D&D General How Often Should a PC Die in D&D 5e?

[Imaro]

There is alot of discussion around whether 5e needs to be harder, more challenging and more deadly, so it got me to wondering just how deadly do people want their campaigns to be... I'm also curious on whether someone being a player or a DM affects the answer so feel free to let me know which you are. Finally I'd be interested in hearing why you feel your selection is the sweet spot and whether you feel it can be achieved with 5e and if not what edition or even other game you think hits your sweet spot better.

 

[aco175]

There is a difference between death, the possibility of death, and the possibility of coming back from death. As the DM, I present situations and maybe some warning if the players decide to do something and I think they might not have all the information, or I presented it wrong, but if they do something silly on their choice, someone might die.

If I do something and it is my fault for not presenting something right or if I make a combat wrong and someone dies, then they likely will come back or just not die. I shouldn't punish the PCs for my fault.

My games tend to have the possibility of death, but rarely actual death that is permanent. My campaigns tend to not go past 12-13th level, so I voted 1/campaign.

 

[pukunui]

I run my games such that the threat of death is generally ever present. However, I would not want to establish any kind of "character death should happen at X interval" paradigm. Character deaths should happen when they happen due to player choice and/or the vagaries of the dice. So maybe somewhere in between less than once per level but more than once per campaign?

That being said, I have run 5e campaigns where multiple characters have died in the span of a few sessions. One lasted less than an hour in real time. I don't think I've run any campaigns during which no PCs have died, although I did run a campaign where no PCs were replaced. The ones who died were either raised or reincarnated.

Needless to say, I have not voted.

 

[Zardnaar]

Voted once a campaign.

I don't even hit that. 1 fatality in 5 years. Death should always be a risk but not desired imho.

2 fatality but one player basically committed sepuku.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I would say that it should vary by campaign, but my default would be rarely but not never (I voted about once per campaign).

I've played in 5e campaigns where there were multiple deaths, and campaigns where there were no deaths. Both were enjoyable.

I prefer a lower chance of death as the default because it's always easier to make the game deadlier than less deadly. It's not hard to design scenarios that favor the enemy, such as ambushes. But if you want to make the game less deadly, what do you do; make every combat encounter a lone, sickly kobold? Admittedly, if the players don't want a deadlier game this can be an issue, but that's a mismatch of preferences within the group (which needs to be addressed outside the game).

 

[GMMichael]

PC deaths should be based on bad luck and bad decisions, not character level.

So I picked "multiple per character level," guessing that's how often some PCs can make bad decisions.

 

[Maxperson]

I run my games such that the threat of death is generally ever present. However, I would not want to establish any kind of "character death should happen at X interval" paradigm. Character deaths should happen when they happen due to player choice and/or the vagaries of the dice. So maybe somewhere in between less than once per level but more than once per campaign?

That being said, I have run 5e campaigns where multiple characters have died in the span of a few sessions. One lasted less than an hour in real time. I don't think I've run any campaigns during which no PCs have died, although I did run a campaign where no PCs were replaced. The ones who died were either raised or reincarnated.

Needless to say, I have not voted.

Yeah. I picked once per campaign, just because that's about how often it happens. Some campaigns a few times. However, I never have a preference for PC death. If it happens it happens. If not, not. It's always a possibility, though.

 

[Oofta]

While death is off the table, I can't really answer the question beyond that. I ask people how lethal they want the game to be during our session 0.

In general though, my preference is for low lethality. A character death just ends that character's story.

 

[ezo]

Can't answer as the appropriate options don't fit:

I prefer a game where a character death happens whenever the game determines it happens.

I don't care for some many times per level, multiple, or never. How the players play there characters is the major factor, but bad luck can result in death and that's fine--odds are if they got in that situation where bad luck can cause death, it was their decisions that put them there... and so they get whatever they have coming.

 

[Imaro]

Let me say these answers have been interesting and insightful. They also are making me wonder... what exactly is meant when people claim 5e isn't lethal enough or is easy mode...