Character Death

Yes, character death is often one of the most emotional moments in any given campaign or adventure and never is easy. You've spent countless hours sculpting your character's personality, slowly improving their stats, gathering equipment, making bonds with the people around you, only to find out its all for naught.

So, you might be asking, how do I go about character death in the campaign, how do I feel about it, etc...

Prepare
Firstly, I would like to warn you that if you do not prepare enough for a given encounter; ex: You did not rest enough in between encounters, did not scout out location, did not take a stealthy approach to a treacherous area, were stingy with money and did not purchase better supplies, or did not select useful spells and/or resistances/magical items; you will die. Its that simple. And guess what, you deserved it. It sucks, but its true. This is not a hack and slash video game, it is a roleplaying game, where you will be expected to live with your decisions/actions.

Beyond the Grave
Now, once the deed is done, your character has passed through the material plane, and your tears have dried, we will have to talk. Because, I do have options for that roleplayer who loves their character to death and beyond and will not play any other character. These options are brutal, often requiring harsh consequences in return for keeping the character, but they are there for you to pluck.

If not, I do my best to play the solemnest music, prepare long speeches about the character, make that fight seem even more epic than it was before you died; basically I try to convey the seriousness of the death to the players. Once that has transpired, hopefully you're in a solid state of mind, and you can begin character creation while the others continue their session (as I will rarely end a session on a death).

Hope this gives you some insight into my view on death within the game, and that it does not scare you too much.

See also Death Saves and Rite of the Fallen on the House Rules page.