I've been reading the forums for a while but this is my first Thread.
I ran a published paragon 4e module with a 7 player-party that's been questing together since level 1. The party had been carving through the module with ease and was starting to get cocky. They decided to go straight for the BBEG instead of taking our his lackeys and lieutenants first, going for the most powerful enemy and then "working their way down" the ladder.
Needless to say, they were a couple of levels lower than most of the encounters.
With confidence and style, they charged the front door of the BBEG's and are ambushed by some high level monsters, a pair of which grant Mummy Rot to half the party before the party decides to escape into the villain's lair, where the Final Battle begins.
I had never killed an entire party, and had yet to kill a single PC in 4e. But their cockiness in going straight for the boss instead of working their way up, there was no way I was going to hold back. And, as the title suggests, they were completely wiped out.
How do I feel now? A little shocked.
The players and I are all kind of in this sad haze
... are they all really dead? I feel kind of bad for not going easy on them...But, on the other hand, so many cool moments transpired!
Paladin holding the front line gets teleported by the BBEG into a couple of damaging auras. A monster immobilizes her in the auras. She's dead in 4 rounds.
BBEG: dominates rogue.
Allied Monsters: shifts into flanking position between Dominated Rogue and Player Ranger.
Dominated Rogue: stabs Ranger with Sneak Attack Damage.
Rogue: "Sorry, friend... I don't mean to do this..."
Ranged Ranger drops his magical bow and draws his mundane sword once he runs out of arrows. He has a pitiful strength.
Ranger: "You bastard... I'll never give up!"
He charges BBEG and gets a crit. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it's a moral victory.
BBEG destroys him in a single sword swing.
The Final PC, a TW Ranger, finally rubs his whetstone on his favored sword, lowers his eyes, and charges the BBEG. At this point, all of the BBEG's allies and minions have been destroyed, so now it's just BBEG Drow vs PC Elf. How epic. Of course, the PC gets mangled quickly, but he got some good shots in.
The party members were all great sports about it, never complaining or getting upset. They were undoubtedly sad, but they never said "not fair" or made accusations. As they died, they didn't leave the room and brood; they all watched every die roll with rapt attention.
So that's where I am, between pride, guilt, affection, sadness. So many mixed emtotions are running through me right now. TPK's can be so many things.
Can you guys tell me some of your TPK experiences, good or bad?
I might suggest that you think of some way to revive them and keep the story alive. You might look back and say that you wish you had, as I do. It depends on the party, and how they feel about it.
My story is that the PCs were on their pirate ship and found a new island. They were rather quickly captured by blue dragons who wished to procure assistance from them. As small intelligent beings, these pirates could help them by sneaking into the enemy Red Dragon clan's home and killing the younglings. During this process, the four level 7s encountered four level 5 Elites -- Red Dragon Wyrmlings with a hint of blue dragon (fire and lightning breath weapons). Despite my optimism in the party based on previous encounters, they slowly died. DM intervention still didn't save them.
They were all upset, to be sure. I was too. I was also interested in another campaign to play, and they were too. Now, though, I want to go back to the setting and play with those characters. I know some of them still do, and some of them have moved on. But at the time, I think they all would've agreed with me taking DM-intervention rights and putting their souls back on the natural world for some soulish quest.
Ask your party about it. It's better to make sure before you move on that everyone actually wants to.
To relate to it in modern terms you see the "corpse run" in MMOs. Maybe make a one or two shot adventure where the group plays a separate group of adventurers sent out to recover the bodies of the wiped team.
The advantage of this is that it allows you to continue the story (albeit differently due to player failure) and it allows players to experiment with a character for a bit before going back to their old one. Not to mention the various plot hooks that could go in to it? (Like who funded the group of body rescuers?)
I was lying, though. The encounters were all of equal level, one being two levels higher. They naturally BLEW through the dungeon, grinning ear to ear with their strategy. As the session ended, they were pulled into the vortex by the villain, spitting them out, where else, but the front steps of the building in which the previous party died. They were SOO excited to have their revenge, as well as have a chance to rez their fallen comrades.
They went into the delve thinking their old characters were dead and buried, but now they are poised to lay waste to the entire city they had killed the older party (they have an airship armed to the teeth with Warforged minions, bombs, crystal ray beams and other absurd weapons, giving them the ultimate revenge decimation battle of all time!).
Next week they get to kill everything!