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Beginning at the End: Character Death
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6031347" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>And <em>Wish</em> is even HARDER to get your paws on, as a player. <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>That's kind of the crux of it. You don't see much death, so you get players who are very invested in their characters. If you DID see a lot of death, you'd get players who were more interested in survival than in character development. </p><p></p><p>It's my impression (and I could be wrong!) that it's very easy, especially in early editions, for a DM to hand down death on a very regular basis, playing by RAW. I mean, chuck an irate OD&D Cockatrice up against a party without <em>Stone to Flesh</em> (a fairly high-level effect), and you've got a TPK just from a random encounter. And that's just one possibility, before the invention of creatures like Ear Seekers or Cloakers or cursed items that you can't tell are cursed and that don't leave you until they kill you, or death traps, or whatever. </p><p></p><p>Caution is all well and good, but there's a lot in the DMs arsenal that will murder no matter how cautious a party is. That's an appealing part of certain styles of play, though it's not for everyone. For those who want more character investment, it's key to have a low mortality rate, and that can be achieved in a lot of different ways (death flags, easy resurrection, cautious players and a gentle DM, 4e's "buckets of HP and then three saves and even then rituals!"). But that certainly is only one way to play. </p><p></p><p>PS: I love the conversation this is generating. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 6031347, member: 2067"] And [I]Wish[/I] is even HARDER to get your paws on, as a player. :) That's kind of the crux of it. You don't see much death, so you get players who are very invested in their characters. If you DID see a lot of death, you'd get players who were more interested in survival than in character development. It's my impression (and I could be wrong!) that it's very easy, especially in early editions, for a DM to hand down death on a very regular basis, playing by RAW. I mean, chuck an irate OD&D Cockatrice up against a party without [I]Stone to Flesh[/I] (a fairly high-level effect), and you've got a TPK just from a random encounter. And that's just one possibility, before the invention of creatures like Ear Seekers or Cloakers or cursed items that you can't tell are cursed and that don't leave you until they kill you, or death traps, or whatever. Caution is all well and good, but there's a lot in the DMs arsenal that will murder no matter how cautious a party is. That's an appealing part of certain styles of play, though it's not for everyone. For those who want more character investment, it's key to have a low mortality rate, and that can be achieved in a lot of different ways (death flags, easy resurrection, cautious players and a gentle DM, 4e's "buckets of HP and then three saves and even then rituals!"). But that certainly is only one way to play. PS: I love the conversation this is generating. :) [/QUOTE]
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