Only my coal black heart died, not the rest of me. I still linger like the smell of stale smoke in Elvis’ plane. Yes, Elvis’ plane still smells like smoke. I think it does. Maybe it was me. Who knows? Who cares? I am here to talk about death and dying, everyone’s favorite topic. Especially around Christmas time. Seems an appropriate topic to bring joy to everyone. But since death and dying and characters came up on twitch yesterday, I thought I might address some aspects of character death and why it might be upsetting to some.
Since It Is Only A Game!
But what is The Game? Herein is the rub. Everyone comes to the table with a different set of expectations. In a very cohesive group, the expectations align. Other groups are not so lucky and the expectations vary dramatically. This is one reason running games at conventions is so difficult - expectation variance. One of those expectations is a character’s life or death. In this case, their death.
A commenter observed that the new generation of players (at least some significant portion) would prefer that character death be removed from the game or obviated in some manner such that characters never really die. Our opinion was asked. And, as those who know me, know I have a muddled gray opinion on everything and am more than willing to throw them out willy nilly. Actually, they are less opinions than just meandering thoughts.
Why is Death so Important?
We need to take a short walk back in time to understand something about character death. The Game came out of the board gaming genre where tens of thousands of characters died every game. Chainmail is tactical fantasy wargame where thousands die at each sitting. This morphed into The Game we all know and love. This morphing carried with it some genetic sprinkling, so to speak. One of those genes was character death.
In the early days of rpgs death was a normal or even a likely end to any character one played. Heaven only knows how many characters died under my watchful and gleeful eye. The death of a character added something to the game. It made players wary, guarded, thoughtful, and more engaged in the moment. And, those characters that did survive through the years and all the adventures…. Well, those are some memories. Everyone has their own personal hero.
But is That as it Should be?
No, not necessarily. The Game is rooted in resource management. Hit points are resources as are arrows, armor class, healing potions, and many other things besides. A character's life is the ultimate resource. Losing resources is one of the tried-and-true methods of creating tension in a game. Chess and even checkers are the same way. If there is no chance of losing anything, why play? What’s the draw? Maybe, just maybe, resource management is going the way of the doe-doe.
It seems (this is my working theory anyway) that many of us
older more genteel types were drawn to the game precisely because it was a
resource management game. The fantasy setting and getting to pretend you are a wee gnomes or elf in tights was just
an added bonus. It may just be the case that resource management is not what draws
newer and younger players to the game. The ultimate resource, the character’s
life, might just be the tip of the resource management iceberg and we 'old guard' might just be the Titanic. Or perhaps it
is just that one resource too far.Whatever the case, player expectations are shifting and some newer players might just get upset should a character die (this happened in the 'old days' as well, most of us just ignore or bury those memories).
Its Evolution
Things come and go. Everything changes or evolves with time. It is the way of the world. The Game likewise changes. A new generation is taking hold and putting their stamp on the game. This is not only inevitable but its awesome. If character death is out of the question, then its out of the question. Maybe its just the story or the camaraderie that keeps them coming to the table. Me, I am just happy that forty years on people are still coming to the table.
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