What would you do if someone died?

[Nyaricus]

My most sincere of condolences.

Personally, despite the comment being off-hand, I'd still honour it and shelve the campaign. LIkely, as others have insinuated (sp?) I'd make his most popular character from all the games you've played a constant character in any more games which you'd play, plus I'd always keep one seat open at the table.

Then, I'd re-start the AoW game, with all new characters, and see what happens. Life goes on, and I'm sure that, given these extreme circumstances, this allows for the best comprimise out of everything.

I hope peace finds you in due time.

cheers,
--N

 

[pawsplay]

Speaking with experience on a similar subject, I would certainly honor that last request. Box it all up, character sheets and all, and put it somewhere safe.

Time for a new campaign!

 

[Nellisir]

I'm sorry for your loss.

Since you have doubts, and your girlfriend has doubts, I'd shelve the campaign. Not the gaming, just the Age of Worms.

 

[William drake]

This is a hard topic for me, so please bare with me.

Last year, my girlfreind Kim, my bestfreind Jessie, and myself started the Age of Worms adventure path with me as the DM. Now, we played on a near weekly basis. Then life got in the way with work and things like that. Jessie as an off handed comment said, "Now don't you guys continue without me." So we didnt.

Now for the tough part.
Last sunday (2-18), Jessie was killed in a car crash. It's been tough on all of us who knew him. I have known Jesie since we were both 9 years old. As kind of a morbid thought I said to Kim, "Now what do we do about the AoW? Do we keep playing or what?" Kim reminded me of what Jessie said and that we should leave it be.

What do you guys think? Has anyone else been through something like this?

Well, I will start with this. I was DM'ing once, and during that game, which ended up being a three year campagin, my father died. Everyone wondered if I was going to keep DM'ing...and I did, but it was different. He wasn't invloved.

For you, I would say this..and dont take it the wrong way.
Id stop...the game was a game, now it is a sweet memory which you can share with Kim. It was a game, wait, and then play again, but to continue I think would be in pore taste. You're friend wasn't someone who just stepped out of the game, she's gone. And the game is just a game, its not like you were going to the Super Bowl and she was a fellow player, or that the three of you were heading to Africa for the first and last time in your life...its D&D.

Sorry, those are my thoughts.

and to explain..I continued to game to be with friends and slowly get over my fathers death; I wasn't playing in memory of him, and I don't think you can say "well, lets play for Jesse" its not that important, I don't think she would want you to go on as if it were a great struggle. I think, what she'd want, like my father wanted...is for me, and for you in this case, is to love and take time to know what good things you have: ie, your gf. And that is why I continued to game, it wasnt for the game...who cares, I could pick it up later, or never. It was because of my friends.


I'm sorry for you loss. And I hope I didnt offend you.

 

[diaglo]

sorry for your loss.

read the story hour in my sig. we kept gaming. but Angelsboi left the group as his health failed. not a sudden death like a car crash.

 

[karpomatic]

I was in a 2nd edition Dragonlance game for 7 years when the DM died of Lymphoma. The groups character sheets were buried with him. Campaign over. That was 8 years ago now...

 

[Remathilis]

I've never lost a friend like that. I'm sorry.

I wouldn't continue the campaign. Not with those characters. If you were hard-pressed for AoW, I'd start again about one module higher with all new PCs.

You might want to take a few weeks off also. Use D&D time for other things (watching movies, playing board games, drinking, whatever) until you are ready to go back to it.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Each person handles loss differently.

Me, I would shelve the campaign and try something vastly different to
disassociate the new campaign from the loss of a dear friend.

To honor the friend, the character sheet would be framed and hung
on the wall of the gaming space. Before every game, there would be a
toast using that persons favorite beverage (be iT alcohol or something
else).

EDIT: spelling

 

[thedungeondelver]

That's a tough one.

My buddy who took me out for my bachelor's night pub crawl, great guy. He'd give you the shirt off his back, the food off of his plate and the money out of his wallet. He had demons, though.

I think about him from time to time when I game - because that's where I met him, at the gaming table - and I miss him terribly. He was a pain in the butt, a powergamer, a trouble-maker and on and on but he was my friend. He didn't have any one super duper memorable character nor was there one ongoing campaign that spanned years that we all had epic stories about; we usually played CHAMPIONS or some flavor of D&D or sometimes just free-form roll a die, 50-50 chance of making it or not because we were all bored and it was game night...

His name comes up almost every gaming session; we remember some cockamamie thing he'd do or say, sometimes not even gaming related. Sometimes he'd tell us all not to go to xyz bar or club but instead to abc bar or club and he'd meet us there - and then never show. Other times we'd show up at his house ready to game and he'd cook us a seven course dinner while we played.

He treated my wife like royalty and was the calmest guy in the world around her. While he didn't always show it he worshipped the ground his own wife walked on and loved his kids with all his big heart.

Tim Woolhouse was a wonderful, complex, infuriating, fun hurricane of a person to have blow by you and generally you were happier for the occurrence.

One thing that sticks out in my mind the most is when he called me one night - years and years ago - to ask me why I'd blown off gaming for the last few weeks. The gist of his scolding was that it was important that we all get together and hang out, that friendship was important to him and to everyone else.

I know now how profound his words were beyond out frivilious little hobby of parlor games and tin knights and dragons.

In respect to that, I make it a point to get together with the remaining guys - of the fourteen of us who hung out in 1989 there's just myself, Kevin and occassionally Rob (although Rob has recently moved away).

We game because...we do.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Sorry for your loss.

If I was in your position I would think about what Jessie would have wanted you to do. If you think that he would have wanted you to go on and finish the campaign in his honour, do it. If you think that he would have wanted you to start the campaign over then do that. If you think that he would have wanted you not to play AoW since he is now gone then do that.

I'm sure you'll find the right answer if you think about it for a bit.

You have my thoughts in dealing with your grief.

Olaf the Stout