Tuesday 21 April 2009

The alternative to dying could be epic

The final breath of a PC when she meets the cold edge of a blade, all those experience points slashed out of existence like her sloshing innards, is a frustrating time for any player who has put time into carving their character into their own intricate awesome vision.

If the player hasn't already thrust the dice across the room in rage and stormed out, they are either rolling up a new level one or pleading the GM to find a way to resurrect Mindy Bloodletter. Unfortunately, giving in to the player isn't fun and it fails to progress the story, but a friendship could be wire-thin at this time; so what to do?

It is possible to allow the player to keep their PC without totally bending time and space to the GM's whim, no matter how sumptuously fun that can be. It's not all that far-fetched in a world of fantasy that the player's soul has been sucked into a hell dimension where they will have to fight their way into the land oft he living or be caged for eternity in a molten chamber. The GM could set up a separate dungeon for the character, though it would have to be small as to not consume game time for other players, possibly with only one or two ferocious enemies to slay. Or perhaps a quicker way could be to pass a saving throw as a test of will, a success allowing the character to return to life with minimal health, and a fail denoting her fall into the dark oblivion forever. To make the test more fun, after a successful roll the GM could describe the epic fight against the swarming demons, the slaughter of devils and banshees and a description of the hellish domain the character escaped. This tale could serve to develop the character further as well as the story.

9 comments:

  1. Shades of 'Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey' methinks! ;-)

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  2. I figure to give the character a Con SR, with the SR level being however many points negative the hit took them. Succeed and they're stable, and can be brought back around after the battle if their friends survive or the enemies choose to. When they're revived, their Con is permanently reduced by however much negative they went. Fail, and they're just dead. Something like that anyway... My players aren't the type who would quit over losing a character, but it can be a hassle to bring a new character into the scenario, so I like to give them a chance to survive.

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  3. The "fight your way out of the lands of the dead" thing is especially easy to do, and lots of fun, in one-on-one games. The coolest thing about lands of the dead is they can be any damned crazy thing you want to come up with, from zombie fests to bizarre bureaucratic nightmares.

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  4. Remember the 'Death' card in the Deck of Many Things, and how (at least in the 3E version) you had to fight a wraith (sort of like fighting the Grim Reaper)?

    Imagine if the defining characteristics of heroes in the world was that their soul was able to not only see, but even fight off whatever entities came for them when death was upon them. How that battle might be fought could vary according to whatever astral entity was attempting to claim their soul - a ravening demon might be a straightforward fight, but a sly devil might be willing to settle claims with a game of skill or chance and a stern angel might be convinced that a hero's deeds are not yet complete yet (or even that he's not yet worthy to enter Heaven.) Even the "mini-dungeon" you described above could be a result of one of these challenges. PCs would be able to outwit, cheat or overcome death in a very literal sense!

    Of course, the strange spectral plane where these challenges take place would be an interesting location to explore. Do PCs end up in individual demiplanes shaped by their own personal Death? Do all these challenges coexist, and can two or more "dead" PCs break out of their own death scene and aid their compatriots? What else exists in this place?

    In the brief moment after a PC wins their freedom, what can they see? Other newly dead souls being escorted or dragged to their afterlives? A flat, empty plane? Disjointed glimpses of the material plane? Perhaps even a brief glimpse of the divine realms, from the outside?

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  5. The death of a PC is not the doom and gloom so many take it for. Try letting it stand sometime and see. It can make for great gaming.

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  6. This is a good idea, in that it is also seen in Forgotten Realms books. Players like experiencing things that they read about. Imagine how much they are going to brag to their gaming buddies that they escaped death with their quick wit or their sword arm!

    Another note, I'd knock off a permanent point of Constitution or something, as well, for characters that "die". Whatever the rules system you're using calls for...

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  7. Necromancer Games actually made a product out of this idea. They called it Raise the Dead, and it gave some examples of cool quests to gain the life back for a fallen comrade. Very good food for though, I think.

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  8. Killing is a tricky thing. I kill only in climaxes and try to frame it as a sacrifice not just failed rolling.

    I say do a couple games around her the ghost, working in both the spirit realm and the other players. In the end though, the spirit must move on to the Beyond.

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  9. I always want death to be a factor, so my philosophy is to give hints about the danger, and when they go for it I will try to harm them.

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