I know what you’re thinking, “what a dick.”
The PCs were tasked with escorting a rich historian and his bodyguard into a known dungeon. Every decade or so the dungeon gets infested with new simple monsters and every so often it gets cleared out. This particular historian wanted to walk around the dungeon and map it out, but he needed a group or mercs/adventurers to clear it . Really, though, he was looking for an imprisoned wizard and the wizard’s MacGuffin artifact, but that’s beside the point.
As the PCs go from room to room, level to level, the historian’s bodyguard (Helen) only occasionally helps out in the fights–she’s there to protect the historian, after all. However, she’s helped out occasionally, and she has always fought as a rogue/fighter type, and quite capable (at least on par with the PCs).
Anyway, this dungeon crawl has taken up about eight gaming sessions, and I’ve always played up Helen as sometimes helpful, and sometimes a little short with everyone. One PC in particular (Shastina’s rogue) took the bait and ran with it. The two began a little bit of a rivalry, and Shastina never quite knew what to make of this secretive bodyguard.
Then, about halfway through the dungeon crawl, Shastina’s daughter came into town and sat at our gaming table for one session. I let he play Helen because that seemed like the best fit, and boy was it! Shastina and her daughter played the rivalry of these two characters to the extreme, throwing insults (in character) and always trying to one-up each other with combat moves against monsters. It was fantastic.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the whole dungeon crawl climaxed with the entire PC group fighting a suddenly more powerful and evil Helen (like I always planned). It was awesome. I knew this fight was coming, and the players may have suspected a little bit, so it was a good culmination. What made it even better was when Helen specifically went after Shastina’s character…
Sure, the big bad evil girl is fighting a bunch of PCs, and many DMs might spread the attacks around so not too much damage is done to a single character, but Helen focused on Shastina’s rogue and took her down after two rounds. Someone then healed Shastina’s rogue, but then Helen took her down again, and with several attacks per round, she ended up killing her outright. With her last attack, she sliced the head right off and lifted it high. It was GLORIOUS.
I know what you’re thinking, “what a dick.”
But, I am not normally one to kill player characters. This was the first death in six months, and it honestly felt great. Now, I can say that because everyone at the table knows I’m not there to kill PCs, and they prefer to let the chips fall as they may. This fight didn’t have to start at this time; the PCs could have waited and gotten stronger, but they pushed for it. They knew I would not be pulling any punches, and everyone was satisfied with how it played out.
So, don’t be afraid to kill PCs, especially if they’re ready for it. What I mean is, let the story progress naturally, and don’t be afraid to let your inner demon come out–your story just may get that much richer.
