2 thoughts on “Ways To Replace a Dead Dungeons & Dragons Character”

  2. For the hanging character, this can be done quite artfully: the character is actually a mage, and has developed their own unique spell: Unchoker. Its effect? It places a cylindrical field of force around your neck, preventing the noose from tightening enough to choke you out. Strong neck, indeed! And because you’re a better-than average illusionist and a decent actor besides, you were able to convince everyone that you had in fact been successfully hanged. Of course, you ended up in that noose for a reason; does the party dare ask what that was? Then again, do they dare NOT?

    Flash of light curse-breaking? A good introduction if played right – provided your character who’s appeared from nowhere is now several centuries out of date with local history and customs, and likely to reveal in short order the particular behaviours that got them cursed in the first place. Chances are, anyone hit with a curse so vague that only a PC’s unsuspecting accident centuries later was able to break it… is going to have been cursed for a very solid reason. The character is either going to be a major pain in the ass, or someone with an extremely significant backstory likely tied to some unhappy prophesied event. The party may quickly wonder which is true; and even more quickly wonder which is the worse option…

    The ogre-club? Great intro for a party with a cleric heavily into saving desperate cases. Because the likely level of damage they’ll have suffered and the absence of gear is probably going to tick off any group… until they realize that the ogre turned you into a club because he couldn’t pry the secret treasure’s location from your magically-oath-bound brain or lips. If the treasure’s significant enough, they might even give your new character fresh gear in compensation for your losses and suffering.

    Roving map-reader? Well, how else does anyone get around? The fact that they’re so distracted from reality that they STILL think they’re on the way to Waterdeep despite being about a thosand miles away from the place raises interesting questions. Could they perhaps have been enchanted to wander off into the wild blue yonder and get utterly lost, perpetually believing they’re on their way to Waterdeep? Despite the fact that their map is ACTUALLY a map to a ruined fortress in the deep forests of a nation several hundred miles away. A map that reveals the location of a particularly useful and powerful treasure, perhaps…

    Screaming skyfall? Why not? You had no idea that the bracelet you pilfered would keep you from going splat on impact when that gryphon lost their grip on you; but damn, that was lucky! Of course, you wonder what that extremely wealthy merchant you pilfered it from is going to do when he finds out it’s missing… but hey, that’s a problem for another day, riiiiiight?

    Crawling out of the dead guy’s backpack? Teach me for investing in a cheap teleport scroll! I knew there was something shifty about that merchant… Oh and by the way: ICK! Like I needed any more trauma in my life!!

    The multiple characters in a trenchcoat gig? No. Just… no.

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