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Post by inflatus on Apr 20, 2012 16:36:09 GMT -8
Is there ever a good time to send a character to the afterlife? For me the answer is, yes. I have always dealt with this on a case by case basis. I try to provide the player with ways to die in an epic manner. Most of the time I can foresee a character’s demise. As a GM you should be able to deal with a character death in a way the player can feel validated by their end.
The epic death can affect more than just the player. It can affect the whole party. Usually the death occurs near the end or at the end of a long campaign. It is almost as if the character feels that last minute heroics are needed to fulfill the quest. Maybe taking the last charge while wounded to save a friend. Sometimes it can be a sacrifice to let the rest of the party escape. These scenarios can go on forever. It may be in the player’s best interest to read about different cultures and their histories to find correlation to their characters. Regardless of the way they die the GM should play the scene to its fullest.
There are times when the player is just fumbling around or acting a fool. I mean this beyond what would be normal role playing for the character. Some game systems have traits that are role played. If the player is being careless with their character, let them have it. Depending on how deadly the system is, this can lead to an untimely death. I have on occasion seen this happen. In my experience it is usually with a player that has lost interest in the character. Dealing with that is a whole topic unto itself. As a GM try to deal with it and pay attention to address the issues the player has before he rushes into the orc camp, naked and with a stick.
The other death I have seen is the natural one. When the party has felt that it is time to finish up with the characters, I have let them come up with endings. I give each player a few minutes to explain what happens to their characters. Most will talk about retiring or opening up a tavern. A few have described the end of a full life. I always feel that when a player describes the death of their character, they have closure.
Should the GM kill characters? In some circumstances yes. The deadly and evil GM may think that is fun to put players in impossible situations that lead to death. If everyone is on board, that can be fine. I think that the characters death should have a great meaning to the player first. If it affects others that just adds to the story.
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Post by Forresst on Apr 20, 2012 17:08:36 GMT -8
Have you ever listened to Critical Hit? It's a D&D actual play podcast that is not only not terrible, but awesome. The first story arc ended with a character dying in epic fashion and it was really well-handled. It was a key point in the plot, the player was on board, and it sent the story being told to a whole other level for me (as a listener).
In my own experience, I actually killed my first character last weekend in the Savage Worlds game I was lucky enough to play in with Sentinel. I not only killed myself, but blew the entire side out of a chapel. It's a strange story line. Anyway... I did what I did because it was a) thematically appropriate, b) tactically sound, and c) the best way I could think of to try and mitigate some of the big "holy shittin' Christ" coming out of the walls.
We'll see how my guy's awesome bomb plan affects the rest of the party another time, I guess. But god knows I was satisfied.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Apr 20, 2012 17:26:29 GMT -8
This is the second rec I've seen recently for Critical Hit actual play podcast. Does anyone have a link?
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Post by Forresst on Apr 20, 2012 17:29:17 GMT -8
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Post by CreativeCowboy on Apr 21, 2012 1:19:59 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2012 20:15:39 GMT -8
I have actually been playing a WoD Mage for almost seven years. I have been super lucky not to die in that time. (And yes 90% of the time I refer to him in the first person) We took a break from gaming for awhile. Last summer the GM wanted to base a web comic on the Mage, so we started RPing his back story. We started the game play in 1888, where he stopped some murders in the Whitechapel district. And we're moving on from there to develop the comic more. I mention all this, because with us playing the back story game we got everyone back together to play the full game. At the end of the sessions the GM always asks what our character learned from the game. This time he didn't let me answer, but instead told me, "Gregor, has an impending sense of doom. He knows his time is near. He knows he will soon be dead." I almost lost it, the emotion hit me hard. He gave me the week to think about it. I did. Later he wanted to get together to discuss how it should play out, I told him, "No. If Gregor doesn't know, I shouldn't either, just make it EPIC. Worthy of a Mage who once stopped Jack the Ripper, saved a Rough Riders life, transported Amelia Earhart out of her plane and to an island before it crashed. Worthy of a 160 year old Magi." He told me last week, at this point we're half way there. As much as I hate to see Gregor die, as much as I have put into him, I know it is the right thing to do.
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Post by ironnikki on Apr 22, 2012 11:02:09 GMT -8
PC death is perhaps the most powerful tool that a GM wields. If you're playing a perilous game, and from the start it's obvious that the GM is out to kill the players (i.e: "fourthcore,") death is always right around the corner, and is the ultimate punishment for doing something dumb. If it's a game with more emphasis on RP and storytelling, death is one of the strongest ways to wrench emotion from the players, whether it be PC or NPC death.
In either case, a GM shouldn't shy away from killing PC's when it serves a purpose. It's an important part of the GM's toolkit.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2012 16:06:50 GMT -8
....a GM shouldn't shy away from killing PC's when it serves a purpose. It's an important part of the GM's toolkit. But a GM should be delicate about it, when so much time has been put into the character. I'm more then confidant that my GM it handling it that way. It can cause turbulence if it is handled wrong.
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Post by Forresst on Apr 22, 2012 17:11:30 GMT -8
But a GM should be delicate about it, when so much time has been put into the character. I'm more then confidant that my GM it handling it that way. It can cause turbulence if it is handled wrong. See now we're getting into a recursive loop here. In gaming, as in comedy and drama, everything is in the delivery. I think Ironnikki has a good point in that, for story's sake, it's important to know and understand everything in your toolbox. But just understanding that it's there isn't enough to make a compelling story (which is one of the driving forces behind my gaming compulsion). Any GM tool can be used, misused or put to incredible effect. From the most extreme (killing a PC, dimension-hopping, etc) to the most minor (flavour text for a setting) is just something for a GM to wield. Of course it's important to always use discretion. Of course it's important to make sure you're coming at it from the right motivation. But just because it has to be handled delicately doesn't mean a GM should necessarily shy away from it.
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Post by jazzisblues on Apr 23, 2012 6:30:01 GMT -8
As a gm I like for character deaths to have meaning to the story and have been known to sidestep a character death if I felt it didn't have meaning. Now that said, Sometimes you just get a case of the deads. I'm not adverse to killing a character. What I am adverse to is ANYTHING that doesn't serve the story somehow. Not my story, it's not MY story to begin with. Rather it's the player's story so if something doesn't fit that story it doesn't fit in the game and if I can I'll excise it.
Increasingly though, I'm becoming more of the mind to let things fall where they will. As an example, consider the following: Early in the game the characters are really just getting to know each other and the world in which they live and one of them picks a fight with an npc in a bar and gets killed. Ok, maybe this is a meaningless death, but maybe it's a springboard to something else? I won't know if I don't let them follow it. This point more than anything is pushing me in that direction.
As always just my 2 krupplenicks worth, your mileage may of course vary.
JiB
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Post by ironnikki on Apr 25, 2012 10:35:14 GMT -8
Any GM tool can be used, misused or put to incredible effect. Thank you, that's exactly what I was trying to get at (but, of course, neglected to include in my original post >.<) A chainsaw is a powerful tool, but having access to one doesn't mean that you should use it to slice bread, although it could make for an interesting story...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2012 19:06:49 GMT -8
[shadow=red,left,300]As you walk into your kitchen, you see your Sous Chef, Rodrigo, delving into the French loaf with a Husqvarna 240E chainsaw with a 38cc engine and a 18 inch blade. (He crit fails his Dex roll) the chainsaw's blade cuts through the plastic cut board and hits the stainless steel of the counter. He loses his grip, the chainsaw takes off across the counter. It's now heading at you at 5mph. (Roll your dodge)[/shadow]
You're right, Very interesting.
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