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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9256874" data-attributes="member: 6790260">For my Dungeon World game, death is certainly a possibility. But death will not happen that is all three of random, permanent, and irrevocable.A random death is exactly what it sounds like. It just happens, without any rhyme or reason, without any real error or decision. The classic example is "monster just happens to crit you at exactly the wrong moment and gets a single-digit number over the line for instant death." (I have, personally, had such a death happen to one of my own characters. In 4th edition, the one everyone says nobody can die in!)A permanent death is slightly more specific than you might think from the word. It means a death that won't be reversed on its own. A non-permanent death, for example, would be one where the player can "fight their way back to life," or go on some kind of spirit-journey before being restored, or be helped by an outside force that might just not be available right this second to restore them. A permanent death, on the other hand, is one that doesn't have a time limit, more or less.An irrevocable death is one that cannot be recovered from through the players' efforts--and, by implication, not within a reasonable time frame. E.g. if it could happen but it's a minimum IRL six-month wait for that player to get to play that character again...that's effectively irrevocable in my book, because they'll have to make, and become attached to, a whole new character long before they'll get that one back.I want to emphasize, again, that the only deaths I don't allow in my game are ones that are ALL THREE of these things. They're random (nobody made an error or a willing sacrifice or an intentional "this character's time is done"), AND they're permanent (character ain't coming back unless the party does something), AND they're irrevocable (the party can't do anything to bring them back.)If the player has embraced this death, or if it was very clearly the result of foolish actions that the player was warned about being extremely risky, then the death is not random even if it results from a die roll--the player made a choice, and must accept the consequences. (I am quite liberal with my warnings, so a player that still gets their character killed despite that really should have seen it coming.) Hence, a death that results from clearly intentional actions on the player's part would play out normally.And for any deaths that are random, but could be exploited for interesting story potential, or put the character into a novel situation that would force them to grow and change? Then I have both impermanent deaths and revocable deaths as options in my quiver.Conversely, the constant risk that I'll be thrown back to square one by some random naughty word I could never have prepared for or addressed completely ruins any fun I could have with the game in general, death-defying feats or otherwise.If I want to lose and have to re-start play, I can do that on my own. Getting a story actually worth exploring and developing >>>>>>>>>> any possible "thrill" from that kind of death. I can't invest in a character I'm constantly afraid I'm going to lose.</blockquote>

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