Iam a new DM and my party is a part of a thief's guild. Long story short I was on my way to a total party kill and I of course did not want that to happen on my 3rd session in. one of the players did not like the character he was playing. A 600 year old warlock, another player had died and the other was in death saving throws. So I let him sacrifice his warlock for the dead player transferring life from the warlock to the dead halfling. All and all i'm not 100% happy with the way I dealt with it. Do you have and suggestions about what i can do with this. anything would help even constructive criticism?
What specifically are you not happy with? The almost TPK or the aftermath? Sounds like you allowed a player to sacrifice a character they didn't like to save another character, which in my opinion was a decent call on your part.
I'm not happy that i let him sacrifice his life to save the halfling. it doesn't seem real or even possible. i mean anything is possible. But do you have any suggestions of how to handle the living character. giving him any advantages from this or disadvantages from this encounter. like the warlock stuck his quarterstaff into the halflings chest and resurrected the halfling. I''m unsure of what i can do to reflect on this. I can not change the past but can only move on.
I wouldn't worry too much. Just explain to the players exactly why you did what you did, and that the in-game explanation is a 'gift from the gods', a one-time concentration of magical energies that allowed a life-force transfer to happen that won't be able to happen again.
Or...run with it. Establish that what your players have discovered is that, 'if their heart is pure enough' or some such other fudge-able qualifier, in your game/world it is possible to sacrifice one's life to save someone else in this way. It's honestly not going to be terribly over-powered or imbalancing. It will require either someone who doesn't like their character enough to kill it (which hopefully everyone wants to avoid), or it will require a really baller decision on the part of someone who does like their character. And that is the kind of decision that players remember for years. "Remember when you sacrificed your Ranger for my wizard? You loved that character!"
This could be a cool feature of the world. And if you have the 'if your heart is pure enough' vagueness, it'll keep a one-time visiting player from sacrificing his character at the end of the session because he doesn't care. Nope, it doesn't work, his heart wasn't pure enough. :)
I agree with Brotherbock, but you could also go the other way. (Depending on the type of character that was saved.) Being saved in this way angered the warlock's patron (even though he allowed it begrudgingly). The patron occasionally "haunts" the saved character and demands things because he owes him his life. Think evil sentient weapon... not all try to overthrow the character, but even that's a possibility. This direction would help you curb future attempts at doing the same thing if that's what you want. It doesn't take anything away from the saved character, but makes them consider the impact of it comes up again.
I agree with Brotherbock, but you could also go the other way. (Depending on the type of character that was saved.) Being saved in this way angered the warlock's patron (even though he allowed it begrudgingly). The patron occasionally "haunts" the saved character and demands things because he owes him his life. Think evil sentient weapon... not all try to overthrow the character, but even that's a possibility. This direction would help you curb future attempts at doing the same thing if that's what you want. It doesn't take anything away from the saved character, but makes them consider the impact of it comes up again.
Good suggestion. You might even be able to do both. Start it up as a feature of the world, and see what happens. If it gets abused, then bring down the wrath of the gods :) It really would only take one more time, when it was questionable, for the DM to conclude that it's being abused. And if it is, heck--the gods could not only leave the dead person dead, but kill the person trying the lame sacrifice as punishment :D
This is awesome help and answers. Do you guys have any idea that might help me in the smaller aspects like and underlying effects like a sickness or on the other end, powers that he might get. I like the idea that the warlock comes back to haunt him. Asking for things in his dreams type thing (what kind of things would the dead ask for?) . We are new players to the game. So any ideas of how I can portray this would help me greatly. Thanks guys
This is awesome help and answers. Do you guys have any idea that might help me in the smaller aspects like and underlying effects like a sickness or on the other end, powers that he might get. I like the idea that the warlock comes back to haunt him. Asking for things in his dreams type thing (what kind of things would the dead ask for?) . We are new players to the game. So any ideas of how I can portray this would help me greatly. Thanks guys
So, I'm reading the Expanse books, and watching the shows. There's a dead character who keeps bothering one of the main characters for a while. It's interesting. Anyway, the Warlock was in service to a patron, right? What if the warlock's spirit keeps coming back, pushing the other character to do things...little things...for the patron? But only the revived character can see the spirit. :) Maybe even try to see if the player will think the character is going insane. No one else can see, or even detect, the spirit. Or maybe if they get clever, a spell might tell them something is hanging around. But the warlock just suddenly appears (only to the one character)..."Hey buddy...as long as you guys are going to that city...there's this dagger that's rumored to be hidden in the catacombs. My patron would sure like to see it recovered..." Pull the player aside to tell him these things, so the other players don't hear it happening.
Keep that up, if he does these things for the patron/warlock spirit...maybe the patron offers a pact to the revived character eventually, multi-class opening.
That's a good idea of having him see a ghost and making him feel like he is going insane seeing the dead warlock that is not really there. On your second line could you explain what you mean by the character doing little thing for the patron. are you referring to the resurrected halfling as the patron? i like this idea it is very interesting.
Clarification: the warlock is a warlock because he had a pact with a patron--a Fey, Fiend, Great Old One, Hexblade, etc. It's the being that gave the warlock his power in the first place. Different patrons are more hands-on or hands-off, but often they will have their warlocks do things for them. Fight their foes, spread their name or work for their cause, etc.
So my idea was that, since the warlock gave his life for the Halfling, the patron (Fiend, Fey, whatever it is) now thinks that the halfling owes the patron. Or at least thinks the halfling could be pressured, maybe feels guilty. And, because of the warlock's sacrifice, the halfling is 'mystically connected' to the warlock's spirit. So the patron being is sending the warlock's spirit to visit the halfling, and try to get him to do things that the patron wants done. The patron doesn't have direct power over the halfling...but it can keep bothering the halfling with the warlock's spirit visits, Christmas Carol style, until the halfling gives in :)
Example: warlock had a Fiend patron. Fiend now keeps sending the warlock spirit to visit the halfling. "Hey, so...there's this temple in the next town over. Why don't you just, you know...light it on fire?" Or even something more mysterious, like "Hey again, long time. So, inside this tavern, there's a man in a red cloak. He's got a package he needs delivered to Northtown. And since you guys are going that direction anyway...I mean, I saved your life. Could you do me this favor? It would mean a lot." :D And then, you know, the package contains a sacrificed human heart or something.
Thank you for all your help I like the way you think about this situation. I think I can work with what you have gave me for your input. Thank you :) Since you have so many good ideas do you think there would be any good things that would come out of it. Like powers where he could get let say a cantrip or 2 even though he does not have any magic powers but, has the warlocks spirit with him?
I would say that additional powers could happen... eventually. I say this because you have other players at your table. Right now, it can be a cool story. A little bit of a hook that you can develop over the next 4 or 5 levels. (Think long game, not short term.) What I would do while I was developing that story is to look for other, similar types of situations for the other players. Might not need to be different, could be that they all get "boons" from the Patron. Or they could be from other powerful figures.
Any time you reward a player with extra stuff, be it homebrew powers or magical items, make sure to spread the love. They don't have to get it at the same time, but at the very least make sure there are the beginnings of "mini-quests" for your players. Some might not mind, but most players will start grumbling if only one gets free cantrips or other powers, and gets all the personalized plot hooks.
But with that said, feel free to reward whatever you want. Cantrip, spell, hidden location of a powerful magic item, etc. Even stat increases are a possibility later down the line. The DMG has examples of higher level boons you can grant.
Agree with Sigvard on the whole issue. I'd also add that you could go this route: award small things, like a cantrip, but make it come with a cost :)
Taking the Fiend as the patron example again, if the Halfling gets on board with listening to the warlock spirit and doing these small favors, maybe the Fiend offers a cantrip--but accepting it will mean the Halfling grows a small horn on his head :) Another cantrip might turn one of his eyes permanently red, or yellow.
Think of it this way--it's a cool story arc that the halfling now has. That itself is a reward. Plus the reward of still being alive. If you bury him in benefits, then the whole thing might get abused later. And, as Sigvard said, you'll want to make sure the other characters are getting cool stuff too. And you'll want to do that anyway. But one way to temper the cool benefits is make them not 100% cool, but give the player that choice.
Iam a new DM and my party is a part of a thief's guild. Long story short I was on my way to a total party kill and I of course did not want that to happen on my 3rd session in. one of the players did not like the character he was playing. A 600 year old warlock, another player had died and the other was in death saving throws. So I let him sacrifice his warlock for the dead player transferring life from the warlock to the dead halfling. All and all i'm not 100% happy with the way I dealt with it. Do you have and suggestions about what i can do with this. anything would help even constructive criticism?
Roll your to hit rolls and damage dice behind a DM screen and fudge the numbers enough to not kill the party.
Other than that, as long as everyone is having fun, learn and move on.
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Let the bad guys die faster.
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What specifically are you not happy with? The almost TPK or the aftermath? Sounds like you allowed a player to sacrifice a character they didn't like to save another character, which in my opinion was a decent call on your part.
I'm not happy that i let him sacrifice his life to save the halfling. it doesn't seem real or even possible. i mean anything is possible. But do you have any suggestions of how to handle the living character. giving him any advantages from this or disadvantages from this encounter. like the warlock stuck his quarterstaff into the halflings chest and resurrected the halfling. I''m unsure of what i can do to reflect on this. I can not change the past but can only move on.
I wouldn't worry too much. Just explain to the players exactly why you did what you did, and that the in-game explanation is a 'gift from the gods', a one-time concentration of magical energies that allowed a life-force transfer to happen that won't be able to happen again.
Or...run with it. Establish that what your players have discovered is that, 'if their heart is pure enough' or some such other fudge-able qualifier, in your game/world it is possible to sacrifice one's life to save someone else in this way. It's honestly not going to be terribly over-powered or imbalancing. It will require either someone who doesn't like their character enough to kill it (which hopefully everyone wants to avoid), or it will require a really baller decision on the part of someone who does like their character. And that is the kind of decision that players remember for years. "Remember when you sacrificed your Ranger for my wizard? You loved that character!"
This could be a cool feature of the world. And if you have the 'if your heart is pure enough' vagueness, it'll keep a one-time visiting player from sacrificing his character at the end of the session because he doesn't care. Nope, it doesn't work, his heart wasn't pure enough. :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I agree with Brotherbock, but you could also go the other way. (Depending on the type of character that was saved.) Being saved in this way angered the warlock's patron (even though he allowed it begrudgingly). The patron occasionally "haunts" the saved character and demands things because he owes him his life. Think evil sentient weapon... not all try to overthrow the character, but even that's a possibility. This direction would help you curb future attempts at doing the same thing if that's what you want. It doesn't take anything away from the saved character, but makes them consider the impact of it comes up again.
Good suggestion. You might even be able to do both. Start it up as a feature of the world, and see what happens. If it gets abused, then bring down the wrath of the gods :) It really would only take one more time, when it was questionable, for the DM to conclude that it's being abused. And if it is, heck--the gods could not only leave the dead person dead, but kill the person trying the lame sacrifice as punishment :D
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
This is awesome help and answers. Do you guys have any idea that might help me in the smaller aspects like and underlying effects like a sickness or on the other end, powers that he might get. I like the idea that the warlock comes back to haunt him. Asking for things in his dreams type thing (what kind of things would the dead ask for?) . We are new players to the game. So any ideas of how I can portray this would help me greatly. Thanks guys
So, I'm reading the Expanse books, and watching the shows. There's a dead character who keeps bothering one of the main characters for a while. It's interesting. Anyway, the Warlock was in service to a patron, right? What if the warlock's spirit keeps coming back, pushing the other character to do things...little things...for the patron? But only the revived character can see the spirit. :) Maybe even try to see if the player will think the character is going insane. No one else can see, or even detect, the spirit. Or maybe if they get clever, a spell might tell them something is hanging around. But the warlock just suddenly appears (only to the one character)..."Hey buddy...as long as you guys are going to that city...there's this dagger that's rumored to be hidden in the catacombs. My patron would sure like to see it recovered..." Pull the player aside to tell him these things, so the other players don't hear it happening.
Keep that up, if he does these things for the patron/warlock spirit...maybe the patron offers a pact to the revived character eventually, multi-class opening.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
That's a good idea of having him see a ghost and making him feel like he is going insane seeing the dead warlock that is not really there. On your second line could you explain what you mean by the character doing little thing for the patron. are you referring to the resurrected halfling as the patron? i like this idea it is very interesting.
Clarification: the warlock is a warlock because he had a pact with a patron--a Fey, Fiend, Great Old One, Hexblade, etc. It's the being that gave the warlock his power in the first place. Different patrons are more hands-on or hands-off, but often they will have their warlocks do things for them. Fight their foes, spread their name or work for their cause, etc.
So my idea was that, since the warlock gave his life for the Halfling, the patron (Fiend, Fey, whatever it is) now thinks that the halfling owes the patron. Or at least thinks the halfling could be pressured, maybe feels guilty. And, because of the warlock's sacrifice, the halfling is 'mystically connected' to the warlock's spirit. So the patron being is sending the warlock's spirit to visit the halfling, and try to get him to do things that the patron wants done. The patron doesn't have direct power over the halfling...but it can keep bothering the halfling with the warlock's spirit visits, Christmas Carol style, until the halfling gives in :)
Example: warlock had a Fiend patron. Fiend now keeps sending the warlock spirit to visit the halfling. "Hey, so...there's this temple in the next town over. Why don't you just, you know...light it on fire?" Or even something more mysterious, like "Hey again, long time. So, inside this tavern, there's a man in a red cloak. He's got a package he needs delivered to Northtown. And since you guys are going that direction anyway...I mean, I saved your life. Could you do me this favor? It would mean a lot." :D And then, you know, the package contains a sacrificed human heart or something.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Thank you for all your help I like the way you think about this situation. I think I can work with what you have gave me for your input. Thank you :) Since you have so many good ideas do you think there would be any good things that would come out of it. Like powers where he could get let say a cantrip or 2 even though he does not have any magic powers but, has the warlocks spirit with him?
I would say that additional powers could happen... eventually. I say this because you have other players at your table. Right now, it can be a cool story. A little bit of a hook that you can develop over the next 4 or 5 levels. (Think long game, not short term.) What I would do while I was developing that story is to look for other, similar types of situations for the other players. Might not need to be different, could be that they all get "boons" from the Patron. Or they could be from other powerful figures.
Any time you reward a player with extra stuff, be it homebrew powers or magical items, make sure to spread the love. They don't have to get it at the same time, but at the very least make sure there are the beginnings of "mini-quests" for your players. Some might not mind, but most players will start grumbling if only one gets free cantrips or other powers, and gets all the personalized plot hooks.
But with that said, feel free to reward whatever you want. Cantrip, spell, hidden location of a powerful magic item, etc. Even stat increases are a possibility later down the line. The DMG has examples of higher level boons you can grant.
Agree with Sigvard on the whole issue. I'd also add that you could go this route: award small things, like a cantrip, but make it come with a cost :)
Taking the Fiend as the patron example again, if the Halfling gets on board with listening to the warlock spirit and doing these small favors, maybe the Fiend offers a cantrip--but accepting it will mean the Halfling grows a small horn on his head :) Another cantrip might turn one of his eyes permanently red, or yellow.
Think of it this way--it's a cool story arc that the halfling now has. That itself is a reward. Plus the reward of still being alive. If you bury him in benefits, then the whole thing might get abused later. And, as Sigvard said, you'll want to make sure the other characters are getting cool stuff too. And you'll want to do that anyway. But one way to temper the cool benefits is make them not 100% cool, but give the player that choice.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)