Character Death - what now?

[Falenthal]

Mechanicly, That is not too bad. The only difference you will see is that the new hero will spend more hope that the veterans since the main stats in combat, endurance, parry, armor, remain the same, whether you have o xp or 60. not a big deal.

I'm wondering what I'll do myself when my players start to retire their characters or they begin to die, but I've considered this too. The new character will have more Hope points (and a lot of less Shadow) than the experienced ones, and he should have a reason to use it. If his skills are in pair with the rest, he might also need some readjustments to Shadow and Hope.
As for the combat stats, it is also true that the experienced adventurers will have some objects with them that enhance their fighting skills, but you can allow the dead/retired adventurer to trespass one object to the heir. Even if there's no story of how they knew each other, or both characters are unrelated, maybe one of his companions might be the keeper of said object until "the time is right and another hero steps forward to face the Shadow". Somehow the same as Elrond did with the shards of Narsil for Aragorn.

Also, you'll introduce in the game the importance for veterans to take care of the younger generations, and keep them safe until they're ready to fight on their own. Defend Companion can become a very important Combat Task, and remember that Advantatge Dice from Preliminary rolls can and should be shared with those who need them most. Nice way to proof if your group is a Fellowship or an All-Stars Band.

[Angelalex242]

Eh. Logistically the weak guy is an albatross around the neck of the rest. Nobody in their right mind would take him as a focus, instead keeping it on their strong buddies who are less likely to die. The weak guy would prove to be canon fodder for the strong, much as trolls might consider orcs to be.

"What, Joe's weak character died again? Must be Tuesday. Let's try to finish this before the LM can introduce his next character..."

[Valarian]

You mean like Frodo being the fellowship focus for Aragorn?
The Company of the Ring has a mix of what would be experienced characters (Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli) and what could be considered starting characters (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin). It's they that grow the most (lower levels cost less in improvement for the awarded XP/AP) as characters. I've run adventures with a mix of starting characters and more experienced ones with very little difficulty. It depends on whether the group is willing to support the more inexperienced characters, like using Defend Companion from defensive stance (where their higher weapon scores can hit) while the new guy fights in forward stance (where they can hit).

[Arthadan]

I'd go for RAW rules, probably creating a background story to link the new character with one of the existing ones (with the consent of both players). For example the dying character ask his bet friend in the group to promise him he will look after his boy, who turns out to be the new player. Also, I may consider to give to the new character some "family heirloom" for free.

[Falenthal]

Also, I think that there are a few points that need to be clarified:
It's not the same if the whole (or most of) the group dies in a battle and everyone has new characters in the middle of a campaign, than if it's just one character at a time that retires or dies. In other words: are there enough experienced characters in the group to protect and help the rookie during his first adventures?

As Arthadan said, I see this unbalance as an opportunity for role-playing more than a problem. The iconic: "His last words were: take care of my child, and give this sword to him when he is old enough to confront the Shadow" is more appealing than "out of the blue, a seasoned hero you've never heard about joins your ranks".

Another opportunity is to use an existing NPC from the campaign that the player's have a relationship with as a new PC. Dindy can be used a hobbit hero with some previous XPs, or Ruithiel from the elves, or Ennalda the Spear-maiden from the Beornings,... it can be very interesting if someone who has appeared periodically in the adventures as an advisor, companion, etc. in a certain moment decides that it's time to act and joins the players. This can be a good way to justify a hero with high XP without making him/her appear out of nothing.

On the other hand, this situation makes me think of a house-rule that could be introduced in the game:
The Fellowship XP Pool.
What if, from the XPs that are granted at the end of an adventure, a certain amount are given to the Fellowship as a whole and it is the players who have to decide how to distribute them. This way, the group can favour the new heroes that need more XPs to grow. It would be very natural that newbies gain more experience from their adventures than seasoned fighters. Also, it is a way to see if the group is egoistic or altruistic. The same as happens with the remaining points from the Fellowship Hope Pool.
An option to avoid fights between the players would be to give as many XPs as heroes are in the group, so that they can decide to simply give 1XP to each one, or to distribute them as needed, or as a reward for good roleplaying.
It would be another game mechanic that puts the emphasis in the Fellowship, not the individual, which is a great aspect of TOR.

But that would go into the House-rules subforums.

[Rich H]

Another opportunity is to use an existing NPC from the campaign that the player's have a relationship with as a new PC.

This is a good point. In my game I encourage my players to create and name their own NPCs as well as me creating my own or those that are found within the TOR books. Players investing in such a way create characters that they get attached to and would be happy to play as PCs in the future and as they've been introduced in previous game sessions they are known to the group as a whole.

The Fellowship XP Pool.
What if, from the XPs that are granted at the end of an adventure, a certain amount are given to the Fellowship as a whole and it is the players who have to decide how to distribute them. This way, the group can favour the new heroes that need more XPs to grow. It would be very natural that newbies gain more experience from their adventures than seasoned fighters. Also, it is a way to see if the group is egoistic or altruistic. The same as happens with the remaining points from the Fellowship Hope Pool.

Makes one wonder what the generational rules will be like and if they'll include something like this. Of course, I can't confirm or refute such a thing but it does make sense that a 'newbie' joining a group of experienced PCs would gain more experience on an adventure than other characters would as they are experiencing new things, exposed to great danger, etc. And, when you think about it, something similar has been used for High Elves and Dunedain within the Rivendell supplement. That does relate to the costs of spending XP, rather than obtaining it, but the motivation behind it is similar to what is being proposed here, just a different execution.

[Angelalex242]

Well... a standard character is 'base 2'. High Elves and Dunedain are 'base 3'

So a rookie playing catchup might be 'base 1', paying half standard costs until they catch up.

That applies to AP as well, as all the stronger heroes are there to provide expert instruction to the newbie. So their normal skills would spend AP like Favored Skills, and their favored skills spend on base 2 instead of base 3.

[Glorelendil]

Another opportunity is to use an existing NPC from the campaign that the player's have a relationship with as a new PC.

This is a good point. In my game I encourage my players to create and name their own NPCs as well as me creating my own or those that are found within the TOR books. Players investing in such a way create characters that they get attached to and would be happy to play as PCs in the future and as they've been introduced in previous game sessions they are known to the group as a whole.

I really like this idea. I've never used it in the past but definitely will do so in the future. I like that it gives the players an opportunity to participate in the storytelling, not just respond to the LMs story, which is one of TOR's themes (and should be for more RPGs).

[doctheweasel]

Why not just adjust up the XP bonus (like double it)? You could also give out AP equal to the original amount (so in this case, 8 XP and 4 AP).

I don't see why the only two answers should be "RAW" vs "keep it all."

[Rich H]

I don't see why the only two answers should be "RAW" vs "keep it all."

I don't get the impression that is the case; there are lots of different options given in the thread so far and people have commented on remaining flexible and to consider the circumstances of the character's death.