Re: Killing off players... er... characters

From: tim@leaphome.demon.co.uk (Tim Franklin)

Date: Fri, 04 Jul 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Karen J. Cravens (silver@phoenyx.net) wrote:
 > Okay, here's a bit that one of the Phoenyx gamemasters brought
 > up; it was a throwaway comment, but hopefully it will distract us
 > a bit from attempting to kill off other newsgroupies:

> Killing off PC's.  (I'm speaking specifically of roleplaying
 > games, where PC death usually means slightly more than removing a
 > token in a wargame, or where losing=death.  Roleplaying games
 > aren't (usually) win-lose games, so it's a bit different.)

> Specifically, his comment implied that a paying customer was
 > entitled to (or, depending on your viewpoint, saddled with the
 > out-of-game-knowledge of) a larger amount of "script immunity."
 > That is, "they won't kill the character of a paying customer."
 > (Substitute "happy/active/contributing" for free games, I
 > suppose.)

It depends on the circumstances of their death, both in terms of the game
mechanics and of the situation as role-played.  As in a table-top game, I'd
be loathe to kill a player off purely by unlucky dice rolls.  Player
stupidity is another matter - a player who doesn't retreat in the face of
massive combat damage, or jumps off a 500 ft cliff, or into a lava pit
deserves all they get.  Although if their companions can come up with a
'just-in-time' rescue plan that is just feasible, if somewhat fantastic,
then that can result in a good episode.

Also, don't assume that a player death is *necessarily* a bad thing.
Some of the best moments of role-playing can come from a noble death in
extreme circumstamces, if the players and the GM can put the necessary
feeling in to the encounter.  Gandalf on the bridge of Moria, anyone?

Such episodes shouldn't be common-place, but the bold paladin holding the
narrow passage single-handed just long enough for his comrades to escape,
or the heavily-wounded hacker who spends the last of her life-force to
eject a less-skilled companion from the verges of the destruction of the
Matrix can be among the most moving and memorable moments of a game.

The only real-world issue I can think of is that in commercial games,
players who don't want to start again with a fresh character should be
allowed a refund of any turn fees paid beyond the current one...

All IMHO, of course...

Tim.

--
Tim Franklin        tim@leaphome.demon.co.uk              Powered by
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References

Killing off players... er... characters
silver@phoenyx.net (Karen J. Cravens)
Thu, 03 Jul 1997 00:00:00 +0000