I think something you could do in order to slightly increase the difficulty of encounters and give the players a sense that dying in an encounter is a real possibility. Pair this with the introduction of a NPC who could spend some time wit the players and build a relationship with everyone. Then during one of these encounters you could have the NPC be critically wounded and have a nice dramatic moment where the players watch a friend pass and must prepare funeral rites. You can then use this moment in order to possibly introduce new elements or characters to show the group that when a character dies it is not an end to the story or that players involvement but rather a moment within the story that can motivate, introduce, or resolve story elements that build the world and create a place that feels more tangible and dynamic. I wish you luck with your campaign and I hope this helps.

Player death is an interesting thing and can be handled in many ways. You can have them "encounter their God and make a bargain" to come back. You could have them "play as a ghost trying to find their way back to life." The thing is - if the player should die - do something really COOL with them that will spark their creativity, etc. Players do get invested in their characters, and they SHOULD get invested in their characters. But this is fantasy - and returning from beyond is a possibility. Just, if the thing should happen, make it really COOL for the player and give them a way forward. 

You could also introduce a respawn mechanic. I’m DMing for my 10 year old and his friends. To ease them into it and feel out if any of the kids are the types to get overly attached to their characters, I created an adventure where they have been hired by a wizard who creates magical traps, mazes, and such. He hires groups and individuals with a range of talents as “white hats” to test out his wares and solutions before he sells them. Some of these are fatal if you’re not up for it, so he traps the soul of his employees so they can be restored in the event of a poor outcome.

Bear in mind that it turns out these souls are rather valuable on the “black market” and the whole thing is actually a front for capturing and selling interesting souls. A small percentage of the restored heroes find they are in posession of the wrong soul which has less of that “new-soul smell” than the one they started with (can affect non-physical abilities, attunement, relationship and contracts with deities, role-play of player, whatever seems interesting). Correcting this situation leads to a whole set of adventures where they have to track down the buyer ...

Quote from Greg >>

You could also introduce a respawn mechanic. I’m DMing for my 10 year old and his friends. To ease them into it and feel out if any of the kids are the types to get overly attached to their characters, I created an adventure where they have been hired by a wizard who creates magical traps, mazes, and such. He hires groups and individuals with a range of talents as “white hats” to test out his wares and solutions before he sells them. Some of these are fatal if you’re not up for it, so he traps the soul of his employees so they can be restored in the event of a poor outcome.

Bear in mind that it turns out these souls are rather valuable on the “black market” and the whole thing is actually a front for capturing and selling interesting souls. A small percentage of the restored heroes find they are in posession of the wrong soul which has less of that “new-soul smell” than the one they started with (can affect non-physical abilities, attunement, relationship and contracts with deities, role-play of player, whatever seems interesting). Correcting this situation leads to a whole set of adventures where they have to track down the buyer ...

 this is derranged, i like it, i thought i was sneaky and underhanded at at times, but i'd be proud of that one had a ever dreamed up something like it, well done. the resulting quest possibilities and complications are incredible.
in a just universe you should be up for some form of dms prize of r it

Thank you so much! 

Thanks! I love the ghost idea, and I think my player will too if her character dies :)

That's a super interesting idea! I love it!