Potential Player to DM: "What Is Your Mortality Rate?"

[Falcon]

This is one of the best questions I was ever asked as a DM. The said potential player really likes to have well-developed characters to play and has little interest in seeing them pop off after a few sessions. I told him that, as a DM, I weave the PCs into a story and will not expressly attempt to kill a PC, ever. I also want to allow the players to develop a sense of their characters and have them progress through the history of my campaign world.

When I play, I get bored when I am having to make up new characters every few months. It is like playing a cartoon-after a few deaths, I distance myself from the new character(s), because I know at some point soon they will be dead. The cartoon is the character, expressing the most obvious points, and the nuances gained from an extended period of play with a particular PC are lost.

As a DM, I support players in developing complex and compelling PCs. As a player, I want the chance to progress through the ranks of history, and rarely get the chance.

Thoughts?

 

[Archer]

There are 5 spells that bring characters back to life for a reason. Death is but a small penalty, probably smaller than losing all your equipment. You missed a roll, made a mistake, its not the end of the world, its part of being an adventurer.

 

[Xarlen]

Actually, I *like* my characters to not be raised.

If my character dies, well then, that gives me a chance to do something Different. I have so many character concepts and stuff I'd like to do that, Sure, if I fail a save or get hacked apart, sure.

I'd just prefer not to die unheroicly, or atleast, Dumbly. Fighting an Old green dragon and being snatched, then torn apart, Okay. Killed by a Stirge? No.

 

[Geoff Watson]

It sounds like you're way too soft on the PCs. Never in any real danger? What's the challenge? Do the enemy fighters all decide to attack with pillows rather than axes? Do the enemy wizards think 'damn I can cast disintergrate, they might fail their save"?

Wuss!

Geoff.

 

[Schmoe]

As a DM, I support players in developing complex and compelling PCs

As a DM, I support players in developing complex and compelling PC's, and I also support their potential to develop into heroes who will be revered for years to come .... if they live long enough.

IMC, there is real risk to jumping out into the world and trying to fight evil in mortal combat. Those who survive will be looked on as heroes. Those who die will be remembered fondly for the risks they took.

In my humble opinion, there's a very good reason that there are not many heroes around.

 

[James McMurray]

I'd have to agree with those that said death is not as bad as it sounds in the game. If there is no (or even a miniscule) chance of death, quite a bit of the challenge is removed. Sure, there are other ways to fail, but a DM who tries to not let the characters die is also usually the type of DM who doesn't let his story go any other way than what he envisioned.

For my level of mortality, check my sotry hour link in my sig. There have been tons of deaths in my campaign, even before that thread starts. There have only been a few where the people did not come bck though. Usually it is because the character did not want to, with nly one case being because the oparty did not want to raise the guy (he was killed by the mob he fireballed, and the rest of the party didn't want him with them anymore).

The group will soon be facing things which can deal permamnent death though. That should put the fear into them.

 

[CWD]

In the last campaign I ran, I let the characters start at 1st level with a box of True Resurrection scrolls (long story). They sometimes took stupid risks because they knew they could get raised without penalty, but it let me be a lot harsher on them. They started to get really panicky later in the campaign when the box began to run low...

 

[Zhure]

100%-((number of living PC's/total number of PC's in campaign's history)x100)

Greg

 

[bwgwl]

i'd have to agree with Falcon.

as a DM, i will only kill a character in two situations: if it's dramatically appropriate to the story, or if it's the result of the player's own stupidity. i really dislike "random" deaths.

i think a PC death should be a pivotal moment in a campaign, and thus shouldn't happen often at all. it also shouldn't be cheapened by having the player hit the "Resume Character" button and popping right back in after a raise dead or resurrection. these types of spells are the first ones i delete from the rules when i start DMing.

i don't think i understand the idea that the game can't be challenging or fun if the PCs can't be killed by any old random encounter. i've played and DMed many long-running and extremely fun campaigns without ever having a single PC fatality.

yes, challenging can be fun -- but you can have fun without dying.

 

[Mirth]

i'd have to agree with Falcon.

as a DM, i will only kill a character in two situations: if it's dramatically appropriate to the story, or if it's the result of the player's own stupidity. i really dislike "random" deaths.

i think a PC death should be a pivotal moment in a campaign, and thus shouldn't happen often at all. it also shouldn't be cheapened by having the player hit the "Resume Character" button and popping right back in after a raise dead or resurrection. these types of spells are the first ones i delete from the rules when i start DMing.

i don't think i understand the idea that the game can't be challenging or fun if the PCs can't be killed by any old random encounter. i've played and DMed many long-running and extremely fun campaigns without ever having a single PC fatality.

yes, challenging can be fun -- but you can have fun without dying.

I'd have to agree with bwgwl and Falcon,

I think my stance probably stems from my introduction to D&D back in 1979. I was in 5th grade and got involved with a group of idiots who I soon realized didn't like me and I certainly didn't like them. To make a short story longer, I played a thief and our first foray started with a locked door to a dungeon. As the thief, I tried to pick the lock, got hit by a poison needle trap, died, and wasn't allowed to play in the game for the rest of the night.

Needless to say, I never played with those yokels again. I also don't play thieves very often and I definitely allow characters in my campaigns to grow and mature, rather than killing them haphazardly. As a player, I've run characters in both types of campaigns and I definitely prefer my style better. The other seems more like a hack and slash video game to me. To each their own, though. One of my best friends runs his games completely opposite to mine and he and his group have great fun. That's the beauty of D&D. You can run it as you see fit.

Jay