Too much incentive to stay dead

[Doug McCrae]

In our games new PCs start at the same level as the rest of the group with gear according to the DMG wealth by level tables. Raise Dead costs about 6000gp and you lose the level. The result? A strong incentive to stay dead.

I don't like a high PC turnover rate, you lose the point of a campaign, it renders early development, goals and foreshadowing pointless if all the PCs have changed. But if raise dead is made cheaper it leads to the problem of it being too easy to obtain in the world at large. For instance if it only cost 100gp many people could afford it. No one would be dying, except of old age.

What solutions can you think of? Perhaps the PCs are 'special' so rezzing is easier for them. Perhaps they are bodiless spirits.

 

[Wolfwood2]

In our games new PCs start at the same level as the rest of the group with gear according to the DMG wealth by level tables. Raise Dead costs about 6000gp and you lose the level. The result? A strong incentive to stay dead.

I don't like a high PC turnover rate, you lose the point of a campaign, it renders early development, goals and foreshadowing pointless if all the PCs have changed. But if raise dead is made cheaper it leads to the problem of it being too easy to obtain in the world at large. For instance if it only cost 100gp many people could afford it. No one would be dying, except of old age.

What solutions can you think of? Perhaps the PCs are 'special' so rezzing is easier for them. Perhaps they are bodiless spirits.

Um, maybe I'm missing something, but the solution seems fairly obvious.

Change the bit where new PCs start at the same level with wealth according to the DMG wealth by level tables. Make new characters start a level behind and the DM picks their items, not the player.

That should settle that.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

The dead character can battle the life-leeches on his way back to his body. If he wins this spiritual battle, he fends off the leeches and is able to keep his level. If he loses, the leeches get their usual meal and he loses the level.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I don't like raise dead. I'd rather have Fate Points. Once the FPs are up the character is dead, dead ,dead.

However, there should be a spell called biography that a cleric could cast to preserve and pass on the campaign knowledge of a dead character to a new character so the player can get on with the game already.

 

[Darkness]

Some ideas:

Raise dead doesn't cost a level - and might also be very cheap - when used on people with PC classes and/or a certain level (say, 6th and above).

New PCs start a level lower than the party, with less gear. (Maybe only as much gear as NPCs of the same level? Also, with serious restrictions on what can be chosen - or even the DM picking all the gear.)

 

[Doug McCrae]

Change the bit where new PCs start at the same level with wealth according to the DMG wealth by level tables. Make new characters start a level behind and the DM picks their items, not the player.

Sometimes a character idea just doesn't pan out and the player has to change. I wouldn't want to punish players for that. Losing a level really, really sucks in D&D. It's often just the luck of combat that a PC dies, he hasn't done anything wrong, I feel it's too harsh to dock a level for that.

PCs can buy items in D&D so there's no reason why the DM should pick them. If he does shouldn't he pick the race, class and feats too?

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Um, maybe I'm missing something, but the solution seems fairly obvious.

Change the bit where new PCs start at the same level with wealth according to the DMG wealth by level tables. Make new characters start a level behind and the DM picks their items, not the player.

That should settle that.

Our DM made us start 1.5 levels behind, but we got to pick our gear. It worked fairly well and most people chose to come back.

 

[Wolfwood2]

Sometimes a character idea just doesn't pan out and the player has to change. I wouldn't want to punish players for that. Losing a level really, really sucks in D&D. It's often just the luck of combat that a PC dies, he hasn't done anything wrong, I feel it's too harsh to dock a level for that.

It's a set-back in a game. Nobody is being "punished". Are you really sure that your players would be so bummed by it, or are you just assuming?

You could allow a character of the same level when they are switching out characters, but not when one dies in battle.

PCs can buy items in D&D so there's no reason why the DM should pick them. If he does shouldn't he pick the race, class and feats too?

No reason? Of course there's a reason. it's just not an in-game reason but a metagame reason.

This is an artifical restriction being imposed to make bringing in a new character less desirable. It is intended to make it less advantageous to bring in new characters.

 

[EricNoah]

I make death less likely to occur by doing a hero point/fate point/screw the rules once per game type thing.

I do not like the idea of punishing the player for their character's death. On the other hand, I do like the idea that if you do come back you are a bit weaker. I might nick off a point of a physical stat (STR, CON, DEX) if the situation warrants.

 

[rvalle]

I ran into this problem in our WLD game. Coming back a level down in there is a recipe for further failure and further level loss. There is also the tempation to start a new character at full level and bring in more magic items.

Its also hard for me to start new charaters inside due to the closed nature of the dungeon.

We desided on a 'rez sickness' type of thing. Characters get -2 on most rolls for a week. If so desired they could rest for that week and start venturing out after it wears off.

I have 2 characters currently walking around with the rez sickness up.

rv