Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 8190788" data-attributes="member: 177">I have come across a recent discussion by a game designer - Rob Donoghue, whose credits include Spirit of the Century, Leverage, other Fate and Cortex games, and a bit of 4e as well.  It comes from a discussion of game elements of the form "1% chance that you get amazing result, 99% chance of death," but it is a general point."Alternately, take a little bit more time to think about your consequences and how they impact. The problem with Death as a consequence is not that it's dire, it's that it's BORING. In most cases, Death means "Guess I'll play on my phone for the next few hours".There are exceptions, of course. Paranoia leaps to mind. But in most games, even if the table is generous with replacement, Death means downtime. And that's before we get into issues like player investment and plots.And, again, to be clear I'm not saying to take death off the table. It has a place. But be careful about being excessively cavalier about it, and be aware of its actual consequences.Also, death is for chumps.Seriously, if death is the worst consequence you can put in front of your players, then it's time to start thinking about playable consequence, because those can be so much nastier."And that last is a pretty interesting bit, here.  Death is an unplayable consequence.</blockquote>