D&D 5E Should I nerf a curse to save a PC?

[Hawk Diesel]

They are all alright with dying, in fact it is somewhat of a theme that their characters die often. Unfortunately their characters last for about 1 or 2 levels with only one exception so far. I find this to be sad and it isn't because I constantly throw impossible challenges at them, but I tend to be unforgiving with choices. An example was that they managed to escape from an orc tribe but decided to go back on their own to kill them because they seemed weakened after fighting a dragon invading their territory. Even when they saw that several orcs were still up and in good health, they still decided that attacking them was a good choice. Even then, instead of killing them I sold them into slavery but their escape attempt was marred with bad choices and unlucky rolls.
So they aren't unfamiliar with death, but I kinda wished they could keep characters alive for a bit longer. Then again, they also tend to constantly want to try out new characters.

From what I've gathered, they have a very video game style of play where they focus more on the mechanics of the game. To them, a spell does X and rarely can it be used for Y or Z. That makes them coming up with such rituals (which I would totally allow) unlikely.

I honestly thought that at worst, one of them would get the Mummy Rot, thus why I had a scroll with Remove Curse ready. Didn't count on the tank going down as he had always been pretty strong, especially with the druid healer being so focused on healing already.

She is at 17 Max HP, meaning that in two or three days she'll be dead depending on the rolls. If she dies, then fine...we carry on, but I wanted her to have an even better fighting chance. Maybe I could try to nudge them into making such a ritual or something using an NPC?
I also have a dungeon that teleports around the world randomly, belonging to an insane demi-god that likes to put people in gauntlets and reward them with cursed items at the end. They have encountered this dungeon several times over the years and have commented on how it hasn't shown up at all recently. I could do it, see if they reach the end of the gauntlet and have the demi-god get interested in the curse and wishes to remove it so he can collect it but with a price (like her arm crumbling to dust or something as he focuses the curse on the arm in order to collect it).

If your players are ok with character death, then this seems pretty easy. Clearly they are having fun and coming back for more, so you must be doing something right.

As for giving them a nudge, I would be careful. Part of the fun of D&D is finding those opportunities to be creative. So maybe just putting out there that if they were to think about their powers, abilities, skills, or knowledge creatively, something could work. It could at the very least get the players discussing potential options. But at the same time, you don't wanna hold their hand and say, "Why don't you use your healing spells and make a knowledge check to get the ritual right?" Because then it presents more like a Deus ex Machina or DM fiat saving their butts, rather than their own ingenuity.

One possibility is that you let the druid succumb to the illness. But then during the game, you pass the player a note. The note says that as the druid takes their final breath, time seems to stop and a figure makes them an offer. Could be for their soul, a favor, a quest, whatever. Something interesting. But whatever happens, this being (Devil, Demon, Angel, Monster, powerful arcane puppet-master that is secretly watching the characters, whatever) offers a pact for the character to live in exchange for something. On the note, indicate that the player not read any of it out loud, but only answer out loud "Yes" or "No". If the player says no, they die and roll up a new character. If they say yes, they miraculously survive! The other players are dumb-founded, suspicious, and suddenly, you have a new hook for an interesting adventure.

 

[randrak]

Part of the reason why they are OK with death is likely because they have little attachment to the characters. I've had characters that I grew so attached to that I would take such a pact, however my players in general are the type to quit and reroll chars or reject shady deals even if they mean death, just because they can then get a new char. Hell, they are the type of players that have 5+ back-ups already ready each session.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

I definitely make sure with my players before killing their character off forever.

My first idea to that situation would be to have a way to heal the character from the curse and then make an adventure out of that. Would also give the players a nice time limit so they need to be real careful about resting.

 

[Caliban]

Use it as an opportunity for character or plot development.

a) perhaps have the druid go on a dream/spirit journey as solo sidequest. If they are successful, they get automatically reincarnated after the curse kills them, and they now owe a favor to a powerful nature spirit.

b) If you don't have the time or desire to do a solo quest for the druid, do something similar that involves the whole group.

You could end up with a druid who retains some undead traits as a side effect of not getting the curse removed the proper way.

 

[Shiroiken]

If players accept that death is part of the game (and they should), you should let the chips fall where they may. To do otherwise is to deny the actual cost of poor decisions (and obviously they were not strong enough to take on the Mummy safely). While I am not a fan of it, there are ways to use this as an opportunity for new plots.

Currently, the players have to decide if they want to try and run the gauntlet of the kobolds or let their companion die. This creates an interesting RP opportunity for the party to decide where the character stands, and if the character is willing to die to keep the party from such danger (perhaps requesting a "clean" death by a trusted party member). If the party takes the risks, you can determine how much you want each of the rolls to be (within the tolerances) to make sure that it's possible for the character to make it. You can even set it up that the character will have 1 HP on the last day before safety, increasing the drama and tension. Make sure that you limit ranged attacks by the kobolds, so that the party can actually try to protect the druid during combat. If the party doesn't make it, create a legend of their heroic sacrifice to die as a group, rather than leave one behind.

Another option would be the fiendish pact. A demon or devil comes to the character is a dream, and offers to remove the curse... for a price. The price can be anything from their soul (preventing any future resurrection), a sacrifice (perhaps another PCs, if you're evil like me), promises to form a new cult to the fiend (bringing them into conflict with the forces of good), or "a favor at a later time" (my personal favorite). Make the deal seem appealing, but make sure to twist the terms against the PC after it's made

A last option (my least favorite) to have there be a mcguffin (magic fountain, holy shrine, eldritch circle, whatever) somewhere nearby. The party then goes and gets the druid cured, but they discover the trip is one way. Now the characters have to find a way home, allowing you to make a totally new adventure (and the last one is a total failure). Planar travel can work (perhaps the Shadowfel or Feywild), or maybe they have to enter a magic portal to get there.

 

[Saeviomagy]

My only possible advice is for the point you have already passed: telegraphing the threat.

A mummy is a slow moving melee beast with fairly weak defenses and an obvious vulnerability. Additionally his most dangerous ability (the curse) is the sort of thing that tales get spread about. Face a mummy, and even if you escape or defeat it you'll probably die of a horrible curse.

a) They were unaware of it's obvious lack of mobility.
b) They were unaware of the curse. (ie - you didn't tell them of knowledge that I would expect to be one of the more common monster facts out there)
c) You did something that prevented them from taking advantage of this knowledge.
d) They were stupid.

a is your fault - it should be patently obvious upon meeting the mummy that it's movement is slow and cumbersome.

b is also your fault: as I said, this is something that's going to be legend, and you even had an NPC aware of the fact. Now your NPC might be a jerk... but why is he handing over even one remove curse scroll if that's the case?

c is again your fault. If you've built the battleground such that ranged combat is impossible (ie - they all fell in a deep greased 20x20 oubliette with the mummy, the lair is entirely made up of 10ft corridors with 90 degree turns, the lair is full of black smoke PLUS no flammable material is available within a reasonable travel of the dungeon) then the CR of the encounter should be much higher.

If a,b,c are the cause, then perhaps give them something. I would vote for "character becomes a sentient mummy" with some appropriately balanced rules.

However d is the player's fault. If they just ran at the mummy and took it on in melee with knowledge of it's capabilities, they deserve to die of the curse. At that point, even one scroll is being lenient.