I was wondering if this adventure path will have built in contingency plans to cover the probable likelihood of character death that may occur.
What I'm talking about is:
Will there be a known temple where PCs may be raised/resurrected/and the like?
Will there be opportunities to cross paths with NPCs for the specific purpose of bringing dead characters back to life?
Does the adventure path cater to dead characters returning to life, or is it better to bring in new characters to replace the old?
Nothing puts a chink in a DM's plan like an unexpected character death. And even the expected deaths can stall a campaign.
It might be interesting to have a side adventure that gives characters (in any game/campaign) the opportunity to do something that will allow them to return an companion to life. If this were something scaleable over a wide level range, then you could definitely use it as a contingency plan when ever you needed it without breaking the whole campaign.
ASEO out
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Will there be a known temple where PCs may be raised/resurrected/and the like?
Yes. Although not at first, since the PCs will be dirt poor and unworthy of a heal spell, let alone a resurrection.
Will there be opportunities to cross paths with NPCs for the specific purpose of bringing dead characters back to life?
Yes.
Does the adventure path cater to dead characters returning to life, or is it better to bring in new characters to replace the old?
This would depend upon where the PC died, I should think. Not everywhere will be within spitting distance of a high priest. We'll periodically provide sidebars that explain how to add new characters. And by "periodically" I'm thinking with every single adventure.
It might be interesting to have a side adventure that gives characters (in any game/campaign) the opportunity to do something that will allow them to return an companion to life. If this were something scaleable over a wide level range, then you could definitely use it as a contingency plan when ever you needed it without breaking the whole campaign.
It's a very interesting idea. I'll strongly consider it.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
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Creative Director
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It might be interesting to have a side adventure that gives characters (in any game/campaign) the opportunity to do something that will allow them to return an companion to life. If this were something scaleable over a wide level range, then you could definitely use it as a contingency plan when ever you needed it without breaking the whole campaign.
The real difficulty here is what does the player of the dead character do during that session? Does he stay home? Does he run a cohort or NPC? Does his character fall even further behind in XP because he wasn't there to gain the XP for the sessions where the PCs had to bring him back to life?
Personally, I kinda wish that it was harder to die in D&D. Action points (or hero points, or whatever you call them in your campaign) are a good way to give a little bit of fate control back to the PCs.
I agree that nothing throws off a campaign like having a character die (often just because of some bad luck). Fortunately, with the introduction of spells like close wounds and revivify (both originally appeared in the Miniatures Handbook), it's easier to fix these sudden death situations if you're quick on your feet and have a cleric handy.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I suspect one way to square the circle on James's conundrum is to design a side mission that ends with the PCs earning a major favor from a temple, or a little do-hickey that will bring someone back from the dead, or whatever. Put it in place _before_ the character is dead.
That's why they call it a contingency, right? ;)
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon
Something I tend to do in my games is allow characters to gain a scroll of raise dead, or reincarnation (Which always leaves players in a quandary on whether to use or not. Sure Bobo could come back as a troll, but then again, he might end up as a kobold.) I usually reserve resurrection for later in the PCs lives. I think there should always be the possibility of character death, and when a character dies, if the player wants that PC to come back to life, then I think things like Raise dead or reincarnation, with their drawbacks should be the predominant options.
I remember something from back in 1st or 2nd edition that created a double of the PC that materialized and pushed the PC out of harms way, and took the killing attack, thus saving the PC, but ending that PC's "Get out of Death card". I can't remember if this was a godly gift, or a magical item though. And I think that it was something that the PC was not aware of.
Just a thought.
ASEO out
Or a rod of ressurrection with one charge in it, :)
I give my players those "points" every 8 lvls. They may use them once to get an automatic crit, make a skill check no matter what, ignore a single enemy attack (normaly a killing blow), or anything else like that. I make them like those very rare, noble deeds that set apart the adventurers from the heroes.
Why not hijack this thread even further down the path of nostalgia?
Does anyone remember the Tween? I had a dwarven fighter with a Tween. The reason this thread reminded me of it was the ability to reroll attacks and saves, probably the most broken character I ever had from 1st edition.
Does anyone remember the Tween? I had a dwarven fighter with a Tween. The reason this thread reminded me of it was the ability to reroll attacks and saves, probably the most broken character I ever had from 1st edition.
If I recall correctly, the thing with the Tween was that you rolled two dice and took the higher of the two, and EVERYONE around you friend and foe alike rolled two dice for everything and took the lower of the two.
This made for a great one-on-one series of sessions where I Dmed for a player who's character was a cursed Priest of Luck who was driven from town to town for being too lucky and bring ill luck to those around him. Periodically he would have a side-kick, but they were always doomed to die because of his curse. It was a rather dark game, but the Tween allowed him to venture into dungeons alone with a reasonable chance of survival.
ASEO out
