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Post by Ahrek on Jan 19, 2017 14:13:50 GMT
I'm having an issue weather or not to kill a PC captured by some orcs.
While scouting the area around the keep of a large group of orcs, one of my players (a wood elf ranger) managed to get captured by a patrol. This happened through bad luck on a stealth roll and then a Hell Hound critting him with its bite as well as an arrow or 2. I decided that the patrol stabilized him and brought him to the keep to interrogate him etc etc (just not to kill him outright).
The rest of the group arrived along with their NPC companions and our half-orc Barbarian challenged their leader to a duel for the elf. The PC lost and the leader of the orcs walked away being hit in the back by our wizards fireball went down and all hell broke loose.
Now I had the orcs be too distracted by what was going down (fireball took out a lot of orcs in one go) to kill the elf ranger right then. However as the PCs stood below the walls of the keep and fought the orcs remaining down there as well as 2 hell hounds one orc made off with the orc leader who made all his death saving throws (if the PC can get them after the duel this guy can too) and has someone who can heal him (Orc Claw of Luthic from Volo's guide) he is back up again though low, the players don't know this. That's where we ended it since it was getting late.
The problem I have now is I can't think of a reason why the orcs would not kill the ranger now and toss his body down from the walls. I have no real problem killing the character, death is always a possibility when adventuring. However, after having the guy who plays the ranger just sit out for the entire battle it feels a bit ****ty to message him and say "Your character will be killed when we start again so time to make a new one for next time" (but nicer).
So, should I just kill the PC and have the player make a new one or can someone help me come up with a reason they keep him alive a little longer in order to give the other PCs another chance to save him?
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Post by onyxangel24 on Jan 19, 2017 16:34:18 GMT
I would say once the orcs have gotten what they wanted out of him, they'd have no reason to keep him around. If that is the case, I say kill him. If the orcs didn't get everything they wanted out of him...well then, keep him alive till they get the information or whatever it is that they are after. I am sure that the guy who has been captured will understand, and if he doesn't just explain it to him in a way where he could and make sure he is perfectly aware that it is nothing against him! Good luck
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Post by dmsam on Jan 19, 2017 18:56:47 GMT
Talk to the ranger's player. Tell him about the situation, and how his character is likely going to die since the orcs have no reason to keep him alive.
Give him a chance to die the way he chooses. Either shouting a war-cry defiantly before he is executed, or sobbing before his friends. He can even try to fight his captors in a heroic last stand, wrists bound and with no chance of living.
Players rarely get a chance to do something like this, so if your ranger's player is someone mature, he may get the satisfaction of a good death. That, and it will have one heck of an emotional response from your other players.
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Post by joatmoniac on Jan 19, 2017 21:39:25 GMT
Talk to the ranger's player. Tell him about the situation, and how his character is likely going to die since the orcs have no reason to keep him alive. This is by far the most important piece of the scenario. If your player isn't comfortable with their character dying then a way for them to at least attempt to get out will be needed. The head orc could be smarter than most and want to save the elf as a hostage that could be bartered. Another piece is the world/game that you want to establish. If you want a world where death is a very real consequence, and you think your players would enjoy playing in that style of game then I would say killing the elf would be a good idea. |
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Post by dmgenisisect on Jan 19, 2017 23:50:00 GMT
Your other PCs are still laying waste to some orcs outside the camp. It's enterly probable that the Orc leader will drag the elf onto the battlements, hold a knife to their throat and yell "Drop your weapons and leave and I'll give you your friend back, else..." *gestures with blade against elf's neck*
In this situation you offer the party a chance to save the elf (at a cost so as to not trivialise the experience), or the elf can do any of the above heroics and embrace their death. I would still suggest talking to the player involved OOC, but this offers a chance to choose in session as well.
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Post by onyxangel24 on Jan 19, 2017 23:58:51 GMT
When I had a character about to die in my dad's campaign, we discussed the death. The likely hood if I wanted the character to be saved, etc. I would def. agree with at leasrt making the player feel like they have a say. If yiur certain enough to kill the character, let the player choose among the options this sounds like a great idea
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Post by Ahrek on Jan 20, 2017 7:44:35 GMT
hold a knife to their throat and yell "Drop your weapons and leave and I'll give you your friend back, else..." *gestures with blade against elf's neck* This is basically what caused the barbarian PC to challenge the leader of the orcs. |
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Post by dmgenisisect on Jan 20, 2017 11:11:42 GMT
Hmmm, well the orc wouldn't accept a dual the second time as the party has proven dishonorable, so they either comply or...
Honestly looking at the situation this PC should die. They've had several chances to live and all of them has been botched or miss managed, offering a final ultimatum be for dealing the blow is the only way I could conceive of this character not dying. Either way I highly stress talking to player before your next session and ask the question, "If your character was to die in this situation how do you want it to happen?"
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Post by Jesse Ross on Jan 20, 2017 12:31:36 GMT
Maybe it's too late for this, but if I were that orc leader, I'd be realizing that I have a desperate group of adventurers (or at least a desperate elven ranger) that I could get to do my bidding.
Maybe the orc leader needs something to be retrieved from a place even his orc underlings are afraid to go? Or maybe he needs someone assassinated and an elf is less likely to be suspicious than an orc?
I'd throw out some distasteful, morally questionable, life-threatening tasks, and see how desperate the ranger or the party really is to stay alive.
Alternately, just let the orc release the elf in a really public way, with absolutely no demands. If your party is paranoid enough (my party is), they'll assume he's somehow under the orc's control and maybe kill him on their own. Potentially throw some magic on the ranger that makes him light up (a false positive, of course) on a Detect Evil spell. That would be the orc's sweetest possible victory: destroying the party from within.
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Post by dmdeejay on Jan 31, 2017 6:04:20 GMT
I realize this is probably too late but there is also the possibility that the orc leader will kill the character, though not right away. The leader would be rightfully pissed and probably beats the captured PC to an inch of his life (1 hp) then may want to use him to lure the rest of his party into a trap. The captured PC then would likely be put in a situation where he will lose his 1 HP and will have to resort to death saving throws to stay in the game or he would be stabilized or whatever. This would also provide the group the opportunity to save their friend and perhaps finish off the orc.
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Post by Ahrek on Feb 1, 2017 15:51:04 GMT
So, after talking to the player and him making a new character (if his were to die) we decided that if it was possible for them to rescue the ranger he would be retired for the new one.
I decided that if they were to charge the keep right away then the ranger wound get executed and his head thrown from the walls to intimidate them. The players (who were pretty low on HP) decided to pull back and take a short rest before assaulting the keep. Since they did this I had the orcs torture the ranger (the players could hear his screams) and eventually cut off his hand (thus preventing him from using his bow), and leave him in a cage. The players assaulted the keep killed the leader for real this time thanks to a hold person spell and managed to rescue their friend, minus a hand.
If I could go back and do this all over again. I would have had some orcs go get the ranger and bring him to where the others could see him and then execute him in front of them. I feel this would make the whole experience of losing their first character ever (all new players) more impactful. But they were all happy he was alive and he is now on his way back to the capital city to be in charge of the guild hall they have (as a NPC under my control).
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