What if the PCs were literally invulnerable?

[RedTonic]

Even immortals can see their plans destroyed and their goals interfered with. Plus, a group of unkillable PCs may still have reasons to not want their world destroyed or transformed into something else. Those characters can still be enslaved, may be in competition for power (first stop; immortality! next stop; creating something ex nihilo). What if something is stolen from one of the PCs and they need to get it back? "Something" could be almost anything. Maybe get a little Highlander about it, even (excepting the decapitation).

 

[Ulrick]

No matter what you do, you have to use this song at some point...

Princes of the Universe--Queen

Perhaps followed by "Gimmie the Prize."

 

[Lanefan]

I can see this working with "normal" PCs - maybe - for a very short campaign or a one-off, but not for anything longer; mostly because any DM is soon enough going to run out of ways to keep it risky, or edgy, whatever term you want to give it. And after that it's welcome to Boringtown.

Lan-"even gods can be killed"-efan

 

[Croesus]

And after that it's welcome to Boringtown.

And not just for the player. Imagine being immortal - at some point, the boredom would be unbearable.

Reminds me of a short story I read several years back. Guy dies. He finds that his consciousness still exists, kinda floating in nothingness. God speaks to him, answering his questions.
Heaven? Nope, no heaven.
Hell? Nope, not that either.
Well, can he at least talk to anyone else? Nope, the afterlife doesn't work that way.
Anything other than simply existing forever? Nope, so long as god exists, he'll continue to exist, unable to do anything except think.

So the guy starts thinking as hard as he can...about how to kill god, so he can finally die.

And god drifts away, hoping this guy is the one who finally figures out how.

 

[SkidAce]

If the PCs were literally invulnerable, then books couldn't hurt them...

/sorry.../grin

 

[Stormonu]

Being invulnerable doesn't give you flight; aerial opponents are still a problem at that point.

Doesn't necessarily allow you to cross bottomless chasms too far to jump.

Doesn't stop deathtraps such as crushing walls, falling blocks, deep pits and the like from putting a crimp in your day.

If the pirates burn your boat, you may not drown, but you're either swimming after them or facing a long walk on the ocean floor home.

The dragon can still fling you off the mountain and heal up while he waits for you to climb back up.

The evil king can still kill everyone around you love or care about, even if he can't physically harm you.

...And your ruinous foe is just as invulnerable - and a master escape artist. And has thousands of people willing to blindly follow him to your doom...

<Edit> If I were going to run a game of this genre, I'd institute a mechanic that tracks/measures the characters attachments to the world. The more friends, reasons and successes the character has, the stronger they are. With the reverse, the character's growing apathy eats at him, until the character "gives up" and no longer desires to interact with the world around him.

 

[ValhallaGH]

If the PCs are invulnerable - or at least immortal - then Combat is not a challenge. It's flavor text. Like walking the dog or working in the garden, it's something the character will succeed at, eventually, because nothing can stop them from pulling it off.

Very few interesting things will ever happen in a fight. The interesting things are all in the planning, the RP, and in dealing with the inevitable complications that arise in life.

A game about immortal characters is a game about their plans, schemes, and goals. It is not a game about their death-defying adventures. Death-defying has no drama for them because they will always defy death. Drama comes from facing difficult challenges - be those internal character issues, or external threats (financial, political, legal, and influence threats). Combat can't kill these guys, so while a fight might be difficult for them to succeed at, unless there is a penalty for taking a long time, they will always succeed eventually - that means there is almost never any drama here.


A game about immortals is a game about story and character. Action has a place in that story, but it is a small place. Even if the PCs use action to solve everything (which violence can do), the consequences give the GM a lot of room to bring in interesting story obstacles and chances for character development.


Best of luck.

 

[Asmor]

If the PCs are invulnerable - or at least immortal - then Combat is not a challenge. It's flavor text. Like walking the dog or working in the garden, it's something the character will succeed at, eventually, because nothing can stop them from pulling it off.

They can still be captured by enemies, rebuffed by guards, etc. While death is not a threat, physical force can still stymie whatever plans they might have. And while death is not a threat, imprisonment certainly is.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Perhaps they could be nigh-invulnerable.

[sblock]

[/sblock]

 

[ValhallaGH]

They can still be captured by enemies, rebuffed by guards, etc. While death is not a threat, physical force can still stymie whatever plans they might have. And while death is not a threat, imprisonment certainly is.

You're right - some fights will be dramatically interesting because of the threat of capture, or being delayed long enough that the PCs can no longer accomplish their goals. But most fights won't be (which is my point) - most fights will simply be rolling dice until the PCs finish killing all their foes. That's insanely boring, and should be skipped over whenever it starts to happen.

How do you contain a guy that can literally cut off his arms for the chance to kill you?
How do you contain a guy that will headbutt his way through any wall you try to immure him in?
How do you contain a guy that can shrug off the worst punishment you can dish out and keep coming for your head?
How do you contain a guy that wears a tactical nuclear device as a backpack, and has the trigger rigged up as his hold-out weapon?
Because all of these are things a GM for such a game will have to think about. (He doesn't have one? Horse-hockey; anyone who can't die and tries hard enough can get a tactical nuclear weapon, eventually.)

While some villains have rockets / teleporters to the heart of a sun, most don't. (Even if they have the resources, most won't think of it.)


The drama of a game like this won't be in combat (usually). The drama will be in characters and goals. Relationships and how they develop, what the PCs try to do and how they do it, and the reactions of those around them are the keys to this story. It's like a good Superman story - it's not about the fights, it's about the characters.

The lack of death means that 90% of all fights are dramatically meaningless, they exist for the characters to show off their combat prowess. That other 10% will not be meaningful for the combat, they will be meaningful for the consequences of the combat and how the combat is handled. (Consequences can include endangered loved ones, missed opportunities, lost resources, foiled plans, and damaged relationships.)
The point I'm trying to make? Don't focus on fights - in this game, most violence will be boring.