'Kill your babies.'

[Hand of Evil]

Yes, as a writer you have to be willing to kill off a character but I don't know it I like the word kill, let go, let them grow, find their own path, end of their story, may be better because the story has to move on and in the story, you as the author have to know what the end result is going to be and make the call.

sometimes it is better to have them in the wings to come back latter.

 

[hexgrid]

It can work, but it needs to be done with care or else it becomes predictable instead of surprising.

This instantly brings the TV show 24 to mind...

 

[Remathilis]

Storyline death (as opposed by combat death, which is a function of game mechanics) should have the following properties (as applied to RPGs, novel writers have much wider breth).

1.) Never allow your villian to WIN. Even if he is your favorite villian with 1,000,000 contingencies, to truly make him amazing he must die. By the PCs if possible. Too many DMs fall into the pet villian mold and never allow the PCs to win, but to forever stay in stasis with their villian.

2.) Kill NPCs that matter ONLY to elicit a response. A dead prostiute on the street is a plot device, a dead wife to the PC will garner a wide aray of responses. Don't always guess the PCs response either. Some will become melancoly, some vengeful, some stoic.

3.) Don't kill everyone the PCs meet: They'll stop talking to people.

4.) Ressurection of a darling so killed can have two effects depending on your tone. It changes the nature of heroic sacrifice (from willing to die to willing to suffer death) and its only cheap when its artificially constructed (IE, DM hints, part of the plot). In this one persons case, the death may change him, sober him up and make him less whiny and more focused to make his second chance "count"

5.) Never do any of this to a PC without his expressed consent.

6.) "Kill" doesn't always mean death, esp in D&D. Soul Binds, Planar Prisons, even kidnapped by kobolds all "remove" the darling from the scene and spur greater adventure.

7.) Lastly, wait out the moment of maximum effect if you wish to kill your other darling. Predictability breeds contempt. Have said NPC become increasing aware and (perhaps resigned) to her demise. subtle clues like change in attitude or appearance. Have her confide in another PC that she feels a sense of dread or gloom. Bonus points if she is or becomes a love interest. Finally, allow her one final stand as a hero or whatever, then do it as the capstone to a major plot advancement. (Think Aeris in Final Fantasy VII or even Padme in Sith).

8.) Don't look back. Allow the PCs mourning time and even methods to bring about thier return, but never judge yourself or have second thoughts. whats done is done.

 

[sniffles]

Well, I don't know that the GM in question (not me) actually "loved" this NPC, but here's my example:

We were playing a small mercenary army, and we had been hired by a master swordsmith to gather items he needed to create a runesword. He also hired a great swordmaster, although we didn't know why. The swordmaster made some romantic advances toward my PC, but because she had recently taken on some important duties for her church, she didn't reciprocate, although they did remain close.

Eventually the swordsmith went off to start forging the runesword and took the swordmaster with him, but the swordmaster sent his assistant to stay with my PC. There weren't many opportunities for my PC and the swordmaster to get back together after that, but they did when they could. Finally we reached the big moment when the swordsmith would complete the runesword, which the PCs suspected would be necessary for them to use in their coming battle with the evil gods they were opposing. The party made their way back to the forge and witnessed the final forging of the sword. They already knew that the smith's ancestors had sacrificed human lives to try to create a similar sword, and they were suspicious. But it still came as a horrible shock when the smith pulled the still-hot blade from the forge and thrust it into the swordmaster's heart!!

To make matters even worse, it turned out that the sword wouldn't let anyone but my PC touch it.

Like I said, I don't know if the GM really was attached to the swordmaster NPC, but he made a point to keep the character through the entire campaign, which lasted 3 years of roleplaying time, and it made for a really dramatic character moment when he killed that NPC right in front of all the PCs, especially my character. I think that's a good example of using one of your "babies" well.

You don't always have to kill them, but you should always use them to progress the story in some way, even if it's only for small character moments.

 

[Torm]

I have another baby, but I can't talk about her right now. But I'm afraid to kill her, even though I know it would take the story down a stronger path.

If this is your dark elf character, don't do it - she'll never forgive you.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

I took journalism in college and the professor was very specific that you should always “kill your darlings,” which means;

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. deemed to be funny, witty, cleaver,

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you enjoy more than the rest of the test

-Do not use or employ any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you think of ahead of time,

In short, have no emotional attachment to the story or story telling process.

 

[Nebulous]

I took journalism in college and the professor was very specific that you should always “kill your darlings,” which means;

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. deemed to be funny, witty, cleaver,

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you enjoy more than the rest of the test

-Do not use or employ any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you think of ahead of time,

In short, have no emotional attachment to the story or story telling process.

Aye, and that's harder than it sounds, too.

 

[Janx]

I took journalism in college and the professor was very specific that you should always “kill your darlings,” which means;

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. deemed to be funny, witty, cleaver,

-Eliminate any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you enjoy more than the rest of the test

-Do not use or employ any words, phrases, quotes, etc. you think of ahead of time,

In short, have no emotional attachment to the story or story telling process.

On the other hand, journalism teaches AP style writing which is intended to be neutral and dry. I wouldn't suggest AP style rules for anyone doing fictional or enjoyable writing.

Janx

 

[A'koss]

Personally, I've found that in a world that has access to resurrection... the emotional impact from individual deaths is usually very brief. You can give them that initial shock if well played, but don't expect much in the way of lasting effect. If they like them, they'll just bring them back. If you're going to play that game, the murderer should be someone close to the PCs as well. Someone they're not inclined to just hack up and go have a beer. Now, mass deaths on the other hand I usually find to have greater impact...

 

[JamesDJarvis]

my modern game there's a key NPC who is pretty much necessary for the plot. Last Friday, I killed him. In fact, I had the father of one of the PCs shoot him in the face, right in front of said PC. The rest of the group, when they found out, reacted in ways I never would have expected. They were on the edge, trying to decide if the NPC was irritating and whiny, or if he was endearing because he at least tried, despite being a loser. Well, killing him martyred him. They love him now, and since they're in New Orleans on Halloween, they want to bring him back somehow.

Well assuming it is possible in your D20 modern game to bring back the dead go for it ; Ever read the book Pet Semetary?

does it cheapen it to bring them back?

It all depends on the world the game is taking place in. In a staright D&D game i can't see why not let it happen but in other settigns it can cheapen things a great deal.