Transform character deaths from the worst fate to the grandest moment.
Can you keep the threat of death in a game without worrying about pissing off the players? We think so. There's a few strategies that can make death a lot more important and meaningful in a game, which leaves everyone a lot more satisfied. It goes a lot farther than the classic rationalization of "let the dice fall where they may".
It's great to address character death at every stage of gameplay, just so everyone knows what to do. We go to the Strategy Stateroom to discuss how to do that. First you want to establish the deadliness of your game in a session zero. Then prep for character death by making sure consequences come due to the character's actions. In their final moments you want to play out the action in glorious detail, making their last stand a grand one. After their death, make sure the world reacts to it, based on what they did and who they connected with. Finally, have a backup plan when all your plans go to heck, which they will. That leads us down to Milly's Shop of Wonders, where we suggest a few magic items that can help a party avoid the end of their characters.