So, I have been the default GM for about 5-6 groups of 6 players each(I never run more than two campaigns at a time though). Luckily I have made a really small amount of mistakes over the last 4 years, and most of these were small things that wouldn't really change the outcome of anything - until now.
I am currently running a campaign for a party of 6, and on our last session, we had one combat after 7hours of pure role-play. The party was split split in half before the fight started so only three of them were in the encounter. They fought a group of 4 Vampire Spawn, and while their rolls were really really bad, but they would've most likely defeated them, the paladin doing most of the work this time around, of course, and HERE comes my mistake.
I had one of the Vampire Spawns, walk up to the ceiling by Spider Climbing and keep attempting Dominate person on the Dwarf Ranger, then the Human Fighter until they both failed their saves. Since we were in kind of a rush, as one of the players had to make it to the last bus, so as a result of playing faster than normal, I forgot that dominate person allows a save at +2 if the command is against their nature. With both of them dominated, the paladin having been beaten mostly by his companion, defeated 3 of the four vampire spawn, and took a last hit from the fighter, falling down to -1. The vampire spawn then changed the his command to "bring the rest of your allies in an hour and a half" and we stopped before they left the place.
Now, If I hadn't done this mistake, this would probably mean that the now helpless vampire spawns would awaken after an hour and feast upon the paladin, gaining temporary hp on the process and await for the rest of the party. However, since I feel terrible for the mistake I made (It did cost a PC's life), I will handle things differently. I think I should tell all of my players that I did a mistake, and that this mistake cost them the fight, and as a result, I'll give them all a hero point, and allow one of the following options,
1) a save against this last order ("after seeing your companion fall down, your inner self attempts to break the power that is controlling your actions") at +8 (compensating for all the saves they didn't get).
2) re-do the fight - ("you just saw a glimpse of your possible future"), granting them a +1 insight bonus on saves and ac. Since we are heavily using the Harrow Deck this could be a plausible.
3) have the cleric who sent them appear and help. (I don't really like this one, but always an option).
4) Have Torag congratulate the paladin on his dying dreams, which heals some of his wounds instantly. Epic description of how he gets on his feet, which he would deserve after the heroic encounter he just went through.
I need advice on which would be the best of the four, or suggestions for another way to "atone" for my mistake, as well as general input on whether should a GM or not admit he made this kind of a mistake or would this could him the trust of his players.
As another "main GM" for my groups I advocate openly admitting when you make a mistake with your players. If you're upfront with them, they'll be upfront with you. It helps keep things peaceful and allows for everybody to input on how to prevent something like that from happening next time.
As for how to fix it, talk to the players first, see what they like or don't like. I know from past experience that several of my players don't like being saved whimsically and would regret it if their actions could be reversed because of GM fiat.
My personal preference is your option #2 if you have a decent backstory and reason for why that happens, and it may give you plot hooks in the future (oh noes I'm mah own grandpa, oh wait that was a vision. Note to self don't go through the time portal). But as I said earlier talk with your players first, especially the Paladin's player.
I think the idea of the Paladin actually surviving could be cool. He could be like the Wolverine of the group, coming back from being left for dead, to destroy the Hellfire Cl- Uhh, I mean, the Vampire Spawn.
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Nathan has good advice there. Sitting down with the players and including them in the decision process will make them feel empowered. It also demonstrates to them that you really care that the story be resolved in a way that is best for all involved.
Sounds like you're a DM who puts the concerns of his players high on his priorities. Kudos!
You don't need to atone. GMing is hard, and you're already doing them a favor.
That said, you're right to throw them a bone since you screwed up.
Have the vampires decide to take their time with the paladin. Torture, in a word. Have him make will saves against the torture as the vampires compel him to renounce his god. Make the DCs easy, but not trivial.
Then have the other PCs come to the rescue. Never have an NPC come to the rescue if you can help it.
Good advice was already given.
Were any of the saves the fighter and ranger 'close'? As in, if the modifier was in place, they would have made the save?
If yes, simply rule that due to your oversight on the modifier, the paladin will NOT take some of the damage the fighter or ranger did to him. Assign a number of hit points back to the paladin (for example if one or two saves were 'close', then assign one or two 'attacks' of damage back as positive points) and then take up the combat again at the point the paladin fell to -1, but instead the paladin is at positive points.
The danger of doing a 'do over' of the combat is that because of random nature of dice, it is possible to have a worst outcome than the current situation at present.
I really wanted to thank everyone for the great advice that was given ^^.
Their saves had a fair chance of succeeding, the Vampire Spawns' Dominate Person DC is 14, both affected characters have a will of +3 on their own, so these saves should've been made at +5, if my math is correct, that means 60% success chance. So, I will definitely talk with my players about the issue and decide what to do together, I will also take into consideration some of the advice given here as additional options for them to choose, since I liked both the torture idea and the continue from the point he falls to -1 idea, I guess that will give them 6 options to decide from.
I do place their concern quite high on my priorities, most GMs around here don't really read the rules, and more than once I have been wronged in the past, so I really want to make sure stuff like that don't happen at my table, plus, I believe that if we are to have fun I need to at least respect their concerns and make sure they don't feel cheated or deceived (which is why I almost never fudge rolls or anything behind screen to help them either).
Thanks for everything guys ^^.
To talk with your players should be the first thing to do.
But some points:
If the paladin was just at -1 he was not dead. My solution would be to restart at the point where the second command to fetch the rest of the group was given. Give them a bonus to their saves. If one succeeds this one can help the second one snap out of it or kill the remaining spawn or save the paladin.
Lots of options.
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I suggest that you not talk to your players. Mistakes happen and you will make more mistakes in the future. While admitting your mistakes is an admirable thing to do, admit too much and you may loose credibility with your players.
Fortunately for your players, you sound like you have a great attitude. You obviously want to provide a fair and fun game for your players. I suggest trying to come up with a creative fix that is transparent to them. Weave it into the story.
Think of some in-game reason why the vampire domination was so powerful. Perhaps that particular vampire spawn had a magic talisman that made his power that much more potent. In fact, that vampire spawn was actually the lead vampire. When the PCs regroup, they somehow learn of the talisman's evil ability, but they also learn that destroying/sundering the talisman will greatly weaken the vampire leader making him easier to defeat. Maybe the talisman also gives the leader some form of magical control over the other vampire spawn and it's destruction leads to a coup within the pack.
In the meantime, the paladin was not killed. Instead, they needed a creature of pure heart for a ritual/sacrifice. They have kept the paladin unconscious until he is needed for the ceremony. Don't tell the paladin player. Have him play an NPC "until you are at a good place to bring his 'new' character". The player will probably be pretty excited at the prospect of being able to save his own character once he does learn he is still alive.