Noble Sacrifice

So I'm creating a setting in which artifice exists sort of in opposition to primal magic; ex: when Druid or Ranger spells are used around paving stones, the stones are overtaken by grass in addition to other effects, etc. 

The evil artificer villain's macguffin is a creepy surgical bay capable of synthesizing bodies into powerful zombies for his plan to take over the world. My main idea for a way to disable it: a primally powered character gives up their abilities, pouring everything they have into the "nature abhors tech" law, and each wire and tube and tank of liquid is torn apart by ivy, roots, and fungi, destroying the bay. 

Is this a good idea or is a character sacrificing themselves to depower the BBEG's big item too much of a trade-off?

I wouldn't feel great designing a campaign's plot in such a way that it requires one of my players to throw away everything their character has worked toward becoming. Character death - or something very near to it, like this - should happen organically, not be forced by the plot.

Bare minimum, the question of "how would you feel about a plot point that forces you to sacrifice your character or all of their achievements?" needs to be brought up in Session 0. 

The best approach I could see for this is for an NPC ally of the party - possibly a family member or mentor to one of the PCs - to make that sacrifice. It gets the job done and it also opens the door for a quest to somehow restore the NPC ally's powers somehow after the big bad is defeated.

Quote from ApplePaladin >>

I wouldn't feel great designing a campaign's plot in such a way that it requires one of my players to throw away everything their character has worked toward becoming. Character death - or something very near to it, like this - should happen organically, not be forced by the plot.

Bare minimum, the question of "how would you feel about a plot point that forces you to sacrifice your character or all of their achievements?" needs to be brought up in Session 0. 

The best approach I could see for this is for an NPC ally of the party - possibly a family member or mentor to one of the PCs - to make that sacrifice. It gets the job done and it also opens the door for a quest to somehow restore the NPC ally's powers somehow after the big bad is defeated.

 That could definitely work. If you have a DMPC, that’s even more heart wrenching for the party.

I get that. Right, using an NPC is probably a good idea. I have a separate NPC-breaking idea though, so either I wouldn't use both to avoid torturing that character or I would, and it would happen before they quite regain their abilities.