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<blockquote data-quote="Kobold Boots" data-source="post: 7453363" data-attributes="member: 92239"><p>Hi All - </p><p></p><p>I'm late to the party on this thread so I'm going to focus my reply on the OP.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>On PC Death: </strong>When my campaigns are set up I either advise or suggest the lethality level of the game. Players who can commit to the game provide feedback and we come up with the final expected level of lethality. It ranges from "random final death allowed and planned for" to "only scripted death with player approval", and there's always a condition that allows for DM control of a character for tying off things if the player leaves. (This last rule is overkill and a hold over from when teenagers actually cared about such things - I've just never removed it.)</p><p></p><p>So as you can probably tell, how I deal with things really depends on what everyone agreed to at the beginning of the game. To your next question about plots it's not unusual in games I've either played in or run for a character to have their own main plot and be involved in up to 3 or 4 others associated with the other characters in the group. The caveat to this is that games where plot turns into an intricate web are generally closer to "only scripted death with player approval" than they are "random final death allowed and planned for". I think this is mostly because players won't invest heavily in characters that they expect to die on a random roll until they feel really comfy with the defenses they have and how the DM plays.</p><p></p><p><strong>In the deep plot games,</strong> as Umbran also likely said somewhere above (haven't read this thread but he's posted similarly before) there's usually a backup plan. In my games if one character has a great plot going as their primary, there's usually more than one other player with a vested interest in that plot as one of their secondary interests and I usually know if anyone is going to want to pick it up if the player leaves or the character dies. So it's not a problem.</p><p></p><p>In the case it becomes a problem, there's an infinite number of ways to deal with it. You just have to decide what the effects of the character's death are in respect to the plot and how close to the party the effects on the plot get. (ex. A thieves guild plot may not directly affect the party. But the guild itself might suffer and cause down level effects.) (ex2. character dies and was going to be married to the princess of douchewaffle. His Excellence, High King Douchewaffle might blame the party healer.. and losing a new son in law makes the threat of the Lich kingdom worse)</p><p></p><p>Point is specific plots may die but stories always move forward. Regardless of how many characters die, it only affects the game if you're not thinking creatively.</p><p></p><p>Be well</p><p>KB</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kobold Boots, post: 7453363, member: 92239"] Hi All - I'm late to the party on this thread so I'm going to focus my reply on the OP. [B] On PC Death: [/B]When my campaigns are set up I either advise or suggest the lethality level of the game. Players who can commit to the game provide feedback and we come up with the final expected level of lethality. It ranges from "random final death allowed and planned for" to "only scripted death with player approval", and there's always a condition that allows for DM control of a character for tying off things if the player leaves. (This last rule is overkill and a hold over from when teenagers actually cared about such things - I've just never removed it.) So as you can probably tell, how I deal with things really depends on what everyone agreed to at the beginning of the game. To your next question about plots it's not unusual in games I've either played in or run for a character to have their own main plot and be involved in up to 3 or 4 others associated with the other characters in the group. The caveat to this is that games where plot turns into an intricate web are generally closer to "only scripted death with player approval" than they are "random final death allowed and planned for". I think this is mostly because players won't invest heavily in characters that they expect to die on a random roll until they feel really comfy with the defenses they have and how the DM plays. [B]In the deep plot games,[/B] as Umbran also likely said somewhere above (haven't read this thread but he's posted similarly before) there's usually a backup plan. In my games if one character has a great plot going as their primary, there's usually more than one other player with a vested interest in that plot as one of their secondary interests and I usually know if anyone is going to want to pick it up if the player leaves or the character dies. So it's not a problem. In the case it becomes a problem, there's an infinite number of ways to deal with it. You just have to decide what the effects of the character's death are in respect to the plot and how close to the party the effects on the plot get. (ex. A thieves guild plot may not directly affect the party. But the guild itself might suffer and cause down level effects.) (ex2. character dies and was going to be married to the princess of douchewaffle. His Excellence, High King Douchewaffle might blame the party healer.. and losing a new son in law makes the threat of the Lich kingdom worse) Point is specific plots may die but stories always move forward. Regardless of how many characters die, it only affects the game if you're not thinking creatively. Be well KB [/QUOTE]
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