Unless you are completely new to ttrpgs you have likely gone through a hairy situation where the continued wellbeing of your character is questionable. These situations can be scary for first time players, and some DMs even fear putting players in these situations. However, character death isn’t something that we need to shy away from. Obviously, you don’t want to dive headfirst into everything and kill your characters repeatedly. Survival is still something we should all strive for after all. However, if the time comes for you to say goodbye to your character, find a way to embrace it. To help with that, here are some ideas to help cope with the loss of your character from a player’s perspective. Remember it, take matters into your own hands, and always have a backup on standby.
One of the easiest ways to embrace a character’s death is to make it memorable. You want the death of your character to be more than just a line the session’s note taker makes. You want it to be memorialized in songs and legend. Something people are not going to forget. Obviously, this comes down to the type of player you are. Some people are fine with their character’s death being a small event, but for the more dramatic of us we like to leave our mark. So, working with the dm, try to make the end of your characters life something that people won’t forget. Obviously, you can’t just take the life of your assailant as you die, but you can make it a memorable end. You get stabbed at the top of a tower? Maybe you’re close to the edge and the assailant dangles you from their blade before dropping you to the ground below while your party watches. About to be burnt to a crisp by a pissed off dragon? Turn and give one last smile to the found family you’re never going to see again. There are plenty of small ways to make the final moments of your character remembered. Be creative with it. Just don’t try to be a jerk and say you take the guys life with your final breath. You lost this one, but you get to try again with something new later.
Now, while death is generally something that we avoid it can sometimes make for an incredibly memorable moment to take your own characters life. Yes, you heard that right. You can take your own character’s life. Depending on the situation in the story of course. A sacrificial play by one character for the others is often something that sticks in our minds for a long time to come. Especially meaningful when your characters have close ties to each other. Your best friend just died, and you have a spell that can bring them back. However, it comes at a cost. A life for a life. Sometimes that life might be that of an enemy, but what if there isn’t one? It can be memorable to sacrifice your character for that of another. Now these situations don’t come often, but when they do it’s something to keep in mind. A life for a life has a lot more meaning when that life was your best friend.
Finally, and most importantly, always have a backup ready. It’s a lot easier to get over the loss of a character when you can immediately be excited by the new character you’ve saved up in the background. The biggest risk with this is you will get too excited about the backup and want to just kill or retire your current character. It’s not a bad thing, but it is something to keep in mind. Madilax the mage wouldn’t appreciate you standing on the explosive rune just because you want to play Orthoc the Barbarian.
At the end of the day, death in your ttrpgs is going to be inevitable, and you should struggle your hardest to survive. Half the fun comes from doing your best in impossible situations after all. However, when the time finally comes don’t be afraid. Afterall, the thing that makes a journey great is the fact that it must end.
