How many PC deaths do you see per session?

[Aust Diamondew]

1 or 2 death (depends on what counts) in 20 sessions which is how long my current game has been running. Some one died in the 3rd or fourth session in combat trying to be ridiculously heroic. One PC died couple sessions ago but thats because he was so horribly wounded and was captured by the enemy he decided to commit suicide. People aren't too reckless in my games because death means your character isn't comming back because I don't allow you to be brought back from death except by a miracle spell and under limited circumstances.

 

[DanMcS]

We've had 2 PCs die in the past year of the campaign, so probably 40 sessions.

It's getting more variable as we hit 10th to 13th levels, though, because the monster power curve is wierd there compared to low levels. It's easy to eyeball how hard a party of humanoids will hit a party. Giant scorpions? Um, 4 of 'em, whoops, almost killed the monk with that con-damage poision. Tyrannosaurs, one of those should be a challenge, especially if he swallows a PC, whoops, he failed his save versus glitterdust and the psion's stun power and died in two rounds.

It seems like there's much more randomness at these levels.

 

[the Jester]

Depends on what the group is doing. I almost always let the dice fall where they may; I recently had a tpk in one of the groups I ran. I kill an average of one pc per two sessions, but they're usually in groups of two or three every five or six games... it really varies, though.

I've had strings of games where at least one pc died every session for five or six games, and strings where nobody died for dozens of games.

 

[Starspawn]

Last 3 sessions we lost almost our complete party. Ok, its not our DM`s fault (getting coup de grace from team members was not his plan) but i think, the real problem is that you loose every grip to a campaign...

I mean, what do you do if there is no one from the starting party left??? Informations get lost with characters as well as motivation to fullfill the given Quest.

 

[Ziggy]

I've got 6 deaths in 78 sessions (3 years of playing), and I play with open die rolls, (mostly) gloves off. But also with lots of roleplaying, and only about half of those sessions have any combat at all.

The party have just reached 10th/11th level, and I've seen an increase in lethality with "save-or-die" spells, the last two deaths were both from failed Disintegration saves.

.Ziggy

 

[d4]

20+ years of GMing.

0 PC deaths in my games.

 

[Laurel]

the only death that happens at least once every game are the NPC's.

Personal choice, but I don't think I'd like a game that had at least one PC death each game... we average two PC death's not by choice for the whole game. There were other PC deaths but that was plot choice for changing to a new PC.

I have had one game that in session one it was almost a TPK except one PC.... not my idea of fun.... but if you like it go with it!

 

[Wombat]

Barring playing in Paranoia (...gotta love Code 7 adventures...), I average about 1 PC death every 3-5 session, pretty much whatever system I am in. A lot of my players have learned the wonders of capture and ransom, cutting & running, etc.

Also there have been a great number of retired characters, characters who turned evil/against the group, and the like.

But there have only been about 3 resurrections in all my years of gaming.

Death in my games is rare, but pretty much permanent.

 

[was]

We average one every five or six sessions. Usually because we do something stupid or fail to retreat against overwhelming forces. It hurts because we don't use any types of ressurection. You bite the big one and it's all over. Return to character generation.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

For the people who have frequent deaths in their campaigns (by 'frequent' I mean more than one per four adventures), I'd like to know the following:

Are these lower level characters (under 5th) who are getting whacked?

When they must generate new characters, are they started over at 5th (or current) level?

How does the GM typically work the new character in, if in the middle of a dungeon or some other 'remote' place?