D&D General How do you honor fallen friends in your games?

[Dragonhelm]

Late Sunday night, I heard the news that my friend Dave had passed away. Dave was part of my original college group. We played together for many years. Life took us in different directions, but we kept in contact on Facebook.

In recent months, my original gaming group got back together for a "next generation" campaign. Dave was there for the first session, but couldn't make the second. Dave was really looking forward to the session we played on Saturday, but he never showed. We thought that maybe some emergency came up.

His wife, who isn't a gamer, has asked that we keep his memory alive in our games somehow, which we wholeheartedly said we would. We have a few ideas on that. I know he wouldn't want a lot of fanfare, though.

I know many of you have lost gamer friends, and I'm just curious what you have done to honor them in your games.

 

[Voadam]

My condolences.

I had a friend from college who I played in a D&D game with who died as well but it was a number of years ago and I did not incorporate him in my games.

Options that come to mind though.

Did you do an ongoing campaign in college where he had a signature PC who could become an NPC in the current game? This can work for a live NPC or a dead one as well such as someone responsible for founding one of the paladin vow orders so he becomes entwined with the history of something nice in the game.

Did he personally have some characteristics you could turn into a warlock patron or a member of your D&D pantheon as an option? Could be done with his name or as a more indirect homage creation.

Won't work for all campaigns but could for some.

 

[el-remmen]

May his memory be a blessing.

 

[Umbran]

Years ago, now, a player at my regular table developed brain cancer, and passed away.

We don't reference him much directly, as the way he had to go was particularly tragic and touching. However, we were playing Deadlands at the time, and his character had a tendency to tell tall western tails, and we do tend to reference them on occasion.

I had a couple players need a moment when they came upon the racing snails in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, as he'd used that theme often.

 

[billd91]

A few years after graduating from college, one of our college friends died. He was an avid Civilization/Advanced Civilization player. When a bunch of us got together afterward, we set him up as a non-player Crete, and none of us invaded the island or sent secondary effects of calamities his way.

More recently, the friend who recruited me to play D&D in the first place died. We haven't done anything formal in his memory in our games, but we still discuss his weirdo PCs from time to time.

 

[Dragonhelm]

My condolences.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Did you do an ongoing campaign in college where he had a signature PC who could become an NPC in the current game? This can work for a live NPC or a dead one as well such as someone responsible for founding one of the paladin vow orders so he becomes entwined with the history of something nice in the game.

He was a player in the first D&D campaign I played in, which was a homebrew science fantasy game using the AD&D 2e rules. His character died in battle. However, we already have a hologram version of him set up as a training hologram.

He was also a player in my old Forgotten Realms game. I think I may turn his old character into an NPC.

Did he personally have some characteristics you could turn into a warlock patron or a member of your D&D pantheon as an option? Could be done with his name or as a more indirect homage creation.

Won't work for all campaigns but could for some.

That's an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that.

May his memory be a blessing.

Thank you.

What's worse about all of this is that today is his birthday.

 

[DarkCrisis]

A friend of mine that died of cancer far far far to young, loved playing Dwarves. So, I try to add more Dwarves into my games.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Late Sunday night, I heard the news that my friend Dave had passed away. Dave was part of my original college group. We played together for many years. Life took us in different directions, but we kept in contact on Facebook.

My condolences.

I know many of you have lost gamer friends, and I'm just curious what you have done to honor them in your games.

The last character my friend made in my campaign was for a group of third and fourth sons and daughters. Petty nobles who had a fair bit of cash and a couple of favors, but needed to find their own fortune. His character was a magician by the family name Gaunt, and he had an Addams family feel to him. The party saved a village, and that character came to govern the village.

Time passes, and we found out about his passing. There's now a place called the Gaunt forest which contains the town of Olivia (his daughter's name). They grow olives and oranges, making a fine brandy from the latter. He did like his spirits.

 

[Lidgar]

Maybe name a tavern or inn after him. A place the PCs can go to unwind between excursions. He could be a legendary hero the pub is named after, where the patrons regularly toast his name for good luck before setting off on an adventure.

 

[Voadam]

My friend was in Wisconsin where I went to college, but I have been on the east coast for the last 27 years and none of my local groups here had any overlap besides me and would not have gotten any references. His big character in the game we played in was Gimle the high level dwarf fighter who was a gruff and blunt mercenary leader and tactics master so any reference in my game would have been identified to LotR and not to him. I did hear that in our Wisconsin group's game which had been going for over 20 continuous years with weekly sessions when I joined it and continued long after I left he ascended to become a dwarven god of mercenaries, tactics, and leadership in the world with his immediate dwarven squad as demigods.