Character Mortality (TCG)

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For characters' lives to have real meaning within the game world, their deaths must have meaning also. No player is ever happy to see his favorite character die and if that character's death seems meaningless, then his life may also seem pointless. The DM can take this as a recommendation against traps that function on an "oops yer dead" basis.
Since an effective DM's adventures contain dramatic scenarios which have a real chance of a player character dying, the DM should try to make those characters' deaths play an important part in his story.
If it becomes obvious to both the DM and the players that one or more PCs are about to be killed, gi ve the characters a chance to make their deaths meaningful. Improvise a scenario that gives the characters a glorious and memorable death scene. For inspiration, consider those war movies and action films where a mortally wounded character remains behind to take out the pursuing bad guys, or where one character leads the villains astray, knowing it means his own death.
The DM might wish to let the characters ignore their fatal wounds for a few rounds while they hack berserkly at the fiends who outnumber and surround them, giving better than they get and giving their friends a chance to survive. Remember, the characters die in the end, but the clever DM has managed to let them die with dignity and heroism!
==Alternatives to Dying==
Death is essentially a punishment for a character's failure to overcome a fatal obstacle. However, even when the rules indicate that such a failure would kill a character, the DM need not necessarily make death the only possible punishment.
Some characters pointedly deserve to die. Their players have insisted on making the characters act and behave in a manner contrary to either good role-playing or even common sense. Their stupidity finally places them in a situation from which their is no escape and they die an ignominious and pointless death. Other characters are VIctIms of either bad dice-rolling (their's or another's) or the logical outcome of the way they role-play their characters. Given such situations, the DM can decide either to make the death grand and glorious, one that has real meaning in terms of the adventure's story, or arrange events such that the character survives but is still punished in a significant manner-this latter punishment can often be a fate worse than death.
The DM might help a character cheat death in one of the fo1Jowing ways:
* The character collapses into unconsciousness only to awaken later, his wounds mysteriously healed. Usually, there is a price to pay for this later. This is one of those situations where the DM is allowed to meddle with a character, taking away something, giving him something, or changing him in some way. Often, whoever does the healing will demand a payment of service.
* Instead of killing the character, his foe's last blow stuns him and he is taken captive.
* An NPC or favored animal companion sacrifices his life for the character. Care must be taken to make this scene believable.
* The character dies, but a higher power guides his spirit back into his body-his task on earth is not yet done.
* The dead character's companions find a one-shot device or NPC who can bring the character back to life. Again, this usually involves a loss or sacrifice on the part of the dead character.
If the DM has to intervene to save a character, he may wish to balance his act of mercy by penalizing the character who should have died. Consider the following possibilities:
* Reduce the amount of experience points gained from the adventure. Have the character survive, but be captured until he is rescued or escapes on his own, usually without any of the goodies he has been collecting during his adventures.
* Have the character acquire a liability due to his mistake. Possibly his wounds leave him with a limp that reduces his speed, or internal injuries cause a drop in his constitution score. Maybe his depth perception is gone due to the loss of an eye, or he becomes one handed when his sword hand is lopped off.
* Change the character in some way. Maybe the only way his friends could bring his spirit back was to reincarnate him in the body of another creature. Or maybe his spirit was transferred into a body that could be repaired. That new body could be just about anything. The magics involved in saving the character could have required replacing severely damaged parts of his body with functioning parts from other creatures.
* Relieve the character of treasured possessions. Whoever saves the character (or captures him) may think that taking his +3 sword and helm of telepathy are a fair trade for bringing him back to life. Maybe the thing just got lost, say in that deep (bottomless?) chasm back there, the one with the hot vapors and eerie noises wafting up from below. Subject the characters to the mockery of others. This usually works best when the DM has had to save the hide of the entire party. Let them know that their failure in a situation (where they should have rightfully died) makes them the laughingstock of the fortress. Have a once-loyal hireling or two silently disappear, unable to bear the shame of it all.