EDSG Episode 191 - Player Character Death - a podcast by Josh H & Dan B
from 2023-10-11T12:49:42
* Player character death.
* Reminder: Tastes and desires on what a player wants from a game can vary!
* Most problems arise from a difference in expectations between the players and GM.
* Story about Josh’s friend Doug and his approach to his characters.
* Players who strongly identify with their characters can dislike having their story “cut short”.
* A brief sidebar about gamemasters fudging dice results.
* Leaving the “training wheels on” – how long before death becomes a legitimate stake?
* “Sliders” – the degree to which PC death can come into play.
* Setting a policy on handling player character death.
* Is death permanent? How easy is it to come back?
* Revisit the policy to see if it needs to change as the campaign progresses.
* Table tale from Josh about Bearclaw the Journeyman and a player choosing death for their character.
* Table tale from Dan about a character death and how it shaped the game.
* Critical Role Campaign 2 and how a character death shaped character growth and future story.
* In-game acknowledgement of the character death.
* Does removing taking death off the table remove any tension or stakes to the game?
* Finding other options to threaten characters without death; deus ex machina.
* If a character can come back, what does it cost? How might it change them?
* Another table tale from Dan about a fight against the “big bad”.
* Earthdawn’s “lethality curve” and how that shifts as powers come online.
* Email from Leamon (part 1): Petty GM on a power trip.
* Game tone and setting conceit example: Paranoia.
* Character as pawn or game-piece. “Character funnels”.
* The Traveler RPG and characters dying before the game even started.
* Email from Leamon (part 2): Connection to a character affecting feelings about the game.
* Player grief and emotional bleed.
* Bringing in a new character, how to create them, and other consequences.
* Email from Leamon (part 3): Bringing a character/archetype back for more exploration.
* Player introspection and self-discovery resulting from character death.
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Further episodes of Earthdawn Survival Guide
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