So You Died. Now What?

Death mechanics and how doing literally anything is better than doing nothing

Well, first of all, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.

Second of all, start rolling up a new character. We’re going to move to the next person in initiative and—

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Let’s pause for a second.

You’ve likely been at the other end of this in your fantasy elf game. Your character is obliterated, stabbed, fell on a spear, got rocks dropped on their head, or is no longer among the living due to some mishap. The players all look around like that’s not supposed to happen. The GM turns on their “somber, serious voice,” and then play continues without you.

Sometimes, you get lucky! And the system you’re playing allows for quick character generation. But even if that only takes 10 minutes, that’s 10 minutes you’re not interacting with what’s happening at the table.

And that’s the best scenario.

Worst case, you’ve actively lost interest in the game because, understandably, your character's perspective on the world has vanished.

You are, quite literally, ripped out of the fiction.

Think of someone getting bad news at a birthday party. The person getting the news feels awkward because they’ve killed the vibe. Everybody else feels awkward because they think they should accommodate the person who received the bad news. The person hosting the party feels bad for the person but also battles with how much they should focus on hosting and not drawing attention to the receiver of the bad news.

Games are pretty much the same deal.

Now, obviously, not every game is like this. In some games, death is expected and necessary to set the stakes and/or tone. YMMV, obviously. This article assumes you’re playing some fantasy elf game where death implicitly requires you to make a new character, rejoin the group as quickly as possible, and/or see death as a “fail-state.”

So how do we get around this disruption in a way that:

1. Feels intuitive to the story being told at the table?

2. Feels fun for the dead character’s player AND the others at the table?

3. Supports the GM rather than hinders them?

The Big Question of When

Of course, all this should probably be discussed with your group before play begins in a session zero. Not to say that you can’t introduce a new death mechanic later, but having it be in place from the beginning will make the players less anxious about what’s to come should their character(s) fall.

You know me. I love a good story — especially when the game sticks to one unapologetically.

When you think about a character dying, it should fit in naturally with your game. If you’re playing a heroic superhero game, you should be dying when it makes sense for a superhero to die — not typically because of a bad die roll. Conversely, if you’re playing Knave, you aren’t typically using death-saving throws, wounds, and other life-sustaining mechanics.

With that being said, there are ways to tie death to other elements of the game in a narrative way to keep the story consistent:

• Allowing the character to act as a ghost or spirit

• Giving the character one last big move

• Making it possible for the character to be revived or resurrected via a quest

• Make Death Itself give a quest to the party in the Underworld in exchange for the character’s soul

All of these are fun ways to punch the story up instead of it deflating like a pathetic balloon.

Aside from the story, you want whatever death brings for the character to be fun. It doesn’t have to be good, per se. But it should be fun for the player and the other folks at the table (including the GM, which we’ll get to in a minute!).

Things like:

• Granting control of NPC or enemy stats to the dead character’s player…

• Giving the dead character flashbacks or additional narrative beats…

• Having a minigame the dead character’s player can do to support the other still-living characters…

… make the game continue for the player, which is the big drawback of stakes like death. Avoid the problem of “when a character is dead, the player isn’t playing.”

It’s important that whatever choice you make for death mechanics in your game, you make sure it doesn’t add a ton of extra work to the GM’s plate.

There’s nothing worse than having to be a shoulder to cry on because an important character who’s been around 50+ sessions kicked the bucket while also having now to manage a brand new mechanic for only one character AND keep the ball rolling for everybody else.

At the end of the day, don’t be afraid to utilize your players for the heavy lifting:

• Have the most spiritual character in the party be the medium between the dead character and the party

• Give the player out-of-character support tasks, like being the DJ or looking up rules and mechanics

• Allow the player to temporarily control a companion animal or familiar associated with the party

• Invite the player to portray minor NPCs (or even antagonists!) during encounters to keep them engaged

Remember: we don’t want to make our lives more complicated by implementing a convoluted death mechanic that slows everything down or puts too much mental burden on the GM (or the players, for that matter). Whatever is decided should be simple and straightforward — something that could be done without GM involvement is preferable!

Death doesn't have to be the end if you play your cards right.

By considering what actually happens to the player when their character dies and what they will do between their prior character (RIP) and their new character, you can keep your games on track and fun for everybody.

Additionally, remember that not all players may want the same thing; it may be worth investigating several death mechanics and offering two options when a player has to choose.

The parting word:

Make sure whatever you implement for post-character death feels intuitive for the story being told, fits with the world the game takes place in, supports the GM rather than making their life harder, and most of all is fun for everybody at the table.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

What’s the best memory of a character's death you have from a game you’ve played or watched? What’s the worst? Share your answers in the comments!

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