SableWyvern
Adventurer
So, I wasn't really even cognisant of the fact that 4E was coming out until a couple of weeks ago, but since discovering it and doing plenty of research, I'm really, really fired up to run a game.
Overall, I'm really happy with how 4E has turned out, but I've run into one stumbling block that I can't see any way around.
In a party with a good balance of roles, if a PC is irrevocably killed, it seems to me that the player of that character is going to be very restricted when it comes to making a new character. If he is the group's only controller or only leader, then the party as a whole will be significantly hindered if the player doesn't make another character who fills the same role.
In my last D&D campaign, one of my players enjoyed being a little reckless and pushing the limits, and ended up going through a large number of characters. While he never tried to get himself killed, he was prepared to take signficiant risks on a regular basis, and his characters, one after the other, paid the price. He enjoyed the game despite his relatively high character turnover, and eventually he decided, only slightly tongue in cheek, that he was aiming to try every class in the PHB (in reality, I think he ended playing about 4 different characters over about two years).
Anyway, it's clear enough that this kind of "go-it-alone" recklessness isn't nearly as sustainable in 4E, as the party is going to be relying on every PC to be pulling his weight. That's not the issue.
The problem is that, at some point, one or more PCs probably will die, and if the player mentioned above is one who loses a character, then his ability to roll with the punches is going to be significantly diminished if he has to make a new character designed to fill the exact same role. The same will be potentially be true to some extent for the rest of the group as well.
So, to get to the point: The (only) party leader dies, and cannot be resurrected. The player of that character wants to make a wizard as his new character. What do you do?
...
Edit to point out that eliminating character death entirely is not a suitable answer in this situation. I have no in-principle objections to PCs that can't ever die (in fact, the PCs in my current Fantasty Hero game are immortal in the most literal sense of the word), but I want death to be a real possibility in my 4E game.
Overall, I'm really happy with how 4E has turned out, but I've run into one stumbling block that I can't see any way around.
In a party with a good balance of roles, if a PC is irrevocably killed, it seems to me that the player of that character is going to be very restricted when it comes to making a new character. If he is the group's only controller or only leader, then the party as a whole will be significantly hindered if the player doesn't make another character who fills the same role.
In my last D&D campaign, one of my players enjoyed being a little reckless and pushing the limits, and ended up going through a large number of characters. While he never tried to get himself killed, he was prepared to take signficiant risks on a regular basis, and his characters, one after the other, paid the price. He enjoyed the game despite his relatively high character turnover, and eventually he decided, only slightly tongue in cheek, that he was aiming to try every class in the PHB (in reality, I think he ended playing about 4 different characters over about two years).
Anyway, it's clear enough that this kind of "go-it-alone" recklessness isn't nearly as sustainable in 4E, as the party is going to be relying on every PC to be pulling his weight. That's not the issue.
The problem is that, at some point, one or more PCs probably will die, and if the player mentioned above is one who loses a character, then his ability to roll with the punches is going to be significantly diminished if he has to make a new character designed to fill the exact same role. The same will be potentially be true to some extent for the rest of the group as well.
So, to get to the point: The (only) party leader dies, and cannot be resurrected. The player of that character wants to make a wizard as his new character. What do you do?
...
Edit to point out that eliminating character death entirely is not a suitable answer in this situation. I have no in-principle objections to PCs that can't ever die (in fact, the PCs in my current Fantasty Hero game are immortal in the most literal sense of the word), but I want death to be a real possibility in my 4E game.
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