D&D General Throwback Thursday Fun: First D&D Death

[Reynard]

Just for fun this Throwback Thursday: the first D&D character you had die during play, how did it happen?

Mine was a cleric during the first play of the Metzner Red Box adventure. My two older brothers and I were playing and my father was DMing. All of us were new to ttrpgs, but my dad was a computer gamer and board gamer. It was 1985 and I was 10 years old.

My death was simple, brutal and fast: I decided to rummage under the old gate while my brothers' characters headed up toward the door to the castle. The carrion crawler attacked, I failed my saving throws, and was unceremoniously dragged under the gate to be devoured. My brothers did not even stop to check to see if they could loot my corpse and continued on in the adventure while I frantically rolled up a replacement cleric (who would live much longer before being turned to stone by a gorgon). This death informed my attitude about PC mortality both as a player and GM forever, which can be summed up as: quit drying and roll up a new character.

 

[Stormonu]

I DM so much that I don’t really have a “first character death” story. I do have a first character killed...

Moldvay Red Box, Haunted Keep. Thief failed to detect the pit trap in the entrance and fell in with the fighter. Fighter survived, thief did not. 10‘ poles were quickly bought thereafter.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I've been wracking my brain to remember (like others, I DM 90+% of the time so my PC moments are few, far between, and rarely sustained).

I honestly think my first PC death ever may have been just a couple of weeks ago in the campaign my 7yo runs. A big worm creature managed to whack us with its tail, and we actually had a TPK.

In typical D&D fashion, of course, we had new characters wander in, find our old characters' gear, and immediately take up the old characters' quest and motivations. Can't let all that planning go to waste, now can we?

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

As far as I can remember, my first character death (also mostly the DM) didn't occur until 1e. In a raid on a Gityanki fortress in the Astral Plane, my paladin, the creatively named Sir Toril, sacrificed himself so that the rest of the party could make it out alive. Which is about the right way for a paladin to die.

 

[Mannahnin]

Mine was a cleric during the first play of the Metzner Red Box adventure. My two older brothers and I were playing and my father was DMing. All of us were new to ttrpgs, but my dad was a computer gamer and board gamer. It was 1985 and I was 10 years old.

My death was simple, brutal and fast: I decided to rummage under the old gate while my brothers' characters headed up toward the door to the castle. The carrion crawler attacked, I failed my saving throws, and was unceremoniously dragged under the gate to be devoured. My brothers did not even stop to check to see if they could loot my corpse and continued on in the adventure while I frantically rolled up a replacement cleric (who would live much longer before being turned to stone by a gorgon). This death informed my attitude about PC mortality both as a player and GM forever, which can be summed up as: quit drying and roll up a new character.

Same adventure. My first Elf, Raven, made it past the Carrion Crawler but died to a poisoned needle on a box in a closet, as I recall.

 

[David Howery]

lost a fighter to the slavers in A1. Lost a second one there too.

 

[Reynard]

Related aside: I think "forever GMs" should make an extra effort to site on the player side once in a while.

 

[overgeeked]

I don’t remember the details but I remember being sad and adding “Jr” to my character‘s name, the table laughed, and I kept playing. That also informed my view of character death.

 

[TwoSix]

My wizard-prince in a Birthright game had become increasingly erratic after several close shaves on the way to negotiate with an Awnshegh over territory rights. As such, he opened up the negotiations with "I'm the type to judge by appearances, and you are REAL ugly."

 

[Stormonu]

Related aside: I think "forever GMs" should make an extra effort to site on the player side once in a while.

Yeah, it certainly gives a new perspective about what’s interesting to the player. My stinginess on options and whatnot has lessened as I have been on the player side more often. And picked up a few new tricks from the younger generation (and lost a few prejudices along the way too).