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Death and Storytelling
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<blockquote data-quote="Aenghus" data-source="post: 7452611" data-attributes="member: 2656"><p>It bears keeping in mind that PC death doesn't impact all players equally. Some players have a million ideas for PCs and don't invest strongly into any particular one. Some of these get bored easily and drop their old PC in favour of a shiny new one at the drop of a hat. Killing off the PC of a player like this probably doesn't bother them and could even be a reward. These players mostly aren't interested in long term plot so often don't get targetted by it or look for it.</p><p></p><p>Some other players highly invest in their PC. Some of these write backstory and make up short-term, mid-term and long-term plans. Some of these players are good targets for long-term plot, as they tend to stick around unless life stuff happens or the PC dies/retires. </p><p></p><p>So the effects of PC death on their player and the campaign in general vary a lot. For me, one of the signs of a bad DM is not caring about this difference. I've seen more than one campaign fall apart when the central PC got killed, and more than one mystified GM who didn't understand why their campaign fell apart afterwards. </p><p></p><p>There have been lots of macho statements on this thread like "let the dice fall where they may" etc. But there are real downsides to that sort of playstyle. IMO the more common, random and arbitrary death is in a setting, the more players learn not to write backstories, invest in characters or form attachments to the setting. I find that high casualty rates discourage players from investing in anything but character survival, and maybe not even that.</p><p></p><p>If everyone is fully informed and on board with the consequences, there's probably no problem. Sometimes this isn't the case. A player is surprised that he actually cares about a dead pc and the threat to all the plots connected to that pc.</p><p></p><p>I run long turn games with long running plots, including personal plots. This can require some level of script immunity, or the fallback of resurrection magic. The upside is that pcs and/or players can form emotional attachments to the setting and the range of stakes to be played for can increase exponentially. This sort of play requires that the players trust the DM not to casually take cruel advantage of these connections. It can take just one massacre of a loved NPC to guarantee that player never takes the risk of investing emotionally in NPCs in future.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aenghus, post: 7452611, member: 2656"] It bears keeping in mind that PC death doesn't impact all players equally. Some players have a million ideas for PCs and don't invest strongly into any particular one. Some of these get bored easily and drop their old PC in favour of a shiny new one at the drop of a hat. Killing off the PC of a player like this probably doesn't bother them and could even be a reward. These players mostly aren't interested in long term plot so often don't get targetted by it or look for it. Some other players highly invest in their PC. Some of these write backstory and make up short-term, mid-term and long-term plans. Some of these players are good targets for long-term plot, as they tend to stick around unless life stuff happens or the PC dies/retires. So the effects of PC death on their player and the campaign in general vary a lot. For me, one of the signs of a bad DM is not caring about this difference. I've seen more than one campaign fall apart when the central PC got killed, and more than one mystified GM who didn't understand why their campaign fell apart afterwards. There have been lots of macho statements on this thread like "let the dice fall where they may" etc. But there are real downsides to that sort of playstyle. IMO the more common, random and arbitrary death is in a setting, the more players learn not to write backstories, invest in characters or form attachments to the setting. I find that high casualty rates discourage players from investing in anything but character survival, and maybe not even that. If everyone is fully informed and on board with the consequences, there's probably no problem. Sometimes this isn't the case. A player is surprised that he actually cares about a dead pc and the threat to all the plots connected to that pc. I run long turn games with long running plots, including personal plots. This can require some level of script immunity, or the fallback of resurrection magic. The upside is that pcs and/or players can form emotional attachments to the setting and the range of stakes to be played for can increase exponentially. This sort of play requires that the players trust the DM not to casually take cruel advantage of these connections. It can take just one massacre of a loved NPC to guarantee that player never takes the risk of investing emotionally in NPCs in future. [/QUOTE]
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