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What do you do when there's a near-TPK?
- Thread starter S'mon
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Dice4Hire
First Post
More seriously it depends on what the likelyhood is of getting the bodies back and then raised.
In some situations the bodies are unrecoverable (eaten, or just too tough an area) or the campaign does not have resurrection magic, (or not available)
But in my groups, we usually make up new people pretty quickly and move on.
In some situations the bodies are unrecoverable (eaten, or just too tough an area) or the campaign does not have resurrection magic, (or not available)
But in my groups, we usually make up new people pretty quickly and move on.
TheAuldGrump
First Post
Heh, for some reason the rogues in my games lately have been the most reliable characters.
In the tweens game the rogue had the idea of putting the dead characters' items in a pool to equip replacement characters, unless they had family. (This is the sword of Piotr the Pugnacious, who fell in battle against a wight in the charnel vault beneath Castle Wir. He was a brave warrior, and we bring his sword back to you, his family.)
The Auld Grump
As DM I move on and have the them role new characters. I try and not let it derail the game. I don't let them have a chance to say let start over. I have found that doing that often smooths things over and we get back into the game.
As a player once this happened and I and one other person lived we could not rescue the bodies of our fallen companions. I wanted to continue so did the other person who lived. But the three who died threw a whiny fit over it. So we started a new game.
There was a lot of resentment all around the players of the dead PCs were bitter over dying and myself and the other player were really put out over having to start a new game when we were still enjoying the other.
Eventually we talked about it and the other three admitted that if they had it to do over again they would have rolled up new characters.
Which is why I don't like to make the decision right then and there when people are upset.
As a player once this happened and I and one other person lived we could not rescue the bodies of our fallen companions. I wanted to continue so did the other person who lived. But the three who died threw a whiny fit over it. So we started a new game.
There was a lot of resentment all around the players of the dead PCs were bitter over dying and myself and the other player were really put out over having to start a new game when we were still enjoying the other.
Eventually we talked about it and the other three admitted that if they had it to do over again they would have rolled up new characters.
Which is why I don't like to make the decision right then and there when people are upset.
You (the DM) gloss over the next several years of game-time as the surviving PCs accumulate the cash, resources, and divine favor to bring their allies back from the dead. The survivors become NPCs at this time. When the slain are raised from the dead and the now-NPCs say their last goodbyes, they ride off into the sunset. Because, after all, the survivors are now way too-high level to find challenges that won't also wipe out these friends of theirs if they tagged along. The players of the surviving (N)PCs now roll up new characters*, and play continues.**
*The new characters might have been henchmen or servants or relatives of the survivors, or even relatives of the formerly deceased who came out to embrace their long-lost sibling/parent/cousin/etc.
**Which can involve cameos of the former PC/s as needed for plot drama by the DM.
*The new characters might have been henchmen or servants or relatives of the survivors, or even relatives of the formerly deceased who came out to embrace their long-lost sibling/parent/cousin/etc.
**Which can involve cameos of the former PC/s as needed for plot drama by the DM.
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Dice4Hire
First Post
I was wondering how common this is, to abandon a campaign when most of the original PCs are killed? It seems to me that for a true sandbox/setting-based game it shouldn't be a big problem, but for a more tightly focused campaign the death of lots of PCs may sever so many links to what's happening, it may be hard to continue?
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
This has happened on various occasions in my games.
At low-mid levels where multi-raises and-or wishes are not an option, they just bang out new characters for the survivor(s) to recruit, and carry on. But note they don't always go back to the same adventure; either the players in metagame or the survivors in character might decide that adventure's a suicide mission, and try something else.
At high levels where revival is relatively easy to come by and wishes can be bought, as long as there's one survivor the party will continue. Oddly enough, they get stubborn at higher levels and almost always go back and get their revenge on the adventure that nearly wiped them out.
Lanefan
At low-mid levels where multi-raises and-or wishes are not an option, they just bang out new characters for the survivor(s) to recruit, and carry on. But note they don't always go back to the same adventure; either the players in metagame or the survivors in character might decide that adventure's a suicide mission, and try something else.
At high levels where revival is relatively easy to come by and wishes can be bought, as long as there's one survivor the party will continue. Oddly enough, they get stubborn at higher levels and almost always go back and get their revenge on the adventure that nearly wiped them out.
Lanefan
I don't think it needs to derail a tightly focused campaign as long as some of the original are left to carry on. Also with creative players and a DM new PCs can have a link to the world.
Sometimes maybe it can't work and people don't want to try and that is fine.
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