It was a tough session. Your plucky band of merry muderhobos nearly cleared the Crypt of the Trap-o-Mancer, but that last flight of poisoned arrows was one trap too many. Bob’s bard bled out within sight of the exit. There was much weeping, a somber burial scene, and the traditional looting of the corpse. (“Dibs on the knife!”)

So there you are a week later, happily prepping your session notes when a MyFace notification pops up. And in a raspy voice from beyond the grave, Bob’s bard whispers those fateful words: “Wait! I had cover.”

In the wider world of gaming, there are certain phrases that cover this situation. “You took your hand off the piece!” and “A card laid is a card played!” both spring to mind. If the initiative has moved on through another couple of turns, and especially if the session ended yesterweek, the natural response is to shrug your shoulders and say, “That sucks, but it already happened.” The other option is to declare a full retcon, but breaking the integrity of the game world always rankles. That leaves us with the other other option, which generally lies in the land of narrative shenanigans, e.g. “You wake up in a pinewood box. Roll to attack the coffin lid.”

Here’s today’s discussion question for you guys: In your opinion, what’s best practice here? Is there a statute of limitations on fixing rules errors after the fact? Adjusting a few errant hit points might not be a big deal, but saying that Bob’s bard’s funeral never happened is a bit of stretch. So how would you handle it? You missed a rule, the PC died, and now you’ve got to figure out some way to move forward. Let’s hear about your preferred retcon strategies down in the comments!

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