What do you do with the dead guy's stuff?

[Festivus]

In a morbid sort of way the PC's could use it to generate lots of cash, so I am looking for a solution.

When a PC dies, and the party drags his corpse out, but elects not to raise him (or the PC elects not to be raised), what happens in your game for starting gold for the new replacement character and the dead characters gear?

Does he a) start with no gold, b) start with gold appropriate for their level using the table in the DMG, or c) start with the same gold and equipment they had before they died, d) the other players can sell off the dead characters stuff, e) something else or f) some mixture of above.

In my game, PC death is generally a light exp penalty (100xp per level) and starting gold appropriate for the level. But it just dawned on me that my players could all kill themselves one at a time and double the party money. So I need a better solution

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

Well, back when I played in the Temple of Elemental Evil, if a character died, we took his stuff and the next character started 1 level lower than the lowest level character, with apropriate equipment for that level.
Now that I am running, my rule is that if someone dies, the characters decide what happens to his stuff. (Since I run a low magic game where ressurection is taboo)
A new character will generally start with about starting wealth, (100-1500 gp worth of equipment) and be one level lower than his or her previous character's level. Unless the PCs have a magic item or two, generally the new character may not start with any magical gear. (Sans potions and scrolls, which may be taken as starting equipment only if the character can craft them themself, or if his or her backstory could warrent obtainment)
If the character would be woefully underpowered compared to the other characters, and the player can give me a good idea for a backstory and/or I can incorporate him into the plot easily, then he or she may start with higher-grade equipment than normal. (Ex: Masterwork Full Plate, Mithril Chain Shirt, Adamantine Weapons, etc)
A bit harsh for starting gear, but it definitely is an incentive to avoid dieing.

 

[atomn]

In my game, PC death is generally a light exp penalty (100xp per level) and starting gold appropriate for the level. But it just dawned on me that my players could all kill themselves one at a time and double the party money. So I need a better solution

I think your way of doing things already is the way to go. Whether I'm the GM or a player, as long as the player was a good roleplayer (participates in the sessions, doesn't disrupt the game, died because it was character driven, their death enhanced the story, etc), they shouldn't be penalized too much. (If at all.) If they try the "kill themselves one at a time" plan, don't let it work and explain to them out of the game why. I don't know your group but any reasonable gaming group wouldn't press an issue when they're obviously trying to exploit your generosity.

 

[Kmart Kommando]

Our group makes everyone maintain a will, and when a character dies and doesn't come back, all of his stuff goes away, presumably to next of kin. That way, the next guy that comes along and joins the party won't be behind in gear, and the party won't have uber cash to skew average party level calculations.

Now if I can just get them to not pick over downed enemies, take everything not nailed down, throw it in a cart, and sell it for half price. :\ I want to be adventurous, not scavengers.

I guess it sort of balances out, since everyone insists on buying up all the True Res scrolls they can get, so no one loses a level when they die.
I even offered to take the Raise Dead and the 20,000gp difference in cash, and buy better gear.

 

[danzig138]

what happens in your game for starting gold for the new replacement character and the dead characters gear?

The new character begins typically a level below the party average, with wealth by the appropriate table.

The party does with the dead guy's stuff whatever they want to do with it. The scavenge for anything they might be able to use, and typically try to sell the rest (if it has value) or leave it like litter in the dungeon (if it's pretty common and cheap).

 

[Thurbane]

If you want to limit how much gear the party scavenges off the dead guys carcass, you could always say that the players new character is the long lost heir of the deceased, and claim most of the gear as his own. Or if you have a mostly Good aligned party, they might want to donate the departed characters gear to his church, family etc.

It can become a little silly if a few characters in a row die - suddenly the party is flooded with magic. By strictest interpretation of the RAW, this is fine, but as a DM myself, I prefer to work with my players and minimize the impact this has.

 

[airwalkrr]

I assume all my PCs have wills and that their equipment is willed to another character (usually an NPC). It is contradictory to game balance to allow PCs to split the loot of the fallen allies.

 

[danzig138]

you could always say that the players new character is the long lost heir of the deceased, and claim most of the gear as his own.

Once. As DM, I might let a player get away with this once. Of course, in this case, I wouldn't be the final person he'd have to convince. That would be the people who actually have the dead relative's stuff. Good luck with that.

As a player, I'd let this slide without comment once. But if I end up having to ask "Gee, how many brothers did Bob have, and how do they keep finding us?", there's a problem.

I have yet to notice any balance problems stemming from the party keeping some of the dead guy's stuff. By the time they decide what to keep and divide it between them, they might be over the normal guidelines by a couple hundred gp, but not a significant amount. And if they are too far above the guidelines (assuming you're concerned about following those), you can alsways adjust short-term future treasure to compensate.

 

[Thurbane]

Well yes, the "I'm Bob's brother" dealie only works a limited amount of times, for sure. It is a fairly played out maneuvre, but then so is having a party of new adventurers meet in a tavern, and that still happens - a lot. But if you are talking about a large party, a few deaths in rapid succession can lead to a major influx of party magic, if every new character has the full WBL amount. In theory, they could "cash in" the deceased characters loadout for one very powerful item. The WBL has guidelines for how much is to be spent on an individual item, but no such restrictions apply if characters get to wheel and deal at ye olde magic shoppe.

It will be problematic in some campaigns, but not in others. We have a situation in Red Hand of Doom where our sorcerer dies and elected not to be raised. He then created a basically identical character with an identical loudout (we had moved ahead a level at the time). Not a huge problem, but just feels a tad silly.

 

[danzig138]

a few deaths in rapid succession can lead to a major influx of party magic, if every new character has the full WBL amount.

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Not IME though. of course, when it's happened IMG, a few deaths in rapid succession generally meant in round 2, round 6, round 8, etc. Seriously, though, it was pretty common for the characters to not e able to completely salvage the dead comrade's belongings because they were too busy fleeing the scene. There were a few times when they came back to the scene and dead PC gear was used against them. More often, by the time they came back, the bad guys had captured and sold the loot for ale and whores.

but no such restrictions apply if characters get to wheel and deal at ye olde magic shoppe.

In my Greyhawk game, outside of a few places, like the Free City of, they were no places to buy magic items. You could commission things, but no magic shoppes. I agree that this could be a balance problem if you give characters free access to purchasing magic. But even then, scaling back on future treasure in a subtle manner fixes things.

He then created a basically identical character with an identical loudout (we had moved ahead a level at the time). Not a huge problem, but just feels a tad silly.

For many years now, one of the rules I instituted for my games was simple - if your character died and wasn't raised, or you retired your character, the next character couldn't be the same race or class as the previous character - unless it was human. You could still play humans. But this cut down on the same guy different name school of character design.

Ultimately, the problem I have with long-lost heirs, wills, giving it to the new guy, etc, is that it damages my belief in the setting. As a player and DM, I'd much rather handle it in a realistic manner - the group does what the group does with the loot, and if it is out of hand, manipulating the treasure in a low-key way for a few encounters. I understand that this doesn't work for some folk, but I've always been the type of GM and player to sacrifice balance in favor of the world feeling more right for me. *



*Not related to the treasure thing- I used to know a DM that I played with a few times. If someone couldn't make it to the game, he had their character literally disappear for the session. Not abducted, no interesting subplots, just disappear. And then when the player showed up, the character just reappeared. I ended up not being able to enjoy his games because of things like that.