well i guess you know whats happening with me by the title. Ive had my character for 3 years straight with the time to time near death experiences but recently they perished by a bolt of lightning while i was doing a recon of a camp of kobolds but got discovered and their life ended and when it happened i felt shattered and i don't know how to get over it so i took it to the wisdom of dnd beyond for its wisdom.
The easiest way to get over a character death, for me, is to open up the PHB and start thinking about the cool new character I will make up to replace it. I try to make it something very different, and start playing with stats, deciding which spells to take, and so forth. If the DM lets you start at the same level you died, or maybe that level -1, you will have a bunch of possible feats, stat increases, or ability sets to choose between. For me, in fairly short order, I get excited about the new character concept and although I am still a little sad that the old one died, I am now excited to play the new one and introduce him to the table.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I'm assuming your party and DM don't want you to stop playing ... so you're going to make a new character and pick up from here. I understand that there will be some regrets but a character death is necessary from time to time to help give playing the game a little edge. Otherwise it is just Chinese Checkers; roll the dice and move you're mice.
Hopefully this will permit you to enjoy another facet of playing a new class that should open doors to a fuller enjoyment.
My only fear is a character death that was produced by bad encounter design or poor cooperation among the players. My character went down in our last encounter and I had to accept the fact that I failed to make use of all my abilities. But he didn't die, so I can learn from my mistakes and move on.
Good luck.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
My character went down in our last encounter and I had to accept the fact that I failed to make use of all my abilities.
As a player, the worst way to have a character die in an RPG is due to your own incompetence. You can't blame anyone else -- the cleric for not healing, the DM for making an unfair encounter. That's a bitter pill to swallow.
Yes, death comes to all. Hopefully, as MusicScout said, it was not due to poor encounter design or party members making mistakes. It's the DM's job to balance all that out, within reason, so that the players have positive memories from playing the game. A three year old character though... just ouch! The DM could have altered the damage output of the lightning bolt, leaving you at 0HP, giving the party an opportunity to save you. But its is indeed important the game have an edge. I just disagree that that edge needs to be "death", especially if doing so damages the game/campaign.
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
One question I do have, if it is a 3 year campaign... I assume you played often enough that the party is reasonably high level. Any chance of a Raise Dead?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I am actually very curious as to what level the character was after 3 years and how they died from a Lightning Bolt. It is not that I doubt the story, I am just curious as the circumstances.
if yous wish to know my character went to scout out a camp full of kobolds but i sadly ended up giving my location and it was pretty much me versus an army of kobolds (my health went down quickly after that) they ended up dragging me to their leader and then he struck my character down with a lightning bolt. also my level was 18(i had to restart at level 3) also resurrection wasn't an option
if yous wish to know my character went to scout out a camp full of kobolds but i sadly ended up giving my location and it was pretty much me versus an army of kobolds (my health went down quickly after that) they ended up dragging me to their leader and then he struck my character down with a lightning bolt. also my level was 18(i had to restart at level 3) also resurrection wasn't an option
Kobolds hurting an 18th level character and killing you with a lightning bolt? That doesn't sound like Tucker's Kobolds, so I'm questioning how that happened. Making you restart at 3rd level without a chance of coming back in a party that can cast true resurrection sounds like you have a harsh DM.
Yeah I would not make someone start at level 3 with a level 18 party. That is insane.
And how do level 18s not have access to resurrection?
I agree with both of those statements. I would also ask the DM about their choice on restarting at level three and changing it to a higher level. I don't think you should be forced to restart at such a low level when the rest of your party is level 18.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hi!!!! My pronouns are She/They!
Picture a halfling riding a flumph and be happy!!!!!
The level three thing is weird, but I've been in several games where any and all resurrection type magic was houseruled out. It's ok to be curious, guys, but no need to start passing judgment on a DM and group you don't know just yet.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
My character went down in our last encounter and I had to accept the fact that I failed to make use of all my abilities.
As a player, the worst way to have a character die in an RPG is due to your own incompetence. You can't blame anyone else -- the cleric for not healing, the DM for making an unfair encounter. That's a bitter pill to swallow.
I honestly prefer shouldering the blame myself over feeling upset with anyone else, be it another player or the DM. When I DM, this is quite likely the hardest part of that role: making encounters that are interesting and challenging without being unfair. There should be a non-negligible chance of killing one or even all the PCs (for most groups anyway, it’s not a blanket rule), but it shouldn’t be something that’s bound to happen at some point. It’s something that’s very easy to second-guess yourself about too, particularly in the middle of an encounter that isn’t going as well as hoped, and it can be hard to not to get into a habit of fudging stuff and adjusting encounters on the spot.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
When my player's character die, I always like to give them the chance to make it a dramatic death. Maybe they have some last words, they wanna say, maybe they want to organize a ceremony or a funeral. And we always meet in person and have dinner together where we celebrate the life of that character, we all know its just a game and we are here to have fun, but when we do this dinners, gives us opportunity to talk with the owner of the character and he can tell us more stories regarding the character and what he was planning to do with it. It's always rewarding.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM: Are you sure that's what you want to do? Half-Orc Barbarian with 7 Charisma: Yes I want to seduce the big bad dragon. DM: Ok... roll... Half-Orc Barbarian with 7 Charisma: Natural 20. DM: Oh... well... The dragon falls for your charms and takes you with him to his nest where you live happily ever after.
if yous wish to know my character went to scout out a camp full of kobolds but i sadly ended up giving my location and it was pretty much me versus an army of kobolds (my health went down quickly after that) they ended up dragging me to their leader and then he struck my character down with a lightning bolt. also my level was 18(i had to restart at level 3) also resurrection wasn't an option
One question I do have, if it is a 3 year campaign... I assume you played often enough that the party is reasonably high level. Any chance of a Raise Dead?
Depends. In our campaign we've just reached level 4 and we've been at it for about a year now. We play roughly 4 hours per 3-4 weeks.
if yous wish to know my character went to scout out a camp full of kobolds but i sadly ended up giving my location and it was pretty much me versus an army of kobolds (my health went down quickly after that) they ended up dragging me to their leader and then he struck my character down with a lightning bolt. also my level was 18(i had to restart at level 3) also resurrection wasn't an option
Bruh, yo' DM sounds like he hates you.
I had this same thought early on but got distracted and never commented. There is simply too much missing info on this situation to really know. As an example, was the DM using critical hit tables? They can be quite brutal. A NAT20 is a NAT20 after all, regardless if your 18th level or 1st level. I use the NORD Games Critical Hits tables in my game. I've seen very few results that were instant death, BUT I have seen them where a character would be knocked down prone for several rounds, giving the bad guys lots of damage opportunities. Again, just too little information to adequately advise the OP.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
well i guess you know whats happening with me by the title. Ive had my character for 3 years straight with the time to time near death experiences but recently they perished by a bolt of lightning while i was doing a recon of a camp of kobolds but got discovered and their life ended and when it happened i felt shattered and i don't know how to get over it so i took it to the wisdom of dnd beyond for its wisdom.
The easiest way to get over a character death, for me, is to open up the PHB and start thinking about the cool new character I will make up to replace it. I try to make it something very different, and start playing with stats, deciding which spells to take, and so forth. If the DM lets you start at the same level you died, or maybe that level -1, you will have a bunch of possible feats, stat increases, or ability sets to choose between. For me, in fairly short order, I get excited about the new character concept and although I am still a little sad that the old one died, I am now excited to play the new one and introduce him to the table.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I'm assuming your party and DM don't want you to stop playing ... so you're going to make a new character and pick up from here. I understand that there will be some regrets but a character death is necessary from time to time to help give playing the game a little edge. Otherwise it is just Chinese Checkers; roll the dice and move you're mice.
Hopefully this will permit you to enjoy another facet of playing a new class that should open doors to a fuller enjoyment.
My only fear is a character death that was produced by bad encounter design or poor cooperation among the players. My character went down in our last encounter and I had to accept the fact that I failed to make use of all my abilities. But he didn't die, so I can learn from my mistakes and move on.
Good luck.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
As a player, the worst way to have a character die in an RPG is due to your own incompetence. You can't blame anyone else -- the cleric for not healing, the DM for making an unfair encounter. That's a bitter pill to swallow.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Yes, death comes to all. Hopefully, as MusicScout said, it was not due to poor encounter design or party members making mistakes. It's the DM's job to balance all that out, within reason, so that the players have positive memories from playing the game. A three year old character though... just ouch! The DM could have altered the damage output of the lightning bolt, leaving you at 0HP, giving the party an opportunity to save you. But its is indeed important the game have an edge. I just disagree that that edge needs to be "death", especially if doing so damages the game/campaign.
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax
One question I do have, if it is a 3 year campaign... I assume you played often enough that the party is reasonably high level. Any chance of a Raise Dead?
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I am actually very curious as to what level the character was after 3 years and how they died from a Lightning Bolt. It is not that I doubt the story, I am just curious as the circumstances.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
As BioWizard said, shouldn't you be high enough level that resurrection is a option?
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
if yous wish to know my character went to scout out a camp full of kobolds but i sadly ended up giving my location and it was pretty much me versus an army of kobolds (my health went down quickly after that) they ended up dragging me to their leader and then he struck my character down with a lightning bolt. also my level was 18(i had to restart at level 3) also resurrection wasn't an option
Kobolds hurting an 18th level character and killing you with a lightning bolt? That doesn't sound like Tucker's Kobolds, so I'm questioning how that happened. Making you restart at 3rd level without a chance of coming back in a party that can cast true resurrection sounds like you have a harsh DM.
I have a weird sense of humor.
I also make maps.(That's a link)
Yeah I would not make someone start at level 3 with a level 18 party. That is insane.
And how do level 18s not have access to resurrection?
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I agree with both of those statements. I would also ask the DM about their choice on restarting at level three and changing it to a higher level. I don't think you should be forced to restart at such a low level when the rest of your party is level 18.
Hi!!!! My pronouns are She/They!
Picture a halfling riding a flumph and be happy!!!!!
:)
Being forced to create a new character at level 3 insures that you're going to die the next time you get into combat. Not might, will.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The level three thing is weird, but I've been in several games where any and all resurrection type magic was houseruled out. It's ok to be curious, guys, but no need to start passing judgment on a DM and group you don't know just yet.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Charlie from It's Always Sunny: "the economy is in shambles..."
I honestly prefer shouldering the blame myself over feeling upset with anyone else, be it another player or the DM. When I DM, this is quite likely the hardest part of that role: making encounters that are interesting and challenging without being unfair. There should be a non-negligible chance of killing one or even all the PCs (for most groups anyway, it’s not a blanket rule), but it shouldn’t be something that’s bound to happen at some point. It’s something that’s very easy to second-guess yourself about too, particularly in the middle of an encounter that isn’t going as well as hoped, and it can be hard to not to get into a habit of fudging stuff and adjusting encounters on the spot.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
When my player's character die, I always like to give them the chance to make it a dramatic death. Maybe they have some last words, they wanna say, maybe they want to organize a ceremony or a funeral. And we always meet in person and have dinner together where we celebrate the life of that character, we all know its just a game and we are here to have fun, but when we do this dinners, gives us opportunity to talk with the owner of the character and he can tell us more stories regarding the character and what he was planning to do with it. It's always rewarding.
DM: Are you sure that's what you want to do?
Half-Orc Barbarian with 7 Charisma: Yes I want to seduce the big bad dragon.
DM: Ok... roll...
Half-Orc Barbarian with 7 Charisma: Natural 20.
DM: Oh... well... The dragon falls for your charms and takes you with him to his nest where you live happily ever after.
Bruh, yo' DM sounds like he hates you.
Mystic v3 should be official, nuff said.
Depends. In our campaign we've just reached level 4 and we've been at it for about a year now. We play roughly 4 hours per 3-4 weeks.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
I had this same thought early on but got distracted and never commented. There is simply too much missing info on this situation to really know. As an example, was the DM using critical hit tables? They can be quite brutal. A NAT20 is a NAT20 after all, regardless if your 18th level or 1st level. I use the NORD Games Critical Hits tables in my game. I've seen very few results that were instant death, BUT I have seen them where a character would be knocked down prone for several rounds, giving the bad guys lots of damage opportunities. Again, just too little information to adequately advise the OP.
Husband, Father, Veteran, Gamer, DM, Player, and Friend | Author of the "World of Eirador" | http://world-guild.com
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." ~Gary Gygax