D&D 5E DM Advice: How do you handle a TPK?

[Desalus]

Depending on the circumstances of the encounter I'd rather play it off as if the characters had been knocked out instead of killed. Perhaps they end up in a prison or are enslaved, thus losing a certain amount of levels due to atrophy. Perhaps whoever defeated them left them for dead but stole all of the equipment and gold they were carrying. I'd rather keep the characters alive and introduce a major setback for the party rather than have the players roll up new characters or end a campaign early.

 

[Blackwarder]

I nearly had one while running the Thundertree chapter of the Lost Mine of Phandelver. I wonder for DMs: what happens when your whole party gets wiped out?? Are players going to rebel against me and never come back to my table? Is this an opportunity for a new beginning? Do let players (who played well and were still wiped out) create new characters, and if so at same level?

Advice please. And please share your TPK stories and how your players handled it.

Take them prisoners! That's a classic.

Warder

 

[Nebulous]

Offhand I don't recall a tpk. I guess we've had some close calls but they pulled through. In general I think if we did have a total kill the players would try to judge if the encounter was unfair, poor strategy on their behalf, or just really crappy luck. In our thundertree encounter they got the Dragon to fight for them and it turned out well. If they'd attacked her and tried to loot her hoard it would have ended in tpk I have no doubt.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Take them prisoners! That's a classic.

Warder

This one isn't stated enough here. Take 'em prisoner. Have 'em wake up in some sort of jail, pit, or spit. Allow them to escape. You don't always have to end a campaign just 'cause everyone had a bad night.

And sometimes, they just all die.