D&D 4E death and 4E

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

A cool twist for a raise dead mechanic:
- You can only use it for a violent death. Old Age is out, and so are diseases.
- If you got killed by a creature, you can only be ressourected if that creature doesn't object. Animals and unintelligent creatures never object (they don't have any hatred for you, they just followed their instincts or programming).
Assassins rarely agree (unless you caught them alive and offered them a deal, probably something like "How about we don't cut you to pieces slowly, and the king gets raised, hmm?")
If you killed the original murderer, you'll have to raise both (but before that, use speak to dead for the deal. if the murderer doesn't agree, he can't be raised, either.)
- I don't know what to do in case of accidental death - maybe appealing to a suitable god is the solution (either with or without an added mechanic for it.)

Anyway, I doubt that there will be no character death in D&D 4th edition. It might be a bit easier to avoid it (action point mechanic á la Eberron/SAGA?), but it will not be removed from the game.

 

[Agamon]

No kidding. I guess anything that doesn't let the player have whatever he/she wants, or forces them to have things they don't want, is "unfun" and therefore verboten.

Really?

I mean, when was the last time you saw a cursed item used?

A couple of adventures ago, the party came across a room full of magic items...all cursed. What fun for a RBDM!

When was the last time you saw a +3 military pick in a treasure hoard when no PC had used such a weapon before?

Well, your example specifically, it's been a while since I've seen a military pick (or even a 3E pick). Generally speaking, I don't cater to the party with useful magic items 100% of the time (not even half the time, probably). They ingenuative, they'll find a use for something that seeming doesn't have one...that or they'll sell it

When was the last time you saw a party actually run away, because it was simply the smartest and best option?

Last session, actually. Too bad the teleporting demon was too smart for them to get away...

Hell, when was the last time you saw someone map?

That was a requirement not too long ago. With Tact-tiles, they still draw the map, but it's no longer on more permanent graph paper.

 

[Piratecat]

Awww... Poor baby.

See you in a few days.

When we say "don't be rude to people," and "don't call people names," we don't mean "except when you're calling them as you see them" or "but it's okay to make an exception because you're right, darn it!" We mean "If you're going to post here, you're going to be polite and treat other people decently even when you don't agree with them."

If anyone has any questions about this, feel free to email me.

 

[Agamon]

Awww... Poor baby. If your character dies, make a new character, and let the DM plop you in where it fits. Problem solved.

"Hello, my name is Magellan. I noticed you party does not have a wizard..."

 

[Lanefan]

If the designers took out PC death, and if I somehow ended up running a 4e game, one of the first things I'd Rule-0 would be to put PC death right back in.

Of course, if at the same time they also took out the various revival mechanics those'd go right back in as well. Particularly Reincarnation (did they keep that in 3e?) - random animal or race generation - gotta love it!

Lanefan

 

[The Human Target]

I'm a fan of the "death is much less common but when it happens its probably going to stick" concept.

Here's something I haven't seen brought up yet...

What do you hard nosed "players should die and suffer" people do with players who don't care if their PCs die? The kind of player who just doesn't get too attached to their character, who to them is a few pages of crunchy data and maybe a few notes. Do you force them to feel bad when they "die"?

 

[Agamon]

For those just joining in, this is complete and baseless speculation. The OP is just wondering out loud, so to speak.

That said, I hope they do something to reduce the save or die/raise dead merry-go-round. I think they will (based on how they've said their mission is to make all levels just as fun as the "sweet spot").

 

[Szatany]

"Hello, my name is Magellan.

LOL great name for a mage

Same as Dexter for a rogue

 

[howandwhy99]

I'd like the rules to allow 1st level characters to play with higher level characters without becoming 5th wheels. So, at least optionally, I could have every new character start at 1st.

It's hard to imagine a ruleset I couldn't houserule death back into.

 

[Shadeydm]

For those just joining in, this is complete and baseless speculation. The OP is just wondering out loud, so to speak.

That said, I hope they do something to reduce the save or die/raise dead merry-go-round. I think they will (based on how they've said their mission is to make all levels just as fun as the "sweet spot").

Thank you for clarifying, you just never know what people will read into your posts I guess. I was simply posing a question to our little community here not making any claims of inside knowldge etc.

I apologize if any of you were mislead to think otherwise.