Your character died. Big deal.

[CleverNickName]

The idea that someone needs to give the green light before having their character killed is a bizarre and alien one to me. This ain't no writer's workshop. If you want to tell the story about your hero's epic quest, then head on over to fanfiction.net.

This actually made me laugh so suddenly, I snorted Dr. Pepper into my sinuses. Ouch, man.

 

[malraux]

I don't really use the characters can't die rule, though I've considered it before. But when I play other style of games, I can't say that game over options make it much better. In the new MegaMan, sure it fits that you have only a finite number of lives, but really most forms of nintendo hard just aren't all that fun for me. I care more about the story and if we can defeat the bad guy. Having to start over with a new character for random reasons tends to break my immersion, not deepen it.

 

[Umbran]

But LARPs are not D&D or PnP games. Things just don't translate over well.

Well, one must be careful how one tries to translate, of course. But completely dismissing it isn't called for.

When you have 3 STs and 110 players

Dude, pay attention. I said 60 players. I didn't say how many GMs. There are no STs, as it isn't a Vampire/Mind's Eye Theatre game. You don't get to say how many of what type of person there is involved, because this is my experience we are talking about, not yours.

Hint #1 for getting the most out of EN World - listen to other people. Generally, they will have some wisdom, or know something that you don't. But you won't learn it if you jam the conversation full of your preconceptions.

...you know that 95% of the players will have little to no real impact on the "game" or story-telling, so it matters very little what even happens to them. There is rarely any death unless it is major characters part of the major plot, that the little characters are just watching unfold.

This description bears almost no resemblance to the game I'm playing. It avoids death for exactly the opposite reason - pretty much ever PC in the game is integral to several plots, such that their death due to one plot would have major impact on others. Not that they forbid death, but they take its impact on the game seriously.

 

[pemerton]

Some of the posts in this thread are a little surprising - purportedly definitive declarations of how character death must be handled in an RPG from posters who, by their own admission, don't seem to be very familiar with the range of ways that character death (and action resolution more generally) is handled in contemporary RPGs.

I've got nothing against people having playstyle preferences. But it would be better if people didn't generalise so readily from their own experiences and preferences.

 

[Fifth Element]

http://xkcd.com/299/I simply cannot comprehend what the point is when you remove the consequences of a game.

What has been explained several times is that death is not the only negative consequence possible in a game. So your assertion that removing death removes "the consequences" is untenable.

 

[Imaro]

I guess I'm finding a disconnect in the fact that I'm seeing a few posters who, when confronted with things 4e is supposedly lacking have used the... D&D is a game of "killing things and taking their stuff" or "D&D has extensive rules for the important stuff, tactical combat" yet... this seems an extremely hollow and disingenuous defense if you play in a style where their is no risk of death for the PC's (only their opposition) and claim other things serve as the same or worse consequences after you have expressed the above as the focus or important part of the game. YMMV of course.

 

[Fifth Element]

I guess I'm finding a disconnect in the fact that I'm seeing a few posters who, when confronted with things 4e is supposedly lacking have used the... D&D is a game of "killing things and taking their stuff" or "D&D has extensive rules for the important stuff, tactical combat" yet...

Can't tell if you include me in this group, but I have never claimed such a thing, since death is a part of my games. Just not random, gotcha-type deaths. This part of the discussion seems to have been buried under the other.

 

[AllisterH]

The idea that someone needs to give the green light before having their character killed is a bizarre and alien one to me. This ain't no writer's workshop. If you want to tell the story about your hero's epic quest, then head on over to fanfiction.net. The rest of us will be playing the game and, as a game, that means there's a chance to fail.

Er, isn't this the same argument that can be used against simulationist-style GMs ("if you want to simulate, there's many Sim* style games on the market already")

As for the Green Light flag, um, I've played other RPGs and this isn't exactly uncommon....

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Can't tell if you include me in this group, but I have never claimed such a thing, since death is a part of my games. Just not random, gotcha-type deaths. This part of the discussion seems to have been buried under the other.

*Nods* This is the same with my games, in a manner of speaking there is a sense of "player knowledge" in if a death is coming.

There are in my games basically two types of encounters. Normal and serious. Normal is your basic encounter there may be plot points within it, but when it comes down to it there is not much substance there. A serious encounter though has major ramifications toward the plotline as such the chance of risk and failure is also higher.

Thus a player in some manner of speaking knows when a death is a possibility because the plot has been working up toward that point. Though in general as a DM I try not to go out of my way to kill my players, since that isn't what is enjoyable for us.

For us it is seeing the plot and characters evolve and change from day one to the end of the campaign, yes... If a player feels that it is time for his character to reach and end either death or some other means that happens. But, I don't want to cut-short a players enjoyment of seeing his character progress through a plot because of some random death.

I think it should be said though that my games are very low-combat,which may play a difference in this debate. Since combat happens at the most maybe 20% of the time.

 

[Aus_Snow]

As for the Green Light flag, um, I've played other RPGs and this isn't exactly uncommon....

I've played and GMed a lot of other RPGs, and I've found that to be *extremely uncommon* indeed. Downright rare, even. In fact, I can't think of even one, off the top of my head.

Just goes to show, eh? Dayumn, there must be a lot of games out there.