A character death means the player starts over with a fresh level 1 if they can't afford Raise Dead. If there is a total party kill, I will decide what the most likely outcome for repercussions the world around them.
So the party hired some retainers including a porter, named the same coincidentally enough. On their first outing after this, they encounter a single Hill Giant. The giant is hostile according to the reaction roll and heads towards them to investigate their campfire (it's a late winter night in mountainous foothills). The party is hesitant as they are mostly 3rd and 4th level, but decide to stand and fight when they hear it roar "Mog kill! Mog smash!" as it approaches faster than they think they can escape.
They defeat said giant only losing a non-player man-at-arms hireling but the 4th level, tank fighter is beat up moderately (16 hp remaining of 28) . I roll for the random treasure the giant is carrying in his large sack (I tell them it's crudely stitched of moose and deer hide but large enough for two men to stand in) and they find several thousand gold and silver pieces, a quartz rock worth 1 gold piece (1gp), an ivory comb (200GP) and a gold drinking flagon engraved with the likeness of dwarves celebrating over a feast (1200gp). I use the treasure gen from Swords & Wizardy.
After calling for him they also find Porter (unarmored and unarmed) underneath their mule-driven wagon as they load the giant's treasure (still in it's sack) onto it. He is hiding above the axles. Though quite excited by the find, they decide to push on to the dungeon as they believe they have almost finished it. The very next night, the dice decide to test the party even further with the appearance of a white dragon!
The reaction roll is neutral, so I have it glide in silently in and land in the campsite. However, the party elf (my son), who is sharing the shift watch, heard the approach from afar and woke his comrades with a shout. The elf, having the ability to speak Draconic and a +1 Charisma bonus, engages the Dragon in conversation. The Dragon demands to know their business in it's domain and they explain how they were sent to remove some raiders from a dwarven clan's family tomb ( an OPD from 2009). The dragon replies it believes them to be said raiders since it can smell gold on them and their wagon in the cold night air. She demands they dump their personal gold on to the ground in sacks. The party complies. She then tells them to load the sacks on to the wagon (it is unhitched from the mules)
The elf (fighter-magic user, level 3) is suspicious as to the dragon's intent and tries to stall for time. I vocalized greater frustration and anger from the dragon each round as its command was continuously ignored. The breaking point comes when the elf blundered (he is a noob) and asked if she was so powerful why she needed to ask them so many times and also if she would mind coming back tomorrow while the party considered her request...
I was choking with tears in my eyes at the innocent expression on his face as he said this. I awarded 300 experience points to the elf for the sheer entertainment value as the rest of the players and I exploded into laughter. 
I figured she had had enough and would make a demonstration of her power to the puny men for this outrageous disrespect.
As I asked for intentions, the party thief (level 4) decided to slink in the shadows behind the dragon while drawing his short bow, the tank fighter (level 4) decided to run away into the darkness on foot, leaving his fighter henchman (level 2) and warhorse to their fate and hopefully as bait for the enraged beast. His henchman decides his best course of action is to make sure that 'Sir' doesn't't trip or hurt himself in the dark and books it. The warhorse also breaks free of it's tether from fright and runs after it's master. The party cleric (level 1 played by another noob on his very first session of D&D who is very quick and observant) decides to stay at a distance and attack with his sling. My son playing the elf decides to forgo his Invisibility spell and draws swords with his henchman (the aquatic elf Oceanus from U1, level 3) to engage in melee. The party wins initiative, the cleric misses with his sling and both elves miss. The dragon launches into the air 20', hovers and blasts the pair of elves with it's frost breath weapon, turning them into instant frozen food with 29 hp of damage. In Round 2, the Thief decides that the fighter was actually wise rather than craven and takes off at a 90 degree angle to him in the darkness. The cleric decides to drop his sling and screams at the dragon that he is surrendering. The dragon asks the cleric if he knows how to obey a command promptly or if a further instruction in alacrity is required. The cleric grovels and cowers (the new player did a good job acting this out at the table) as he takes the bags of gold and drops it in the wagon. I decide the dragon is mollified with the destruction of the insolent elf.
Grabbing the wagon in it's claws, it flies off into the night lifting it. As the cleric watches him ascend into the darkness, his eyes go round as he spots the hireling Porter staring in horror down at him from the wagon's axle, his screams of "EFF MY LIIIIIFFFE!!!" carries on the cold, winter air long after the dragon is out of site!
Question: What happpens to Porter? I was thinking he would be forced into the dragon's servitude and at some point in the future he will be sent back to scout the players' home base
. The players found the deed to the magician's mansion in U1 while investigating it and have hired a dwarven construction crew to repair it. Porter knows of the mansion but hasn't been there ... Does anyone have any other ideas?
