D&D 4E How have PCs died in your 4e games?

[Smoke Jaguar]

This is something that I struggle with. I am afraid that I might be too easy on the PC's. I try to push them and have them feel a true sense of urgency and threat but they are so powerful. I was DM'ing a group of 7 PC's and only 1 PC has done saving rolls and made it on their first attempt. I almost had another one die, he was pinned under a dire wolf, but the group saved him in time. All this was done without a healer in the group, and one just joined last week. Now with a healer, I don't think I will ever have a PC die.

 

[MrMyth]

Deaths I have seen:

Keep on the Shadowfell, final battle. Our wizard falls, and is being sucked into the planar rift. We burn all sorts of action points, risk OAs, and do everything possible to drag him out just in time... for him to fail his last death save anyway.

Mid-paragon, while the group is trapped in some sort of ghost round, our bard drops in the midst of a tough fight. No other easy way to get healing to him, the one shot we get at stabilizing him fails, and he bleeds out during the fight.

Mid-epic, the party is infested with Chaos Phage (and made an agreement to not try and fight off the infection magically). Most fight it off naturally... the Avenger does not, and Slaadpoles burst from his forehead. Same happens with the Warlock, but he's a level 24 Lich, and so instantly puts himself back together again.

A few levels later, the party is trapped in ancient Nerath and fighting hordes of Gnolls. The Avenger goes toe to toe with their warleader, a ranger who unleashes a Blade Cascade. A few hits, and the Avenger hits negative bloodied - though the Warden, nearby, is a Guardian of the World Tree and can die in his place and then return the following round.

Later, while suffering another nasty affliction, they decide to use Remove Affliction on it despite it being a level 30 effect. They do this carefully, when they are pretty confident the Avenger (also a Deva) won't fail the check. After getting a good deal of success, he offers to cleanse the Warden (despite the Warden having been doing pretty well fighting it off naturally). Natural 1 on the heal check, and natural 1 on the Memories of a Thousand Lifetimes to boost the check, and the Warden dies.

There may be one or two others I am forgetting. Not a ton, but enough to keep the party on their toes - lethality has gone up a bit since reaching Epic (partly due to the fact the party has several 'return from death powers' anyway).

 

[Prestidigitalis]

It's a fantasy game, being "attached" to a toon and having it die should not lead to depression or anger.

The tragic events of Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer shouldn't make me cry, either, but they did. We aren't all Spock.

 

[ExploderWizard]

So far in the campaign there have been 2 character deaths. Both have been the result of poor or rash decision making by the player.

#1 was an over-eager, roided up half orc barbarian (level 1). The party was doing some scouting in the woods and encountered a wandering gnoll hunting party. The half orc won initiative and charged headlong into a line of 4 gnoll spearmen. The gnolls got to act before the rest of the party.
Half-orc kebobs all around. The rest of the PC's did win the engagement though.

#2 happened just last session. It was series of unfortunate events, in that one player didn't show up and another two were running late so the three that were there opted to begin anyhow.

The three: dwarven paladin (level 4 dead dwarf walking), human ranger (5th level), and gnome bard (5th level) . Just after we began the rogue's player shows up (human rogue 4) and joins the group.

The PC's were investigating a narrow tunnel that led into a larger cave. The entrance to the cave was warded by 3 shriekers (fungi minions) that started their yapping as the party approached. This alerted 4 violet fungi further back in the cave to intruders/ a meal. The fungi were slow (move 2) but had 4 tentacle attacks at reach 2 each. The attacks dealt 5 poison damage each w/ ongoing 3 (The ongoing was small but DID stack!!) One save wiped it all out though.

The dwarf decided to charge forth and lay about him with his mighty mordenkrad. He soon found himself beset by 3 of the 4 vile fungi which launched 12 attacks attacks at him! 9 hits took him down to a single hit point. He had run around a bend far ahead and out of LOS of the bard who would have to double move and suffer 3 OA's to try a heal. The dwarf dropped dead at the beginning of his next turn.

About that time, the dragonborn pally player shows up and joins the action. Both he AND the ranger have items with resist poison 5 making them immune to all damage from the fungi. We all laugh as they realize this.

Haste makes waste (and can waste you).

 

[holywhitetrash]

since i started 4th ed like a year ago
6 died in the first campaign i played (tpk)
in the next campaign 2 died in the thunderspire place, later in that same campaign 2 more died to vortex wraith, scarab things, and a trap haunt.
1 guy got killed by running into a room filled with rat swarms (his fault)
and in the chaos scar campaign there has been 2 deaths, 1 to the ants 1 to the zombies

so in total i have witnessed 13 character deaths

 

[Fridayknight]

Lol, theres a person in our group who has to roll up at least once a session. It's very funny, but it is almost always his fault. For example, yesterday he ran up to a tank (not in 4e) with a max-intelligence character without looking around for other people then, realising he was alone with 3BBEGs 5 enemies and a tank, he ran away. He died when the tank turret turned. I wasn't completely absolved from stupidity in the session (i also went behind the tank but it ran over my leg - i am now a one legged pirate)!

In my experience though in 4e most times peeps die because they are in-fighting (in happens too often) or they overestimate their abilities (who doesn't want to be the cool lycanthrope hunter - but at level 5 you will die even if your build is based to kill them).

 

[Aegeri]

OMG! You killed five of your players? I hope I won't ever meet you

I play realistic DnD here. When you die in the game, YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE.

 

[Shroomy]

I killed a PC in the second session of my campaign; a pair of post-errata needlefang drake swarms (as well as a bunch of halfling thugs) did in our 1st level tiefling bard (most of the party was also below 0 hit points by the end of that one, it was brutal).

In our first 4e campaign, the DM killed his wife's character, a revenant rogue by petrifying her (well, I guess technically she isn't dead, but we didn't bother to rescue her since she had to quit the campaign due to work); I can't remember which monster did that. The second death was our human star pact warlock. Fittingly, he had his brains sucked out by a mind flayer, though he too returned as a revenant (and a much more effective character). I thought we were going to die a bunch of times in that campaign.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I had a foolish human wizard wander off in KoTSF, and get ganked, from 2 criticals!, by a halfling and his triple sling-stone ability. Humiliation!

That little punk.

Took my rogue from full to unconscious in a hail of slingstones. DM was sure it wouldn't do much, and then rolled 3 18s.

He got away, too.


We've had one actual death that I can recall, when one of the group's DMs was getting to grips with 4e and was consistently overestimating our capability. Three hyenas kept eating the dwarven fighter until he went -bloodied.

Brad

 

[Rechan]

I play realistic DnD here. When you die in the game, YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE.

Blackleaf, no!