Kafana
2017-06-25, 08:48 AM
As I'm running a roleplay-heavy game, my players spend days (maybe even weeks) thinking about their character background, where the end result is a 5 to 15 page document.
That being said, character death is always a bit of an issue, as players are forced to throw out all their work because a bad die roll in a challenging encounter cost them their lives. On the other hand, risk and danger drives combat encounters, at least in part, which is why it should be possible to die.
In my campaign the PCs have a set of objectives to complete over a several months before time runs out. This gives me a good opportunity to replace character death with near-death experiences, where the PC is deformed in some way (mentally or physically). Depending on the illness itself, the player can treat it by seeking out healers, going to out-of-the-way shrines or other magical locations, by simply resting or meditating for a while. This takes time, which is a scarce resource. On the other hand, the PC can live and fight with the ailment, but he will have some penalties during his adventures.
In my mind, all of this can lead to good roleplay. Regarding this idea, I have several questions I'd like to discuss:
1) Is there a resource which offers good ailments of this kind (physical and/or mental). I know darkest dungeon does something similar with mental conditions.
2) Should I let the players decide what kind of ailment they wish to receive or should I let the dice decide?
The players are rather experienced, so they don't view the game as "DM vs PCs" which is why I don't believe they will always choose the optimal choice and will opt for good RP.
That being said, character death is always a bit of an issue, as players are forced to throw out all their work because a bad die roll in a challenging encounter cost them their lives. On the other hand, risk and danger drives combat encounters, at least in part, which is why it should be possible to die.
In my campaign the PCs have a set of objectives to complete over a several months before time runs out. This gives me a good opportunity to replace character death with near-death experiences, where the PC is deformed in some way (mentally or physically). Depending on the illness itself, the player can treat it by seeking out healers, going to out-of-the-way shrines or other magical locations, by simply resting or meditating for a while. This takes time, which is a scarce resource. On the other hand, the PC can live and fight with the ailment, but he will have some penalties during his adventures.
In my mind, all of this can lead to good roleplay. Regarding this idea, I have several questions I'd like to discuss:
1) Is there a resource which offers good ailments of this kind (physical and/or mental). I know darkest dungeon does something similar with mental conditions.
2) Should I let the players decide what kind of ailment they wish to receive or should I let the dice decide?
The players are rather experienced, so they don't view the game as "DM vs PCs" which is why I don't believe they will always choose the optimal choice and will opt for good RP.