What if the PCs were literally invulnerable?

[pneumatik]

You should probably read the old 2nd ed oWoD Mummy book (on RPGNow at World of Darkness: Mummy (2nd edition) - White Wolf | DriveThruRPG.com). While being completely immortal, mummy characters aren't much more powerful than normal humans. In a setting with all the other WoD monsters (Vampire, Mages, Werewolves, etc.) they only win by playing a very long game or being very smart. I read it years ago and don't remember how much it helped you write plots for immortals, but I certainly haven't been able to forget about.

 

[Jhaelen]

<Edit> If I were going to run a game of this genre, I'd institute a mechanic that tracks/measures the characters attachments to the world. The more friends, reasons and successes the character has, the stronger they are. With the reverse, the character's growing apathy eats at him, until the character "gives up" and no longer desires to interact with the world around him.

This reminds me a lot of the Fetters mechanism used in 'Wraith: The Oblivion'. I gather this is not a coincidence?

Also: Aren't the player characters in the AMBER rpg (virtually) invulnerable?

 

[Ed_Laprade]

You're right - some fights will be dramatically interesting because of the threat of capture, or being delayed long enough that the PCs can no longer accomplish their goals. But most fights won't be (which is my point) - most fights will simply be rolling dice until the PCs finish killing all their foes. That's insanely boring, and should be skipped over whenever it starts to happen.

How do you contain a guy that can literally cut off his arms for the chance to kill you?
How do you contain a guy that will headbutt his way through any wall you try to immure him in?
How do you contain a guy that can shrug off the worst punishment you can dish out and keep coming for your head?
How do you contain a guy that wears a tactical nuclear device as a backpack, and has the trigger rigged up as his hold-out weapon?
Because all of these are things a GM for such a game will have to think about. (He doesn't have one? Horse-hockey; anyone who can't die and tries hard enough can get a tactical nuclear weapon, eventually.)

While some villains have rockets / teleporters to the heart of a sun, most don't. (Even if they have the resources, most won't think of it.)


The drama of a game like this won't be in combat (usually). The drama will be in characters and goals. Relationships and how they develop, what the PCs try to do and how they do it, and the reactions of those around them are the keys to this story. It's like a good Superman story - it's not about the fights, it's about the characters.

The lack of death means that 90% of all fights are dramatically meaningless, they exist for the characters to show off their combat prowess. That other 10% will not be meaningful for the combat, they will be meaningful for the consequences of the combat and how the combat is handled. (Consequences can include endangered loved ones, missed opportunities, lost resources, foiled plans, and damaged relationships.)
The point I'm trying to make? Don't focus on fights - in this game, most violence will be boring.

I disagree with this strongly. Encase him in cement and drop him overboard at some deep, but unmarked location in the ocean, and he's out of the game. And he can't headbutt his way out of it if he can't move his head. As for headbutting his way out of any prison, sure, but it'll take decades. Or even centuries depending on what the walls are made of. (An airtight room with walls made from few inches of armor steel backed by a few yards of granite ought to do the trick for a looooong time.)

 

[Janx]

Back in 2e, my DM revealed that every 100 years, a person is revealed to be an immortal.

My pc turned out to be one.

His implementation was thr high CON had a regen bonus, and thats what kept us alive. We also had the highlander effect (loss of head=dead). There wasn't a prize, though top Npcs were revealed to be immortals. They could also be ressurected like other chars.

When it happened to me, we were high level by then. So this was the gm revealing an aspect he invented to the campaign that didn't contradict what had already happened.

By using hp regen, normal fights were still dangerous, as i couldnt fight forever and win. And while we kept the decaptitation thing on then down low, its still a risk if you fall that u pissed off your enemy enough that he'd like to see your head on a spike.

I certainly never felt like life was a cake walk after that. It didn't really change combat, actually. It did save my life a few times. And there were a few cases where the u thougt i was dead effect was handy.

If somebody was full on invulnerable, did not track hp loss, that might be different.

 

[Stormonu]

This reminds me a lot of the Fetters mechanism used in 'Wraith: The Oblivion'. I gather this is not a coincidence?

Also: Aren't the player characters in the AMBER rpg (virtually) invulnerable?

An unconscious one at best. I've have the Wraith book, but I've never played it. It might also be a mechanic in Exalted 2E, which I've also read in passing.

 

[ValhallaGH]

I disagree with this strongly.

How were you able to encase him in concrete? Concrete takes hours or days to cure, so unless you've got magic concrete (and you might, anything is possible in a game) how did you restrain him?

But, I'm not interested in making people game my way (unless I'm running the table - obviously not the case here). If someone else wants to make combat a major challenge, good for them. I just hope they'll think it through, rather than making it another boring and random mugging by street toughs that wouldn't stand a chance even if the characters weren't invulnerable.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

How were you able to encase him in concrete? Concrete takes hours or days to cure, so unless you've got magic concrete (and you might, anything is possible in a game) how did you restrain him?

That's actually quite simple. As he's just a normal Joe who can't die, have a dozen guys pig-pile on him and mummy-wrap him in something (duct tape, strong steel wire, whatever). Then use drugs to keep him out until your cement dries.

 

[Janx]

Hold person spell? Seems like it was made for it.