So said player is moving to Boston and way from our homebrew group and has requested that his character either die spectacularly or be adopted by another player(who doesn't really want to).
Now I'm more of a proponent of retirement, but he says he wants all out death(he'll only retire if he manages to live through whatever I throw at him). To that end I would like to hear how others have sent characters out with a bang.
My own idea is to drop the BBEG of the campaign, a Mythic Vampire Quinggong Monk, and see if he can manage to escape. The plus side of my plan is though I get to unveil the BBEG, give motivation to the party to want to kill him, and potentially fulfill him having a spectacular death.
Now of course I risk killing other PCs if they do something stupid, which is the part of the plan I don't like the most. I also feel like it's sort of guaranteed death which normally doesn't strike me as fair(since he's gonna be well above APL + 3) but considering the party usually takes on epic(+3) encounters I feel I could get away with it.
Thoughts? Other stories of PC requested demise?
have him combine a portable hole with a bag of holding and take a bunch of really elite mooks of the BBEG with him, while the other PCs make their escape
What sort of PC is he? Background?
But yes, dying a heroic death is a reasonable request from a LT player.
@ Imbicatus - I was thinking the same thing XD
@ Lamontius - Lolz, Certainly a thought.
@ Dr Deth - The PC is a LE Drow Necromancer Cleric(raised by humans), who was originally spying on the party for his nation, but came to feel more allegiance to the party than his homeland.
What do you mean by "LT player"?
I had a PC that wasn't really working out, and the GM and I worked out a heroic death for him. We didn't lay out all the details, we just both knew what needed to happen in the next boss fight and we just let the fight develop naturally until an opportunity for selfless heroism presented itself.
It was epic. The rest of the group had no idea that it was semi-planned, and they felt like the sacrifice was one of the best things they had ever experienced in game.
And I got to play a new character. Win-win-win.
Have the BBEG have some completely ridiculous "right hand man", like a Doomsday sort of monster. Let the other players just be bathed in Drowboy's blood and entrails.
@ Dr Deth - The PC is a LE Drow Necromancer Cleric(raised by humans), who was originally spying on the party for his nation, but came to feel more allegiance to the party than his homeland.
What do you mean by "LT player"?
Long Term.
Oh Gosh, then, it’s easy. Death calls him Home. Big Nasty with a scythe, will hit only that PC, has DR vs other PCs, make it very very hard for him to beat, just short of impossible.
How about making the PC an agent of the BBEG? Have him turn on his group and try to destroy them. He could show his true colors as a spy if they get too close to the truth. Perhaps come up with a cool side story/adventure for this and if they don't kill him right away they can hunt him down and try to kill him, which could morph into him becoming the BBEG of the campaign later on if he survives.
The ones that we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the most. The same is true for PC's in a campaign.
How about making the PC an agent of the BBEG? Have him turn on his group and try to destroy them. He could show his true colors as a spy if they get too close to the truth. Perhaps come up with a cool side story/adventure for this and if they don't kill him right away they can hunt him down and try to kill him, which could morph into him becoming the BBEG of the campaign later on if he survives.
The ones that we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the most. The same is true for PC's in a campaign.
While this sounds "cool" in theory, and has some value in a story-telling narrative sense....
Many of the people I game with would view this as nothing but pure betrayal by the PLAYER and would create actual interpersonal problems at the gaming table.
I would tread very, very carefully in this area.
He's leaving anyhow and they all know it. The PC then becomes an NPC for the GM to play as he sees fit if he's an agent on the run or even the end game BBEG for the campaign.
Mature players would understand this if it is explained that it had nothing to do with them as people/players but rather it's for story purposes and a very memorable exit for the departing person. I don't see that my group would have a problem with something like this but YMMV.
How about making the PC an agent of the BBEG? Have him turn on his group and try to destroy them. He could show his true colors as a spy if they get too close to the truth. Perhaps come up with a cool side story/adventure for this and if they don't kill him right away they can hunt him down and try to kill him, which could morph into him becoming the BBEG of the campaign later on if he survives.
The ones that we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the most. The same is true for PC's in a campaign.
While this sounds "cool" in theory, and has some value in a story-telling narrative sense....
Many of the people I game with would view this as nothing but pure betrayal by the PLAYER and would create actual interpersonal problems at the gaming table.
I would tread very, very carefully in this area.
I agree, bad idea.
The PC is a LE Drow Necromancer Cleric(raised by humans), who was originally spying on the party for his nation, but came to feel more allegiance to the party than his homeland.
Separate the character from the party for a short time, sending him to a tomb/mausoleum/graveyard, where he is searching for a ritual that allows him to harness the ambient emotion of the mourned. The Vampire corners him here, saying that while he finds the rest of the party an annoyance at best, the Necromancer Cleric is a genuine threat. He followed him here to take him out while he was alone. Give the player a chance to fight a round or two, then pounce. While in the vampire's grip, so that he can be turned to a servant, he hears the angry souls of the dead around him, demanding that this profanity against their rest be ended. Knowledge: Religion (DC Plot-related, so whatever he rolls, he JUST made it... Isn't he lucky?) tells him that he could perform the ritual, but that it would cost his own life in the process. Of course, he's gonna die anyway, so...
The rest of the party was coming to meet him at the graveyard, so they can be witness to the few rounds of the ritual, where the Vampire is cursed with a hidden weakness by the souls of the resting dead. Put a hole in his DR from a strange material, or make his DR ineffective against those that have died and then raised, something odd but thematic. The PC dies, but his sacrifice weakens their ultimate foe, making him part of the final fight even from beyond the grave.
Hehe, all interesting ideas so thanks for the input everyone.
I don't think I would want him to turn to the BBEG's side, since he's already turned from his homeland. Plus I'm sorta planning on having a party member do something along those lines at the very end of the campaign, with heavy foreshadowing so it's something the players will expect and not feel betrayed by(some might even join him) and I don't think it'd be organic at all for the cleric to do a flip right now, especially towards the BBEG.
I like the idea of the character's death ultimately helping the party in their long term goals. I don't know if I wanna DM Fiat it too much, but it's certainly an idea.
I agree, bad idea.How about making the PC an agent of the BBEG? Have him turn on his group and try to destroy them. He could show his true colors as a spy if they get too close to the truth. Perhaps come up with a cool side story/adventure for this and if they don't kill him right away they can hunt him down and try to kill him, which could morph into him becoming the BBEG of the campaign later on if he survives.
The ones that we trust the most are the ones that can hurt us the most. The same is true for PC's in a campaign.
While this sounds "cool" in theory, and has some value in a story-telling narrative sense....
Many of the people I game with would view this as nothing but pure betrayal by the PLAYER and would create actual interpersonal problems at the gaming table.
I would tread very, very carefully in this area.
To each their own. My group could handle something like this with ease, but others obviously couldn't pull it off. It comes down to the group and the people in it.
Hehe, all interesting ideas so thanks for the input everyone.
I don't think I would want him to turn to the BBEG's side, since he's already turned from his homeland. Plus I'm sorta planning on having a party member do something along those lines at the very end of the campaign, with heavy foreshadowing so it's something the players will expect and not feel betrayed by(some might even join him) and I don't think it'd be organic at all for the cleric to do a flip right now, especially towards the BBEG.
I like the idea of the character's death ultimately helping the party in their long term goals. I don't know if I wanna DM Fiat it too much, but it's certainly an idea.
You'll have to let us know what you decide to do and how it unfolds. I'm always curious to see what other people do in their games.
A player called Phil who played with us for a few months (or maybe a year - this was back in the eighties) showed up to the game one day and told the DM that he was moving away and this was his last game and that he wanted his PC to go out with a bang. We were in the Underdark when we heard baying hounds. Soon we were confronted by an Archdevil or Duke of Hell and his retinue, hunting on the Prime Material Plane for sport. The terms were "Choose a champion to fight me in single combat. If I win, I get his soul. If I lose I leave this Plane. If you don't agree I'll kill you all."
My PC, the party leader, was ready to throw down rather than surrender one of number to the Nine Hells, but that's when I was made aware of Phil's request. I acquiesed (although my PC, a lawful good cleric, would never have done so). It was, of course, Phil's PC that fought the devil- and lost, to be dragged down to Hell. That's one way to go out with a bang, I suppose...
If all else fails, you could always arrange a portal trap that is destined to activate on your departy player's character for some reason. He triggers the trap and disappears, and the portal collapses and disappears as well. All attempts to scry his location fail. Sufficiently high knowledge checks narrow the possibilities down to the character being sent off to a hostile plane where he has no chance of survival or being removed to an entirely separate dimension that the party has no way to access.
Final result: The character of the departing player is missing and presumed dead, and there is absolutely no way for the character to return to the campaign unless the player does. It does not satisfy the need for a dramatic deach scene (which is difficult to pull off anyway), but it does eliminate the possibility of that player character becoming a retired NPC out of the departing player's control.
The BBEG arrives and commands the PC to turn on his allies. When the PC renounces his ties to the BBEG, the BBEG and his minions all focus their attacks on the PC, kill him, then flee.