Hello, everybody.
It's been quite a long time since we've been able to get anything out to you. Well, hopefully this episode is worth the wait. And naturally, since we're releasing this episode the day after Christmas, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate in the way only Deadboys celebrate: by talking about death.
Death takes many forms in a game, whether players assume it'll happen (as in Call of Cthulhu) or build themselves into a tank that's all but invincible. Regardless, if George R. R. Martin has taught us anything, it's that characters die. In this episode, you'll get our thoughts on the subject as it relates to role-playing games and other kinds of fiction. Please feel free to comment below, or send us an email at coalitiondeadboys@gmail.com. You can also tweet at us, find us on Facebook or on Google+. We're accessible through any of those outlets, so feel free to get in touch with us. Please feel free to start a comment thread below, as either Matt or I will answer it as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience in this one. Sorry it took so long to come out.
Carry on, citizens!
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My most recent PC death story: I started running a D&D game with my 16 year old son and two of his friends. One of his friends rolled up a Halfling Barbarian and decided the character would be Chaotic Evil. Against my better judgement I allowed it since they're just starting out, but secretly I hated it. They went through my adventure and at the end the barbarian attempted to double-cross the others by taking the treasure and running away with it... right though some still-active traps. He was reminded/warned about them but despite the danger he took his chances and plowed through them - right to his death. I have never been so happy to see a character die than I was that moment.
ReplyDeleteMy first PC death story: What would be decades(!) ago now, I was running a game with some neighborhood kids and my brother. I forget all the details, but somehow there were six space pirates behind a door on a spaceship, and my brother had his character open the door carelessly. They opened fire, his character died, and he left the game in tears. A few minutes later my mother came to see me (still running the game with everyone else) to try and convince me to fix things so his character was alive again.
It's interesting how attached we get to some of these characters--or sometimes, how abhorrent they are to us. Most of my characters have been in a similar vein--I'm usually the halfling thief that's able to carry a heavy crossbow and whatnot. People know to expect that from me in D&D. But when you've been playing a character for any amount of time and he/she dies (even if it's the result of total idiocy), it's still an emotional blow.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to be attached to the characters you play, or even to the characters other people are playing. Whenever a P.C. is about to die in the games I've played in, the other players (myself included) would suddenly become very focused on what they could do to keep the character alive. I always loved that moment of focus, when we're trying to work out how to help a dying character survive with the available gear and actions we all have left. Sometimes there's nothing you can do, and sometimes it isn't appropriate to try, but when it can work out it's very satisfying.
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