D&D General Thematic Deaths of Major NPCs

[LordEntrails]

Strangers in a Cave - Don't read this!

As my multi-year campaign comes to a close, the party will be faced with their final challenge as 20th level characters. The dragonstaff has been broken and (epic) Ebondeath and his allies are going to attack Waterdeep looking to sow destruction and kill the party.

A few of the destinies that I have planned for the characters include them assuming roles in Waterdeep and/or the Sword Coast. One of them, is the Blackstaff. Which means I need to kill off Vajra in this final battle. I want this one to be memorable. Another is Fenna Banryx (Emerald Enclave), and this one being emotional would be a great reward for one of the players who often takes a back seat to the others.

How do you kill off NPCs in a fun and dramatic way without being too heavy handed?

I plan on not running all of the combat going on outside the party (the commoners being killed, the Griffon Calvary engagements, the walking statues, etc) but do want to do more for a key few NPCs that just telling the party after the fact that these people died. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Quickleaf]

If you're not already playing with something like the 'Doomed' condition or a similar house rule that allows a dying NPC/character to get a few words out, but disallows them from being healed, then you probably don't want to institute something like that so late in the game. It works well, but it's a very house rules solution.

You can frame the death as a heroic sacrifice. For example, Vajra creating an impenetrable barrier around herself and a few soldiers, trapping the Unstoppable Villain/Evil Spell/Disease/whatever inside with her, while PCs are on the outside unable to help. The key here, depending on your group's tolerance for down storybeats, would probably be to give the party some other important task that they can succeed at, despite Vajra's sacrifice.

 

[LordEntrails]

You can frame the death as a heroic sacrifice. For example, Vajra creating an impenetrable barrier around herself and a few soldiers, trapping the Unstoppable Villain/Evil Spell/Disease/whatever inside with her, while PCs are on the outside unable to help. The key here, depending on your group's tolerance for down storybeats, would probably be to give the party some other important task that they can succeed at, despite Vajra's sacrifice.

This gives me some ideas... In our campaign Ebondeath (ED) has had 3 phylacteries. While the party has located and destroyed all of them making him mortal. It has made ED stronger as the stored energies were released. Not sure that helps with the idea below, but...

Perhaps there is some way Vajra can sacrifice herself to weaken ED enough so that the party can kill him. Hmm... Perhaps ED attacks in the night (along with undead wyverns and harpies), and Vajra is first to confront him. Maybe along with a giant size Otiluke's Sphere she captures him and trap herself long enough to cause him to crash to the ground. Then he fills the sphere with acid or such, and she holds the sphere, taking damage until the party arrives before releasing it. Then on ED's next action he kills her. And as her last act gives the party member the Blackstaff. What do you all think of that? If I flesh it out with some dramatic detail. I'm still missing something there, but I'm starting to like it. Thoughts?

As for Fenna Banfyx (FB ), the ranger who works the Leilon region of the Sword Coast. Maybe she brings the alarm to the party at the Trollskull? Perhaps riding on a giant eagle? But how to make her death sad and tragic?

 

[Quickleaf]

This gives me some ideas... In our campaign Ebondeath (ED) has had 3 phylacteries. While the party has located and destroyed all of them making him mortal. It has made ED stronger as the stored energies were released. Not sure that helps with the idea below, but...

Perhaps there is some way Vajra can sacrifice herself to weaken ED enough so that the party can kill him. Hmm... Perhaps ED attacks in the night (along with undead wyverns and harpies), and Vajra is first to confront him. Maybe along with a giant size Otiluke's Sphere she captures him and trap herself long enough to cause him to crash to the ground. Then he fills the sphere with acid or such, and she holds the sphere, taking damage until the party arrives before releasing it. Then on ED's next action he kills her. And as her last act gives the party member the Blackstaff. What do you all think of that? If I flesh it out with some dramatic detail. I'm still missing something there, but I'm starting to like it. Thoughts?

Yeah, something along those lines sounds suitably heroic.

The part I bolded is the kind of thought process where I tend to get a "yellow alarm" just because I've seen it backfire so often. Assuming the death is something you absolutely want/need to happen, then the more you have the death happen outside of the construct of "turns/rounds/initiative", the better. At least, that's my two coppers.

As for Fenna Banfyx (FB ), the ranger who works the Leilon region of the Sword Coast. Maybe she brings the alarm to the party at the Trollskull? Perhaps riding on a giant eagle? But how to make her death sad and tragic?

I'm less familiar with that NPC, but let's see... I'm going off the Leilon FR wiki lore, but you know, modify the basic ideas here as needed (if you like them)... Maybe Fenna does the alleged Paul Revere night ride, warning the Lances of Leilon and all these other settlements / military camps of an imminent danger. There are reports of her death, when her horse rides into a clearing / into town, Fenna barely clinging to it, several arrows in her back (clues) and/or a plot hook NPC she protected. She's maxed out her exhaustion – or if your party has greater restoration and that would be an issue for you – she dies before they reach her, a dying shout of warning on her lips.

 

[LordEntrails]

The part I bolded is the kind of thought process where I tend to get a "yellow alarm" just because I've seen it backfire so often. Assuming the death is something you absolutely want/need to happen, then the more you have the death happen outside of the construct of "turns/rounds/initiative", the better. At least, that's my two coppers.

Thanks. Yea, I'm thinking her death drops the sphere which then starts the combat for the party. I do worry about the player's having no agency in her death, but not too worried about it.

As for Fenna, as the party is level 20, they have lots of ways of saving her. I'm thinking she brings warning, and is injured, but tells the party to leave her behind and go fight ED. That she can stay to protect the Trollskull Alley. And then when they return they find her dead, torn apart by harpies. BUT, that's pretty weak IMO. So totally open to ideas, and FB doesn't have to die either, but the Blackstaff does.