Johann
*eyeroll*
In my quest to become a Killer DM, which I blogged about for awhile here, I focused on overcoming my deeply ingrained habit to pull my punches as a DM. I largely overlooked a closely correlated aspect: getting the players onboard for a lethal game.
Eero Tuovinen has been planning an essay entitled "The Sacrament of Death" on his blog. We have discussed the yet-to-be-written essay on this board here, but a recent comment on Eero's blog has prompted me to lay out my own thoughts.
The following steps to get the players' buy-in for their characters' slaughter are largely born out of six years worth of experience of running a relentlessly lethal campaign (about 150 sessions, over 80 deaths, and 2 TPKs so far).
1. Prepare
Make it clear at the outset that you are going to run a deadly campaign.
To underline your intent, point out any intrinsically lethal features of the rules set (e.g. the fragility of 1st-level characters and the presence of save-or-die effects in older versions of D&D) or any former campaigns with a high casualty rate.
Words are cheap, though, especially since many DMs claim to be merciless, when they are, in fact, fudging to save characters (perhaps after strategically killing a character right at the start to instill fear in their players).
Also, discuss the value - I even say necessity, at least regarding a certain brand of D&D - in some detail. Some talking points:
Without failure, there can be no real victory.
Looming failure often brings out the best in a team and fosters bonding.
Fantasy fiction and fantasy movies are full of tragic deaths.
The death of a fictional character is often more memorable than the retirement.
2. Habituate
Run a consistently challenging and deadly campaign to ensure lots and lots of PC deaths, so players get used to it. I personally recommend a suitably lethal set of rules, hard challenges (encounter levels, my ass), unflinching DMing, and even shock tactics like running a 'character funnel' as per DCC.
First, misery needs company and character death often stings, so not being the only one to experience it helps.
Secondly, the players will learn first-hand the value of character death (see point 1 above).
3. Grieve
I largely overlooked this aspect as both a GM and a player, but it is important to not skip the aftermath of a death and roll up a new character as fast as possible. This approach only seems attractive to stop the pain … until one rolls up average abilities, as is wont to happen.
Detail the actual death. This is not about providing gruesome details to highlight the brutality of a monster or your merciless world, but about depicting an important moment - but not the last, see below - in a character's story. Ask your player for his character's last words, for instance, as most deadly blows or fatal falls need not be portrayed as beheadings, splatterings-on-impact etc.
More importantly, properly conclude the character's story, i.e. give room to the PCs' and NPCs' reactions and the death's aftermath (retrieving and laying out the body as well as the burial, last will, and legacy of the deceased etc.).
The following words by Sami Koponen prompted me to write this essay:
"If the character is respected and her story is told to the end (What happens to her corpse? What about her family? How does the incident change the other characters?), I recuperate a lot faster."
4. Celebrate
Periodically reinforce everyone's understanding of the value of character death (as per point 1 above) to foster acceptance and perhaps even enjoyment. There are plenty of fictional stories which would be diminished by a happy ending.
Furthermore, it is beneficial to cultivate the right attitude for this type of gaming, i.e. acknowledging and praising, at the table, risk-taking and sportsmanship. Players being overly cautious for fear of losing a character not only slow down the game, but may even diminish it.
Eero Tuovinen rejects "optimizing at the expense of a robust and compelling fiction", e.g. by "swinging some sort of a pole-marmoset-flint knife combo platter in a customized effort to keep my character safe":
"[T]o me the ideal of beautiful and powerful play in an organically developing Gamist game with heavy focus on positioning, such as this style of D&D, is to grasp with determination at a subject matter and challenge proposition that you find compelling; the question is not whether you could win at a GM's obstacle course by stacking rules and positioning to your favour, the question is whether you can triumph against a challenge chosen and internalized by yourself within the fictional constraints, partially unspoken, that determine whether your play is petty or compelling. Not whether you can build a knight that can slay a dragon, but whether a knight as per your understanding of knighthood can slay a dragon."
(Edited to add that Eero has outlined some of his ideas for the essay in the comments on his blog here. I'm not trying to copy him or beat him to the punch.)
Eero Tuovinen has been planning an essay entitled "The Sacrament of Death" on his blog. We have discussed the yet-to-be-written essay on this board here, but a recent comment on Eero's blog has prompted me to lay out my own thoughts.
The following steps to get the players' buy-in for their characters' slaughter are largely born out of six years worth of experience of running a relentlessly lethal campaign (about 150 sessions, over 80 deaths, and 2 TPKs so far).
1. Prepare
Make it clear at the outset that you are going to run a deadly campaign.
To underline your intent, point out any intrinsically lethal features of the rules set (e.g. the fragility of 1st-level characters and the presence of save-or-die effects in older versions of D&D) or any former campaigns with a high casualty rate.
Words are cheap, though, especially since many DMs claim to be merciless, when they are, in fact, fudging to save characters (perhaps after strategically killing a character right at the start to instill fear in their players).
Also, discuss the value - I even say necessity, at least regarding a certain brand of D&D - in some detail. Some talking points:
Without failure, there can be no real victory.
Looming failure often brings out the best in a team and fosters bonding.
Fantasy fiction and fantasy movies are full of tragic deaths.
The death of a fictional character is often more memorable than the retirement.
2. Habituate
Run a consistently challenging and deadly campaign to ensure lots and lots of PC deaths, so players get used to it. I personally recommend a suitably lethal set of rules, hard challenges (encounter levels, my ass), unflinching DMing, and even shock tactics like running a 'character funnel' as per DCC.
First, misery needs company and character death often stings, so not being the only one to experience it helps.
Secondly, the players will learn first-hand the value of character death (see point 1 above).
3. Grieve
I largely overlooked this aspect as both a GM and a player, but it is important to not skip the aftermath of a death and roll up a new character as fast as possible. This approach only seems attractive to stop the pain … until one rolls up average abilities, as is wont to happen.
Detail the actual death. This is not about providing gruesome details to highlight the brutality of a monster or your merciless world, but about depicting an important moment - but not the last, see below - in a character's story. Ask your player for his character's last words, for instance, as most deadly blows or fatal falls need not be portrayed as beheadings, splatterings-on-impact etc.
More importantly, properly conclude the character's story, i.e. give room to the PCs' and NPCs' reactions and the death's aftermath (retrieving and laying out the body as well as the burial, last will, and legacy of the deceased etc.).
The following words by Sami Koponen prompted me to write this essay:
"If the character is respected and her story is told to the end (What happens to her corpse? What about her family? How does the incident change the other characters?), I recuperate a lot faster."
4. Celebrate
Periodically reinforce everyone's understanding of the value of character death (as per point 1 above) to foster acceptance and perhaps even enjoyment. There are plenty of fictional stories which would be diminished by a happy ending.
Furthermore, it is beneficial to cultivate the right attitude for this type of gaming, i.e. acknowledging and praising, at the table, risk-taking and sportsmanship. Players being overly cautious for fear of losing a character not only slow down the game, but may even diminish it.
Eero Tuovinen rejects "optimizing at the expense of a robust and compelling fiction", e.g. by "swinging some sort of a pole-marmoset-flint knife combo platter in a customized effort to keep my character safe":
"[T]o me the ideal of beautiful and powerful play in an organically developing Gamist game with heavy focus on positioning, such as this style of D&D, is to grasp with determination at a subject matter and challenge proposition that you find compelling; the question is not whether you could win at a GM's obstacle course by stacking rules and positioning to your favour, the question is whether you can triumph against a challenge chosen and internalized by yourself within the fictional constraints, partially unspoken, that determine whether your play is petty or compelling. Not whether you can build a knight that can slay a dragon, but whether a knight as per your understanding of knighthood can slay a dragon."
(Edited to add that Eero has outlined some of his ideas for the essay in the comments on his blog here. I'm not trying to copy him or beat him to the punch.)
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