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Why does epic level play entail treating death as a "speed bump"?
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<blockquote data-quote="shadow" data-source="post: 4169636" data-attributes="member: 2182"><p>From what I've read I'm fairly excited about 4e. I especially like how epic levels are going to be built into the system rather than tacked on. However, I read something from <a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35776" target="_blank">ainitcoolnews</a> that really worries me about epic level play...</p><p></p><p>""And Epic is just plain silly. I honestly see a lot of folks stopping at paragon – but for those that want to get into truly EPIC level, mythologically powerful gaming, epic will do the trick. With class abilities that begin with phrases like <strong>Once per day, when you die...</strong>" (Emphasis mine)</p><p></p><p>Why must epic play treat death like a speedbump? Can't a game be epic and still treat death seriously. The heroes of greek mythology fought alongside and occasionally challenged the gods, but even Achilles wasn't able to be "raised". No one was able to challenge Gilgamesh, but even he had to accept his own mortality. The heroes of WuXia frequently do stunts that most mortals can't even dream of, but they never come back from the dead.</p><p></p><p>I can accept heroes wielding extraordinary powers and even challenging the gods, but the "death as a speedbump" idea just seems silly. I have not found it in any real world folklore and mythology or fantasy liteature. The only place I have seen such an idea is in console role-playing games (where you give a fallen party member a <em>pheonix down</em> in the middle of battle). Even console games, however, often try to work around that idea by declaring fallen party members are really just "unconscious". </p><p></p><p>I would like to play in a game that emulates myths and legends of old. Heroes would wield extraordinary powers, but even they would have a reason to think twice about dying. Will it be possible to play this type of game in 4e? I'm not talking about stopping at the "paragon tier"; I would like a truly epic game, but one where death is not treated as a mere speedbump.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shadow, post: 4169636, member: 2182"] From what I've read I'm fairly excited about 4e. I especially like how epic levels are going to be built into the system rather than tacked on. However, I read something from [URL=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35776]ainitcoolnews[/URL] that really worries me about epic level play... ""And Epic is just plain silly. I honestly see a lot of folks stopping at paragon – but for those that want to get into truly EPIC level, mythologically powerful gaming, epic will do the trick. With class abilities that begin with phrases like [b]Once per day, when you die...[/b]" (Emphasis mine) Why must epic play treat death like a speedbump? Can't a game be epic and still treat death seriously. The heroes of greek mythology fought alongside and occasionally challenged the gods, but even Achilles wasn't able to be "raised". No one was able to challenge Gilgamesh, but even he had to accept his own mortality. The heroes of WuXia frequently do stunts that most mortals can't even dream of, but they never come back from the dead. I can accept heroes wielding extraordinary powers and even challenging the gods, but the "death as a speedbump" idea just seems silly. I have not found it in any real world folklore and mythology or fantasy liteature. The only place I have seen such an idea is in console role-playing games (where you give a fallen party member a [i]pheonix down[/i] in the middle of battle). Even console games, however, often try to work around that idea by declaring fallen party members are really just "unconscious". I would like to play in a game that emulates myths and legends of old. Heroes would wield extraordinary powers, but even they would have a reason to think twice about dying. Will it be possible to play this type of game in 4e? I'm not talking about stopping at the "paragon tier"; I would like a truly epic game, but one where death is not treated as a mere speedbump. [/QUOTE]
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Why does epic level play entail treating death as a "speed bump"?
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