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On the Importance of Mortality
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<blockquote data-quote="Loonook" data-source="post: 4026907" data-attributes="member: 1861"><p>Death as consequence is huge . . . but also death is the destiny of all characters (and the individuals who play them, which is not to be forgotten). If your world is one where a raise dead or resurrection comes around the bend at any good-sized town, you're going to cause some issues to occur anyways.</p><p></p><p>Usually, I make Death the end-all, be-all. In some cases there are those who can Raise; heck, the power to raise was bestowed on an Imperial lord in one of my games, and he could use it once every three years according to a form of divine mandate. However, other than that, the route back from death is usually a pretty tricky one, requiring a lot of PC interaction with forces which are best left untouched.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">Another of my campaigns had a huge spiritualist influence. Nature spirits, dream spirits, and spirits of shadow and cold all vied for a piece of the action. Into this setting falls a Paladin. He's a righteous guy, has a lot of knowledge about the road he treads, and had once been a vagabond of sorts. However, in a St. Paul sort of way, he was 'blinded' by the light of the deity of chance and favor, and became a stalwart ally of the church. He was an older paladin, not too experienced in the White Cloak side of things, but he was thrust into a situation which required his assistance. A major clash between divine forces and the forces of the spirit realm brought him into battle with a great spirit lord; powerful beyond mortal ken. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">He stood his ground, forsook his oath, and saved the world. What would amount to a seraphim of his deity, seeing his sacrifice, made the proper bureaucratic maneuvers and the soul of the good man was placed into the quickened womb of a talented priestess. She bore the child, the child was given over to others to raise, and found his path back to the fiefdom his former self had founded. Hounded by spirits and agents of evil divinity, he came to the Church/ossuary of his former self, and learned of his past. Having been a Fighter (or ranger) for the 2 years of traveling he had done finding out about the strange visions he had had since his childhood, he refused to convert to the church. The god of fortunes, laughing at sheer cheek, gave him his favor; a golden tattoo which ran up his arm, and granted him some paladin abilities alongside his numerous other talents.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The player loved the character; it was a 1 on 1 (with the occasional 'guest player' when we had someone to fill in for an NPC or 'guest DM' when I wanted a break) but the character grew. The boy became a man, a talented (but ever-vigilant) warrior for the cause. Though his faith never turned to that of the god he had been blessed by, he protected the god's holdings out of loyalty for the favor granted to him, and a deep respect for his previous self and the good works he had instituted. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The warrior fell, quite brutally, in battle with a vassal of the same spirit who slew his predecessor. A spirit presented itself, offering him the right of vengeance and a power to stand before the vassal of the bull spirit.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">He took it, and rose again. Changed, he wielded powers which would today be similar to a Warlock, alongside his impressive fighting abilities. He constantly struggled with the evil shade which kept him alive, festering in the back of his mind, waiting for him to slip.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px">The last session saw the character entering into the sands of Ir, a desert which would rend soul and parasite in twain, in the hopes of bringing about a redemption for some of the choices he made when under its control. The soul came full-circle, and (guided by his memories) sought to rid the world of the evils which surrounded him.</span></p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>Now, I know that was a long bit, but there were two deaths (and possibly a very permanent third) involved here. Each death, rather than doing the standard 'I spent 5k and get a Raise', was a great storyline to explore. In (around two) years, the character went from being a party member to a loaner, a paladin who flirted with the rules of his Code to a young man willing to burn in eternal hellfire to cleanse his spirit and ride forth as an exemplar to those who had placed their fate in his hands. I've had characters who came back as clockwork constructs (D20 Past game), a possessing spirit which redeemed itself and regained its body as a revenant (d20 Modern Fantasy), and a character who used his death to deliver the final blow to a deranged priest who sought to open Heaven's Gates to call forth the Angels of Revelation (also D20 Modern). I've had characters cheat death, become death, and make their livings dealing death to the good and ill of society. </p><p></p><p>Death is an necessary as life; without a consequence for it, it is meaningless. I will agree that without consequence death is meaningless; however, I will not agree that every tom dick and St. Harry should be able to call forth the forces of Divine Will, open the Gates of Time, and drag a spirit kicking and screaming back to his mortal form. Sometimes you jump back on the Coil, and sometimes the Coil shakes you off like fleas on a dog's back.</p><p></p><p>Slainte,</p><p></p><p>-Loonook.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Loonook, post: 4026907, member: 1861"] Death as consequence is huge . . . but also death is the destiny of all characters (and the individuals who play them, which is not to be forgotten). If your world is one where a raise dead or resurrection comes around the bend at any good-sized town, you're going to cause some issues to occur anyways. Usually, I make Death the end-all, be-all. In some cases there are those who can Raise; heck, the power to raise was bestowed on an Imperial lord in one of my games, and he could use it once every three years according to a form of divine mandate. However, other than that, the route back from death is usually a pretty tricky one, requiring a lot of PC interaction with forces which are best left untouched. [SIZE=2]Another of my campaigns had a huge spiritualist influence. Nature spirits, dream spirits, and spirits of shadow and cold all vied for a piece of the action. Into this setting falls a Paladin. He's a righteous guy, has a lot of knowledge about the road he treads, and had once been a vagabond of sorts. However, in a St. Paul sort of way, he was 'blinded' by the light of the deity of chance and favor, and became a stalwart ally of the church. He was an older paladin, not too experienced in the White Cloak side of things, but he was thrust into a situation which required his assistance. A major clash between divine forces and the forces of the spirit realm brought him into battle with a great spirit lord; powerful beyond mortal ken. He stood his ground, forsook his oath, and saved the world. What would amount to a seraphim of his deity, seeing his sacrifice, made the proper bureaucratic maneuvers and the soul of the good man was placed into the quickened womb of a talented priestess. She bore the child, the child was given over to others to raise, and found his path back to the fiefdom his former self had founded. Hounded by spirits and agents of evil divinity, he came to the Church/ossuary of his former self, and learned of his past. Having been a Fighter (or ranger) for the 2 years of traveling he had done finding out about the strange visions he had had since his childhood, he refused to convert to the church. The god of fortunes, laughing at sheer cheek, gave him his favor; a golden tattoo which ran up his arm, and granted him some paladin abilities alongside his numerous other talents. The player loved the character; it was a 1 on 1 (with the occasional 'guest player' when we had someone to fill in for an NPC or 'guest DM' when I wanted a break) but the character grew. The boy became a man, a talented (but ever-vigilant) warrior for the cause. Though his faith never turned to that of the god he had been blessed by, he protected the god's holdings out of loyalty for the favor granted to him, and a deep respect for his previous self and the good works he had instituted. The warrior fell, quite brutally, in battle with a vassal of the same spirit who slew his predecessor. A spirit presented itself, offering him the right of vengeance and a power to stand before the vassal of the bull spirit. He took it, and rose again. Changed, he wielded powers which would today be similar to a Warlock, alongside his impressive fighting abilities. He constantly struggled with the evil shade which kept him alive, festering in the back of his mind, waiting for him to slip. The last session saw the character entering into the sands of Ir, a desert which would rend soul and parasite in twain, in the hopes of bringing about a redemption for some of the choices he made when under its control. The soul came full-circle, and (guided by his memories) sought to rid the world of the evils which surrounded him.[/SIZE] --- Now, I know that was a long bit, but there were two deaths (and possibly a very permanent third) involved here. Each death, rather than doing the standard 'I spent 5k and get a Raise', was a great storyline to explore. In (around two) years, the character went from being a party member to a loaner, a paladin who flirted with the rules of his Code to a young man willing to burn in eternal hellfire to cleanse his spirit and ride forth as an exemplar to those who had placed their fate in his hands. I've had characters who came back as clockwork constructs (D20 Past game), a possessing spirit which redeemed itself and regained its body as a revenant (d20 Modern Fantasy), and a character who used his death to deliver the final blow to a deranged priest who sought to open Heaven's Gates to call forth the Angels of Revelation (also D20 Modern). I've had characters cheat death, become death, and make their livings dealing death to the good and ill of society. Death is an necessary as life; without a consequence for it, it is meaningless. I will agree that without consequence death is meaningless; however, I will not agree that every tom dick and St. Harry should be able to call forth the forces of Divine Will, open the Gates of Time, and drag a spirit kicking and screaming back to his mortal form. Sometimes you jump back on the Coil, and sometimes the Coil shakes you off like fleas on a dog's back. Slainte, -Loonook. [/QUOTE]
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