When Is PC Death Worst?

[Dragonbait]

When I'm the DM

When a PC dies it often derails the game. There might be second-guessing the flow of events or other ways to avoid it. A player now has to sit out. I've run very heavy story-based games where an unexpected PC death derails a plotline (my own fault for making a plot so heavily dependent on a single PC).

Also, depending on the player, you might have someone pissed at you. Really, this last one should not be the case, but we hardly live in a perfect world where people are mature and understanding about certain things.

If my own PC dies, I get a little excited. It's strange. I think because I played in games for so long where the DM pulled all punches. I now know the DM is serious and there are actual risks.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Voted Other because I needed an "All of the Above" option.

This.

 

[Fifth Element]

For there to be any accomplishment, there must be the possibility of failure.

I wholeheartedly agree, though I repudiate the idea that death is the only meaningful form of failure for PCs. That's too simplistic for me.

As to the OP, I'll agree with Tamlyn that meaningless PC deaths are the most bothersome.

 

[WarlockLord]

When my PC is killed by "rocks fall everyone dies" bs. Otherwise, not so much.

 

[TarionzCousin]

When my PC is killed by "rocks fall everyone dies" bs. Otherwise, not so much.

Is that worse than "Rocks fall and one character dies. (Rolls a die) It's WarlockLord's PC. Bye."?

 

[Nifft]

The worst PC deaths are the ones that aren't hilarious.

I can put up with a lot for a good laugh, including graciously accepting the mortality of my character.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Dausuul]

When my PC is killed by "rocks fall everyone dies" bs.

Don't ever play Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

[Verdande]

I DM and feel bad when a character dies. It's almost always as a result of plain bad play, but sometimes it's a result of horrible luck. My players tend to be cautious and so they don't die much, but I still feel bad when they do kick the bucket.

As a player, I don't mind death so much. I like high risk, high reward games, and it's no fun winning if there's no chance I could lose. Then again, I'm still trying to find somebody to run me through the original Tomb of Horrors, so what do I know?

For what it's worth, I was talking to one of my players and he said that he liked Save or Die, since it was like one last chance to make it. For example, instead of just being toasted by Dragon Breath and taking 10d6 damage, he gets a chance to "save" instead of just a chance to "die."

 

[Lord Captian Tobacco]

As a GM the deaths that bother me falls into two catagories:

1. The one where a VERY improbable roll (in the open - no GM adjustment) kills without mercy.

2. When a character with VITAL information for the stroy arc (not just the adventure) gets offed without telling anybody else the secrets...I have to replay the background or 'give' the info the former PC 'worked' to discover.

 

[FireLance]

Other: when it creates a significant amount of extra work for me.

This applies regardless of whether I'm a player or a DM.