D&D General What do you do (as GM) if a PC dies in the middle of a session

[Li Shenron]

So, one of your players makes a risky move, the dice gods disapprove, and their PC dies. For one reason or another, no one in the party is able to revive the PC.

I'll start by saying the worst thing you can do, IMO, is have the player just sit there until the end of the session, and I think most GMs understand that.

I give my players a couple of options:

Take a few minutes to roll up a character, and jump in. (Since they had to do it on the fly, I let them change things after the session when they've had time to really think about the new PC)

Play the monster(s) that the other PCs will face, and roll up a new character at home for the next session (at the same level that the rest of the party is at)

Play an NPC if one is available and has more than a bit part.

Go home, and bring a new character in for the next session.

When the player rolls up a new character in this situation, I just assume that the new PC has always been part of the party from day one, and the game continues as normal.

I once had a PC that died, and the DM wouldn't let me play until I could figure out an in game reason for the new PC joining the party (and that also he had to review and approve). IMO, that's not fun, and really unnecessary.

So, with all that being said, what do you do?

Let's first clarify that there's a difference between dying in the middle of a battle, and more generally die mid-way during a gaming night. If it happens during combat, I see no big deal in the player being out of the action until the battle is over (which doesn't mean they can't watch the game and interact by giving input and suggestions). After all the same thing happens in lots of games. Only very long combat encounters that last the whole evening will be problematic.

My usual premise is that I don't normally let a PC die for good unless its player is fine with it, so even when the rest of the party cannot revive it yet, it doesn't mean the PC has to be replaced by a new one. With that in mind, there is no rush to create another character for that player. In any case, I do not like stopping the session to let the player roll up another PC while the rest of the group waits, but I also do not like letting the others continue while said player is sent away to create their PC and maybe even rushed into doing it. I just think that character creation is too important for a lot of players so they should not be rushed into it, and the best way to create a character that is supposed to last long is either between gaming sessions, or within the first session when everybody does it at the same time. That said, if you're the kind of player that consumes PCs like peanuts and always rolls up another on the spot, go ahead... once. I still don't like having you jump into the party in the middle of a quest, so if I get the feeling you're damaging the overall credibility of the story because you're recklessly losing PCs too often, I'll send you to another gaming group (or organize a Tomb of Horror styled campaign where everyone will play like that).

That leaves me with my favorite option: let the player roleplay some NPC and monsters.

Obviously, I wouldn't want to reveal much of the plot to the player, but that is not necessary if you choose relatively unimportant NPCs. Playing monsters in combat encounters is also very story-safe most of the times, and IMXP players always have a lot of fun trying to "use" the monsters stats.

 

[overgeeked]

Players should have back up characters ready to go. If there’s a chance of PC death, the players should be prepared for it. If not, I think you have two main choices. 1) Have the player roll up a new character on the spot and introduce them ASAP, or; 2) Have the player take over one of the hirelings or retainers the PCs have with them. This is one of the many reasons PCs should have hirelings and retainers with them.

These avoid the player doing nothing and waiting.

You can also go with the old way of gaming where each player has a stable of characters they play. As long as the levels are close, swapping in one character to fill in shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Mad_Jack]

Well some of us want an actual challenge to the game. None of this mamby-pamby "only my character can die" new age crud.

Hell yeah - real DMs require their players to actually fight the battles, instead of just rolling dice like some wannabees... I don't have a huge collection of medieval weapons just cuz they look cool.

Maybe I'm just old school, but as a player I've never really minded having to sit out half a session while I roll up a new character and the DM figures out how to insert them into the narrative in a way that makes sense. If I'm invested enough in the game to play it, I'm definitely invested enough in it and care enough about the story and the characters to sit back and just watch for a couple hours... And I'm happy to do stuff like keeping track of initiative or spell durations or run some of the monsters in combat (even if it's just pushing the miniatures around the map), etc., in order to take some of the heat off the DM for a while.

Although in a public game I wouldn't have a problem as a DM simply allowing the player of a dead character to simply start a new one and just keep playing as soon as they can (assuming it's not something like AL where they have rules covering that sort of thing), in my own private games I generally insist on waiting until it actually makes narrative sense to introduce the character. The party randomly coming across a lone adventurer in the wilderness or suddenly discovering a random "prisoner" in a dungeon whose gear just happens to be nearby is a bit too cheesy for my personal taste.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Not have it happen in the first place.

 

[cranberry]

Not have it happen in the first place.

So PC death is not a possibility at your table?

 

[bedir than]

So, for those of you who prioritize role playing and story continuity over participating in the action and decision making for the group during the session, would you even allow allow a character to die? (permanently)?

In middle of the Act IV final battle one of the PCs went down. I used a single blow to make him worry, and the player reminded me that it would be a double death save fail. I offered to take it back, he said no.
He then rolled a 3 on his death save. He was out, with about an hour of the session left. The group's Paladin saved a single Revivify but was frequently unconscious (everyone went down at least once).

The player with the dead character helped manage initiative and the complexities of reaction (opportunity, held action, etc) while making the saving throws for the enemies. That kept the person engaged.

Eventually the group won and that Revivify was available (it was the final spell slot in the group). But if the character had stayed dead we would have discussed bringing back his former PC or making a new one or a quest for actual resurrection, a rare spell in the world.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

It's been a while since it's happened, but my goal is always to get the player back in the game as quickly as possible. Whether it's finding a way to get their character brought back to life (which, my preference is to have it be a "the party now owes the benefactor one quest" payment rather than just GP) or bring in their new character, that's their call.

Also, if I'm going to run a high-lethality game, it's going to be one that makes it easy to create a new character. If it takes more than a few minutes to create a new character and death is easy in the game, I am not likely to run it.

 

[Clint_L]

We resolve whatever is currently happening then go into the aftermath phase. Now it’s up to the player to make some decisions. If they want to roll up a new character I’ll wait to introduce them at the next session, so we might call the current session short, or the player may opt to watch or take over an NPC. If they and the party want and are capable of raise dead, that might take a bit of patience.

 

[Velderan]

In 5e, I've only seen 1 PC die.

Spoiler: Descent into Avernus minor spoiler

During the flashback to Yeenoghu attacking Idyllglen, he managed to down 3 of the 6 PCs and one of them failed 3 straight death saves. This was near the end of the session, so the player watched the remainder of the fight joking how we'd all be rolling new characters. To be fair, his experience wasn't much different than the other 2 PCs who were unconscious so it wasn't a big deal. The remaining PCs barely managed to pull through and flashback Zariel brought the dead PC back to life.

 

[iserith]

In 5e, I've only seen 1 PC die.

Spoiler: Descent into Avernus minor spoiler

During the flashback to Yeenoghu attacking Idyllglen, he managed to down 3 of the 6 PCs and one of them failed 3 straight death saves. This was near the end of the session, so the player watched the remainder of the fight joking how we'd all be rolling new characters. To be fair, his experience wasn't much different than the other 2 PCs who were unconscious so it wasn't a big deal. The remaining PCs barely managed to pull through and flashback Zariel brought the dead PC back to life.

I've done 5 sessions of one adventure I'm currently running and there have been 7 dead PCs and one captured. Don't give up hope!