I killed my first PC tonight

[The Lost Muse]

It just seemed like they couldnt roll the dice well.

You could always house-rule that skill checks are rolled using 2d10, or some other combination of dice rather than a d20. The benefit of this is that it will give results clustered closer to the middle of the range, rather than a 5% chance of any given result. This allows skilled characters to be more successful in using their skills, while those without ranks still may succeed at less complicated tasks.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I killed 2 pcs - 2 sessions back - ghouls willing to Coup de Grace are deadly.
and it was one players first death ever. Im almost glad it was 2 instead of just her, as the other was the oldest and most mature player in the game. Both were rasied as the players had just had a hugely sucessful adventure, and actually had the 10k on hand.
(the priest waved the spell casting cost but not the material components)

 

[Aust Diamondew]

People die. If there were no risk of death the game wouldn't be fun. I'd be more angry if the DM 'pulled his punches' or cheated to keep my character alive than if my character died.
It sounds to me like they got really unlucky.
Do what I do in my games, you don't die until you reach your constitution score plus your hit dice in negative hit points (minimum of -10).
I do this because I don't have raise dead/ressurection/true ressurection in my game. And I find increasing how many negative HPs you can drop to increases survivability a good deal.

 

[Old One]

This is a tough situation - especially with fairly new players/DMs. However, as others have noted, the risk of death and injury should be there, otherwise campaigns can turn into CRPGs on "safe mode". One suggestion is to turn this into a positive for both you and the player and build some additional depth in the campaign in the process.

Work with the player to create another PC - perhaps a brother, sister or other relation of the dead PC. It gives them a motivator to adventure - revenge, sorrow, etc. In addition, you could weave a quest to raise the dead PC into the campaign, which would allow the player to switch back to the old PC if successful (although, since the PC is a druid, the reincarnation route might be more appropriate).

This might have been a situation where action points would have helped out. I am a big fan of action points, if used in moderation.

~ OO

 

[reveal]

I have always hated the "10% chance of stabilizing" rule. No matter how tough your character is, they only have a 10% chance of surviving if no one heals them? That doesn't make sense, especially when you're talking about characters who get stronger/faster/better as they progress in levels.

I liked the fact that, in d20 Modern, you make a Fort save DC 20 to stabilize so I made it a House Rule in my D&D games. It makes sense that the tougher your character is, the better his/her chances of survival.

I would also, as has been posted here already, talk to the players and figure out what they could have done differently. It's a learning experience all around when a player dies. The players learn what to do, or what not to do, and the DM learns the same.

 

[BlackMoria]

The first 'kill' is the hardest. They should get easier.

Actually, action points or hero points would be a good thing to implement - giving the players a chance to deal with 'bad luck' rolls while still making it possible for character death.

 

[Dextolen]

Assuming an encounter level is appropriate for the characters, if the party is uncoordinated enough to let someone bleed to death, then they deserve it. There are sooo many options available to parties to help in this situation. Rogues can take ranks in Use Magical Device, people can carry potions to administer to others, people can make heal checks. Playing in a Midnight campaign has really taught me some pointers in effective party survival tactics, we have seen some amazing rescues in our time, some that should earn extra XP for the characters that risked their necks for their fellow adventurer.

Critical hits happen. Remember that the players get them too, so it's fair. I don't coupe de grace bleeding characters, I assume that the combatants are too concerned with taking out the people holding the nasty weapons and waving their hands in spell preparation to worry about some guy who's gurgling on the floor.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Let the dice fall where they may.


(They made it to 4th level with their first characters without dying? I think you have been too easy on them.)

 

[Grazzt]

The first 'kill' is the hardest. They should get easier.

Actually, action points or hero points would be a good thing to implement - giving the players a chance to deal with 'bad luck' rolls while still making it possible for character death.

True. They do get easier after that first time (first one I ever killed was back in early/mid 80s in Bone Hill).

 

[Celebrim]

Deaths happen. This was a dice death all the way around. It happens. EL 4 should not be too tough for 3 4th level characters, so its not like you've done a bad thing. The one caution I would give you is that without a tank in the party, combat against tanks is going to be problimatic. They really need a fighter to stand up front and take that sort of thing, and it would be really worth it to bring a 4th person into the group. Otherwise, you as a DM are going to have to focus heavily on problem solving situataions and keep combat to a minimum (and a EL rating or two lower than normal).

But no matter how good the party is, occassionally they are going to have dice deaths when everything that they've planned just for these emergencies fails them because the dice aren't with them. It's part of the game. You can give out action points if you like, but don't expect that to actually solve the problem because sometimes the dice are just too powerful to overcome. If the game didn't involve any chance of death, it would be a totally different game.

Losing a character is tough, especially if its never happened before or its a character that you've been running for a long time and have become attached to. Losing a character is not fun. I don't think there is a player out there who hasn't felt utterly low and dejected at some point after a character died. You as a player have to be able to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, say to yourself, 'It's only a game' and then start thinking of a new character to play. If you take too much offense at what the dice do to you, you're likely to end up giving up the game completely and spend your life running a juice stand.