JADE's Top 7 Most Embarassing Player Character Deaths

Over the years, of playing Tabletop RPG's, JADE has had its fair share of character deaths. While always a sad event Deaths are often heroic or brave, seeing the player fall to a stronger foe, or the valiant defense of their morals in the face of overwhelming times.

These five deaths are not those times. I present you with JADE's top seven most embarrassing, silly, or just plain unfortunate deaths.

1. Veneros Vajeska

Player: Jeff
Character: Neutral Evil Level 1 Elf Assassin
Campaign: Ivershill 
Game Type: 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Cause of Death: Death by Teacup.

This is perhaps one of the funniest deaths I have ever seen. In a game of Ivershill Jeff, Dave, and my brother-in-law Connor decided to play an evil party and massacre the inn. It didn't go as planned.

Connor's character Barney ended up hiding behind the bar while Jeff's character Veneros Vajeska struggled with a brave patron of the inn in an attempt to escape. To help his comrade, Barney threw a tea cup from behind the bar at Veneros' Attacker.

His shot missed, and stuck Veneros dealing one damage. Unfortunately Veneros only had 1hp left at the time of the hit, and in 1st edition 0hp means you are dead. It is probably the most ridiculous death I have ever seen.

2. Ripley Clark

Player: Dave
Character: Cybernetician
Campaign: Interstellar Exports
Game Type: Traveller

Cause of Death: Death by Pirates

While the cause of death sounds like an awesome blaze of glory, let me assure you it was not. One of the Quirks of the Traveller RPG series is that you play through a small mini game to create your character, and it is possible to die during creation, and that is exactly what happened.

Dave rolled poorly, and his character ended up dying before he ever got to use him. He still grumbles about it occasionally.

3.Margot Jack

Player: Sarah
Character: Gun Moll
Campaign: JADE's Halloween Call of Cthulhu Game
Game Type: 7th Ed Quick Start  Call of Cthulhu

Cause of Death: Death by Sacrifice.

After getting stuck in Innsmouth over night after delivering a booze shipment to the train yards headed for Boston, Sarah's character Margot Jack was kidnapped by the towns residents. Hands tied behind her back, she and her two partners were escorted to the beach. There, they saw Father Dagon and heard the prayer to Cthulhu rise moments before each of them had a dagger plunged into their back.

All three of them were sacrificed, and none of the players had seen it coming. The look of shock on their faces was priceless.

4. Sir Reginald Ginsby

Player: Andrew
Character: Lawful Good Lvl 5 Human Paladin
Campaign: Dungeon Grind
Game Type: 3rd Ed Dungeons and Dragons

Cause of Death: Death By Mimic

My first go at using a paladin was in a game where I was captured, stripped of my armour and weapons, and dropped into a dungeon. My only other party member Dave, who was playing a monk, and I had managed to survive a good many encounters until we came to a door. Thinking we could rest behind it, we went to open it... Only to find that it wasn't a door at all, but a mimic. In our weakened state the beast over came us.

We should have seen it coming, Elijah always puts a mimic in... And really, Mimics!?

5. Valgard

Player: Adam
Character: Lawful Evil Level 6 Duergar Cleric
Campaign: The Conquest of Frey
Game Type: 3rd Ed Dungeons and Dragons

Cause of Death: Death By Trap

While skulking the final mega dungeon of Chapter 1 of the Conquest of Frey, we entered a room, that immediately activated a trap. The doors sealed, a hole in the centre of the floor opened, and water began rushing in creating a whirl pool. We all managed to hold on for dear life, except Valgard.

He was sucked into the darkness, never to be seen or heard from again. The worst part was, Adam wasn't even there! He couldn't make it that day. It seems to happen a lot when player character's become NPC's.

Luckily Adam didn't take it too badly, but what a way to go!

6. Sir Aaron Cormac

Player: Elijah
Character: Lawful Good Lvl 6 Human Paladin
Campaign: The Impossible Campaign
Game Type: 2nd Ed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Cause of Death: Death By Fireball

During the Impossible Campaign, Sir Aaron Cormac was fighting the hollow undead shell that had become Sir Roland, the very man the party sought. In a desperate attempt to kill the beast, Jeff’s character Toodles threw a fireball at it, and Elijah's Paladin Sir Aaron Cormac was caught and killed in the blast.

There is some evidence that Toodles actually murdered the Paladin, as his character and Elijah's had had a rather heated argument not two games earlier. But without proof and Toodles insisting it was an accident we will never know.

Needless to say Elijah was not impressed.

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7. Spicer Janasta 

Player: Jeff
Character: Neutral Evil Level 3 Elf Assassin
Campaign: Ivershill 
Game Type: 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Cause of Death: Death by Clubbing

In another run of Ivershill  Jeff characer Spicer Jenasta and a party consisting of Elijah's Character Strombo and Adam's Character Thak Thak. They were the first party to find the Thieves Guild in Iverhsill, and after acting incredibly suspicious, were drugged and chained tightly to the wall in the Guild's dungeon.

Thinking he could trick his way out of the situation Spice Jenasta only made things worse, and deciding to be safe rather than sorry Guild Leader Xilus Ray had them beaten to death. They struggled to escape their bonds but to no avail.

They were not the only players to have beaten to death by mobs, or in dungeons in Ivershill, but they certainly were the first. Trend setters you might say.

What silly, embarrassing, horrifying or annoying deaths have you guys had? let us know in the comments!

JADE's Top Ten Character Sketches

Since JADE started Playing 1st and 2nd Ed AD&D we have been making everyone draw a sketch of their character. Both of our character sheets for these editions have a space for it, so why not use it!

We have probably around a hundred or so characters sheets, but these ten sketches are my personal favourites.

1. Mirosh Ubogh

Artist: Kaila
Character: Lawful Good Half-Orc Fighter

This rough and worn sketch of Kaila's Half-Orc fighter is her first, and only living 1st edition character. A veteran of the Ivershill campaign, she has attained level 4 by spreading good and righteousness everywhere she goes.

2. Husam Ibn Tamir

Player: Elijah
Character: Chaotic Good HUman Sha'ir

For the few or so campaigns that JADE played using the Al-Qadim rules, Elijah played the third son of Tamir, and the twin of Jeff's character. Smaller, but friendlier than his brother, Husam set out into the world with his twin to make a life for themselves, only to get wrapped up in the violent politics of the city.

3. Rumples

Player: Dave
Character: Chaotic Evil Halfling Fighter

For those that follow the #characteroftheday on Twitter, they will know that every time I roll a Chaotic Evil Halfling Fighter, I call him Rumples. This is in honour of Dave's hilarious character he used in a game of Ivershill that came to a disastrous end.

4. Grunt

Player: Elijah
Character:Lawful Evil Half-Orc Fighter

In a run of Ivershill, Elijah chose to be this sorry looking fellow: the rather unintelligent and ugly Grunt. Though skilled with an axe, Grunt's hideous appearance has made it difficult for him to get anywhere in life.

5. Hunfridus Godwin

Player: Dave
Character: Lawful Good Human Preist

This character comes from our experimentation with the various character kits in 2nd edition. Dave chose to try out a Pacifist Priest kit... Which meant that the RPG violence loving Dave would have to think about things a little differently. Well, When Elijah forced him into a situation

6. Enceladus Carf

Player: Nikki
Character: Chaotic Neutral Gnome Thief

For her first D&D character Nikki decided to be a slightly crazed older gnome, who doesn't put up with any bullshit. I love the crazy eyes.

7. Hyanda

Player: Jeff
Character: Lawful Evil Elf Assassin

Jeff's favourite class in 1st edition AD&D in the Assassin, however, JEff is not much of an artist. So when I told him I didn't care what he drew as long as he drew something... Well I got what I asked for I guess!

8. Arthur Cross

Player: Andrew
Character: Lawful Good Human Fighter

In the same campaign that Hunfridus Godwin is in, I play this character Arthur Cross. Due to some misfortune in the first game that befell the party, Arthur chooses not to reveal his face. I am not much of an artist myself. but this guy looks at least a little like the mini for him.

9. Sir Aaron Cormac

Player: Elijah
Character: Lawful Good Human Paladin

One of my favourites is Elijah Human Paladin from the Impossible Campaign. A slightly disturbed fellow, not worthy of the title Paladin, Sir Aaron Cormac came to a violent from a missed placed fireball.

10. Onix Fretel

Player: Wesley
Character: Neutral Evil Elf Fighter

And this is of course what happens when you let a professional artist and animator sketch their character. This is Wesley's Elf from one of the many rounds of Ivershill. He had a decent amount of time to finish this guy while I helped other's get their characters ready, but it did not take him that long.


And those are what I think are the 10 best character sketches. Which one is your favourite?

And be sure to check soon for The 10 Runner Up Character Sketches.

Written by: Andrew Gregory

5 Things you Learn with Too Many Game Masters Around the Table

Since JADE started playing Tabletop Roleplaying games, we have had a serious problem: Everyone wanted to host their own Campaign. In my past experiences with the 3-4 other game groups I have played with, there were normally only 1 or 2 people who were interested in Hosting... Which was normally just me. I had never played in group where everyone wanted to host and it presented some unusual challenges.

After three years of handling this, we seem to have finally figured it out (sort of), and I have learned these 5 interesting things along the way.

Not that kind of calender...

1. Scheduling is a Nightmare

All four of us at JADE are in our late twenties; And as young professionals, life can be hectic. Between work, social obligations, my upcoming wedding, etc. Getting time in for gaming can be difficult, especially when everyone has their own life going on at different times.

But it is not only just timing, it is also scheduling what we are going to do. At JADE we have over 100 different Board game titles to choose from, 15 different RPG Series, not too mention another 100 expansions and boosters. It can be really over whelming, and I find that what people want to do can change from day to day. So sometimes an RPG will be scheduled, and we end up playing Magic the Gathering all night.

How JADE Solved it:

Truth be told... We haven't. With everyone's different work schedules, and gaming obsessions it is still our biggest challenge to over come. What helped a little bit was standardizing Game Day to at least one day a week (we picked Sunday) and then having another "float" day that moves around throughout the week to accommodate for peoples schedules.

It is not perfect to say the least, but it has increased the number of games being played by all members.

2. Participation can be a Touchy Issue

Knowing that everyone can't make it to every game, the question often comes up: Do we wait for everyone to be there or do we go ahead with the game?

While having the full group always makes for a really awesome game, it also makes games drag on, and on. For example, it took us an entire year to finish my 10 game Interstellar Exports campaign because we waited for everyone to be available for each game.

How JADE Solved it:

This caused quite a stir in the group, as Jeff and myself were more on the side of "the show must go on" regardless of who is there, while Dave and Elijah leaned more towards waiting for the whole group to be there.

With a 50/50 split we had to compromise. First we shortened the amount of games each GM gets from 10 to 6. and agreed that everyone has to be present for the first and last game of the campaign. On games 2-4 the game will go ahead so long as the GM and 1 Player are present.

Now we have not tried this system yet, but I will keep you posted.

3. Choosing a Game is Hard

We were pretty naive when we first started at JADE. Everyone wanted to be a GM so every week cycled through a different game. It was a catastrophe. The schedule became muddled, and the games ground to a halt. We realised quickly, that we needed to play one game at a time if we wanted to get anything done.

However, everyone had a lot of ideas for campaigns and we didn't have the time to play them all. Thus, it was difficult to come to a consensus on what campaign we wanted to do.

How JADE Solved it:

We decided to put the games to a vote. Each member is given three strips of paper to write down the top three games they are interested in. The most commonly selected campaign becomes the game we play. Any ties are settled by a round of voting, and there is often an apparent crowd favourite at that point.

This has worked splendidly, and I recommend it if you have a similar problem.

4. Different Game Masters Mean Really Different Games

I have been GMing tabletop RPGs for more than 10 years now. I have my standard tropes and concepts I fall into. Not that I am inflexible, rather I have a distinct style. Seeing other GM's bring their ideas to the table was really refreshing, and I got a taste of all the different ideas that can make an RPG campaign exciting, mysterious, or dull.

That being said, while there is diversity, there can be a little too much at times. Every GM has different ideas about what makes a good game, and will choose to focus on those elements of roleplay. Occasionally one or more players might not be all that interested in what the GM is focusing on, and they will lose interest.

How JADE Solved it:

Deal with it. Just because you are not enjoying the game doesn't mean that other players aren't as well. Wait the game through, and try your best to pay attention. A game you like will come along soon.

5. People get Better at Playing and GMing

Having experience on both sides of the GM Screen gives everyone a unique perspective. As a GM, regularly being a player lets you remember what it is like to not have all the answers and have to solve riddles and problems based only on verbal clues and descriptions. As a Player, regularly GMing a few games will remind you how much work goes into each campaign, and how to work with the story structure rather than against it. All in all you will get better players, better Game Masters, and better campaigns.


Do you guys have too many Gm's around your game table? How did you solve it?


Written by: Andrew Gregory