Inconvenient PC death in D&D

[DonTadow]

Sorry but this is seriously lame.

DM- "Sorry, you died and itll be awhile before I can use you again, tough break. Take a few weeks off, Ill call you if you are needed again sooner".

Unless you all are gamers that work incredibly busy lives like NASA scientists or something, tossing out a player for a few weeks is a tad harsh.

I dont know about not having him play for a few weeks, but there's nothing lame about designing a nice intro for a new character as opposed to some concocted solution. That's why I always keep npcs in the background somewhere. There certainly has been a few weeks where a player will play the npc until a suitable character is discovered.

 

[Quartz]

Not a PC death, but in a previous campaign, my character was excluded from play - for good plot-related reasons - which left me with nothing to do for many hours. I got bored, then angry, then absolutely livid. Fortunately, I was able to go outside and play with the dog. I should have simply gone home and come back the next day (we were playing over a weekend). The point is that not playing - not being an active member of the group - is not fun. All members of the group should do their best to include others, so if someone's PC dies, do your bit. Because next time, it might be your PC.

 

[Sunderstone]

Not a PC death, but in a previous campaign, my character was excluded from play - for good plot-related reasons - which left me with nothing to do for many hours. I got bored, then angry, then absolutely livid. Fortunately, I was able to go outside and play with the dog. I should have simply gone home and come back the next day (we were playing over a weekend). The point is that not playing - not being an active member of the group - is not fun. All members of the group should do their best to include others, so if someone's PC dies, do your bit. Because next time, it might be your PC.

I agree with you, you shouldnt have to go outside and play with the dog, or not game with us for several weeks until I "design a nice intro".

In theory anytime the group heads back to the surface (in an example dungeon) you can intro a new character, regardless of wilderness or town. It may not be the greatest intro but you can make it less lame with a little effort on story. I just dont believe in penalizing a player in that manner. Like I said, I always have a DM PC or NPC around to be used when a player dies temporarily.
If multiple people die, id let them play the creatures the living party members are fighting at least until the earliest point of a feasable intro. Maybe a prison area in the dungeon, or have a new PC arrive mid battle claiming he has been following the PCs all along for whaever reason. Not the flashiest Intro imaginable but it works for all of us.

 

[Numion]

Do you fudge the adventure to have a “prisoner” discovered or a “lost and wandering” character enter the area for the Player?

This is what I'd do, if the other players don't head to town for resurrection. We have so little time for gaming nowadays, so I'm not going to waste someones time by having him sit there doing nothing.

 

[danzig138]

Sorry but this is seriously lame.

DM- "Sorry, you died and itll be awhile before I can use you again, tough break. Take a few weeks off, Ill call you if you are needed again sooner".

Unless you all are gamers that work incredibly busy lives like NASA scientists or something, tossing out a player for a few weeks is a tad harsh.

Yeah, you're right. Tossing him out is harsh. But not as harsh as the curb stomp I give him after throwing his useless posterior out of the door. Not to mention the simultaneous dis on his parentage.

Or, you know, it could be like I said - I'll let him know if I think it's going to be a while before I can bring in a new character. So far, the longest it's been has been two sessions. I guess I could change my ways and shoehorn him in. . . No, no I can't. I'm pretty set in my ways.

If I'm playing in a game, and my guy dies, I'm perfectly willing and typically insist to wait until a logical time occurs to bring in a new character. I'm not going to sit and cry because I can't play RIGHT NOW!!!!! I expect the same from my players.

If the player is interested, and there are NPCs present, I'll let him run one of them temporarily, or help me with the bad guys. No one really likes running the bad guys though. I always used to have a blast running the bad guys for my GM when my character died. I enjoyed it so much, the other players dreaded it.

 

[danzig138]

but there's nothing lame about designing a nice intro for a new character as opposed to some concocted solution.

I do occasionally miss the days of younger gaming, when everyone had boatloads more free time, and if a character died, we could actually arrange non-game day time to do some solo adventuring to get a new character ready for introduction. These days, though, the time just isn't there.