D&D 5E Perma-Death At Your Table: How Possible Is It?

[CleverNickName]

"Perma-Death" is a shorthand term for the permanent death of your character. You failed 3 death saves, you fell into a sphere of annihilation, you were disintegrated, whatever the cause, your character is now beyond the reach of healing magic. It's game over. You aren't pining for the fjords, you have ceased to be. You are bereft of life, you rest in peace. You have shuffled off your mortal coil, run down the curtain, and joined the Choir Invisible...you are an ex-hero.

How often does that happen at your gaming table, and why? There are no wrong answers.

OBVIOUSLY this poll is not nuanced enough to capture every possible answer, and no poll will ever be. So please pick whatever is closest and then leave a comment below. The point of this exercise is to encourage discussion, after all.

 

[Lanefan]

The one rather big variable you don't mantion is level.

At low level they drop like flies. At mid-level they sometimes stay dead. At high level perma-death is rare although death-revival cycles remain very much a presence.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Only by consent. I'm bored of death.

 

[not-so-newguy]

I've had a handful of PC deaths while DMing 5E and all of them happened during levels 1-2.

 

[BookTenTiger]

It can definitely happen! It rarely does, but it's usually due to bad luck. My players are reticent to face foes they think will outpower them, and are very creative in roleplaying solutions or just running away! If they weren't, there would probably be more deaths.

I've definitely had character deaths that derailed storylines... But then a new character comes in and there are exciting new storylines!

 

[James Gasik]

It does get harder as you rise in level, that's true. The only time I killed a character in 5e was a first level Monk. They were in Sunless Citadel, and managed to bypass a high DC lock they were supposed to get a key to later, and got beat up by the Troll-Priest.

 

[beancounter]

My DM seems to go out of his way to avoid killing PCs. But if he get's drunk or frustrated that we're mowing down the monsters too easily, he suddenly changes into DM vs. player mode. It's a bizarre transformation.

 

[James Gasik]

Friends don't let friends DM drunk.

 

[Lanefan]

Friends don't let friends DM drunk.

IME drunk DMs can be the best DMs.

 

[James Gasik]

Well let's just say I don't run for drunk players anymore...