Too Much Effort to Make New Characters?

[Retreater]

If you were the GM, how would you respond to a group's attitude that if their characters die, you should just re-play the encounter or move on anyway - because it's too much work to make a new character and losing an evening's worth of game progress is "punishment enough?"
Like, I'm flabbergasted here. Maybe these people shouldn't be playing RPGs - or at least mainstream games like D&D or Pathfinder?

 

[hawkeyefan]

I feel like if people are hesitant to put in the amount of effort it takes to make a character, they’re likely not all that into the game.

I’d suggest either finding a game where character death/turnover is far less likely, or else a game where character creation is simple enough so that it’s not such an obstacle.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I am reminded when I first introduced my nephews to D&D and first TPK (that I changed to "they wake up in prison") the last one standing was asked what he was doing and his response was "Save Game"
I gently explained that it is not that kind of game.

 

[Malmuria]

So the players want to basically reload from a previous save point. Not because they are emotionally attached to their characters, or they feel entitled to never face serious opposition, but because making a new character in this system is tedious and time consuming.

I think this is the harshest critique of dnd and pathfinder I've ever read.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I feel like if people are hesitant to put in the amount of effort it takes to make a character, they’re likely not all that into the game.

I’d suggest either finding a game where character death/turnover is far less likely, or else a game where character creation is simple enough so that it’s not such an obstacle.

Munchkin perhaps

 

[heks]

i would end the game, then and there, and wish everyone the best before finding a group that actually wanted to play.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I sorta head that off at the pass. If the campaign I’m running is going to be short on guardrail, I ask players to creat multiple PCs before we start playing- basically, the character tree system from the original Dark Sun, but without as many restrictions. That way, they’ll have something they can play as soon as I can find a place in the campaign to work them in. In the meantime, I’ll let them run NPCs if their chosen backup is ready to run.

Doesn’t always work, but it does more often than not.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Honestly I think if someone's aversion to rolling a new character exceeds their desire to play the character creation game by that much then they probably just aren't confident in the rules. Most likely they are either concerned about trying to build a character on their own while everyone else plays or are concerned about trying to learn a new character's mechanics, presumably starting right in at a higher level.

Personally I don't play RPGs where I'm not both champing at the bit to roll new characters and more than capable of doing so, but I certainly have played with plenty of people who get overwhelmed by character creation.

 

[hairy stinkeye]

This is baffling. Rolling up a new character is one of the most fun things to do in D&D, and it’s the consolation prize for getting your PC killed. I’ve always played that the new character has the same level/xp as the old guy, so there shouldn’t be any feelings about wasted progress.

 

[ninjayeti]

I would definitely sit down with the group and have a discussion about what everyone's expectations and interests were. If it is simply that they are inexperienced players who find making a new character challenging that is something that can be addressed in various ways. Some players like low mortality games because they are deeply invested telling a character's story and don't want the character to die before they are "supposed to" so they can finish the character's arc.

But from what you have posted, it it does sound like these players may simply be disinterested in the RPG experience generally - they don't want to explore their characters personalities or tell a collaborative story. Rather, they seem like they just want to make "progress" toward winning the campaign. They are the players who skip the cutscenes in videogames so they can finish the game without wasting time on the pesky story. None of which makes them bad people of course - but I personally would be reluctant to invest the effort in running an RPG campaign for players with this lack of investment. Find a boardgame like Descent that everyone can enjoy or a different group that actually wants to play an RPG.