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How to come back from the dead or at least be late for the funeral.
Death is an inherent risk of adventure. Fantasy adventure is no different. Fantasy death looms over the head of every character that wanders down the wrong dark passageway. For the characters this provides a heavy dose of motivation to avoid danger. But trying to avoid danger in a setting that has been conceived of as a place “fraught with peril” and “fantastic adventure” can be an impossibility.
So the character ends his life. It happens to the best of them. When it happens however, there is a group of characters left to rifle through the corpse’s pockets. And then also there is one player at the table with little to do but witness his friends strip the body of his late character. That time is the closest shared experience between the player and their character. They both feel robbed and left out.
No matter how the character dies it is always a pause to the action of the game. The player is out of the game and the party is missing a crucial member of their group. The question arises,” How can that player come back in and still maintain plausibility?” Answering that question as quickly and as reasonably as possible can be a real challenge to any DM.
There are some tried and true methods. They are a bit cliché but perhaps that is because they really do solve the problem. But applying them can cause their own problems. Here are 7 of them, listed in no particular order:
The Tavernier: This is a simple way of bringing in new players and reincorporating existing players that have had their character die. After the untimely demise the party decides to “regroup” back at the ol’ tavern. While there they meet a like-minded traveler and they become fast-friends over a cold pint.
This one has some flaws to it that are readily apparent. The weakest of these flaws is that the party leaves the adventure setting. If rather far into the adventure, this slows down the game's progress and causes a lot of repetition. It can be sped up with a careful nod to the players. They are quick to get back to the adventure. But the trip back into town and the speed with which they return to the point where their party member died can have a detrimental affect on the suspension of disbelief. Also no matter how fast they get back, the game pace has been slowed considerably.
This remedy is best applied if the party member died very early on in the adventure. It is really effective but it should be reserved for those rare moments when multiple party members die within the same melee or very soon afterward.
The Wanderer: This is a truly simple way of bringing in a player. While on point, the party’s scout sees a humanoid hiding behind a corner. With a few wary exchanges, the party sees this individual is not a threat. Usually, the person is the last of a party of adventurers/captives/survivors. They are in need of assistance and “wouldn’t you know it” the party just found itself with an opening for the very class that the new character happened to be playing.
The inherent flaw here is believability. Unless played well, through role-play, this hem-haw approach undermines the suspension of disbelief more thoroughly than any other game element. Moreover, the risk of death looms a little less threateningly each time the DM applies this solution. For some players, this light-handed approach to character death can lead to intentionally suicidal acts. Often the lack of inconvenience caused by the death allows the players to envision the character as disposable and replaceable (or worse, interchangeable).
This remedy is best applied as rarely as possible. Save this for events such as the unexpected death of a higher level character. Using it on lower level characters instills a lack of vulnerability in the players. The character that died carried no investment of time and interest (and the new character has newer stuff).
The Prisoner: This is a way of bringing a new player in that requires timing and finesse. The group is arrested/captured and thrown into a cell. It just so happens that they are not the first people to be taken. They are sharing their cell with an adventurer. Perhaps if they work together they can find a way to escape.
The flaw to this solution is the party is captured. As a consequence of being captured, the gear and weapons of the party would be removed. This can sidetrack a storyline and change the direction of the game. This is not really an insurmountable flaw. Escape should be plausible and difficult to achieve. The reasons behind their incarceration can be trumped up, based on actual offenses the party is guilty of, or simply taken for ransom or pressing into military service.
This method can be used multiple times but it requires a careful measure of the story's progress. The imprisoning of characters often presents a crossroads of storylines. The party hates it and they can become overly worried about going into towns. Using this scenario in the middle of an ongoing story-arc can change the direction of the party. It serves to deter character carelessness and presents the characters with a moment of reflection. If this method is used to bring in a new character, be prepared for it to change the mission of the party.
The Turncoat: This is a means of adding a new character to a group that requires trust on the part of the party. A reoccurring NPC is engaged in melee against the party. They are fighting along side their gang. For whatever reason, the NPC begins to help the party by attacking their gang of compatriots. As the fighting draws to a close the party sees that this enemy has aided them in their fight. The question of why develops when this former-foe is the last one standing.
The flaw is in that answer. There is an extended opportunity for role-play with this method. There are many reasons to change sides in combat. How well that reason is explained determines the success of this method of new character inclusion. This should only be used once or twice during the entire duration of a campaign. The shifting of loyalties during combat is an interesting way to introduce a new character to the group but to have it more common pries at the suspension of disbelief.
The Bottle: This method leads to intriguing questions but requires the DM to trust the party to make a specific decision. While in a dungeon/castle/other similar setting, the party discovers a box. Inside the box is a clear glass bottle. Visibly trapped within the bottle is the face of a sleeping humanoid. The cork is capped with a Dispel Magic spell. Twisting and opening the bottle triggers the spell and releases the person trapped in Metamorphosis (as the spell Binding). He forms from the vapors that escape and there he stands before the party in what gear and clothes he had when the caster trapped him.
This flaw is gravity and trust. The gravity of what happened demands an explanation. The character that comes from the bottle has a long list of reasons why they were in there to begin with. The DM also has to trust that the party will open the bottle. This is a good mid-level means of bringing in a ready to go character. This option should be discussed with the player prior to beginning the scenario. They deserve an opportunity to think about the history and purpose of the character before the other players discover the bottle.
The Resurrection: This is a very common way of bringing in a character. The party looses one of their own. Luckily they know of a way to bring her back. After some efforts they are able to call upon her departed soul. Through magic or a deity, she returns to her body just a little worse for wear.
This is riddled with flaws. First, it lessens the character’s fear of death. Second, the character that returns is not usually in the same level as they left. Thirdly, there is a demand placed on the players to change priorities during the game in order to bring the character back.
Applying this method requires balance and discretion. Allowing one character to enjoy the benefits of resurrection often can be seen as an option available to everyone (should they die). Some ways to downplay the effectiveness of resurrection is to have the characters that work to bring the dead character back pay a cost for the service. Costs can range from an amount in gold pieces, or “soul-binding” those characters that act as intercessor upon the deity for the resurrection so that if the returned or the intercessor should die; they all die and cannot be brought back, or even requiring they adopt the religion of the divine forces that provide the resurrection. Without these caps, the DM risks the pitfall of “revolving door” resurrections.
The Hireling: This method works well but suffers from some limitations common to The Tavernier, and The Wanderer. A squire or messenger is sent to find the party to relay some pressing matter from a contact of the party. They have traveled night and day to find them. He arrives exhausted from the trip but delivers the message as ordered. Perhaps he served too well and went much further then his employer had thought necessary. Here he is now with the party and without supplies, has no way to get back. The party suggests he rides with them until they can remedy the issue and perhaps he can be of service while in their company.
The flaws in this are clear. There should be a message of great import in order for such an errand as hand-carrying a letter to a party on the move. The message should relate to the specific ongoing story. Once it is found, this option for character inclusion is an excellent option. For believability, the character level and class of the messenger should clearly address the portent of the message.
These are only a few of the creative ways that a DM can create a relatively quick way for a player to return to play during the same session their character died. Thinking about how to address these issues before the fact can increase the speed, success, and plausibility of character inclusion. Doing so will help everyone continue to enjoy the game (even very soon after they have died).
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