he could get the abilities he wanted and he agreed that the charater would be servant to a master for 10 years to learn wha the could to be a master himself. A few weeks later, he didn't want to be a servant for very long, (it was too boring, not enough action)

*****
been agreeing with much of this thread, and this point dovetails nicely with a suggestion I was going to make--in this case, why not just have this character go off for ten years, effectively retiring her/him, and just start up with the new one, coming back to it later or whatever

just gotta say I love some of these avatars, like know the toe's