#RPGaDay2023 - Day 13 - Most Memorable Character Demise

Day 13 of  #RPGaDay2023 and I'm reminded of my mortality... or at least my characters' with "Most Memorable Character Demise."  

For each day I'll be answering the question provided, and for fun, review how I answered a similar question during #RPGaDay a decade ago.  Scout's Honor, I have not peeked at the older answer.

With a few exceptions, and two particular Call of Cthulhu players, death is few and far between for most of my game, and since my barely a mere player, my own characters demises are even rarer.  

As a GM, my most recent character was Presto, an old man starting a new career late in life for D&D. 

For my Mentzer Red Box D&D "Adventures in Gulluvia" game, everybody starts with two 1st level characters so, save a total TPK from a boxful of kittens, everyone keeps active and the sheer numbers should overwhelm some encounters.  

His concept was that of a man going through a mid-life crisis and becoming a 1st level magic-user at 60, which is far more decrepit in the fake Middle Ages.   

Remove the gem and this is how I pictured Presto.  

Presto was assembled by the Baronial Guard of Gulluvia to investigate "eternal winter" occurring at a remote village.  Less interested in the mission than the Guard Captain herself, Presto, tried to "grab a cheek," and hope his cute old man personna would help him get away, if he was caught.

Karma was fickle, and much faster than anyone anticipate.  The Captain turned to the creepy old lech.  His age may have prevented her from slaying him on sight, rather, he removed one of her leather gloves, and slapped Presto across the face.  He flew over the table and landed face-down on the floor. 

Lucky for him, the slap was only bruising damage which knocked him unconscious.  He was able to recover and travelled with the party.  Thankfully, the Captain did not escort the party on the mission, rather a younger guardswoman who glared at the magic-user with disgust the entire way to the village.  

Once the true mission was revealed and the ice caverns beneath the town were discovered, Presto was a man possessed to help the party... with more than his one spell.   He was actively leading a search of a large cavern, looking for treasure, and acting as an advance scout wary of previously retreating hobgoblins, when the ice floor of most of the room gave way and he plummeted sixty feet to his death.   He was barely missed by the party, who only secured ropes to descend to claim his spellbook and anything else they found worthy.

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As an actual player,  only choice I can think of is a Lafayette College student in a 1920's one-shot. 

I don't remember why are group was joy riding the back roads between Bethlehem and Easton but a few miles shy of Easton, we got caught up in an absolutely terrible storm.  Our car barely drivable, and providing minimal protection from the winds and hail, we pulled off of the road and dash 50 yards to an older house up a hill.  We were hoping for any better shelter, even if we initially met the business end of a shotgun by the local yokel living there. 

The real alternative was not something the 'investigators' were prepared.   

The door unlocked, we went inside.  Things looked normal to start, but with the sudden appearance of a local hobo through the backdoor, things showed their true nature, and the regular assortment of skulls,  unidentified vials, and skin-covered books.

Then, something began moving around the house, and it was NOT a second hobo.  There was some confusion, a possible melee, and our decision to flee.   My buddy Wooly's character made it to the grill of the car.  Jenny, his wife, had her character make it inside the car (a hardtop) but she fumbled the keys and got pulled out of the drivers side window.  

Feeling the entity following us to the car, I veered off, slid down some rocky hills, and made it through the main road.  The rain was just a horrible downpour at this time, but my adrenaline (and time on the rowing team)  allowed me to keep running. The true outskirts of civilization were only 15 minutes of running away, if I could keep going.  

I thought I was safe, until the creature leapt out of the trees to the right of me, pounced on top of me, and the momentum pushed us off the road and into the canal below. 

And for those of you keeping track at home, the hobo had ninja-like reflexes and fled in the opposite direction, far away from the marauding ghoul the lived in the house.

This one-shot was run by our Master Keeper "Dr Bob" as a Cthulhu primer for some new players.  He was using this to kick off his attempt at running Masks of Nylarathotep.  My successfully got through New York before real life got in the way of gaming... HARD, but this roughly 20 years ago.

Ten Years Ago Today:  I went in two directions way back when, as well. The death of Echelon/death of Talis were the first significant GM kills I could remember, although my Lafayette College student was #1 my book back then (in death at least).