When I wrote my post i-killed-a-player-character-now-what , I forgot that I had a player character die a few months earlier in a previous Curse of Strahd campaign. Why did I forget about it? Probably because the player asked me to kill him. Let me explain.

It was probably two thirds of the way through Curse of Strahd and a player messaged me privately and said “I’m getting tired of my character and would like to try a new character if we can make that work.” I thanked him for reaching out and said I am sure we could figure something out. I asked him to roll up a new character and be prepared to play him at an upcoming session.

Immediately I felt a huge appreciation that a player felt comfortable enough to reach out and trust me with his desire to try something new. I don’t think I have ever felt better as a Dungeon Master. Rather than play out a character that he didn’t enjoy, we built a story together.

To keep it fresh and a surprise to everyone, I didn’t tell the player when and how it would happen. It actually took a couple of sessions and situations until an encounter called for the ultimate sacrifice and the player stepped up and Lorcan, the half-orc was gone. I didn’t want to force it. The death had to have meaning and make sense given the situation. Even harder, I didn’t tell the player ahead of time so he and I had to read each others cues in real time.

When it eventually happened, everyone was shocked, It was so quick, so final. Finally the player and I fessed up in a meta game moment and shared that it was planned somewhat and it was a great plot twist that I think everyone enjoyed. It also allowed me to insert new plot angles with Isaac the Monk – so much fun.

As I look back I think fondly of that player death, as a player trusted me enough to share his feelings and allowed us to build a story together that was truly memorable. I think that will always be my favourite.

You never forget your first. Well, almost never.

Thanks again Mason.