A Strange Experience

I killed my first Player Character (PC) today. No...don't freak out. This happened in our AD&D game. I am not guilty of any crimes, but it does feel weird. In our adventure, the party has been battling their way through a very difficult dungeon cairn in search of a very valuable item. This item is very secure and not meant to be found. I warned the folks in advance that character could possibly die in the process.

Saying it is one thing, but when five characters don't survive and only took make it, it breaks up the dynamic of the day's adventure:

1. How do you continue? You can't. So, we ended two hours early. We filled the time with other games, but it seemed awkward.
2. Those whose characters died wonder what will happen. Can they be brought back to life? Are they dead forever? Regardless, they wait weeks to find out.
3. How do things start again? How do you bring this group back together with any confidence?

In any video game RPG, this happens all the time. But, with the save function you can always start at the last save point. And, it's usually just you. This is a whole group.

I suppose in the end, it's not a big deal, but it was a new experience for me. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds.