Running Death House, our Rogue went off alone and got killed by the Mimic. I told myself the first character death would be forgiven for RP purposes, and had her raised by a deity after some exposition with her unable to transcend Barovia as a spirit.
Then running the penultimate escape from Death House, the players didn't straight flee from the Shambling Mound. They did well in the beginning as I kept fumbling the creature's attack rolls, bloodying it, until the Paladin was pulled into the creature and killed. In hindsight, I should have had the creature appeased at that and let the remaining players do a skill challenge to escape the house, with risk of one more player death. These would have been perma-deaths. Instead, the players failed to form a strategy to run from the creature (they could have simply just dashed away!) and two more players were knocked out, one failing his death saves and dying. Now I had two dead players, and the remaining two still had to do the skill challenge to escape.
At thought of a Death House TPK, which I was warned about multiple times, I quickly decided to let the players run on the Dark Pacts table used for Adventurer's League with Curse of Strahd to come back to life. They both chose to do so. They haven't even fled from the house yet and could still die during the escape.
However now I'm in the classic bind, DM moving the goalposts... not happy when the players didn't pick up on hints of dread, blaming myself for the TPK when I could change the rules (eg when does the Shambling Mound quit the chase) in game, etc. I wanted the players to feel terrified at risk of death, but balance with the difficulty of the game. Since they are dying so much quicker (not learning how difficult this campaign is),
I figured I would let each remaining player, Wizard and Bard, have one Dark Pact raise for fairness.
Ultimately, the solution needs to be based on the temperament of your group and the rules you set in Session 0. However, it is important to get the players to buy-in to the game. Figure out what motivates them and use it as leverage.
If they aren't afraid of death, then maybe they'll respond to impotence. (Sever limbs and maim them until they become a burden on the group) when they reach checkpoints they can be rewarded with partial recovery.
If they are treasure hungry, then give them something valuable that you can take away. Maybe a legendary item hates the stench of death and only a character who avoids death can wield it.
If they like prestige, then tempt them with land and titles, but after a TPK, they take a few months to regenerate and the locals reclaim their earnings and consider the players unreliable.
Etc...
Best case scenario, talk to your players and bluntly ask them to be more invested. If your players are mature, they'll follow your lead, or tell you what they want. People default to what they know and will continue to do so until shown another way.
Don't be afraid to pause the game and remind the players that not all encounters are winnable. Tell them something along the lines of, "There is a high chance that one or more of your characters will die, if this encounter is not handled carefully. Until you gain access to resurrection magic, permanent character death is a real risk. This is your chance to discuss your plans as a team before committing. "
Running Death House, our Rogue went off alone and got killed by the Mimic. I told myself the first character death would be forgiven for RP purposes, and had her raised by a deity after some exposition with her unable to transcend Barovia as a spirit.
Then running the penultimate escape from Death House, the players didn't straight flee from the Shambling Mound. They did well in the beginning as I kept fumbling the creature's attack rolls, bloodying it, until the Paladin was pulled into the creature and killed. In hindsight, I should have had the creature appeased at that and let the remaining players do a skill challenge to escape the house, with risk of one more player death. These would have been perma-deaths. Instead, the players failed to form a strategy to run from the creature (they could have simply just dashed away!) and two more players were knocked out, one failing his death saves and dying. Now I had two dead players, and the remaining two still had to do the skill challenge to escape.
At thought of a Death House TPK, which I was warned about multiple times, I quickly decided to let the players run on the Dark Pacts table used for Adventurer's League with Curse of Strahd to come back to life. They both chose to do so. They haven't even fled from the house yet and could still die during the escape.
However now I'm in the classic bind, DM moving the goalposts... not happy when the players didn't pick up on hints of dread, blaming myself for the TPK when I could change the rules (eg when does the Shambling Mound quit the chase) in game, etc. I wanted the players to feel terrified at risk of death, but balance with the difficulty of the game. Since they are dying so much quicker (not learning how difficult this campaign is),
I figured I would let each remaining player, Wizard and Bard, have one Dark Pact raise for fairness.
Ultimately, the solution needs to be based on the temperament of your group and the rules you set in Session 0. However, it is important to get the players to buy-in to the game. Figure out what motivates them and use it as leverage.
If they aren't afraid of death, then maybe they'll respond to impotence. (Sever limbs and maim them until they become a burden on the group) when they reach checkpoints they can be rewarded with partial recovery.
If they are treasure hungry, then give them something valuable that you can take away. Maybe a legendary item hates the stench of death and only a character who avoids death can wield it.
If they like prestige, then tempt them with land and titles, but after a TPK, they take a few months to regenerate and the locals reclaim their earnings and consider the players unreliable.
Etc...
Best case scenario, talk to your players and bluntly ask them to be more invested. If your players are mature, they'll follow your lead, or tell you what they want. People default to what they know and will continue to do so until shown another way.
Don't be afraid to pause the game and remind the players that not all encounters are winnable. Tell them something along the lines of, "There is a high chance that one or more of your characters will die, if this encounter is not handled carefully. Until you gain access to resurrection magic, permanent character death is a real risk. This is your chance to discuss your plans as a team before committing. "