House Rule Concerning Character Death [Archive] - Wizards Community

House Rule Concerning Character Death [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Taladel
09-20-05, 09:30 PM I've got a question.

I'm allowing players to create new characters if their current one dies (provided they change either their race or their class), if they don't want it resurrected.

However, if the other players' characters are attached to the character, have the resources to resurrect him, and would do so, according to their character, should I let them, even though the player may not want that character anymore?
3doorsfan
09-21-05, 12:59 AM a character cannot be raised from the dead (in any manor) if they do not wish it so
RaspK FOG
09-21-05, 04:30 AM a character cannot be raised from the dead (in any manor) if they do not wish it so
The problem is, though, that, while people should generally be allowed to do what they want to, isn't it a bit anti-roleplaying to simply drop a character when he dies because you are bored?
IceFractal
09-21-05, 04:35 AM Well, keep in mind that death was probably pretty painful, and furthermore, if the character was good aligned - they're now in Paradise, or the local equivalent. Unless they've got some very important unfinished business then it'd be pretty unusual for them to come back.

Now an evil character probably would want to come back as much as possible. Their afterlife is a constant power struggle and the more power they can accumulate in life the better chance they have to make a deal to start out as something better than a larva in the afterlife.
Arcade
09-21-05, 09:53 AM Even though the player may not want to play the character, the character may still want to come back to life. However, there is nothing saying that the character will keep on adventuring with the characters. Perhaps now is the time to look into retiring at that nice little tavern they saw for sale. Or maybe they want to adventure with a different group who will try a little harder to avoid death.

Most parties should try to raise a character from the dead. Unless the character has decided not to be raised for whatever reason (hopefully an in-game reason), then a party shouldn't dump their friend's body this time because they got a wierd feeling that the character did not want to come back.

In D&D, coming back from death isn't much of an obstacle- it's just a really expensive cure spell. As a result, character death is no more of a reason to switch characters then it is at any other time. Players are often discouraged when a character dies because it means they just lost their "perfect score" and they now have to regain all that XP back that they just lost which is discouraging. But it is not that much different from many other setbacks (losing a spellbook or important piece of equipment, being hunted by overwhelming forces). So my thought would be that character death should not be used as a factor when figuring out when to switch characters. You should have a policy to determine when it is allowed or how often and use that instead.
Jagyr Ebonwood
09-21-05, 11:31 AM I cite Buffy The Vampire Slayer here.
Buffy died.
She went to heaven.
Her friends brought her back to life.
She was royally POed.

If you die and go to a happy afterlife, the world of the living is going to seem pretty crappy by comparison.
3doorsfan
09-21-05, 12:32 PM I cite Buffy The Vampire Slayer here.
Buffy died.
She went to heaven.
Her friends brought her back to life.
She was royally POed.

She didnt have a choice though
lostone
09-21-05, 12:51 PM In D&D if the character does not want to be resurrected, it fails. Period.

However if the character would want to come back but the player is tired of it, then a little metagaming is required to make it logical in the game. Maybe some other power blocks the resurrection, maybe the character wants to come back but their deity has asked them not to because of some prophecy the rest of the characters may never learn about. The simplest answer should be that the resurrection fails and the PCs do not know why.

The point of the game is to have fun, and if the character is not fun for the player they should not be tied down and forced to continue with that character. If that character was a key plot point for the storyline, then the DM screwed up, no one PC should be critical to the plotline unless you know that PC will survive and will continue to be played by a reliable player who isn't going to get bored with it or stop showing up to games for whatever reason.

On the other hand, if the player is merely trying to avoid losing 1 level from being resurrected, that is definitely metagaming that should not be allowed. In our group we have a houserule that if characters are changed, the new character is 1 level lower than the old. That way the player is really sure they want to do it, and lose nothing if they instead choose to have their character resurrected instead of making a new character. It helps keep metagamers playing the same character instead of switching to avoid level loss.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Taladel 09-20-05, 09:30 PM	I've got a question. I'm allowing players to create new characters if their current one dies (provided they change either their race or their class), if they don't want it resurrected. However, if the other players' characters are attached to the character, have the resources to resurrect him, and would do so, according to their character, should I let them, even though the player may not want that character anymore?
3doorsfan 09-21-05, 12:59 AM	a character cannot be raised from the dead (in any manor) if they do not wish it so
RaspK FOG 09-21-05, 04:30 AM	a character cannot be raised from the dead (in any manor) if they do not wish it so The problem is, though, that, while people should generally be allowed to do what they want to, isn't it a bit anti-roleplaying to simply drop a character when he dies because you are bored?
IceFractal 09-21-05, 04:35 AM	Well, keep in mind that death was probably pretty painful, and furthermore, if the character was good aligned - they're now in Paradise, or the local equivalent. Unless they've got some very important unfinished business then it'd be pretty unusual for them to come back. Now an evil character probably would want to come back as much as possible. Their afterlife is a constant power struggle and the more power they can accumulate in life the better chance they have to make a deal to start out as something better than a larva in the afterlife.
Arcade 09-21-05, 09:53 AM	Even though the player may not want to play the character, the character may still want to come back to life. However, there is nothing saying that the character will keep on adventuring with the characters. Perhaps now is the time to look into retiring at that nice little tavern they saw for sale. Or maybe they want to adventure with a different group who will try a little harder to avoid death. Most parties should try to raise a character from the dead. Unless the character has decided not to be raised for whatever reason (hopefully an in-game reason), then a party shouldn't dump their friend's body this time because they got a wierd feeling that the character did not want to come back. In D&D, coming back from death isn't much of an obstacle- it's just a really expensive cure spell. As a result, character death is no more of a reason to switch characters then it is at any other time. Players are often discouraged when a character dies because it means they just lost their "perfect score" and they now have to regain all that XP back that they just lost which is discouraging. But it is not that much different from many other setbacks (losing a spellbook or important piece of equipment, being hunted by overwhelming forces). So my thought would be that character death should not be used as a factor when figuring out when to switch characters. You should have a policy to determine when it is allowed or how often and use that instead.
Jagyr Ebonwood 09-21-05, 11:31 AM	I cite Buffy The Vampire Slayer here. Buffy died. She went to heaven. Her friends brought her back to life. She was royally POed. If you die and go to a happy afterlife, the world of the living is going to seem pretty crappy by comparison.
3doorsfan 09-21-05, 12:32 PM	I cite Buffy The Vampire Slayer here. Buffy died. She went to heaven. Her friends brought her back to life. She was royally POed. She didnt have a choice though
lostone 09-21-05, 12:51 PM	In D&D if the character does not want to be resurrected, it fails. Period. However if the character would want to come back but the player is tired of it, then a little metagaming is required to make it logical in the game. Maybe some other power blocks the resurrection, maybe the character wants to come back but their deity has asked them not to because of some prophecy the rest of the characters may never learn about. The simplest answer should be that the resurrection fails and the PCs do not know why. The point of the game is to have fun, and if the character is not fun for the player they should not be tied down and forced to continue with that character. If that character was a key plot point for the storyline, then the DM screwed up, no one PC should be critical to the plotline unless you know that PC will survive and will continue to be played by a reliable player who isn't going to get bored with it or stop showing up to games for whatever reason. On the other hand, if the player is merely trying to avoid losing 1 level from being resurrected, that is definitely metagaming that should not be allowed. In our group we have a houserule that if characters are changed, the new character is 1 level lower than the old. That way the player is really sure they want to do it, and lose nothing if they instead choose to have their character resurrected instead of making a new character. It helps keep metagamers playing the same character instead of switching to avoid level loss.