Your character died, now what?

[CleverNickName]

One of three things usually happens, depending on what the player wants to do next.

1) Get Raised
If a character falls in battle and the player isn't done with the character, they take the body to a healing temple. We don't take XP or levels from the character; we take 1 point of Constitution instead.

2) Start over
If the player is finished with the fallen character, s/he rolls up a new one. The new character starts with 2/3 the fallen character's XP and gold, and I weave the new character into the story as best I can.

3) Something funky
Sometimes the party can't make it to a temple, or they don't have the material components for a Raise spell, or they are marooned on a desert island, or some other circumstance prevents the above options from taking place. Or I'm feeling punchy. In these cases, I will use the plot to "save" the character. Stuff I've done in the past:

- the character's deity (or the arch-nemesis of his deity) will intervene, and offer a free Raise spell. But nothing is free; the favor comes with some serious strings attached.

- the character will raise the next night as a ghost, and "haunt" the party until they either Raise or give him/her a proper burial (assuming the player is okay with that monstrous level adjustment.) I especially like to do this if the party looted the fallen character's body.

- an ordinary weapon, coin, or piece of jewelry owned by the fallen character was actually a powerful faerie artifact. One minute after falling in battle, the object evaporates in a burst of light, restoring the character to life. But such old magic is unpredictable, and the character is permanently changed somehow.

 

[Holy Bovine]

As soon as he's officially D E D dead, I start work on a new character. I always have at least 3-4 ideas floating around in my head, vying for "Do me, do me!" so that's not the problem. Hell, I may all ready have the backup character with me, in a folder.

Raising is not something I am interested in, ever.

Same here. Over the course of playing 3E for the last 8 years I've lost 2 PCs. Both were given the option of Resurrection (and I mean that literally - the DM gave us a free Rez. Wouldn't have been so bad but I was only 3rd level the first time and 5th the second ). I declined both times and started new characters. I always seem to have 5 more characters in my head waiting to bust out.

In my case the paltry loot I had acquired was sold and the money donated to my church (one character was a Paladin and the other a Cleric). This was established via Speak with Dead spells.

 

[Rechan]

My only complaint about bringing new/old characters in is when you're forced to start several levels underneath the party's level.

 

[justanobody]

My only complaint about bringing new/old characters in is when you're forced to start several levels underneath the party's level.

Confusion.

I can guess old character to mean ones from other campaigns, and are not up to the proper level.

I cannot understand why a new character would * come in with a lower level.

What causes this, and is the first assumption correct?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What do you do when your character dies?

It depends upon the campaign. In the high-level 1Ed/2Ed campaign I'm in that's been running on and off since 1984, deceased characters don't stay that way.

Resurrections of PCs also happen when its appropriate to the campaign- someone has "an in" with a powerful cleric; the deceased PC is "The Chosen One" and so forth.

Rechan
As soon as he's officially D E D dead, I start work on a new character.

Like Rechan, I usually just start writing up a new PC...or looking in my archive of ones I've already committed to paper. Heck, I have 100+ D&D PCs saved on my PDA alone- I also have a whole bunch for HERO, as well as a few for every rpg on my shelf.

In rare cases- usually when the campaign dies a quick and artificial death and the PC is particularly cool (IMHO), I'll reuse a PC.

I cannot understand why a new character would not come in with a lower level.

Again, this is highly dependent upon the campaign...and DM. Some DMs let players bring in PCs at the same level as the rest of the party- they just don't want to deal with the headache of a mixed level party. If the disparity is big enough, that lower level PC may be the first in a constant carousel of new PCs as they keep getting tagged by foes they're not up to facing.

 

[justanobody]

I fixed my typo.....

So does this "Chosen One" or other returning character appear shortly after death?

Can he appear years later? (Level and spell requirements withstanding upon duration of time between death and ressurection of any sorts.)

What makes the character a "Chosen One"?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I fixed my typo.....

So does this "Chosen One" or other returning character appear shortly after death?

Can he appear years later? (Level and spell requirements withstanding upon duration of time between death and ressurection of any sorts.)

What makes the character a "Chosen One"?

That, again, all depends upon the campaign details. In general, a "Chosen One" is essential to the plotline in some way, he is the answer to a prophecy or prayer. He is the avatar of a divine being, or perhaps that being's catspaw. On occasion, the prophesy is false and is being "fulfilled" by a crafty opportunist (see "The Man Who Would Be King").

Sometimes, the "Chosen One" is merely deluded and gets to die just like anyone else. Other times, some deus ex machina prevents him or her from succumbing to the "ultimate consequence." Sometimes, he may be some kind of amalgam of both- perhaps the "Chosen One" is merely a persona that has been handed down through the ages from individual to individual, like the Phantom pulp hero or an "office" like the constantly reincarnated Dalai Lama. Or perhaps he's like Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion...or Eternal Companion...or even the Eternal Concubine.

Perhaps the Chosen One isn't the body, but an essence...

Reappearance may be immediate or it may take weeks, years or centuries. His form may be unchanged, or it may be quite different indeed.

The possibilities are endless.