How do you deal with death in D&D?

[Fuzzie Fuzz]

So I'm DMing a 4e campaign for a party of first time D&D players (myself included in the n00bishness), and I'm wondering how to deal with PC death. Especially at early levels, 500 gp for a Raise Dead spell is a lot of gold to cough up, if you can even find someone to cast it for you, or someone to sell you a scroll. My players are kinda' attached to their characters, and understandably so, so just rolling up a new character every time they die seems like a poor solution. (Not to mention the plot problems this creates...) The DMG doesn't really seem to address this issue. I don't want to just leave the player with nothing (or very little to do, anyways) for very long, either, so going on a quest to retrieve their soul seems like a poor idea, though as a one-time epic-tier thing, that could be kinda' cool, traveling to the underworld and all. I can't do that every time somebody doesn't flee from a Grue fast enough or something...

So: what do you (or your DM) do when PCs die?

[Pharaoh's Fist]

He shall be missed.

*Moment of silence*

Dibs on the staff.

[Sploosh]

He shall be missed.

*Moment of silence*

Dibs on the staff.

The Gamers ftw.

If you start tossing out "freebies" when the PCs die from every Tom, **** or Harry then you are going to trivialize death. Death no longer becomes anything more than a sidestep (staff for bringing back bards) around a current day. Ie. "Well, we go res Joe for 50 silver then get back on exactly with the story".

At this point you might as well just have a rule saying he who dies must go get more beer and pretzels and can come back in after.

This works the same way with adding new players. Do you want them to "magically appear as friends" because you dont want to have them wait out?

Instead, why not change your perspective. The story is dynamic and thus, having to go find someone to bring back your comrade or meeting a random stranger should never take away from a story because it is part of the story.

You could increase dynamic by having economical diversity. Maybe some diamonds in a place are common as dirt and it would be drastically cheaper, or in a place you may not be able to get one for four times the price and instead go off to find a shady distributor or earn the favor of someone.

If you are having enough deaths that this will change the focus of the game from "Lets go find a magic sword" to "Lets keep getting diamonds" then you might need to simply change some things as a group.

Death in 4e isn't as prevalent in D&D as any of the other editions and learning when to run away might not be a tactic often discussed in your group. Are they dying to things they could prevent and thus, nip it in the bud?

What an old group I played with did when we had a similar problem (running was not an option and we had a tendacy to provoke ancient wyrms) was have our characters have backgrounds to accomodate.

If you are an agent of an order, or even just a sibling in an actively involved family it isnt too much of a stress to have someone take up your cause or avenge you.

Maybe you were an agent of the duke of Rezzingham and he sent a squad of rangers to make sure no harm came to you. You then discover these shady trackers as they conviently arrive shortly after the PC's death and want to know where he is and what happened.

Boom, your PC is now the head guy.

[nightwyrm]

Use the old school solution. Tell your player to create a new character who is identical to the old one and call him the old one's younger brother.

[JonestheSpy]

Use the old school solution. Tell your player to create a new character who is identical to the old one and call him the old one's younger brother.

Boooo! Hisss!

[Xzeno]

Use the old school solution. Tell your player to create a new character who is identical to the old one and call him the old one's younger brother.

You have to make sure you do this even if the character in question was female. If questions are asked, comment on the weather.

[taltamir]

He shall be missed.

*Moment of silence*

Dibs on the staff.

isn't that how one handles death IRL?

[Vizzerdrix]

I surprised my DM one time. After I'd but the dust, he said to roll up something quick and he'd get me back in. I politely declined, then said "So I find myself standing at the gates to Kord's heaven. What next?"

The thought of continuing to adventure in the afterlife (with the goal to get back to help my friends) hadn't even occurred to him. I got a little mini adventure that later got me back with the party and all was good after that.

[dsmiles]

I surprised my DM one time. After I'd but the dust, he said to roll up something quick and he'd get me back in. I politely declined, then said "So I find myself standing at the gates to Kord's heaven. What next?"

The thought of continuing to adventure in the afterlife (with the goal to get back to help my friends) hadn't even occurred to him. I got a little mini adventure that later got me back with the party and all was good after that.

I've used this as a DM before, but only if all of the characters died close together. They ended up in some "communal afterlife" where they had to convince the gods that they were still needed on the Prime Material.

If one character dies, new character time. There's almost always points in an adventure where you can work a new character in.

[Mystral]

Kill 'em all.

Seriously, though:

It is pretty hard to die in 4.0. Have them play at least 1 leader and 1 character with basic healing abilities. Throw in enough potions, and nothing short of a tpk will keep them down.

And when they really die, allow them to lug their companions to a nearby shrine. If they can't pay for the resurrection, make them do a quest for the respective faith. Let the player(s) of the deceased characters play hirelings that are hired to replace the fallen, or members of the church. Make a few character sheets for this occasion, 1-2 levels weaker then the party, and hand them out when the time comes. This way, everyone stays in the game and has fun.

[Storm Bringer]

The real trick of being a DM is to know when to cheat in order to stop someone Not Having Fun.

If you think that the players will not enjoy a fetch quest to bring Joe back, then fudge the dice so that Joe is not dead.

Most Dm's use a screen of some kind to hide their adventure notes form the players, so they can;t lean over and cheat. One other advantage of the screen is that it allows the DM to roll in private, without the players knowing what was rolled (or why. equalling important). you can buy screens, which have loads of handy reference tables on them to save shearching though books, but if you can't afford/are unwilling to pay, just use a few books to create an area where you can roll and the players can't see the result.

this means that when the monster lands a blow the should kill a player, you can change it to almost killing him, leaving him alive enough to do something about it. if the player didn't see any of the dice rolls, he won't know what just happened, so long as your not too obvious about it ("So, the master swordsman has just missed seven rounds running?").

This is a part of what is reffered to in the 3rd edition as 'Rule 0' which basically said the DM has the right to change and modify the rules to suit his needs. the DM's main job is the make sure everyone has fun, and the rules and dice are a means to that end, not an end in themselves. If bending the rules allows for the players (all the players) to have More Fun, then it's fine.

out of intrest, do you routinly keep track of the players vital combat stats (mainly AC and health)? if not, do so. not only does it speed things up and reducding the amount of time spent asking the players things, but it means you know when to fudge the dice a little. if, for example, your monster is in combat with two players, one of whom alright the the other badly hurt, you'd focus your attacks on the unhurt one, to give the wounded player a chance to heal up/back off/whatever. justify it how you want, but the aim is not to kill the players unless they do somthing really, really stupid.

[ken-do-nim]

So I'm DMing a 4e campaign for a party of first time D&D players (myself included in the n00bishness), and I'm wondering how to deal with PC death. Especially at early levels, 500 gp for a Raise Dead spell is a lot of gold to cough up, if you can even find someone to cast it for you, or someone to sell you a scroll. My players are kinda' attached to their characters, and understandably so, so just rolling up a new character every time they die seems like a poor solution. (Not to mention the plot problems this creates...) The DMG doesn't really seem to address this issue. I don't want to just leave the player with nothing (or very little to do, anyways) for very long, either, so going on a quest to retrieve their soul seems like a poor idea, though as a one-time epic-tier thing, that could be kinda' cool, traveling to the underworld and all. I can't do that every time somebody doesn't flee from a Grue fast enough or something...

So: what do you (or your DM) do when PCs die?

My old school heart weeps at this post. Death can actually be enjoyable! I love telling pc death stories. Furthermore, if your campaign has an ideal death rate, then everyone will remain excited all the time. Too little death and the game is too easy, thus it is boring. Too much death and the game is too hard, thus it is boring. How much death is right? I think one death every 4-6 sessions. As for your plot problems, you need to create D&D plots that don't break unless there is a TPK. If you've decided that a given character is secretly the lost prince and when he discovers his identity will challenge the evil usurper for the kingdom, then I say you are playing the wrong game.

[valadil]

If the party can afford a resurrection, get a rezzed. If they can't, divide up the loot and reroll. I have yet to see a PC get a proper funeral.

[dsmiles]

My old school heart weeps at this post. Death can actually be enjoyable! I love telling pc death stories. Furthermore, if your campaign has an ideal death rate, then everyone will remain excited all the time. Too little death and the game is too easy, thus it is boring. Too much death and the game is too hard, thus it is boring. How much death is right? I think one death every 4-6 sessions. As for your plot problems, you need to create D&D plots that don't break unless there is a TPK. If you've decided that a given character is secretly the lost prince and when he discovers his identity will challenge the evil usurper for the kingdom, then I say you are playing the wrong game.

Agreed. I once played a character that fell in love with another character (awkward OoC, but worked IC). My character's death sparked a whole slew of adventures about the party (specifically, my character's love interest) trying to get my character raised, or failing that, avenged. Death of a character, even a favorite one , can be a GREAT plot hook.

[Beelzebub1111]

a lot of older modules hand the players a Rod of Resurrection for particularly deadly adventures. <See: Gamers: Dorkness Rising>

[SimperingToad]

If the players cannot handle their character dying, tough. This is a no whiner zone. They probably should go play a computer game so they can reboot or start again from their last save.

It's part of the game. The characters are doing something (presumably) dangerous, and death occasionally happens.

If you are uncertain just how much the PCs can handle, start them off light on the encounters and increase the difficulty until you feel the challenge is appropriate. They may be a little dissapointed in the early going, but you both get a feel for how combats work and will get a sense for what is appropriate in time.

Someone who whines about PC death all the time is in it not for the adventure, but their own personal glory. Many of the more memorable, and quite often more amusing, anecdotes in groups I have played come from PC deaths.

[ken-do-nim]

a lot of older modules hand the players a Rod of Resurrection for particularly deadly adventures. <See: Gamers: Dorkness Rising>

Name one. I can't think of any.

[dsmiles]

Name one. I can't think of any.

Seconded. 25 years playing and never saw one.

[Cyanic]

At this point you might as well just have a rule saying he who dies must go get more beer and pretzels and can come back in after.

I like this method (scribbles into houserules)

[Sairyu]

If someone's character dies, they stay dead. Granted, this is after fudging dice rolls to avoid stupid deaths like being critted 2-3 times in a round in their character's first round of combat ever, but I don't see any problems here.

The player just rolls up a new character. After all, it's not like Blackleaf dying is going to cause player suicide.

[Beelzebub1111]

Name one. I can't think of any.

Off the top of my head we got one for The Illithiad.

While a video game example, you get one in Hoards of the Underdark.

The good thing about a Rod of Resurection is the limited uses. But then again this was second edition where your race depended on how many charges you used.

[Fhaolan]

I try to arrange it so that when a PC dies, their player meets a similar gruesome fate... what?

Oh, all right.

I have to say that while the temptation of making death a revolving door is there as DM, I recommend resisting that temptation. Not because it's punishing anyone, or because I enjoy cruelty... much, but because everyone needs reminders that it's just a game on occasion. While it's very difficult to 'win' D&D, because it's a game it's possible to lose.

In my experience, if a player has become so attached to a PC that they are unwilling to let them die in-game and start a new character, they are starting to lose perspective. The character is a fictional entity in a game. If they want, they can write stories about the character, bring an identical character to a different game, so on, so forth. But this event happend to this version of the character, and the game goes on.

[Foryn Gilnith]

If you're on a time-sensitive adventure, you have to manage without the guy. If you stop to resurrect him the BBEGs/McGuffin will get away. After that, get the resurrection you need.

[Triaxx]

I don't know about 4e, but in 3.5, I found the best way was to remove the Resurrection series and only use Reincarnation. Dying a male Half-orc Barbarian, and resurrecting a female halfling is guaranteed them to stop.

[Bagelz]

at low levels, before you can afford such spells,
the theory is that you haven't been playing that character long enough to get seriously attached.
This is different for each person. I once played recklessly in order to kill one of my characters, on purpose, so that I could reroll a different class (there was little penalty for death, as we were allowed to make characters of the same level, not level one)

on the other hand I had a friend who couldn't make her druid effective, but wouldn't give up on that character despite frustration.

My current 4e game if we die we reroll level 1 characters, so thats a little worse, in which case, run run away.

[Chaelos]

My view on this has always been: Death can be fun, if it's impermanent.

Letting Big Ben the Barbarian die when he's fouled up is OK. It may even encourage smarter play or better player interaction, as it reminds players that they're not recurring characters in a long-running TV show. So long as death is infrequent and not irrevocable, I see no problem with allowing a character to die here and there, if they've earned it.

Destroying a character's soul, body and essence, on the other hand, is a **** move.

[drengnikrafe]

I treat my PCs like criminals. No, not in any bad way, like in the "3 strikes and you're out" way. If they should've died, their PC becomes incapable of functioning for the remainder of the battle, but they are ignored as well, and at the end of the battle, they're back. They get 2 such instances. After that, they die, they're gone. That's when my advice stops being useful.

[Rhiannon87]

My group employs the mulligan system. Everyone gets 1d3 "get out of death free" chances... but you don't, under any circumstances, tell the players how many freebies their characters have. Whenever a player would die, they're instead at -9 and stabilized (and you, as DM, really should not be a jerk and have an enemy go over and coup de grace them while they're down, that's just cruel). Once you've used up your deaths, well, either your party's gotta pony up the cash to raise you, or start crafting someone new.

In my group, we're all big roleplayers, so we have a stash of 25,000 gp worth of diamonds (3.5 ed, can't believe how cheap raise dead is in 4e) to use to bring people back from the dead. Then again, we're 12th level, so we have the cash and a cleric who can cast raise dead.

[Comet]

I treat my PCs like criminals.

This is just asking to be quoted out of context

In our group, PC death is either:

A) Doesn't happen.

or

B) Happens all the time.

I'm not a huge fan of ressurection, in either case.

[truemane]

What I do, most of the time, and have done for a few years now, is play on 'None-Lethal Mode.' This involves a change in the relationship between the players and the DM and the game, but it works as thus:

Most of the time the PC's can't die. If the rules say they're dead, they're really just mangled beyond all hope of repair and stay in a coma for a dramatically appropriate length of time and maybe come out of it with some manner of permanent disability.

Now, that being said, this rule is no excuse for stupidity. If you jump into a cage filled with rabid border collies because 'DM sez im teh g0d-m0de lol' you're dead. Similarly, you sink to the bottom of the ocean, you're probably done. But for any sort of 'random' damage, you're covered.

And then, for the big fights, you tell them Lethal Mode is engaged, and it's suddenly a whole new ball game. And similarly, if someone wants to shrug off Lethal-Mode for something really cinematic, I'm happy to hand over some bonuses and let the dice fall where they may.

And it works. Really, really well actually.

The guy who invented E6 has a small set of rules on the 'Death Flag' that are interesting. But I generally use Non-Lethal as a story device. Basically it means that your character won't die unless it's for something important.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that this is always one of the conversations I have with groups when I start a new game. I've had groups refuse Non-Lethal Mode, preferring the constant risk of death. But I've had more groups embrace it as a chance to grow really attached to their characters without worrying that a stray arrow or a random critical will kill them.