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Beginning at the End: Character Death
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6031040" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>If you'd like. The rules can certainly be tweaked that way. And then you're playing, effectively, without permanent Character Death, thanks to a forgiving DM, and thus marinating in a level of greater character depth than otherwise. </p><p></p><p>I'm not sure how common resurrection/reincarnation actually was in playing by RAW, especially in the very earliest editions. For your character to get to that level, and have that spell, and to survive the system shock/Constitution check, or to spend the requisite GP, requires already that you've had a very effective, very lucky run through a whole host of previous dungeons or wilderness areas. The barrier for that spell was quite high, and even achieving level 8 was no simple task. Resurrection, at least at first, was more a capstone reward for surviving to that high level: a way to say "I've basically won this game, nothing can kill a party I'm with!"</p><p></p><p>And, of course, even in the very earliest editions, there's all sorts of ways to thwart resurrection, from being eaten to petrification to turning undead. </p><p></p><p>More to the broader point of character death in multiple games, playing a game with easy resurrection isn't unlike playing a game without character death. It winds up just being one way to make characters more permanent. It's not necessarily ideal, given the in-world ramifications of easy resurrection and how that can distort a setting, but if it works, it works! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ah, but it's always at least a little bit painful in the moment, no? It's a loss, however you slice it. Something you try to avoid most of the time. It can be fun to lose, even positive! But that doesn't mean it's not a loss, I think. If you take a look at a game, like, say, <em>Pandemic</em>, it's easy to lose, but still a lot of fun to lose.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 6031040, member: 2067"] If you'd like. The rules can certainly be tweaked that way. And then you're playing, effectively, without permanent Character Death, thanks to a forgiving DM, and thus marinating in a level of greater character depth than otherwise. I'm not sure how common resurrection/reincarnation actually was in playing by RAW, especially in the very earliest editions. For your character to get to that level, and have that spell, and to survive the system shock/Constitution check, or to spend the requisite GP, requires already that you've had a very effective, very lucky run through a whole host of previous dungeons or wilderness areas. The barrier for that spell was quite high, and even achieving level 8 was no simple task. Resurrection, at least at first, was more a capstone reward for surviving to that high level: a way to say "I've basically won this game, nothing can kill a party I'm with!" And, of course, even in the very earliest editions, there's all sorts of ways to thwart resurrection, from being eaten to petrification to turning undead. More to the broader point of character death in multiple games, playing a game with easy resurrection isn't unlike playing a game without character death. It winds up just being one way to make characters more permanent. It's not necessarily ideal, given the in-world ramifications of easy resurrection and how that can distort a setting, but if it works, it works! :) Ah, but it's always at least a little bit painful in the moment, no? It's a loss, however you slice it. Something you try to avoid most of the time. It can be fun to lose, even positive! But that doesn't mean it's not a loss, I think. If you take a look at a game, like, say, [I]Pandemic[/I], it's easy to lose, but still a lot of fun to lose. [/QUOTE]
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