How common is player death, really? Like, how often have you played the same character on a long campaign from start to finish without having to make up a backup character?
I'm asking because if I have to go through pathfinder's character creation and refining I'm gonna flip a tit and I'd rather leave the moment I'm confirmed dead.
Not common unless you're playing with a particularly murderous GM who has you fight stuff way beyond early level.
Depends on playstyle. I've never had a character die.
I've never had a player die on me. One did have to drop out of the game because he got really sick, though.
Depends on the game. I'v had a couple players die on me and I'v died I few times myself. In most of my games players get pretty close to death's door, I don't go out of my way to kill them but I don't try to save them ether, I just make the world and see what happens. The table has jumped and cheered and hooted and high-fived after getting by some of these tough encounters in one piece.
Players are seriously disappointed when they die, I tend to curse a bit when I die too. But then we laugh about it and start work on a new character. Ii can be fun getting to try out a new character type. It also makes you feel hardened when you know death is on the line. Scratched out character sheets are like battle-scars in your game binder.
My advice is don't worry too much about refining. Unless you actually enjoy character math do what you can to make your character work and have fun with the rest.
>Don't put in more than you are willing to loose is the motto both PCs and GMs should remember
Death is part of the game and what makes it exciting. If you act shitty about it you make the game less fun for everyone and discourage the GM from throwing actual challenges at the party.
If you aren't ready to die why play at all? If you care so little about the people you play with that you sulk off because of a game why play with them at all?
Before WotC bought out TSR, 1 in 10 D&D characters were expected to die each session.
And what about now?
100%, eventually.
In my experience, it's common for one player to die throughout a campaign.
It's common for more to die near the end.
Periodically more die, but it's more common for players to retire their characters.
>player death
Um.
In two years of running weekly D&D games I've had seven PCs die, not counting six or seven former PCs who died while nobody was playing them.
Oh yeah, I've had one player die IRL. Was that the question?
As is being repeated, entirely depends on the game. I ran one campaign where it was 10 months till our first player death (albiet with some really absurd luck on their part), and next campaign killed 2 in the opening session. Its like asking how long a piece of string is.
I try to avoid player death in my games, if only because you end up with one dejected player sitting there being bored and playing on their phone while the rest keep going on the adventure. Last session I ran, one idiot didn't listen to me and instead charged into combat with two supervillains, one of whom could have literally killed him with a touch. I didn't kill him, but I did make it that he lost his arm.
Did you do it?
My GM believes player death builds character and has outright said he expects a tpk in the first session of our new campaign if we dont get a fifth player.
bait
IF YOU DIE IN THE GAME
YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE
Really, really depends on the player. Same campaign, same table, one player can have two characters while Eddy goes through fourteen. Some of those he purposefully killed to roll a new one.
It may sound obnoxious, but we like him.
>well you didn't say your pc's where eating while you where away.
>user now realizes how long it's been since he's checked on his neopets
Death is the least interesting thing you can do to a PC