Death...

Ok, this may seem a little macabre and perhaps somewhat premature, but how do people feel about the deaths of their character?

I know that it's easy to get attached, but i'm no great fan of the 'easy way out' choice, usually in the form of resurrections etc... That said if people feel such an attachment to their characters that they would not be happy playing a different character then this is an issue that i would prefer to resolve before the event.

Basically what i'm trying to say is that, if you die the chances of your character returning are extremely slim - i know i fudged it for Ajax, but it wasn't something i was comfortable doing...

Discuss....

It's not just losing a much loved character you also lose the connection to and history with the group as well. All the private jokes and history and established relations go out the window and you start again

Thzat's true enough, and it can be difficult integrating a new character into the party, and indeed the game.

But then without the very real threat of death there is no real challenge, combat simply becomes a routine exercise.

I'm not saying that i'm going to make things so hard that there will be regular deaths, killing pcs is not my goal, but the threat has to be present and ultimately there is a high possibility that it will happen again.

Quote :

then without the very real threat of death there is no real challenge, combat simply becomes a routine exercise.

There is still the loss of XP, Gear, Stats, failing in our goal and so moving the world closer to the apocalpyse.....

I have to agree with our GM here, unfortunately. I've seen too many games (especially D&D) damaged by trivialising death. It's not just the PCs going through the revolving door that causes it, but it pulls the teeth of drama involving loved ones dying, and it's really annoying to contemplate the fact that major villains aren't going to be stopped by death either.

However Dave (of the lowly player variety) does raise good points as well. Which is a bitch. One of the solutions to this problem in the past has been the Warhammer system of Fate Points, which give a "lucky escape" feel to evading death, as well as being a limited resource. In my experience, that does not detract from the fear of death and its consequences.

Yeah I can see both sides of this argument, it sucks when a character you're really enjoying playing dies. However, as has been pointed out if there is no fear of death, then the game certainly loses an edge. But at the same time, anyone can roll a '1' on a save, and it's a nasty way to go, especially if it happens to several pcs in one area effect or something!

I suppose DnD does penalise you for dying and being raised with the loss of a level (unless it's a very potent power indeed being used!) added to that, in our current campaign, I don't believe many people are capable of casting raise dead, never mind true resurrection. (Of course that argument becomes somewhat diluted if a pc starts playing a cleric!) That's not to say that being raised can't be a cunning plot device for our beloved DM of course with their being a number of conditions to being raised for instance.

What I really dislike however, is if you die, and are then forced to create a new character x levels lower than the other pcs, that feels like being penalised twice. You lose a character, and have to forge a connection to the group with your new character, who is not as good as them!

I just want to make clear that if a death does occur, and you can't find a way to return the character to life (which as Chris points out is likely due the amount of people who can a) cast the relevant spell and b) are willing to do so - both of which are thin on the ground), you will not be overly penalised with your new character's level/XP. It makes for a massively frustrating game experience.
I also, as Dave can attest, prefer not to dish out huge XP penalties for death - if I had followed the rules with Ajax's death he would be about 10K behind everyone else. So please try not to let this be a factor in whether you choose to live or die.

I like the fate points idea. Maybe we could work something out with action points, my first thought would be something like a permanent sacrifice of half your (current levels allocation) action points as an ultimately heroic act of self preservation. That way as you level up you get more APs but you will only have a couple of shots at it regardless. Just a thought....

Kinda makes sense as you can already spend 1 AP to stabilise, spend more get a better result ( gotta stop blowing AP's on Raging though)