Handling “the end” of a character in games is a fraught subject.
Players and designers may have spent everything from mere minutes to many hours to years with this fictional being. That is no small loss.
Some roleplaying games make death a far off thing: D&D creates (player) characters who are overpowered, nigh immortal, nearly all powerful, and have the opportunity – even after being bathed in dragon fire – of getting back up again if they roll successfully on but one of three “death saves,” no worse for wear. (No mention here of a plethora of healing and resurrection options.)
Other games keep it simple: Run out health, die. Really really die if health goes into the negatives! That’s it.
While personally partial to the latter option, I want to see a better middle ground for engaging play.
Wealthy, Healthy
Games like Dark Souls and Cy_Borg use resources to balance death: Lose all gathered souls or go into credit debt to have a body recovered.
This is a solid approach to character death. There is the choice to make death less than permanent, yet life after may be less worth the living. The bite of death is tempered, yet still respected as players are hit where it hurts: the character’s pocketbook.
To me, this seems more a tool to include in a game, a stapled-on feature to add narrative flavor rather than a fully-fledged mechanic. Still cool, yet does little for the character’s specific fiction.
Where the Middle Lies
From my studies, I see a merging of principles: Keep death deadly, limit recovery options, leave scars, and offer player choice in how their character’s last acts carry out.
To fulfill those principles, I suggest the following:
- Limited set of options that occur when a character hits 0 in health: 3 is a grand number because it allows for a randomizer of a D3 (simulated with a common 6-die), keeps the selection concise if the player chooses, and offers unique choices without overlap.
- Limit the use of these options: The list is available only once per character per session when they hit 0 or fewer health. If falling upon some pre-determined negative amount of health or flirt with death again, skip the options to instead splatter/obliterate the character. Sometimes choices are taken from us in extreme circumstances beyond control!
All that in mind, here is a tentative snippet of rule that – on death – a player in any but the cruelest or condescending games would be subject to:
What to Do at 0: Final Act
When damage or an action takes a character to 0 or fewer HP*, once per session for that character, choose 1 and only 1 option from the Final Act list below to take effect immediately.
You may choose to randomly select an option below using a D3 – if you choose this method, the option has twice the effect in quantity or quality, as sensible for the context.
1) Blaze of Glory – With nothing left to lose, do not go quietly into that dark night. Take 1 and only 1 normal action. That action is an automatic critical success.
2) Down, Not Out – Gritting teeth and holding guts, the harm is extreme, yet so far not fatal. Lose 1 point of any stat or tier to regain 1 HP. Lose as many points as needed to have a total HP of at least 1, accounting for any negative HP.
3) Deal With the Devil – Who would claim the divinities do not play dice with lives? Roll a D3: 1) Die without recourse and any hope of resurrection; 2) Appear dead, yet have enough breath to give last words after the ongoing event to the first being that finds you, you die thereafter; 3) Rise from defeat, regain all HP and have Advantage on your next action taken.
* If the effect takes HP to the negative of the highest numbered stat or tier of the character or lower, the character dies gruesomely without recourse to a final act or likely resurrection. E.g. a highest stat +4 means -4 or less HP is completely fatal.
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General, genre- and system-agnostic rules for any RPG. Simple, yet emergent with context and the randomness of rolls. Concise yet distinct. Flexible, expandable.
Principles I am proud to stand by in game design (ahem, BITS).
How have you made the best of your character’s demise? The end of the journey? It might be something to add to that above 🎲🎲 So comment and sign-up to get reminders of these posts every Friday. Cheers ~
Jimmy Chattin 