tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post8575731269986104806..comments2024-02-07T00:13:13.351-08:00Comments on Unrepentant Blather: On Killing PCsStormshrughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17975091216339833486noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post-78532534151812607832010-07-29T20:59:08.416-07:002010-07-29T20:59:08.416-07:00(Jumping in days after it's been written, hurr...(Jumping in days after it's been written, hurr hurr)<br /><br />Hey! Dying against a bloodthirsty xeno in defense of ones Lord in combat ASSURES personal redemption, at least as far as #4 has thought it out. Which, in truth, wasn't very far (the music in his head WAS pretty loud, after all), but still, his heart was in it. <br /><br />When it comes to PC death, I appreciate the not-being-killed-by-falling-rocks. However, if one of our characters isn't smart enough to know NOT to charge a six-armed alien killing machine, I'd assume he/she (ok, he) will be content with the consequences, no matter how grimdark they may be. This may be my love of creating new characters talking, but as long as PC death doesn't mean expulsion from the campaign or the plot, I'd be fine with letting the rules stand alone. Hell, sometimes it can make things easier. If Verston had died in that last ditch effort to kill Anasta, and in his own death as her phylactery ensured her cessation of existence, I think he'd have been fairly satisfied (even if I wouldn't have been).<br /><br />This isn't to say that the extra chances and substitute consequences aren't appreciated, or that they shouldn't be in place; only that, if a player wants his/her character to survive forever, he/she shouldn't be sending them into the Tomb of Horrors/Eye of Terror. Risks should be risky, Epic level-ness by damned. <br /><br />There's a reason only one being in existence has ever had everything go Just As Planned (if you even believe the treacherous agents of Chaos), and the rest of us have to live with our characters' mortality.Kory Hookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15908681440529123027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post-90415145563620211832010-07-26T12:55:15.169-07:002010-07-26T12:55:15.169-07:00Heh, good thing #4 didn't have time to charge ...Heh, good thing #4 didn't have time to charge that Broodlord, then.<br /><br />Thank you Inquisitor Badassius! <br /><br />Removed and reposted because that typo was annoying the sh*t out of me.Stormshrughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975091216339833486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post-27209881931664981732010-07-25T22:43:32.351-07:002010-07-25T22:43:32.351-07:00To add to this discussions (but not really) when I...To add to this discussions (but not really) when I was talking to Emma about the session, she asked me first whether I had killed anybody, then if I had seriously injured anybody, and was seriously disappointed I hadn't done either and went on to suggest several horrible things I could do to you all.<br /><br />Point being, don't ever ask Emma to DM unless you want to shatter this whole debate :-PHTMChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10662648879993325067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post-70286530069919025552010-07-24T11:57:13.070-07:002010-07-24T11:57:13.070-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Stormshrughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975091216339833486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-312952949014791769.post-16398652664375904642010-07-23T12:37:14.364-07:002010-07-23T12:37:14.364-07:00I touched on this briefly in my last DH post, but ...I touched on this briefly in my last DH post, but I pretty much agree with you. I'm all for consequences for all actions, even if they're minor: for instance, Rome tapping a commissar on the shoulder. Definite no-no. Likewise, if someone made a huge error, say someone had decided to charge the Broodlord in close combat, I would have been less hesitant to have the Broodlord maul him (which, as you can imagine, would have been easy). And if Aaron Perils, well, I don't have a way to step in and stop that.<br /><br />The problem is, as you stated, attachment. I even forced you all to be very thorough in character creation, and got attached to all your characters as well. It's sort of a double-bladed sword: if you were to kill a PC in the first couple sessions, they're not as attached, but also probably likely to be annoyed their character died so soon. If they were to die later, there's been much more invested in the character, and they'd be likewise annoyed. If you're setting up encounters to be challenging, though, there /should/ always be that threat of death, since the NPCs should be able to kill the PCs should they not play well enough.<br /><br />It's an interesting question regarding Shaima, who I assume was one of those 3 fatalities you discussed. Obviously I'm happy with how that turned out, but I have a hard time imagining how I would have reacted had he stayed dead. I suppose if there's a time to go, taking out the Big Bad is it, and had he died and Tesh'atar still died, I suspect I would have been overall ok with how it ended. It definitely was a shock though, but that's how it should have been.<br /><br />I want to play Dark Heresy as realistic as possible, but I don't want it overly grimdark in that you walk around a corner and die to an ambush. What I may end up doing it is using the Critical Hits tables a lot, which is DH's built-in Messy Results. I think the thing is I feel differently about a character dying due to an unluckily high roll by an NPC vs. a character dying because of a choice he himself made. It's a narrow one, and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up like you and pull my punches a bit, but it's an excellent point to consider (as evidenced by how much I just wrote).HTMChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10662648879993325067noreply@blogger.com