What Do You Do When You're Dead?

[diaglo]

typically the players will either roll 3d6 in order and make a new PC to be inserted after the current fight when possible.

roleplay the monsters for me during the fight including rolling the dice and making decisions on moving

or if they have a henchmen or hireling roleplay that character until they decide if they want to add a new PC or use/convert the npc to a pc.


i always leave the decisions to the players about how they want to play their characters.

even dead PCs will get options if and when the party decides to "bring them back". this can mean expense on the part of the party if they paid for some material components and/or spellcasting.

 

[Lhorgrim]

I play with people mature enough to handle being out of the action for a little while without being bored or frustrated or disengaged from the game.

I consider myself to be fairly mature both in terms of age and attitude, but I still get bored if I'm sitting at a table playing a cooperative game and end up having nothing at all to contribute for very long.

15 to 20 minutes is not that big a deal, but I'll probably start to get bored after that. I won't play Xbox or get on the computer to disengage because I feel like I'm being rude to the other players and the DM if I leave the table like that.

I have played the monsters for the DM before, and that kept me engaged and I had a good time doing it. Just find some reason to let me roll dice and affect the outcome of the encounter and I'm pretty happy.

If I don't have anything to do while my PC is out, I'm not going to throw a hissy fit and stomp away but I probably won't be having much fun just sitting there. If I don't have enough fun overall to justify my effort to be there (driving to the game, buying snacks, etc.) then I might find greener pastures.

I don't need constant attention or to be in the spotlight all the time, but I want to have an enjoyable experience when I game.

 

[ExploderWizard]

You can do a lot of things when dead. Just pay attention to a few simple rules and everything will be ok.

1) Do not attempt to drive a car.

2) Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery.

3) Do not talk.

Otherwise there is no reason that the dead cannot enjoy all the benefits of a full life.

Please support the National Appeal for the Dead today. Thank you.

 

[S'mon]

In one game I played in back in the day, a player got really pissed at the DM for killing his character. So the player retaliated by punching the DM in the face, and smashing a beer bottle over the DM's head.

We play in a pub with plenty of alcohol flowing, so that is actually a bit of a real risk for me ! I guess if a player ever did 'go for' me and they were of similar size then realistically I'd likely retaliate in kind, I'm nerdy by Ulster standards but probably more aggressive than the typical English D&Der. If they were much bigger, or a trained kickboxer etc, I'd seek to escape & evade and get the police on them.

I can't see any of my current 4e group attacking me though; I killed all 4 of the male player's PCs the session before last and they were shocked but subdued. Maybe I was lucky the PCs of the two female players survived, though...

 

[The Ghost]

I play with people mature enough to handle being out of the action for a little while without being bored or frustrated or disengaged from the game.

Moi aussi!

Even when my PC is dead/confused/sleeping/etc. I still find it enjoyable to watch as my companions try to defeat the monsters. I really don't need to actively participate to be entertained.

 

[On Puget Sound]

You can do a lot of things when dead. Just pay attention to a few simple rules and everything will be ok.

1) Do not attempt to drive a car.

2) Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery.

3) Do not talk.

Otherwise there is no reason that the dead cannot enjoy all the benefits of a full life.

Please support the National Appeal for the Dead today. Thank you.

The term "dead" is considered insulting and insensitive to the metabolically-challenged community.

 

[Zinovia]

The term "dead" is considered insulting and insensitive to the metabolically-challenged community.

Many laws discriminate against the metabolically-challenged, or differently-lifed. They are not allowed to own property, choose where they will reside, or hold government office. Although there are some municipalities open-minded enough to allow them to participate in elections.

I haven't killed a player in forever. I'm not sure how they'd handle it, but they are a mature bunch. I'm working on finding out what happens, but they keep winning. Tricksy players.

 

[I'm A Banana]

So, same question for all of who say "roll up a new character": What if the character is merely disabled, such as with a Sleep spell or a paralyze effect or something?

Looks like "Run a monster" is a pretty common option.

One possible option is for the player of the inactive character to get a special Aid Another action on his turn. Perhaps the sight of the unconscious or dead character spurs the other characters to greater heroism or instills in them a greater sense of caution. This could possibly be expanded to give the player of the inactive character more options than granting a bonus to attack rolls and defenses - a bonus to saving throws, a bonus to damage rolls, perhaps an extra square or two of movement, etc.

I'm a fan of this idea, I think. What does everyone else think? If, even after you died (or went to sleep or whatever), you could add +2 to an attack or AC or something, and you could shift that bonus around as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed, would that keep you engaged? What kind of things might be cool to do with this kind of bonus?

For me, rolling up a new character isn't really an option (in a narrative game, the characters are pretty consistent, and don't die permanently unless they choose to die as a plot point), and rolling for the monsters seems a little rough in a "Blame Dave for the TPK, not the DM!" kind of way. But some sort of beyond-the-grave/emotional reaction "aid another" might work, and it would certainly help the feeling of comraderie in the party ("Oh no! Josef died! Now I kick more butt out of RAGE! RARG!"), which helps foster the goal of having characters whose interrelationships are interesting...

 

[DaveyJones]

So, same question for all of who say "roll up a new character": What if the character is merely disabled, such as with a Sleep spell or a paralyze effect or something?

they get to cheer on the others. worry if the rolls are gonna save them or make the others leave them behind when they flee and so on...

the game is active. combat moreso usually.

sometimes the others will take damage protecting the disabled. or attempt to bring them back into action by waking them or dispelling the magic or moving them.

i have the monsters act intelligently if they are intelligent. or animal or evil or ...

so i may have the monsters behead the paralyzed as a show of what the other PCs can expect if they get paralyzed. or i may have the lead monster in a pack grab one of the downed and drag or carry the victim away for food. or i may have an orc start looting while his buddies are engaged in combat...

just like the PCs will do.

 

[billd91]

Moi aussi!

Even when my PC is dead/confused/sleeping/etc. I still find it enjoyable to watch as my companions try to defeat the monsters. I really don't need to actively participate to be entertained.

This has been/is the experience I've had/have with most of my players too over the last decade. I think there's a real problem when people have a lot of difficulty in accepting the consequences of game actions gracefully, even if it means not being a part of the ongoing action for a little while.